Tobaccos Hearth & Home - AJ's VaPer (Signature Series)

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JimInks (3046)	2013-10-14		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

The red Virginias provides some tangy dark fruit, earth, wood, bread, mild sugar, a little tart and tangy citrus, light vegetation, and a couple of blades of grass. They are the lead components, but not by much. The earthy, woody, plumy, raisiny perique offers a moderate spiciness as a supporting player, though some of that sweetness is underplayed by the sugary black cavendish. The strength is in the center of mild to medium. The nic-hit is a step behind that. The taste level is a notch past that center. Won't bite or get harsh, and barely has a rough note. Burns cool and clean at a reasonable pace with a very consistent sweet and spicy, rather smooth flavor. Requires few relights, and leaves little dampness in the bowl. An all day smoke with a pleasant after taste and room note.

-JimInks

29 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2006-03-24		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant

Having a hand in the creation of this blend, I am obviously partial in judging the qualities of this smoke. I therefore will not over sing it's praises, but just present my impressions and let you be the judge.

This is an unadutered blend with pure tobacco flavor. The dry tang of red virginias weave in and out with the spicy fruit of perique and the mild brown sugar/cocoa of the unflavored Green River Cavendish. This is not an aromatic; it's a virginia/perique (VaPer) in the strongest sense. In a wide bowled pot or apple, the treble notes seem more pronounced and the red virginias sing, whereas in a narrow bowled billiard or dublin, the deeper bass notes of fruit and earth seem to dominate. This blend was made for aging, and a few months or more in a mason jar makes me wonder why I smoke anything else.

As with any dry VaPer, do not overpuff and get the tobacco roasting. That technique can produce a bit of a flat ashy taste. Sip, don't chug, and the ever changing flavors and natural sweetness will produce an exciting smoke. This blend dominates my smoking time. As a comparision, my other favorite blends include Haddo's Delight, Bayou Morning, Bayou Morning Flake, Three Friars, Cumberland, Stratford, Virginia Spice, Louisiana Red, Best Brown Flake, and Full Virginia Flake. Enjoy.

aj

25 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2009-05-28		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Very Pleasant

I'm really beginning to respect Russ' talents as a blender. I've smoked several of his blends over the last month and I'm very impressed. Where another well-known (and highly hyped) blender's offerings leave me decidedly cold, the Ouellette blends are using a similar recipe and staking a claim to ownership of the Vaper market, in my humble opinion. That's talent. Who the heck IS this guy???

This one is a heavily spicy rendition of Vaper and hits the mark squarely dead center. A tasty concoction that is nearly the equal of any Vaper out there - and that is saying a lot! This is the second of Russ' blends to make my regular rotation (Classic Burley Kake being the other) and if you love Vaper's, you MUST try this. Ages wonderfully.

11 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	The Hun (38)	2014-11-08		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Since first being introduced to this blend through a pipes&cigars sampler years ago I have been through pounds of this stuff. Opening a fresh bag of bulk or popping the top on a sealed mason jar has become one of my greatest pleasure. The aroma is slightly sweet and a bit tangy with undertones of peppery fruitiness--hard to describe but pleasant just the same.

Aj's VaPer packs right whether loading pinches or by just dragging the bowl through the pouch. I prefer this a bit drier than it comes in the bag so I'll air it for a few minutes before loading, giving me a while longer to enjoy the aroma. However, the moisture level is certainly fine as it comes in the bulk bag. The tinned version tends to be too moist for me and requires more of a drying time. I much prefer the bulk version.

This is my preferred morning smoke although I do enjoy it all day. The spicy, tangy sweetness present at the first light is quite satisfying. The tobacco lights and burns easily and smokes cooly all the way to the bottom of the bowl. As the bowl progresses the blend becomes richer and mellower, perhaps (as has been suggested in other reviews) due to a stoving effect. Although I enjoy this in all types of pipes I find it is most rewarding in narrower, deeper bowls than in something more open like a pot or saucer.

The characteristics of this blend are different from other VaPers I have smoked. It has far more perique (and nicotine) than Luxury Navy Flake. The virginias are far sweeter than those in McClelland's 2015. The smoke is much smoother than C & D's Bayou Morning. The unsweetened cavendish planes off the rough edges present in H & H's Louisiana Red (another of my favorites).

Whenever I order Aj's VaPer in bulk I immediately transfer it to mason jars and seal them. I always try to save a few jars for aging (sometimes unsuccessfully--I tend to get into them far too soon). From a three year old jar this stuff is really amazing. I just wish I could keep my hands off of it. Maybe I just need to order more at a time.

Sounds like a good idea!

Highly recommended.

Pipe Used: Various briars and cobs

Age When Smoked: from bulk; some jarred for three years

Purchased From: pipes&cigars.com

8 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	SteelCowboy (685)	2014-01-28		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I tend to gravitate more toward European made VaPers and one of the things I look for in a VaPer is that wonderful sweetness that comes with age. Russ Ouellette takes that up a notch by adding a small amount of Cavendish to his AJ’s Vaper. AJ’s in the pouch smell like there are some McClelland Virginias in the blend, not always my favorite Virginias (no offense intended to McClelland fans), but the addition of a handsome amount of Perique along with the Cavendish adding a bass note to AJ’s along with some additional sweetness make for an interesting blend. I like smoking AJ's in a deep bowl as everything really sings when AJ's has a chance to develop over a longer smoke. When AJ’s is well aged, it becomes one of the sweetest VaPer variations I can remember smoking in a long time. If you like VaPers made with a twist, this should be on the must try list.

Age When Smoked: New and 5yrs

Purchased From: pipesandcigars.com

8 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pipestud (1829)	2015-03-16		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant

Russ says this one is selling fast. It is a really heady VaPer compared to the darker VaPer blends like Escudo. Lots more Perique, too. It really blasts the nostrils at the match and is quite unrelenting all the way down the bowl. The Cavendish is a depth builder and a nice addition. Not much sweetness in the blend which is not surprising with so much Cavendish involved (unflavored). The Virginia leaf must be from top-shelf crops(s) because it provided flavor to the overall presentation.

Pipestud

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	William H. Hardy (95)	2012-10-01		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Tolerable

All in all, this is a pretty good VaPer. Its sweet and sour flavors are satisfying and pleasant for the most part. It's just not one of my favorites. The VaPers in my list of favorites are Bayou Morning, Fillmore, and Escudo. AJ's VaPer just doesn't hit the spot for me like the others do. The tobaccos included in AJ's are top notch, which is why I am giving it three stars. I can appreciate it as a quality tobacco, but won't be ordering it again.

UPDATE: After having the better part of four ounces in a mason jar for about six months, I revisited it (Mostly to try to go through some of my tobacco, so I feel better about buying more) and I found that it was much better the second time around. The, well, mason jar note, was very reminiscent of the McKetchup smell, which I actually really like, and I found it to be sweeter and spicier than I remembered. I'm reluctant to raise the review to four stars, however, when I still have no plans for reorder.

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	StevieB (2080)	2017-01-02		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant

Hearth & Home - AJ's VaPer (Signature Series).

I've found most of the H&H blends I've had have arrived too dry, not this one though, it's perfect. It's a medium size ribbon, and also medium in colour: a medium brown, with a very small amount of black specks.

The smoke is right up my street: lots of Perique! The Cavendish gives a nice honey-sweetness which really accomplishes the flavour, and rounds it off. After the first half the smoke develops a fruitiness: not like a casing, just like a riper Virginia. I do find myself having to puff with ease otherwise A.J. can bite me a bit. The burn's very reliable and the temperature of the smoke's not particularly warm.

The nicotine's medium, and the room-note's peasant.

An easy rating..... four stars.

Highly recommended.

Pipe Used: Mastro Cascia

Age When Smoked: Five months

Purchased From: Smokingpipes.com

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	MDP (39)	2012-04-11		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

Cut: short, narrow ribbon

Color: light to dark browns, reddish brown, black

Pouch aroma: fermented and tangy, slightly musty; no topping noted.

Loading: easy, no prep

Lighting: easy, takes to charring well; some bowls needed only a false light

Burn: slow, even, dry

Ash: medium-fine gray and dry

Dottle: none

Smoke: dense, gray clouds in volume

Palate: happy and clean

Perique-osity scale: 5 (0=undetected, 10=overpowering)

Pipe: performed consistently in group 3-6 pipes of various chamber shapes used.

Performance: most complex and enjoyable sipped at a smolder, but really holds up if one revs the RPM's.

A very pleasant blend of Virginia tobaccos with notable, yet balanced, integrated use of perique.

Naturally sweet, red Virginias provide the backbone of flavor. Occasionally, slight grassy notes come through. Perique adds its stewed fruit and peppery presence for a nice complexity that fades a bit and resurrects to keep things interesting.

The flavor of stoved Virginia develops during the last half of the bowl. There might be some stoved Virginia utilized. Maybe it's the Black Cavendish. Slow, gentle puffing could have served to stove the leaf. However achieved, it adds depth and richness to the smoke. Interestingly, toward the very end of the bowl, I had a fleeting taste of cumin.

AJ's VaPer will only sweeten if sealed and aged, but it is lively and enjoyable right out of the bulk 4 oz. bag purchased.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	CenTex (18)	2014-06-18		Medium	None Detected	Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

I usually smoke aromatics, but wanted to try a VaPer and this one got good reviews. Smoked a number of bowls over several weeks. The description that springs to mind is Fresh Ground Black Pepper. The taste is strong start to finish with few, if any, relights. No bite at all. Might try some other VaPers at some point, but frankly, this one is so good, I may just stick with it.

Pipe Used: Savinelli 413KS, Savinelli Lolita, Jirsa Poker

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	puro66 (73)	2014-02-04		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant

Pipes and tobaccos are truly quirky things. This blend really didn't work for me in a small to average size bowl but in a large-ish, wide-ish, pot-ish Tinsky it sang like a choir. All of the tatse of the virginias, black cavendish and perique are there. It is full and slightly sweet tasting without being overwhelmeing. If you are a fast puffer it could nip you. As with some other H&H blends I taste the perique but don't really see it in the can.

The unflavored black cavendish does indeed add a twist to the traditional VaPer and this may warrant laying aside a couple of large tins to see how it would be with a couple of years age on it.

Pipe Used: varied

Age When Smoked: newish

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Mudguts (14)	2013-12-28		Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Pleasant

Please sip this one s-l-o-w-l-y. If you puff this one without care, it will be dry and ashy and you will not enjoy it. That is what I did at first and was initially turned off by the blend. Then I read AJ’s (the creator of the blend) recommended method of smoking it (see oldest review of this blend). You really need to smoke this like a temperamental Virginia. When you tug on it almost imperceptively, you unlock the secret door to another world. Now you enter the rich world of beefsteak red Virginia carefully blended with a delicious perique and Cavendish compliment. The mild Cavendish really plays an important balancing role and is what helps to make this VaPer blend so enjoyable. A blend with body, it has thick smoke and good mouth feel. Stays lit, burns quickly to a small amount of dark grey ash. No dottle and leaves the bowl dry, what a delight. Another good point about this dryish tobacco is that you can smoke the same pipe for 2 to 3 sessions without needing to rest it. I would guess it has about 15% perique.

Pipe Used: straight billiard, Rhodesian

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Leon (85)	2021-04-09		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

There are some tobacco tins that seem to take me forever to finish. Obviously, I'm not so attracted to reach out and smoke them. Rather than putting them in the back of a cabinet, I leave them around, just to give them another chance.

AJ's VaPer is the exact opposite of that. It's a blend that I wish I had more set aside because I'm finishing it before I even started. I keep reaching out to it and I enjoy every smoke with no reservations. Why can't they all be AJ's?

I love Russ Ouellette's Virginia blends, alongside Sutliff's, which are very similar in my opinion. They have this rich mature Virginia taste with a bit of wine/vinegar feel. And AJ's showcase the same base. Immediately, the leading flavor is this beautiful lemon zest and orange sweetness. Despite the description, the amount of Perique is not "generous" but spot on. Maybe even room for a tiny bit more. It adds great spiciness to the blend without overwhelming it. Just a perfect balanced blend. This sweet/sour fruity spice might explain my recent obsession with Chinese food for breakfast.

It comes pretty dry, perfect for packing. Smokes easy and cool, although a bit fast. No relights necessary and no tongue bite. The flavor is constant. It has just the right level of complexity to not overwhelm while at the same time can be a great all-day smoke.

Medium-full body, mild-medium in strength.

I'm finishing the 2oz that I ordered. Next time it's going to be a pound of this one. In this pace, AJ might not have enough of his own blend left.

Pipe Used: Medium-size Billiards

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: pipesandcigars.com

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	King Weed (228)	2021-02-20		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Covid19 isolation has provided some opportunities to explore the back corners of my stash. One category of things come to light is blends that I bought to smoke, put away and forgot. Hearth and Home's AJ's Vaper is in that category, so let's open it. Popping the pull top revealed a narrow range brown mixture of a moderately narrow cut with no off-gas pressure. The tin aroma was that of a Vaper, but, somewhat thin and distant for that family of blends. Nearly ready to smoke out of the tin, I aired out my sample smoke for about thirty minutes and had a go. At first I was just disappointed all the way around. I was in the same place as reviewer Musicman 2020-09-13 asking myself why I was continuing to smoke this blend. Then I read the review of puro66 2014-02-04 and began smoking AJ's Vaper in bigger pipes; eventually doing it up in my largest pipe. Now, everything seemed better. The only proviso is that I always enjoy the bottom half of the bowls more than the top halves. While not spectacular, I thought AJ's Vaper made a descent blending ingredient and I am using it in that capacity predominately. So, a little timid for my Vaper tastes, I feel comfortable giving the blend three stars and recommending it to readers.

Pipe Used: Ardor Magnum 1/2 bent billiard

Age When Smoked: five years old

Purchased From: Pipes and Cigars.com

Similar Blends: Most Vapers I've smoked are stronger that this blend and a big gulf exists between it and them. However, I have smoked weaker Vapers in the past.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	musicman (131)	2020-09-13		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

This blend tricks me every time. It is not in my regular rotation, so I smoke it every once in a while. Every time I light up a bowl I think "why do I keep smoking this blend" I mean, it's never bad, just seems ho hum. Then, about 15 minutes into the bowl I always think, "Ah, there it is". It gets better for me the farther down I smoke it.

This is a nice blend. Middle of the road, not a high end virginia, not a low end virginia. I really like the tin note, it has that McClelland ketchupy vinegary type smell. It makes my mouth water every time.

This is a chunky cut. Packs well, lights well, burns well. I definitely can taste the perique in here, but it doesn't thrill me as much as the perique in other Vapers (like Haddos, or royal yacht). It is really nice, a fine example of a medium Vaper, but for some reason I often reach for something else, which is why it gets only three stars from me. Other people really love this stuff. For me, it is pretty solid, but not one I think about much.

Pipe Used: Butz Choquin Calabash 2000

Age When Smoked: 12 Years

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	CarolinaEsquire (13)	2018-03-24		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

When I bought this, I really wanted to like it. The reviews were amazing and I thought this was going to be right up my alley. I wanted to like it so much that 5 years ago I purchased five 8-ounce tins. You can never have too much right?

Well, I think my tastes have changed and I moved away from perique. So I'm not going to hold that against AJ's VaPer. This is a fine blend. The aroma from the tin is almost mouth watering. Dark fruits, rich fermentation. Pretty, red color to the ribbons too. For me though, it just didn't hit the taste buds quite right. I thought it would have had a bit more sweetness to it. It's there, just not what I had anticipated. The perique is not over the top and lets it's presence be known without an overpowering presence. The spice is present. Enjoy it if you like it. The cavendish does round it all out nicely. A full smoke.

Again, on it's own, it didn't hit the spot for me, but it was not because of the blend or the quality of leaf. It just wasn't for me. However, I've since found that I have enjoyed it as a base for some of my own blends and there, it has sung really well. So to each their own. I hope you enjoy it. If you enjoy VaPer's, you're likely to enjoy this one.

Pipe Used: Cobs and Savinellis

Age When Smoked: 5 years

Purchased From: Pipesandcigars.com

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Scotty P (1)	2017-03-18		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant

This is my first review so I'll keep it short and sweet. AJ's VaPer has quickly become my go to tobacco. If I'm not looking for a religious experience, it hits the spot. With bulk availability, it's easy to keep on hand. Sweet enough on ignition which has tended to mellow throughout the bowl. It has enough Perique to get your attention without killing you. I've had better results with a narrower bowl. If that changes with age, I'll update.

Pipe Used: Wide and narrow billiards, random cobs

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: pipesandcigars.com

Similar Blends: BriarWorks Back Down South.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	point9 (114)	2015-10-03		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant

Russ has been recognized as one of the greatest latakia/balkan blenders in our time, but he does even better in Vaper category IMHO. The tin note of AJ's reminds me of McC's vinegar smell with deep sweet cavendish breeze. Very easy packing and lighting, it stays lit to the end. The sweetness in AJ's comes from various departments with high, medium and bass notes. Compare with similar blends such as Marlin Flake and PS bulleyes, this is more complex and interesting. I thought Viprati is the best Vaper blend I've had, but Russ surprised me again. They are both Vaper but show very different flavors, and they are both the greatest in my book.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	SmokeKing David (134)	2014-04-08		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild	Tolerable

The quality of the tobaccos used is readily apparent, but this just doesn't seem to have much flavor to me. I sort of expected a little more sweetness or more spice.

Govern Yourself Accordingly.

Pipe Used: Cavicci

Age When Smoked: 2 yrs

Purchased From: Pipes & Cigars Online

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Mr. Big (321)	2011-09-19		Medium to Strong	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Tolerable

I bought this tobacco about 6 months ago and for the life of me I can't remember why I cellared it away? I suspect that it was too damp and steamy, giving it a hint of bite, but don't hold me to that. Well , I just retried it in a tall cob and it is wonderful, maybe still could use some drying as there seems to still be some steam. The first thing I noticed is the cut is real fine,(ribbon) almost like Dunhill's EMP, Margate or Skiff's cuts but not quite as "hair like". I love the way it packs, lights and burns but it is easy to over pack and also easy to shut the air hole if you hard tamp. The flavor has a great Perique presents, not the spice hit, that I don't really care for as I feel that bite is just around the corner, but the "wet concrete" smell & taste, that I actually find interesting. I find the Virginia has that touch of McCVV ( McClellands Vinegar Virginia)that I love, it gives that sweet and sour taste. The Cavendish just comes along for the ride and maybe tames the Perique pepper, there might even be a bit of Burley in this blend . I want to give this 4 stars, but I am reluctant until I've ordered another bulk batch to check for consistency. Having a choice, I think I like the McC VaPers better , only because they are flakes and have a strong McCVV taste that jumps out with some sweet and sour. This is also very similar to 4 Noggins, Weybridge or McC's 2015 bulk. However, this might be a better all day blend since it is easier to load and light while driving with my knees and elbows !!!.

Have to agree with reviewer "Parker"

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2011-09-17		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Another good blend of Virginias and Perique, but not nearly as enjoyable as Rolando's Own. I did not notice the Black Cavendish at all and the Perique was really noticeable, especially when I smoked it in a corncob. You had the citrusy, earthy sweetness of the Viginias and just a bit too much saltiness from the Perique. It was similar to Rolando's Own, but not as good. I'm not a huge fan of Perique, so I added some aromatic Butter Pecan from Atlandis and it married really well. Definitely still worth a smoke, but I think this is best for those just beginning the art of pipe smoking and wanting to discover the qualities of different tobaccos and how they taste and smell. If you're one of those, go ahead and try this blend.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2010-07-26		Medium to Strong	Medium	Medium to Full	Tolerable

A tasty blend.

Upon lighting you get the sutble sweetness of Virginias and the spice of Perique. The description says theres Cavendish too but I don't taste any.

Basically, its sweet and spicy all the way down to the bottom of the bowl. Nothing too complex here, just a pretty good Va/Per.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2008-06-07		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I have tried so many Virginias of late that it is getting harder to rate them at 3 to 4 star. There are so many.

I find this one to be a "somewhat recommended" for me. The pack, and burn are good, but I find this blend a little rough around the edges. For my money I find P&C's "Old Red", and McCelland #2015, much sweeter, and more mellow. I will cellar this and review in a few months. Rate

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Mr. Dottle (162)	2007-02-12		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I found this blend a little rough around the edges. For me, it didn?t burn hot but it was more harsh than flavorful and irritated my throat and nasal passages. Perhaps I got an overdose of perique. However, I can handle and enjoy C&D Old Joe Krantz that contains 25% perique so perhaps perique is not the offender. And I am not a novice VAPER smoker. I can?t explain it other than to sign off as Walter Cronkite did on his nightly newscasts: ?That?s the way it is? (with me, my physiology and this blend).

A cigarette is to be smoked. A cigar is to be enjoyed. A pipe is to be savored.

I rate this blend 6.5 out of 10.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	idbowman (26)	2022-02-19		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

This is a brash and bold VaPer, with the perique having been added by a very generous hand.

The Virginia in the blend provides plenty of tang, with underlying sweetness and breadiness that develop throughout the bowl. The perique often takes center stage, and will grace your sinuses with a peppery punch at every sip. Despite the strength of the perique, it is not overbearing, and altogether in harmony with with the Virginias (although those who prefer only condimental pinches of the stuff may be overwhelmed.).

The addition of unflavored Cavendish is more consequential than mere gimmick, but it is definitely the background player. It provides a bit of depth and makes for a fuller smoke, but doesn't lend much to overall flavor the blend, at least for me. It's possible it contributes a bit of sweetness, but I suspect it really creates a platform for the sweetness of the Virginias to stand on.

I've had this blend fresh and at various ages up to the 10-year mark. Age has all of the usual effects on the Virginia and perique leaf, but the pepperiness remains prominent at all ages, though years if aging does allow the stone fruit of the perique to complement the other components.

The blend itself takes a match well and stays lit with little fuss regardless of packing method. It has some rough edges here and there, but isn't prone to bite, burns quite cool, and finishes down to a fine ash.

I might stop short of calling this an all day blend due to the intense spice, but it's definitely worthy of a spot in any cellar - and worth plenty of shelf space in the cellars of Va/VaPer fans.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Leaf Packer (30)	2017-07-02		Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild	Pleasant

I always try save some of all tobaccos purchased to enjoy later, try is the goal, doesn't always happen. This time it did. The blender from P& C in my opinion is on the verge of greatness . This blend will atest to this as I find this to be a sleeper . It is good straight from the tin, a citrus aroma greets you instantly,comes through while smoking along with some very mild spice . This my first Vaper blend ever , I was foolish to wait .

Age turns this into a most enjoyable smoke, I like best while driving , calms me down keeps me focused

Has a mild to medium nic hit, burns dry with no moisture in bowl little dottle if any and same taste thru out the bowl. If you like the combo of Vaper try this if you haven't.

Not my go I enjoy more has a treat, but that's me you very well may like for a daily smoke. Enjoy and sip away.

Pipe Used: Clay and briars

Age When Smoked: Fresh and two years

Purchased From: Smoking pipes, who else?

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	ruffinogold (112)	2016-11-19		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Finally , a Hearth and Home blend I like . It's cavendish of some varying color with what seems like a decent amount of Perique . If the Perique werent in it , it would be a cavendish similar to PS Natural Dutch Cavendish , which is pretty good for a simple cavendish . But the fact remains that the Perique makes this sing ! It lights and burns well and the spice from the Perique , along with the other components make for a great smoke . The room note is pleasant and for a cavendish it has decent nicotine , which isnt stout , but it's a cavendish and thats a cool thing to have some nic , imo . It maintains down teh bowl and has a good build . My wife had me purchase her a tin to age a couple years ago , given she heard that an aged tin was excellent . What I'm smoking is fresh and damn good . I'll have to bug the wife to pop her tin :)

Pipe Used: Killer old Grabow bulldog and Savinelli Tevere

Age When Smoked: fresh

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	J. Ward (70)	2016-09-15		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

Of all the VaPers that I've tried thus far, AJ's VaPer is one of my absolute favorites. This delicious blend is unbelievably smooth and balanced. The virginias impart a slight tang and sweetness that plays perfectly with the plum and delicate spice of the perique, while the cavendish adds depth and smoothness. Apart from the aforementioned, one can clearly discern diminutive notes of cocoa from the cavendish, as mentioned by AJ. Do yourself a favor and opt to buy the 8 oz tin. This is a great blend to enjoy with your morning coffee or all day if you choose. Four stars.

Pipe Used: MM Cob and briars

Age When Smoked: 1 year

Purchased From: pipesandcigars.com

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	leacha (15)	2015-07-29		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Since I do not have a highly refined palate, it's hard to describe tastes that I experience. I only know what I like and do not like. So here's my rating scale and a brief reason for the rating.

★★★★ = Excellent - Apocalypse blend, cellar worthy.

★★★☆ = Good - Not part of regular roatation but keeping a few tins/ounces is wise.

★★☆☆ = Fair - A smokable blend that is worth trying again.

★☆☆☆ = Poor. - Do not smoke! Trade off or give away to the unsuspecting.

Because tastes and blends change over time and depending on what pipe is used, I reserve the right to change my rating at any time.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Jevverrett (106)	2015-03-28		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

This came as a surprise gift, a one ounce bag out of seven different blends. I decided to go for this one first. Partly bc I like va pers, and partly bc I have recently discovered I like red va tobacco.

Very black in color, not much to look at in the bag. Smells good though, kind of sweet and peppery. Some ribbon, some finer. Packs easily, takes fire well. That may be because it came in a bag as opposed to a can. On the charring light, I get an initial full taste of red va. The perique didn't come out much till about the halfway mark on the bowl. The flavor built in strength from there. It's a good va/per. And the sweet reds are the star in this one to me. They come through beginning to end. The cav isn't very present, but I guess that means it was blended well to help marry the other flavors.

All in all, I like this one a lot. I may well have to buy some more after I get through the little collection I have right now to smoke.

Pipe Used: MM cob

Age When Smoked: Fresh bag

Purchased From: Straus tobacconist

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2012-10-01		Mild	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Been smoking it all day long........delicious. Delightful citrus tang and sweetness.

Update: Been a regular in my morning pipe for a couple weeks now....still enjoying every tasty minute of it!!

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2012-06-01		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I just got a 8oz tin of this stuff in mail today from P&C.. First off, I'm a fan of VaPer, and this is my 4th different blend of the VaPer incarnation I've smoked.. Reviewed in a GBD Shoreline Blasted bulldog.. This is a first impression review.. Cut is a fine ribbon, with lotsa shades of browns, a touch of redishness, and just a little mix of black. The tin note is sweet, and slightly musty, but not a whole lot of scent coming outta the tin. Packs and lights effortlessly. Sweet virginia's are the forefront flavor here.. It's alittle darker then that grassy hay like virginia, but not so much that you can't taste it.. The Perique included it's raisiny/plummish accents to the smoke but there is very little spicy/pepperiness that can be detected by me. The smoke is rich with a nice mouthfeel, and no bite what so ever..Just enough Vitamin N to be satisfying without leaving your head spinning, though YMMV on that. The only reason i didn't give this a 4 star rating was because I like a little pepper in my VaPer, and this doesn't really have that. Other then that, I could really see me buying more of this and would like to see this blend land in my rotation as a regular.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2011-08-29		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

Same general taste as Russ' Louisiana Red - i.e. seems to be the same virginias. Not as much perique (or maybe different perique), not as spicy and I didn't notice the perique backnote so much. The black cavendish must have a smoothing and slightly sweetening effect, and occasionally came out tastefully alongside the virginia. Overall tasty but mellow flavor. Decent nicotine kick. Bite wasn't a concern. It seemed like the full flavor profile came out better in a wider gauge bowl, whereas a narrower bowl accentuated the sweetness... at times almost too sweet for me in the narrow bowl. Good stuff and well put together I say. Thanks Russ & AJ.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Smokey45 (16)	2010-04-03		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Tolerable

For me, this tobacco was just too harsh, even after cellaring it for about a year. It didn't seem to possess any sort of desirable flavor qualities, and burned much too hot. It was a little better smoked out of a churchwarden, but even so, it is not something I would ever want to smoke again. For somebody making the transition from cigarettes to the pipe, this may be your sort of thing, but it is certainly not for me.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	strongirish (249)	2010-01-23		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

I have really been liking Vapers of late and have been trying many of them. Iwas sent a good amount of this blend to sample and review, and I find it a very enjoyable smoke. It is a multicolorwd blend going through the gamut of light brown to dark brown. It has a nice musky aroma in the pouch which made my mouth water. it is a Vaper with an unflavored black cavendish muxed in which gives it a smoothness and body. It comes a touch wet to my taste and is better if allowed to dry for a few hours. I find Russ's blend tend to be a bit green right off the bat but do age to very good blends after a few months. This one I would imagine will follow that. I have put some away to cellar and will return to it. So my review here is with the non aged blend. It does load very nice in the pipe and is easily lit with the light char light method and maintains a nice, slow, burn. It is very mild at the start of the bowl but it does gain strenth as it burns down, becoming quite tasty towards the last third of the bowl. It burns very clean in the pipe smoking down to a dry gray fluffy ash. No dottle left at all. It has a nice sweet, spicy, flavor and is very enjoyable. I would prefer it not have the black cavendish as it does lessen the perique flavor and strenth. It has the wonderful musty room note that perique produces and I love. This is a noce blend and Ai can't wait to try it with some age on it.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2010-01-20		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I like this tobacco. The cavendish gives it a bit of sweetness, and the bright Virginias make it zesty. With a bit of spice from the perique, it's got a lot of good flavor. Nice cut, easy to smoke.

I'm only giving it three of four stars because I can't figure out if I like this more or less than Virginia Spice (adds cigar leaf) or Anniversary Kake (way more complicated flavors) from the same blender. They are all excellent in their own right. Russ clearly knows VAPers.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2009-04-06		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

This is a VaPer, not a Virginia alone. Emphasis on the PERIQUE, and that was what I was seeking. And I found it.

Sweet rich Virginia flavor, tang and roundness are very much complimented by the Perique. Twangy, tang, spice. Almost a dill pickle effect at play here. Very nice and the cavendish is well behaved and controlled never dominating either the flavor of the Virginia or the sassy aspect of the Perique.

If you love perique, try this you won't be disappointed!! I tell you what!

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2009-03-01		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Very Pleasant

A good VaPer, but I would certainly recommend SG St. James Flake or Rattray's Marlin Flake above it. I rate it highly especially for the price, but SG StJF is equally as reasonable and leagues more satisfying.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2008-05-20		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Tolerable

one of my favorite blends,tangy fermented tin aroma,either from the perique,cavendish or both.tim aroma translates to the taste,tangy.a taste sensation that i love.good va/per blend. another thing to love about this blend is its ease of packing and lighting.i don,t want to dry,chop,pack in a special way.i want to fill up light and go.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Slow Triathlete (62)	2008-04-08		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Now I had high expectations for this blend because I love their Anniversary Kake and I have smoked a few bowls of their Louisiana Red so I know that Russ knows how to blend a VaPer. I was not let down at all. Read on.

First off the bag aroma was amazing! I opened up the ziplock and stuck my nose in. This blend has more of a sour smell than a lot of the other VaPer blends that I have tried so far. And you can also smell the Perique. That?s a good sign because now I know that there is a decent amount in there.

The blend came to me a bit dry so I stuck it in a bowl, wet a wash cloth with distilled water and put it over the top of the bowl for about 6 hours. Every few hours I would take the towel off and stir the tobacco around so that it re-hydrated evenly. After that I let it rest for a few days and then started smoking it. This review is after 6 bowls of this blend. I smoked it in both my Peterson #268 Zulu and a Peterson #80S Bent Bulldog and it performed well in both.

Packing was easy as this comes in a ribbon cut. I mostly used the gravity method and then pushed down another pinch on top. This seemed to work out rather well. Lighting was also extremely easy. The aroma that came out of the bowl reminded me a lot of Scottish Cake for some reason. For the half of the bowl my initial impressions were that this was absolutely the best bulk blend VaPer I have ever tried. Everything seems balanced throughout the whole smoke. There are never any ups or downs and I am wondering if it is the addition of the Cavendish that keeps everything flowing smoothly.

For the second half of the bowl the Perique does seem to pick up a bit. Not enough to deter most people but it definitely lets you know that it is there. This one smoked cool enough for me that it went all the way to the bottom of the bowl without any gurgling or steam sounds coming out of the bowl.

I will say that I did get one bowl going way too hot and smoked it way too fast. The result was a sour, ?burnt? taste that lasted the rest of the smoke even after I had set it down to cool. My advice is to smoke this one slowly and you will be rewarded for the extra time.

Overall, I liked this blend more than the Anniversary Kake that is available from the same site.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	LV9 (85)	2008-02-23		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable to Strong

This is a very good Virginia with a noticeable amount of perique, I've been smoking this for the last six months and is just keeps getting better the packaging is easy, the lighting is easy and keeping it lit it's not troublesome, the flavor is sweet virginias most of the time with the perique very lively from middle of the bowl, great stuff, not very overpowering but letting you know that is there, nothing but white ash at the bottom of the pipe my only gripe about it is that you have to be careful because it has a medium tendency to bite but overall not that different to most virginia blends. I f you can try to age it for at least 3 months to really get the virginias going.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2006-03-29		Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Wow, I did not expect that! It is good, but not like any VAPer that I have had, and not really like a Scott (I kinda' half-expected it to be like that too). It has a wonderful sweet and smoky flavor to it, but it is subdued in a very subtle way that lets the Va's come through in all of their glory. The Cav takes the Perique by hand and does not let it do too much to the palette while the Perique keeps the Cav in check as well. However, together there is a liqueur-like top note (top note only really, sometimes an after-taste, but it never competes with the flavor of the base tobacco flavors. Fascinating) from the two that is ghost like, not syrupy at all, something that I was concerned with when I read the description. Not a concern at all now.

One cannot overstate that this is first and for-most a VaPer and the Va's take the driver's seat throughout the smoke and they are wonderful. This has to be smoked to be understood... and several times at that... something one will want to do after the first puff, so don't worry. Knocked this one out of the park Russ! A truly unique, exquisite smoke that needs no aging. Thank you.

Namaste'

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2006-03-25		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

This has been the only one of the pipesandcigars.com blends that I did'nt really appreciate.It was so incredibly dry in the pouch and burned hot as hell by 1/4 of the way down the bowl.For an awesome VA/Per blend PLEASE try "Anniversary Kake" also by pipesand cigars.com.Unless your're a dedicated and "dyed in the wool" straight VA fan pass this one on by... prep

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Legion (27)	2021-08-02		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant

Choice of blends is very limited here in Nanny State Australia [where 50g now costs over $125, I shit you not] so my understanding of different leaf types was almost non-existent several years ago. When I found U.S. online tobacconists I very much relied on the reviews here - JimInks in particular - when choosing an order.

AJ's Vaper sounded interesting so I ordered a pound. My first bowl was rather disappointing. Nothing wrong with the blend per se, it was just too tangy for my tastes. It was much better when it was blended with a straight Virginia, Burley or VaBur.

Oh well, live and learn. Most of it was jarred and in the cellar it went. After 3-4 years aging in a jar, recently I tried a small bowl.

Glad I did. What a pleasant surprise. As one reviewer here wrote [who had a hand in it's creation] 'This blend was made to be aged' [or words to that effect]

The difference after a few years is amazing. The tanginess is still there but it no longer dominates, just a nice hint in the background.

AJ's Vaper with a few years of age is now one of my favourite non-aromatics. Seriously, buy yourself a pound [at least] stick it in a jar and bury it in the back of your cellar for at least a year. You'll be so glad you did.

Since this blend was intended to be aged, it would be unfair to allow my impressions of it fresh to influence my rating. 4 stars all the way. Highly recommended.

Age When Smoked: 3-4 years

Purchased From: 4Noggins

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