Tobaccos Hearth & Home - LJ Heart Virginia (Signature Series)

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JimInks (3048)	2014-01-24		Mild	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

An uncomplicated mild mixture of red Virginias with a little spice and raisin notes from the perique. Lightly dark fruit sweet and tangy, it burns at slightly more than a moderate pace, clean and cool with a consistent taste. Leaves little dampness in the bowl, and needs few relights. It is often dry in the tin, so it may require a little hydration to bring out the flavors a little more. The nic-hit is very mild. Won't bite or get harsh. Has a decent after taste and room note. It does lack some body and strength by design as it appears to be a starter, all day VaPer. Two and a half stars.

-JimInks

11 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	ArmedOctopus (20)	2014-02-13		Mild	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

I am not a fan of perique. This blend is no different. That being said....

Tin note is very nice and reminds me of figs. I cannot detect any sort of casing or topping. It seems to me to be nothing but tobacco. The blend has a perfect moisture content. The VA is nice and slightly sweet. However, it lacks the boldness and complexity of a mature VA, but I would assume some age on a tin would help. The VA is tasty though and of good quality. Not surprising though for a Hearth and Home blend.

For anyone looking at these reviews, I am sure this is a good, solid VA/PER, but it is not my cup of tea. Perique has a peppery flavor that to me is not unlike the feeling of tongue bite.

I'm giving it 2 stars, although my feelings are closer to 1.5. However, I could easily see a perique junkie loving this blend.

Age When Smoked: New

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	huffnpuff (53)	2006-05-21		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant

Dude this is some cool baccy.good amount of perique,just enough to be noticed and the nice ribbon cuts.reds in the scene .Not one bite,I feel it is the milder version of pipes and cigars Louisana red .

The virginias get nice and smokey and st james has its high notes and its low notes burning down to a white ash ,my pipe was still dry on the bottom.

:-)

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	DrT999 (318)	2012-03-17		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

A nice, mild VaPer, for me heavier on the red Virginias in taste with a hint of Perique to make it more interesting than a plain Virginia blend. Great for a warm/hot day outside. Those looking for a heavy Perique blend likely won't find that here. Since I know there are many tobaccos out there I would rate a 4, the question arises would I rebuy this particular tobacco, assuming my tastes don't change much more. In this case, the answer is no.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2006-06-06		Mild	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant

One of the few tobaccos I've found that actually matches the blender's description. Absolutley one of the driest smokes I've ever had as well as having a consistent flavor from start to finish.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	StevieB (2081)	2018-04-08		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Hearth & Home - LJ Heart Virginia (Signature Series).

The description and appearance don't marry up. In no way is this a ribbon, it's a coarse cut/mixture. The hydration's good due to the roomy tin.

The smoke would make a great entrance into the world of VaPers. Mostly the flavour of it's from the Virginia's. They taste sweet, tangy, fruity, but although the Virginia's give a lot of flavour it's without any Virginia grass/hay. I get just enough pepper to confirm the presence of Perique yet it doesn't 'rule the roost'. It burns well but can issue a slight bite.

Nicotine: mild to medium. Room-note: indifferent.

If it weren't for the bite I'd highly recommend this but the bite removes a star. Still a nice smoke, though. Recommended:

Three stars.

Pipe Used: Chacom

Age When Smoked: Not stamped but cellared two weeks

Purchased From: TobaccoPipes.com

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2017-03-10		Very Mild	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Fluffy, fish-food cut of chunks and strips, with a tin nose of tart grass and newly mown hay. Simple cut to load with the 3-step method.

This one starts off kind of dull but quickly (within a moment or two) moves to a rather provocative display of piquancy. I see that word used a lot and sometimes it fits, as it does here. There is a pleasantly sour aftertaste behind the slight hint of sweetness. The red Virginia mix is certainly the reason. The perique is applied with a deft and light touch, providing a delicate whisper of spice. Snorking brings out nuances that simple mouth puffing ignores. The impression I got while smoking was always that more perique would have spoiled this blend. Ditto any lemon Virginia - I think the citrus would have clashed with the tartness. This is a "less is more" blend and I finished the tin in record time, not because it's a favorite but because it lends itself so well to relaxation and clearing the mind of work's pressures. It's a "wind down" smoke and for that it's absolutely perfect. A nice bonus is that of all the bowls I smoked (an entire tin), I only had to relight this one once, and that was with no additional drying out (it didn't need any). Not a 4 star blend but a good 3.5 and it will hold a place in my cellar that is reserved for no other. The quintessential "mood" tobacco, and a testament to the blending genius of Russ Ouelette . Seems to have fallen off the radar somewhat and that's fine, as it means I'll be sure to be able to stock up! :)

Age When Smoked: 3 years

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	½ bowl (103)	2015-08-01		Mild	Extremely Mild	Medium	Unnoticeable

This is the quintessential Virginia blend, backed with a smidgeon of Perique. The Va's are soft and sweet, with no piquancy. A good starting point for those wishing to dabble in this area, and a good all day smoke.

Good rough cut texture for packing and burning. Very well behaved. Sweet.

Purchased From: pipesandcigars.com

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Coda (33)	2015-01-06		Mild	Very Mild	Mild	Tolerable

This is a very mild VaPer. The tin note is of dried grass, with a little tangyness. The flavor is very mild as well. A little sweet, a little tangy, and a little grassy, this is almost like an OTC version of a VaPer. Hardcore VaPer fans may be a little underwhelmed by this, but those looking to explore the genre should be advised to start here...

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	ROTHNH (11)	2012-05-22		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

An excellent bulk buy for anyone who enjoys Virginias. Square on LJ's pipes, this blend delivers in spades. It is not complicated though -- red Virginia with a splash of excellent quality Perique. No casing. If you love Virginia blends, this is a winner.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	LV9 (85)	2010-06-30		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Strong

This is a combination of virginias and perique the virginias are mostly red which gives it a sweetness and bright virginias which it give it a lemony taste, perique is found with reserve in the 4 oz that I have on my sample, it comes dry from the retailer wich I do not mind, is easy to pack and light, the taste is a inter play between virginia sweetness and lemony with the perique weaving in and out, It only bites when pushed. the nicotine level is on the low side and room note is pretty strong according to my wife, stinks is what she said.

To be quite honest I divide tobaccos in 2 ways would I buy again or not this one I would not buy again, of all the H&H virgini samples that I vae tried it seems to be they all follow a similar pattern red virginias lead the way with bright virginias for compliment and different levels of perique alonf the way; the only one that has made an impression so far is Virginia Spice where the perique is substituted for cigar leaf, nevertheless they are pretty good blends just not my cup of tea.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	strongirish (249)	2009-11-19		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

I like some of H and H blends but some are just too green out of the pouch. This is one of them. With aging, I think it will improve and will do so. This tobacco blend also arrived to me very much on the dry side but actually about the dryness I like it. It is an all brown blend with hints of a dark brown mixed in. It smells nice and tangy in the pouch with a musky backdrop of the perique. It loaded quite easily and was very easy to get lit. It stays lit very well and produces a perique dominated figgy taste that is very mild. In fact, my sample the perique dominated the blend very much and the VA was almost non present for the first half of the bowl. It provided very little of the sweet hay like taste that I like. Once I hit the halfway point in the bowl, it bloomed for a little while and offered a sweet, creamy smoke that I love. but just as I was really getting into the great flavor, it disappeared again and became very ashy and bitter tasting. I feel this is a very green blend and needs to be aged awhile. I am going to cellar the rest and come back to it. So, based on my smokes of it early on, I cannot recommend this blend.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	cajomu (80)	2007-11-09		Mild	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable

Like most of the other reviewers, I find LJ Heart Virginia to be an excellent Virginia tobacco. It is very favorful with a good amount of Perique, although a little less sweet than most Virginias that I have tried. Also as noted by the others, it is extremely easy to smoke, lighting easily, with no bite, and leaving only a fine ash in the bowl. It is also priced right.

My only criticisms (and I know I'm getting a bit picky here) are that the aroma of the unlit tobacco is less intense than with most Virginias and that it is a bit on the weak side, nicotine-wise.

Despite these slight imperfections, I have made LJ Heart Virginia one of my regular smokes.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2007-10-07		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant

To my tastes, this is a fine VA tobacco. As with Mr. Dottle, the taste of the perique eluded me, but that may be just my pallet. I received this initially as a sample from Frenchy and that was extremely dry. I ordered some directly from pipesandcigars and that had a perfect level of moisture. I put some away for a year, and that made a tremendous difference; the flavors seemed to blend and the sweetness of the VA really came out. There is still a little tang, but the sweetness predominates. I'm giving this 4 stars with the warning that it takes some aging to reach the 4 star level. As received from the blender, I give it 3 stars.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	NEWMAN (305)	2007-04-15		Mild	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

This is a blend of coarse ribbon cut VAs with perique added that I thought was dry as received but still smoked cool and without any condensation or bite. An effortless smoke without relights resulted. I didn't sense much influence from the the Perique but the taste was still enjoyable although the strength was less than my normal VAPER preferred flakes.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2007-03-21		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant

Nothing fancy, just a darn good Virginia blend that keeps its promises - no bite, a little sweet, a little tangy, and it smokes like a dream - just like LJ's pipes, dry and cool. The longer I smoke, the more I enjoy blends like this that are easy to approach, yet leave me completely satisfied.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Mr. Dottle (162)	2007-01-16		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

This is a delicious, mild to medium VA with a subtle and constant sweetness that doesn?t disappoint. It pretty much matches the description although the ?whisper? of perique eluded my palate. It burns cool with no bite and has good burning qualities. Try this with a fresh, clean palate and a ?cold one.? It?s superb! LJH is not a particularly complex blend but as the old TV commercial stated, ?The simpler things are, the better I like them.? This is one of the most enjoyable and satisfying VAs I have smoked.

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

I rate this blend 9.9 out of 10.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	dualkarnain (75)	2006-09-21		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant

Exemplar sweetness and tang, just as advertised. A little bit try - needed a coupla drops of water. The taste is wonderful. For a bulk virginia, this is great stuff.

Images evoked include a rabbit skeleton hopping merrily through a beautiful hilly landscape.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Danno (106)	2006-03-24		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Full	Tolerable

I received 5 or 6 bowls worth of this blend from Frenchy, after purchasing a pipe off his site. The contents of the bag were quite dry and I decided to smoke 'as -is'. A myriad of different cuts can be seen: cube, ribbon, coarse and long. I also detect the presence of a decent proportion of perique. Bag aroma is a subtle virginia, somewhat redolent of McClellands, but muted overall. Lightup is spicy but not hot and the piquant flavor calms almost immediately. Taste is straightforward, unsullied va/per. Not exceptional but certainly worthy of your attention. I may order some. Of note: the residual room aroma is rather acrid, for me.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2008-01-17		Mild to Medium	Medium	Medium	Tolerable

I guess my taste buds are shot...or I got a bad batch, but I have to strongly disagree with the other reviews here. The sample I recieved was "very" dry - which may have resulted in a bad experience. The lit bowl started out OK, but the further down I smoked the fowler it got and by the end I could barely stand to finish it. Spousal note - her initial smell test indicated it was light and had an OK room note, but toward the end she said it smelled like I was smoking dog poo. After 25+ years of pipe smoking...I would have to say this ranks close to the bottom of the blends I have tried. If you are considering trying this one...definitely get a small sample first.

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