Tobaccos Hermit Tobacco Works Co. - Captain Earle's - Honor Blend

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Tripjoker (65)	2011-09-09		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

I had been wanting to try this for some time and finally got around to adding it to an order. I'm certainly glad I did!

The presentation in my tin was one large two ounce cake that was an almost uniform brownie-like color with just the occasional lighter strand here and there. It broke apart with ease and I rubbed out the entire brick to store in a mason jar at my tobacco cabinet. I laid out a pipeful to dry for a few minutes even though it felt just about right from the tin.

After airing for about 30 minutes, I packed my first bowl without problem and proceeded to fire it. It took to match well after the first false light and stayed lit to the bottom of the bowl. No bite was experienced. The flavors are fantastic! The Virginia, Perique, and Cavendish all get along well. The Turkish really rounds out the profile adding a rich, tangy note. The Cav is superior and reminds me a bit of the Cav that Dunhill uses. A natural sweetness from Virginia and Cav was balanced by a light sourness from the Perique and Turkish. Overall, one of the most pleasurable and unique smokes that I have had in quite some time. Nicotine is a solid medium with the occasional drift into Med-strong.

This is a nice everyday smoke for me. It has the unique quality of being a "set and forget" that will not get in the way of what you want to do. It also serves the smoker who wants to relax and comtemplate the smoke as the complexity is there if close attention is what you wish to give it.

I can see a couple of dozen tins of this on my next order. It should age very gracefully and be better at five years. We shall see. Cheers!

25 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Gentleman Zombie (729)	2013-10-23		Medium to Strong	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant

A nice relaxing sweet smoke. Uncomplicated, you have no need to concentrate on it. Just relax and enjoy a quality smoke and let your mind wander.

14 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2012-08-13		Medium to Strong	Very Mild	Medium to Full	Very Pleasant

WOW…WOW, I've been smoking a pipe for 40 plus years and worked in 2 pipe shops. I tried mostly all tobacco's available. Capt. Earl's Honor blend is the BEST VaPer blend on the market for me. I love all of their Cake tobacco's The combo of these tobacco's are very tasty and satisfying to smoke. I'm so surprised that there are not more reviews on this one and Hermits. All of you pipester out there owe it to yourself to get this and store it up for future days. “J” is looking down on all of us Hermit fans from heaven with a big smile. God bless him may he rest in peace knowing he did a fine job in blending his fine tobacco's for us to share. Please give this a try. I know you will enjoy this as much as I do. A very HIGHLY RECOMMENDED blend and thanks to Louise and C&D (the Best tobacco blenders in the world) for keeping Hermit going. Others that are wonderful are as follows: Private Stock, Mystic blend, Night watch, Stimulus package, Ten Russians, C&D'S Bow legged Bear, Kajun Kake, Tuskegee Airman and Sunday Picnic and if you want an aromatic, Altumn Evening is to best aromatic for me. T.J.

10 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pipestud (1829)	2016-02-25		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant

I've not tried the new Honor Blend, but really liked the late 90's version when the late Jay Jones over sighting the blending. Honor blend combines a variety of leaf but the most notable to me was the deeply rich and smoky Latakia and Ripe and naturally sweet Red Virginia. It had a true depth of flavor that I appreciate and while the Perique appeared a bit, the presentation was wispy and just enough to perk up the palate.

Pipestud

9 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	marosi (70)	2011-03-25		Strong	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Tolerable

You can smoke a dozen VA/Per blends from around the world and never find anything like this. That alone warrants 4 stars. Any lover of virginias knows how hard it can be to find something new or unique. If you are used to smoking McClelland type virginias or any number of VA flakes, this will definitely be new. As for unique, well, just read on.

This is packaged, as many have noted, in a crumble cake form. When I first wrote this review similar offerings in the US were rare, but now they have become very popular. These crumble cakes do indeed crumble, and this again offers a unique, and pleasant, packing and smoking experience. It packs easily, with a little tap on the side of the bowl. It burns readily and evenly so long as it is on the dry side. It burns, in fact, very well, much easier than tobacco of a similar cut that I have tried.

The flavor also sets this apart. It offers copious smoke with a rich, natural tobacco flavor. The cavendish offers just a hint of sweetness, along with the virginias, and adds complexity. Overall it is rich and not monotone if smoked slowly. I think of the overall experience as offering a "dry" smoke, both in flavor and smoking characteristics, but this is an oversimplification which does not do the blend justice. I have not found this to have any bite at all, nor have I found it to be a hot smoke. One of my favorites, especially in a really good smoking pipe.

As I update this review I wanted to add a note about pipe choice. This is strong blend in the nic department. Unless you can stomach that in a large pipe (which I cannot) I suggest a smaller sized bowl. I think taller and narrower works better with this than a really wide shallow bowl, but you may have different results. I find that I can still get 30-45 minutes in a small bowl and the overall experience is much more enjoyable.

Pipe Used: Ashton Old Church bulldog, 1x

Age When Smoked: 10 years

9 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	StevieB (2081)	2016-11-27		Medium to Strong	Extremely Mild	Full	Very Pleasant

Hermit - Captain Earle's - Honour Blend.

This review's from a 2oz tin, not the 8oz one.

The tobacco is presented as a single kake, rather than the way Bengal Slices and Hearth and Home's Ten to Midnight arrive: slithers of kake. It's medium brown in colour, with some lighter and darker spots, and a touch too moist. It takes quite a firm hand to crumble it; I twist and snap the kake into pieces then rub them in between my hands over the kitchen work surface, and then I allow some time to air.

Considering this contains Perique and Turkish, which can be a bit prone to cause the smoke to be overly sharp, it's a very well rounded taste: I get some good notes from both the Perique and Turkish, but also a drop of honey from the Cavendish, and a slight touch of Virginia-hay in the background. The temperature of the smoke sits about in the middle, and it doesn't bite me even if I really put strain into my puffs. Providing it's been given enough time to abate the moisture content it gives a good burn, but without an airing it will use a lighter full of fuel for one bowl!

I like the room-note, albeit a lot of folks would probably find it too strong, and the nicotine's easily more than medium.

This is very good, I'll happily highly recommend it.

Four stars.

Pipe Used: Mr Brog No. 52 Scoot

Age When Smoked: Three Months

Purchased From: Smokingpipes.com

8 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2015-12-10		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Full	Overwhelming

Single brick of pressed medium brown and a tin nose of red VA mixed with potting soil, with a far background of some kind of spice rack scent. Not terribly pleasant aroma, but I've smelled worse and enjoyed them.

Very simple to crumble this cake - no knife required, not even a fingernail. Loaded easily and stayed lit. Flavor was very full-bodied but not overly strong, particularly in nicotine content where it was decidedly medium. Notable about this one was the room note, which can best be described as indescribably horrible. Smelling this in the room would make the unsuspecting think that a furnace had blown, or the oven. Not a smell that's the least bit comforting to a homeowner, let's put it that way. The flavor was red Virginia tang melded with a heavy perique pepperspice and some oriental. I did not notice any Cavendish and certainly nothing resembling sweet. This was a robust, almost feral tobacco taste with a rough, coarse texture. Kind of cigar-like in a way. If someone wanted a blend that could be described as simply "tobacco-y" but had problems with burley, this might be one to reach for. Not very complex, but pretty singleminded of purpose... like a tiger! I finished the tin but can't do better than 2.5 stars for this - can't even round up. Just too unrefined for my personal tastes. But one that might make for some interesting blending experiments.

8 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2004-05-04		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

The Hermit blends have an interesting presentation. They are pressed together in two oblong bricks and packed in a tin that the same size and shape as the GLPease tins. Interestingly, the tins are also dated on the bottom using the exact same stampings that GLPease employs. Perhaps they are blended/packed by the same company?

There is no need to rub it out, as with a flake. The tobacco can be easily crumbled from the brick and into the pipe. The blend is mostly ribbon-cut red virginia. There are some light brown pieces (I assume the cavendish and Turkish) and I assume the light touches of nearly black are the perique. The perique touch is light. The cavendish is only slightly apparent; along with the Turkish it smooths out the peppery note of the perique. It has a little more body and stength than most medium Viginia/Perique blends. The Turkish adds richness and smoothness, adding an interesting variation to the VA/Perique theme.

This high-quality tobacco needs virtually no relights, and burns to a fine grey ash. I've smoked this in a large Peterson Sherlock Holmes bulldog and a medium Sasieni 4-dot canadian.

I will order this again, as it's an interesting change of pace from my usual VA/Perique staples. But the cost with shipping is a little prohibitive: $36 for 3 assorted 2-ounce tins, postpaid. You can order it here: http://pipestyle.com/

If it were available for less at my local tobacconist I would buy it more often. This is a fine blend, but it's competing with my favorites from the U.K. and GLPease, and costs considerably more.

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	PipeDan (1)	2005-10-22		Strong	Mild to Medium	Very Full	Pleasant

When I first tried this tobacco, it was at the Hermit table at the NYPC's show. It knocked me out with it's strong hit of nicotine! It also was very peppery and spicy. I was immediately intriged. Here was a natural virginia with perique that really satisified my taste buds for a potent virginia blend. The sample i tried was fully rubbed, but when i popped my first tin, it was pressed...in other words, a crumble cake. Preparation for a bowl can thus be a little messy, one should take care in rubbing or will result in tobacco dust. After numerous bowls, i also found it wise to leave some chunks to load into the bowl first, to provide a platform for loading the rest of the bowl. That way, you will not draw the smaller particles into your mouth. That said, you will be rewarded with a delicious smoke that gets stronger as you down the bowlful. It amazed me that it gives off volumes of thick smoke with very little effort. I also recommend not smoking on an empty stomach. It is now one of favorite virginia smokes in my almost exculsive virginia tobacco rotation! This one's a keeper!

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	RoundTwo (38)	2017-09-24		Very Strong	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

To me, it tastes like Kajun Kake with Oriental that gives a slightly smoky flavor, great for home, lots of nicotine which I like, small amount of tongue bite develops if you let it get too hot, non-aromatic VaPerCav with oriental to spice it up makes a unique blend for followers of the non-aromatic VaPerCav blends. If you have to sneak a bowl in the home office while the wife is home, this might be worth a try. Great for Sunday mornings when you need a little nicotine to jump-start the last day of the weekend. Definitely one of my weekend go-to blends.

Age When Smoked: Fresh

Purchased From: PipesAndCigars.com

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	HabaneroHardy (403)	2020-05-27		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Unnoticeable

I bought this one well over 6 months ago and from the looks of it I might have smoked it once. I re-discovered this one the other day and have been taking it out for a whirl. The tin is dated 12/31/18 and tin note is a light semi-sweet smell, faintly of hay maybe. The site labels this an Oriental but the tin denotes this a Virginia based blend. This smokes dry as in dry wine description, very little sweetness. Also, there is no Latakia in this blend either which is okay but my issue with this one is I am not really 100 percent sure what I am smoking. Is it Oriental or VA? This is not a bad blend but it does seem to have a slight identity crisis to me if I was analyzing it objectively. I smoked this mostly in the morning and maybe this might be a better blend in the evening. Okay, but the least of the Hermit tobaccos I like as it stands today. Tomorrow could be a different story, who knows?

Age When Smoked: Almost a year and a half.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	LiterarySmoker (143)	2021-01-02		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable

Those of you who have been reading these for a while now know that VaPers are pretty much my go-to. I like Latakia, but I always sit down with a pipe full of something like Bullseye Flake. I was very impressed with Dimond Head so I think Captain Earles may shine through again. I've been smoking it for about a week now.

When I opened my tin I found another well-pressed crumble cake. It looks like it contains a lot of decently sized ribbon. The tin note has some interesting smells. I can smell the red virginia, its tangy and citrusy. The Orientals are sour, and the Perique is giving some pleasant dark fruit. The cake is easy to rub out, and it stuffs nicely in the pipe. I find it has a decent moisture for smoking right out of the tin. It takes a light well, and requires only an average amount of relights.

Upon lighting I can taste the Red Virginia which is dark fruity, bready, and has a minor citrus taste. The Perique is obvious, it offers its characteristic dark fruit, while also giving the blend a healthy spice. The Orientals are in the background adding a tangy sourness. I do taste a little Cavendish toast and sweetness. I've pulled all these notes out slowly, but I have to admit the flavor profile is very simple.

The taste is a medium-full. There is ample smoke to fill your mouth and the flavor is robust. Lady N stopped by, and she wants to go out and have a few more drinks than normal. The strength is a medium-strong. I have smoked this on an empty stomach this week and while it didn't churn I did feel it in my head. So put a little food on the stomach before you light a deep bowl of this. I like this and I will say as VaPers go this is unique. I give it three stars.

Pipe Used: Peterson Aran 107

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: Smokingpipes.com

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	moniker (220)	2019-02-13		Medium to Strong	Very Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

Captain Earle’s Honor Blend seems like a good choice for when you don’t know what you want, but it’s not Latakia, and it has to be easier than differential calculus. Composition is light to medium red, to dark brown, short, slight ribbons pressed into a nice, easily managed krumble kake. The basic tin note is actually fairly deep and even intense, but there are significant overtones that are mostly rendered in a “higher frequency” that seems rather bright for the ingredients, like sourdough, paprika and cocoa over slightly earthy, moist hay. This tobacco smokes fine right from the tin, and better with some rest. The initial taste is a little saccharin for me, but not to worry, it settles down quickly into a nice, even smoke. Both strength and tastes rise to just over medium, with the slightly earthy, zesty, citrusy red VA providing the backbone. The Orientals are spicy but not really hot, likewise the Perique. Again, think, paprika, maybe some chili powder. There’s enough Cavendish to smooth and enrich the ample smoke. The lot is sweet, sour, and savory, also zesty at just above “mid-band”, and it only bites if you insist. The combusting scents and the tastes run parallel to the tin note, adding fragrant wood resins. Both the tastes and the scents deepen somewhat over the course of a bowl, and I like it better and better, to the last drop, which (hooray!) is easily gotten with regular tamping and even scant attention to cadence. Room note is better than tolerable. Aftertaste is a lingering best of the smoke.

If you (like moi) aim for four stars every time you smoke, CEHB can fill the bill without graying your hair. Just prime your chosen pipe with a “sacrifice” bowl or two, and you’re off to the races. 4 stars.

Pipe Used: #5 - 6 briars

Age When Smoked: from tin dated 04-23-18

Purchased From: 4noggins

Similar Blends: compare/contrast to C&D Redburn.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Dr. Scott (82)	2011-03-20		Strong	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable to Strong

My sample is just over one year old. Upon opening, an overwhelming molasses scent makes it difficult to resist taking a bite. This is not a broken flake, or a crumble cake, but a very dense plug composed of relatively coarse ribbons. It is impossible to break off and must be sliced with a knife. So, technically a cake because it is made from cut leaf, but behaves like a hard plug.

If not rubbed out, it will require frequent re-lights. Very mildly sweet, but at times has a nutty flavor, and at times is rather harsh. Bites like a mad dog. Burns very hot. The flavor is strong, but boring and lacking depth. The nicotine is strong. Unfortunately, the best part of the experience is the scent in the tin.

I'm giving it a second star just due to peer pressure. I wouldn't buy it again, but I will not throw it out either.

Best sliced off thinly with a very sharp knife, fully rubbed out, and in a larger pipe. A churchwarden stem helps to cool the smoke.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2004-09-02		Medium to Strong	Medium to Strong	Full	Tolerable

Honor Blend is a very satisfying smoke, but satisfying like a cigar. It has a strong presence to both the smoker and those in the room. It starts with a distinct cigar-like quality to its taste, aroma, and body. By the middle of the bowl, the fullness lessens to a degree. The sweetness of the red virginia and cavendish does not emerge until the last half of the bowl, and it is about this time that I needed to be more careful in my technique--slowing down to avoid it getting too hot. This a stout, non-latakia blend--stouter than I like for an everyday blend, but I'll be looking for that open tin on a hot summer night or a cool Sunday morning (these are cigar moments for me). One note: I find it easy to pack Honor Blend too tight, so I try to pack looser than I normally would for the medium ribbon cut. Overall rating: B-, special occasion smoke, room note very earthy.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	TheOtter (72)	2023-02-24		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant

The Virginias and Cavendish here are the top sirloin, with the Orientals and Perique being the seasoning rubbed on top, then pressed together in a crumble kake that's easy to break apart into your bowl.

This blend is like a good steak: rich with flavour and perfectly seasoned. Thoroughly delicious and not your typical Va/Per. Easily a 4/4 blend.

Pipe Used: White Elephant Serengeti

Age When Smoked: 6 months

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	PatrickBarkman (9)	2023-02-05		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

I did not enjoy this blend. Tastes acrid, in an herbaceous way. There is no sweetness from the Virginia, or even spice from the perique. It’s all just muddled together and bitter. Maybe it will be better with some age, but I wont be reaching for this anytime soon.

Age When Smoked: New

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	LucidEyes (1)	2022-10-19		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable

Hand's down my favorite tobacco blend. It does smoke a little bit dry, but it's still sweet and full flavored. The perfect Va/Per, with a bit or Turkish. Sweet, savory and s touch of spice from the perique. The cavendish is so mild, I suspect it's only there to add some body to the smoke. The dominant flavors are the Virginia and the Orientals, with the perique adding just enough not to subtle spice

Pipe Used: Jacono bent apple

Age When Smoked: 3 months

Purchased From: smokingpipes.com

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Badmedicine (51)	2022-04-19		Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

Lightning may strike twice, but eventually it won't. Likewise, it was inevitable that Captain Earle would eventually produce a dud. I'm unsure if there are severe consistency issues at the factory, or if our funny family of reviewers has wildly different tolerances for different tobaccos. Out of charity to the good Captain, I will lean towards the latter. This is not a bad blend, in any way. Its sole fault is a lack of "Wow Factor". Sadly, given tobacco prices today, that puts it on my "Do Not Reorder" list. Life is too short for "Just OK". A smoker of primarily straight Virginias would enjoy this, as that is the primary profile it offers. The additional tobaccos are present only as buffers and accents. The unsweetened Cavendish provides some slight toast notes, while reducing acidity; The Perique serves to bolster the nicotine content while accentuating the fruit notes of the base Virginias; the Orientals don't seem to do much of anything, beyond the occasional musty note. The general tasting notes are of dry grass and small amounts of orange peel. Nicotine content is moderate; right in the range that it will be too much for some, and not enough for others, namely myself. Despite my notoriously-terrible Virginia technique, this smokes without bite. Occasional tanginess comes through, and the general profile leans towards sweetness. The room note isn't terrible, but isn't great; reminded me (and my wife) of unfiltered Camels. Nostalgic for me (my grandmother smoked Straights), noxious to my wife. Smokes to the heel without relights or gurgle, even in a full-bent Bones. This could be a nice departure for fans of Capstan or Escudo; Perique fiends would do well to search elsewhere. It could even be an all-day blend for the right person. Unfortunately, I am not that person. In summation, remember your Dante: those "Whose lives earned neither honor nor bad fame" were still banished to the gates of the Inferno.

Pipe Used: Bones Oom Paul, Charatan Egg

Age When Smoked: Fresh

Purchased From: Smoking Pipes

Similar Blends: Capstan, Escudo, MacB Virginia Flake, DE Gatsby Flake, or any other of the multitude of tepid, Virginia-based smokes..

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	½ bowl (103)	2017-10-02		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable

This crumble cake is a sweet, but not cloying red Virginia that is skillfully enhanced by the other components of the blend. I would call the taste somewhat bread-like, with touches of woodiness and pungency to set off the characteristic sweetness of the red Va. Rather than being sharp and hay-like, it resides more toward the wine-like end of the Va spectrum. Despite the unity of flavor, it is not one dimensional. It possesses sufficient clarity to enable one to taste the Turkish and Perique leaf peeking around the edges of the base tobacco. I cannot say the same for the Cavendish. It must be in there doing its job – but it does not stand out at all.

The Perique in this blend carries the dark or bottom end flavor very nicely, and with little, if any, of Perique’s notorious peppery pinch. The Perique tingles do make a gentle appearance toward the end of the smoke, but I find it less distracting than the ashy taste that also appears just before the bowl goes out.

I think this is a very satisfying, full-bodied smoke with great mouth feel; it produces a great volume of thick, chewy smoke; and it is very smooth. It smokes coolly and dryly; it cannot be coaxed into biting; and there are no lighting and burning issues in this slow burning blend. For me, the only knock on this blend is the room note. Not really awful (to me it is kind of good) – but it is more cigar-like than the War Department would like to smell. If you have enjoyed Anniversary Kake and Marble Kake, you will find Honor Blend to be an uncommon and tasty variant on the theme; and I recommend that you try some.

Age When Smoked: 2 yrs. in the tin.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Daniel W. (23)	2017-08-27		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant

When you open the tin the aromas are very convidative. I first cut with a knife some slices and rubbed them out. The packing was very easy and it lights very easy. It has grassy and earthy flavours. Medium body, medium strength, low to medium bitterness and midly sweetness at the end. A very good blend, something unique that I've tried.

Pipe Used: Peterson POY 2016 w/ Filter

Age When Smoked: None

Purchased From: Tabacosbr

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Stefanos (222)	2017-01-23		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Strong

The tin I received was bulging probably from the tobacco inside fermenting so I opened straight away. It smelled of stale yoghurt. I took the whole kake apart to let it breathe and dry a little as it was rather moist. It contains rough ribbon cuts of leafs of varying lengths, most deep brown coloured. I jarred the tobacco and came back to it in a few days. Now it smelled of earthy tobacco but the pungent sour lactic notes had not dissipated.

After the above treatment I tried the tobacco. Mechanically it behaves well, not fussy at all, it needs though a light packing to stay lit. But the tobacco is quite potent for me, smooth I have to say but very strong. Now I can handle strong tobacco for an occasional use but here I did not enjoy the flavors either. The most prominent of which is a stout cigar-like one backed by a good deal of black peppery spiciness. It has an ashy character as well. I can see how one can enjoy this blend but I didn’t. The tobacco is of good quality but I cannot understand to what the blender did aim when making this mix. The Orientals, if they contribute at all, it does not show (are they Cavendished as well?). This is definitely not an Oriental blend and I cannot taste Virginias either.if I wanted to be harsh I would call it a kitchen-sink blend. To me it’s like a Cavendish (which is not very sweet and in any case any sweetness is balanced by more bitter elements) blend with lots of Perique. Overall to me Honor Blend is overwhelming with no real redeeming feature. There may be something wrong with my tin which contained fermenting tobacco but either way I won’t be buying again.

Recommended only to those who seek a spicy cigar-like experience in pipe tobacco and do not mind strong smokes.

Update six months later: I seem to have got many things wrong with this tobacco of which I smoked less than half a tin and jarred the rest for six months, or else either it or I have changed significantly in this period. First of all, the yogurt smell has dissipated. Also, as I taste it again, I find that it's nowhere near as strong a tobacco as I initially thought and the taste I find now very aggreable to say the least. It tastes Burley-like, like a dark juicy cigar with a sweet honey/maple-like undertone which tastes very natural. It's also spicy and a little ashy but bitterness is counterbalanced by ample sweetness. I can now also discern the sour taste from the Orientals. Quite delicious. An upgrade from two to four stars. Still recommended to cigar-leaf aficionados.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Phototone (9)	2011-05-03		Medium to Strong	Medium to Strong	Medium to Full	Tolerable

The previous reviewer is right..this is rather unique. It is a crumble-cake style tobacco. I don't know about others, but I get a bitter taste from this as part of the flavor profile. I rather like the tobacco, but I don't like the bitter component.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2009-03-06		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

Upon opening the tin I found a little square cake of tobacco that looked like a brownie. It smelled great, like a good virginian. The cake was drier and crumblier than most other cakes/flakes I have tried. On the tin they call it a "crumble cake" and that is a good description.

It is easy to break up and breaks up into fairly even peices, there is no "dust" that often occurs with other cakes/flakes. Once it is broken up, I noticed that it seemed a bit dry. I was dubios.

I smoked my first few bowls in a tall Radice.

It lit well and produced nice, white, dense smoke. Strong taste of virgina and possibly some burley, but not too strong. Good tobacco taste. Does not smoke wet and soapy as cake/flake tobacco often does for me.

Good strength and consistant taste all the way to the bottom of the bowl.

For me, this is excellent tobacco. I plan on smoking it alot in the future.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2007-05-31		Medium to Strong	Mild	Very Full	Tolerable

I could never smoke this tobacco everyday, it is simply too strong. It is nice every once and a while. It has the body of a cigar and the taste of a very strong Virgina. The second half of the bowl is the best part the VA's start to sweeten up and the Perique starts to take on a spicy note, very well balanced but too strong for my taste.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JaWiBr (565)	2023-02-09		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable to Strong

Tin note of sweet plum wine, sugar and spices. Tobacco is a brown, light brown and tan marbled Krumble Kake Moisture content is a little moist, some may want to dry it out a bit. breaks and rubs out with a little effort. Burns slow with few relights. The strength is medium to strong and nic is medium. No flavoring detected. Taste is medium to full and mostly consistent, with notes of Rasin and figs, sour stewed plums, savory, floral, very woody, spiced bread, zesty orange peel, tart fruit, mild vinegary, sour hay, lemon grassy, very earth, acidic/spicy, a sweet tangy fermented background note, and a peppery retro. Virginia is leading with Oriental/Turkish and Perique supporting. Cavendish is supporting from the rear. Room note is tolerable to strong, and aftertaste is great.

Pipe Used: 1992 Ashton Sovereign XX Billard

Age When Smoked: 5 years

Purchased From: smokingpipes.com

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	natibo (169)	2016-07-15		Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

This is awesome stuff. Nice crumble cake. Nice nicotine hit. Nice Virginia sweetness to it. It was a little to tangy for my taste. really 3.5 stars. Very high quality tobacco.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Original Big Tex (4)	2015-11-24		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

Wowzers! This stuff is great! Opened the tin a few months ago, smoked a bowl and jarred it. The first bowl from the fresh can had a very heady, thick and oily smoke. Almost too much to enjoy, but I am a persistent son of a bitch....

I recently opened the jar and loaded a pipe with some crumbles from the cake and set it ablaze. To my amazement, this blend has become a new favorite! The periqey goodness coupled with the tangy Virginias and the Turkish to soften it up is rounded out with cavendish to add just a touch of sweetness to the finish.

Being a cigar smoker, this blend has plenty of flavor and nicotine to satisfy the toughest! Just ordered two more pounds....

Pipe Used: Several Peterson Briars

Age When Smoked: 18 months

Purchased From: Smokingpipes.com

Similar Blends: Oak Alley, but a bit sweeter. I smoked them side by side for the comparison..

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Dude (9)	2013-12-02		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable

Does not strike me a a typical VP , like Escudo , scottish cake .

If there is Perique in this blend its a very small amount. Other choice tobaccos add real complexity to the blend so there is a lot of flavor- more than i find with
VP blends or with straight Virginias.

Lost of smoke production and very dry smoke- no bite at all.

My two tins both came ready to smoke so no real drying time required.

Packaged in a small plug which is similar to lots of C&D plugs .

I think the description is spot on as as coming from a lot of English / Lat forward blends one can get used to lots of flavor with minimal effort.

This blend has lots of flavor with almost no effort and I can just puff away - easy.

Would be a 4 star for me but its tends to get dull in the final part of the bowl.

That aside I would reckon those that like VP blend but are sensitive to lots of Perique may like this blend.

Pipe Used: non bent pipes reserved for Virginia's

Age When Smoked: 1 year

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2010-09-13		Medium	None Detected	Full	Tolerable

I like this one so much that I emailed Craig Tarler to tell him so. It not complex but it's full of great VaPer flavor without being cloying or overwhelming. I'm usually overly sensitive to nicotine content but, strangely, considering some of the other reviewer's comments, this one didn't bother me at all. It's a little too heavy and too expensive for an everyday smoke for me but I'll surely be buying more of it including a tin ot two to set aside to see how it responds to age.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pipemanuk (76)	2008-07-09		Mild	Mild	Mild	Unnoticeable

Bought a couple of tins of this on Ebay and opened one today.

I have no idea how old it is as there's no code stamped on the tins....however the one I opened was bone, dusty dry and smelt very faintly leathery with a hint of faded richness.

I thought I'd get the tobacco out of the very small tin...it really was rammed in; only to find that the tin has rusted on the inside at the base and the last quarter of the tobacco was spoilt. This is the second tin that I have found to kind of rot from the inside (the other being a McClelland). There was absolutely no sign on the outside that there was rust or any chemical reaction going on with the can.

I have set the remaining tobacco to rehydrate and will review in due course. I really only post this to give you a warning about the possibility of you getting a spoilt tin. I might up the stars a bit after I've got the tobacco smokeable.

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