[Slow Triathlete]

Louisiana Red is another bulk VaPer that is available from Russ and the people at pipesandcigars.com. It is one of their Hearth and Home blends. I was very excited when I first read the description of this blend. It was taking my favorite Virginia tobacco (Red) and turning it into a VaPer. I thought to myself, “Great, Hal O The Wynd with a generous amount of Perique thrown in there.”

Here is how the blend is described on their site:

A great sweet and spicy blend containing two different Red Virginias and a good amount of outstanding St. James Perique. The rich, round sweetness of the Virginias are complimented by the plum and pepper hints of the cool-burning Perique. An overwhelming favorite of our local pipe club members.

The blend is mostly reddish with black perique here and there. It is kind of a long strand cut and smells divine in the bag. Mine arrived with a medium amount of moisture in the bag. I dried it out for about 15 minutes and packed the pipe with ease.

The first half of the pipe was rather harsh. The aroma was good but the two tastes just didn’t seem to meld together very well in the beginning. One minute it tasted like pure Virginia and then the next minute I was hit with pure Perique. It didn’t blend together harmoniously like it should have. I will note here that I came back to this blend after letting it sit for about 2 months and the tastes had melded together beautifully. When I originally received it the blend may have been a bit raw.

For both the fresh blend and the aged blend, the sweetness of the Virginias seems to become muted towards the end of the bowl and it becomes a bit sour. Not unpleasantly sour but you can tell the difference. I would say that this blend does have a decent amount of Perique in there.

Overall, this is a very good blend. If you get a batch that is raw like mine was in the beginning, then set it aside for awhile and come back to it. I promise that you won’t be disappointed. While this certainly does not have the nicotine hit of Hal O The Wynd I will say that the Virginias tasted very similar. I think that this one will take over the #11 slot.

This is probably the last VaPer blend that I will review of the Hearth & Home Series. There is another VaPer blend listed on their page called LG Heart Virginia but it only lists that it has a “whisper” of Perique in there. Since I like a medium to full amount of Perique, this one probably will never be ordered for the Showdown. I am really impressed with the Hearth & Home’s selection of VaPers. They have 4 that I reviewed for this Showdown plus the LJ Heart Virginia and Virginia Spice, which is a VaPer with cigar leaf blended in. For a blending house to have that many Vaper blends is outstanding. All of the ones that I reviewed were each different in their own way. I really learned a lot about flavors while smoking these.

Here’s the ratings so far:

1) McConnell Scottish Cake
2) Samuel Gawith’s St. James Flake
3) Escudo
4) GL Pease Filmore
5) H & H AJ’s VaPer
6) Peretti’s Park Square
7) H & H Rolando’s Own
8) H & H Anniversary Kake
9) G & H Louisiana Flake
10) C & D Night Train
11) H & H Louisiana Red
12) Reiner’s Long Golden Flake
13) Treasures of Ireland - Limerick
14) Dorchester
15) Luxury Bullseye Flake
16) McClelland Bulk 2015
17) GL Pease Telegraph Hill
18) Kajun Kake
19) Luxury Navy Flake