Virginia/Perique (VaPer) Showdown

[Slow Triathlete]

Hi Everyone,

As a lot of you know, I started this Showdown over on the old website at the beginning of last year and would like to keep it going here. I will be copying over all of the older reivews for everyone just so you don't have to keep going back to the older site.

I just finished a new review for Low Country Tobacco's Waccamaw which I will put at the end of the reviews.

[Slow Triathlete]

Well I smoked my first two contestants over the past couple of days. I decided to put Escudo against Stokkebye's Luxury Bullseye since they are so similar in appearance. Also, because I'm waiting on my order of 2015 and Anniversary Kake from pipesandcigars.

I smoked these pretty much back to back in seperate pipes. One day I smoked Escudo first and then followed it about an hour later with LBE and then did the opposite the next day.

I would have to say that Escudo appealed to me more. LB is kind of an Escudo Lite if you will. Escudo had a more pleasing taste and aroma to me. It seemed that the tobacco was married a little bit better than the LBE.

The LBE was also a lot more dry coming out of the pouch. The Escudo stayed a bit more moist in the tin that it was in when I cracked it open. This might have to do with the better flavoring. The Escudo had a more date/fig/dried grapes smell while the LBE had a more grassy/hay smell. The LBE was still sweet smelling but in less of a fruity way.

Both tobaccos lit and stayed burning well. I dried them out about even so this didn't surprise me. The LBE kind of lost it's taste and started to sour at the end of the bowl.

Here are the standings so far:

1. Escudo
2. LBE

I plan on tackling the Dorchester and the CAO Treasures of Ireland - Limerick next.

After that, I'm going to pit the two Kake tobaccos against each other.

[Slow Triathlete]

Well today was a Dorchester day. I went through the whole sample that Ultramag sent to me last month (Thanks again!!). And after my enjoyment of this blend I've decided that it is now in 2nd place.

Like most people who reviewed this blend, I found that this had the least amount of Perique in it compared to the others that I have smoked so far. However, the taste was still great and somewhat creamy. The perique and the virginias were seperate in the beginning and it was a bit spicy when I finally got it going. After about a third of the bowl the blend settled down and melded together well.

I did have an issue lighting this one. I dried it correctly but I had one clump of tobacco sitting on top that refused to light. After two attempts I scooped that piece out of there and it lit perfectly. This blend stayed lit better than the other two so far. It required two relights but I believe that it was more my fault because my brother called and I was trying to smoke, review, and talk to him all at the same time.

I would recommend this blend to anyone who is just getting into VaPers and doesn't want to get blasted with Perique right off the bat.

The standings so far:

1) Escudo
2) Esoterica Dorchester
3) Stokkebye Luxury Bullseye Flake

On a side note, I found a sample of Esoterica Dunbar that will enter into the contest somewhere.

[Slow Triathlete]

C & D Kajun Kake

Well, I smoked about three bowls of this yesterday. I had had this before but wanted to see if my opinion on this had changed. This is one of those blends that I really, really wanted to like but I just don't and I can't really put my finger on it.

These come in small brick-like cakes that are wrapped very carefully and placed in the tin. The pre-light aroma is awesome. The cakes smell like chocolate brownies!! This is one of those blends where the smell doesn't match the taste. The cakes arrive right around the right moisture level so I only let these dry for about 20 minutes before I packed my pipe.

The main components in this blend are Red Virginia Cavendish and Perique. Now you might be fooled into thinking that since it is a cavendish then it is going to be sweet. You would be far from the truth. It is not sweet at all and that may be why I don't really like it. It has a very dark taste similar to unsweetened chocolate or bakers chocolate to me. Someone on Tobaccoreviews.com likened it to smoking a very dry cigar. I would agree with that. There is also quite a bit of Perique in this blend but the virginias and the perique never seem to blend to me. Not to say that this is a bad blend, it just wasn't the taste that I was expecting. I think that the care of packaging and overall quality of the tobacco makes this an above average blend but you have to like the taste of it.

Overall, like I said above, I think that this is a quality blend but it just wasn't my cup of tea. I will probably trade this one out with someone who either wants to try it or really likes the taste of this one. If you're interested in a trade them PM me. I have 1 whole cake and about half of the other one left.

Overall Standings:

1) Escudo
2) Dorchester
3) Luxury Bullseye
4) Kajun Kake

In other news, I'm still waiting on my Scottish Cake, 2015, and Anniversary Kake to come in from pipesandcigars.com. I called there yesterday and they were waiting on the Scottish Cake to come in before they shipped. Really nice people there!! Anyway, I will probably concentrate on the CAO TOI Limerick and the Esoterica Dunbar until the others come in.

[Slow Triathlete]

Well, after a couple of day’s absence, I’m ready to review another blend. This time it is the CAO/Dan Treasures of Ireland-Limerick blend. I also have the good news that the order that I placed with pipesandcigars.com is finally going to get here. Apparently they were waiting on the McConnell Scottish Cake to come in. With that said, I will now be able to review the McC 2015, H&H Anniversary Kake, and the McConnell Scottish Cake.

Right, now back to the Limerick blend. I have to say that this blend smelled better in the tin than any of the others so far. It has a very sweet Virginia smell and to tell you the truth, I didn’t really smell any Perique in there. This blend comes in flake form so I grabbed two flakes and rubbed them out to dry. I let this dry for about 2 hours as it is rather moist in the tin.

It packed decently even with the long flake strands in there. It was a little hard to light up but once it was lit it burned very well. I had mostly sweet Virginia tastes in the first part of the bowl but then the Perique kicked in a bit and stayed present for the rest of the bowl. It may have been that when I rubbed it out and packed the pipe I may have separated the tobaccos a bit. Either way, once it got started I knew that this was going to be a great blend! This blend is kind of in between Escudo and Dorchester as to the amount of Perique involved. It isn’t hidden in the background like Dorchester but it’s not really in your face like Escudo.

This was a well behaved blend and it didn’t require many relights. It burns down to a grayish-white ash that is very easy to tamp. It burns very cool and I never had any hint of bite from this blend. I have to admit that this blend didn’t wow me the first time that I smoked it. But after the first, it got better and better with each consecutive smoke. It took me a while to notice the subtleties of the different Virginias playing off of the Perique. It is medium in strength and can probably be smoked throughout the day.

All in all, I really liked this blend and will definitely buy more. This blend almost unseated Escudo as my favorite. Almost. I rank this one a solid second.

Here are the standings so far:

1) Escudo
2) Treasures of Ireland – Limerick
3) Dorchester
4) Luxury Bullseye Flake
5) Kajun Kake

[Slow Triathlete]

Okay, looks like I’m back on track with the reviews here. I was going to review the Hearth & Home Anniversary Kake in this post but the past few bowls that I have had shows that this blend is still too wet for my tastes and it would not be fair to judge it in that state. So instead I will be reviewing the Robert McConnell Scottish Cake, not to be confused with their Scottish Flake offering. I know that IHT has recommended it in the past as a good VaPer and when I called pipesandcigars.com to order it, I told them about the VaPer comparison that I was doing. The gentleman on the phone stated that they had some on order but I had to wait for it because this was his favorite VaPer. With those two recommendations and what I’ve read on tobaccoreviews.com, I knew that this was going to be a good, possibly great, blend.

I got the tin the other day and I immediately cracked it open and took a whiff. Mmmm, it smelled like the sour fruitiness of the Virginias and the peppery spice of the Perique. I think that I read somewhere that this might have a small amount of burley mixed in there for good measure. It is a course cut flake and I rubbed it out a little more to help with drying. The appearance is kind of a red, and light and dark browns (mostly dark brown). I let it air out and dry for about 15-20 minutes and then loaded it up into my Peterson Bent Bulldog.

Right off of the bat this was a great tasting blend. Lighting was extremely easy with only one false light. As the bowl progressed, the flavor got fuller and fuller and leveled out at about a medium to full in taste and strength. The Virginias provide the sweetness throughout and while there is a decent amount of Perique in this blend it never overpowers the taste. It’s always there in the background and weaves itself in and out through the Virginias. It has a great, lively flavor that never goes flat. Also, I never had any kind of tongue bite even though I’m sure I got it going hot a few times. The Virginias never go sour either.

The smoke aroma comes off as sweet and fruity and for some reason it smells a bit chocolaty to me. Not sure why that is or if it’s another scent that I just can’t identify but it is close to chocolaty.

Now, I know that I’m going to cause a stir by saying this but I enjoyed this more than Escudo. And the tin of Escudo that I’ve been smoking from is 4 years old. Escudo seemed to have a lot of ups and downs throughout smoking it whereas this blend is steady throughout. It burns slow and it didn’t require a lot of relights from me. With that said, this is just me and my opinion. I know that Escudo has a huge following and I’m one of them but I’m ranking this one above Escudo. Not far above.

Here are the standings so far:

1) McConnell – Scottish Cake
2) Escudo
3) Treasures of Ireland – Limerick
4) Dorchester
5) Luxury Bullseye Flake
6) Kajun Kake


Here are the blends that are remaining:

Dunbar
McClelland Bulk 2015
H & H Anniversary Kake
Bayou Morning (Just received this in a PIF so I thought that I’d include it)

[Slow Triathlete]

So, I decided to bundle all of the remaining bulk blends together into one post because only one of them really knocked my socks off. These three include McClelland’s Bulk 2015, Hearth & Home Anniversary Kake, and I just recently got some Stokkebye Luxury Navy Flake so I thought that I would include it in here.

I’ll start off with the ones that didn’t really impress me. First off is Stokkebye’s Luxury Navy Flake. When I put my nose down into this one I didn’t really smell much and what I did smell was more like buttered popcorn than any kind of Virginia or Perique. Weird, but that's what I smelled. This comes in small flakes that are a bit smaller than Orlik’s Golden Sliced flakes. It had the right amount of moisture right off the bat so I rubbed some out and packed it in.

To summarize the whole smoke I would say that it was bland. Bland to the point of monotony. I kept hoping that maybe, just maybe the taste, strength, or spiciness would develop somewhere but it didn’t. Nothing stood out to me with this blend. Oh and it had a bite like a rabid dog when I smoked it a bit too fast. This one is going to the bottom of the list.

Up next was McClelland’s Bulk 2015 blend. Originally this blend was a pain in the butt because it came extremely wet and no matter how much I rubbed it out it never seemed to dry out. Finally, I put my sample on a cutting board and minced it as I do garlic. It finally broke up small enough that it was able to dry out. I did smoke a bowl before it was dried out enough. I was extremely disappointed because I had to relight so many times that I couldn’t take notes well enough to give a proper review. After chopping this blend into oblivion I was able to smoke it almost to the bottom of the bowl. Even though this blend is pretty good for a bulk blend, I feel that the amount of prep work just isn’t worth it to me. However, if you are very patient with this then you will be rewarded with a fine bulk blend. The different Virginias taste very good against the amount of Perique that is in this blend. Taste-wise this was a very good blend but like I said earlier the amount of work to get it there just isn’t for me. I put this one just above the Kajun Kake blend because the taste was a lot better than the Kajun Kake.

And finally, Hearth & Home’s Anniversary Kake. This blend is made for pipesandcigars.com by master blender Russ Ouellette. I had never had any of his blends before this one but everyone raves about his skill. After tasting this blend I believe them. I ordered 4 ounces of this about a month ago. I spoke with someone there before I got my order and he stated that when they make this, they make it in a 3 lb cake and then split it out from there. He also stated that they run the machinery that makes this blend pretty much 24 hours a day to keep up with demand. My sample was about an inch thick and looked like it had been ripped off of the larger block. It was extremely dark brown and smelled wonderful. The only way to get this blend smokable is to rip off a hunk, rub it out and then rip off another hunk. By the time that I got done my hands were a bit stained but I didn’t mind because it was fun rubbing it out. This is a hard blend to describe when you rub this out. It just kind of falls apart and packs into the pipe extremely easy. I went to do my false light and soon realized that this was all I needed to get this blend going. From there this blend never stopped surprising me. This bulk blend was better than a lot of tinned blends that I have tried so far. The description on their website states that there are many different Virginias in this blend, from Brown to Lemon and it has a healthy dose of Perique added in. Although I’m not experienced enough to know that difference in taste between a Brown or a Lemon Virginia, I can say that this blend is delicious. The flavors change throughout the smoke and the Perique really kicks in towards the end of the bowl. I thoroughly recommend this blend not only as a good, cheap bulk blend but possibly as an everyday smoke. I plan on grabbing a couple of pounds of this, separating it into smaller samples and cellaring it. I want to see how this blend changes over time. This blend has now taken over 3rd place.


Okay, here are the results so far:

1) McConnell Scottish Cake
2) Escudo
3) H & H Anniversary Kake
4) Treasures of Ireland – Limerick
5) Dorchester
6) Luxury Bullseye Flake
7) McConnell Bulk 2015
8) Kajun Kake
9) Luxury Navy Flake

After several people requested this be added, I was finally able to pick up some Solani 633. In addition, I grabbed some Gawith’s St. James Flake as well. I also have Dunbar and Bayou Morning Flake to add as well.

I never knew how many good VaPer blends were out there until I started this. I hope that these reviews are helping everyone out because it’s been a lot of fun reviewing and judging these.

[Slow Triathlete]

Okay, so I’m finally sitting down and smoking the much touted Filmore by GL Pease. I have to say that when I first opened this tin I was immediately mad because I could swear that it smelled like it had Latakia in there. Well, after airing out for a bit I noticed that whatever that initial strong odor was it was fading and was pretty much gone by the time I finished drying this stuff out.

It’s kind of funny how I came about adding this stuff to the showdown. I was calling down to smokingpipes.com about getting some info on the new Peterson that I wanted to buy and I got talking to a guy down there named Adam. Now I’ve been in their store a few times and Adam is the guy I always go to. He’s a young guy, probably in his mid to late twenties and kind of eclectic. The first time that I met him he was wearing some plaid pants straight out of the seventies, a black t shirt, and some horn rimmed glasses. I was a bit taken aback by his appearance but quickly found out that he is incredibly knowledgeable about pipes and pipe tobacco. He has a quick wit and a very dry sense of humor. Anyway, I digress. I had told Adam about my VaPer Showdown the last time I was in the shop probably about a month ago. Well on the phone the other day he asked me how it was going. I replied that I had never realized how many VaPers were out there and when I think I have most of the good ones covered someone suggests another one. He kind of laughed and said, “Well, I was talking to an older gentleman the other day about your comparison and he stated that it would be a ‘Bloody Travesty if I didn’t include Filmore’”. Now, I’m unsure if I have ever committed a Bloody Travesty in my whole life and I certainly don’t want to start now. With that said, here’s my review of Filmore.

After I got it dried out and aired out a bit I lit up the first of five bowls before I wrote this review. If there is anything to be said about GL Pease I will say that his tobacco is consistent. Every bowl was exactly like the other and there were never any hidden surprises or let downs. This blend comes in what I would call a broken flake. There were still some pretty big pieces in there that I rubbed out so that the whole tin was pretty consistent size-wise. The appearance is mostly dark brown with some lighter or darker spots here and there. This is listed as being a Red Virginia with a “generous” amount of Louisiana Perique mixed in.

This blend packs really well. So well that I had to dump it a few times because I felt that I had packed it too tight. Upon lighting this blend up I was greeted with great billowing white clouds of some of the creamiest tobacco I have ever tasted. It lasted through the first five or six puffs and then the perique joined in it created a mix of both creamy and spicy, peppery and chocolaty that I haven’t encountered in any of the blends so far in the showdown.

About halfway through the bowl I also started to detect some hints of caramel but very faint and somewhat muted in the background. Something that I also found is that this is a very slooooooowwwwww burning blend. It will keep you around for awhile but it is worth the extra time.

The end of the bowl was more of the same but I was finally realizing just how much nicotine is in this blend. It’s not bad but it is definitely noticeable.

Now this blend is definitely not a sweet Virginia blend as are most of the others so far. This one I can only classify by saying that it is mellow. Mellow in a good way. Mellow like waking up after an afternoon nap or going to a jazz bar to drink and hang out. That’s what this blend is like. No bite, no hassle, pure enjoyment.

I thoroughly enjoyed this blend but I don’t think that the taste is as good as Scottish Cake or Escudo. But this is above Anniversary Kake in quality.

1) McConnell Scottish Cake
2) Escudo
3) GL Pease Filmore
4) H & H Anniversary Kake
5) Treasures of Ireland – Limerick
6) Dorchester
7) Luxury Bullseye Flake
8) McClelland Bulk 2015
9) Kajun Kake
10) Luxury Navy Flake

[Slow Triathlete]

I was intrigued by the “gift donation” to my VaPer challenge that I received from EvanS and decided that I would go ahead and review one of the blends that he sent me. The blend that I chose was Telegraph Hill from GL Pease. This is the second entry on this showdown from Pease, Filmore is a hard one to beat but we will see how Telegraph Hill ranks.

The sample that I got was a bit too dry for my tastes so I put the sample in a bowl and put a wet towel over the top of it for about 4 hours. After that I pulled some out and started loading my pipe. This stuff was really easy to load and tamped down really easily.

Upon lighting this blend up I was greeted with very, very mild Virginias. I didn’t taste any Perique in there yet but since I have experienced this before with other blends I wasn’t too worried about it. This blend burns very cleanly and doesn’t require any relights.

Okay, getting near the middle of the bowl and I am still waiting for any kind of appearance from the Perique. I get subtle whiffs of it as I’m smoking but nothing that ever tastes like it in my draw. Now I had read some of the reviews on tobaccoreviews.com and knew ahead of time that this blend was pretty light on the Perique but I certainly wasn’t expecting this.

Down at the bottom of the bowl now and there has been the vague appearance of Perique right near the end of the smoke.

Overall, I didn’t like the blend as a VaPer blend. As a Virginia it was pretty good. It was very mild and never presented a problem either to my tongue or to the burn of the blend. This blend would probably serve as a good bridge for a straight Virginia smoker to start down the VaPer road but I think that anyone who is a VaPer smoker will find this blend way too plain. This one will take 9th position because it is so low in Perique. With that said, I still enjoyed it better than Kajun Kake and Navy Flake.

1) McConnell Scottish Cake
2) Escudo
3) GL Pease Filmore
4) H & H Anniversary Kake
5) Treasures of Ireland – Limerick
6) Dorchester
7) Luxury Bullseye Flake
8) McClelland Bulk 2015
9) GL Pease Telegraph Hill
10) Kajun Kake
11) Luxury Navy Flake

[Slow Triathlete]

Okay, so I have smoked a few bowls worth of Reiner’s Long Golden Flake and am finally ready to review it.

First off, I have to touch on what this stuff looks like coming out of the can. I received this in a New to Pipes trade. It came in a big golden 100g can that looked like a gaudy German Christmas gift. Very little of the writing on the can is in English and most of it is in German. And there really isn’t a description of what is inside the can. Anyway, when I popped the lid I was very surprised to find what was inside. It had a total of 3 flakes in there that were about 4 inches wide and 15 inches long all wound up in there begging to be rubbed out. They looked like FVF flakes on steroids to be exact.

The tin aroma was very “Virginia-ey” with the normal dried fruit (raisons, dates, etc) smell wafting from inside. I could smell a little bit of Perique in there but not much. The flakes themselves were very golden in color (hence the name) but there were dark flecks mixed in here and there.

I went ahead and rubbed out the whole tin because I’m not what you would call skilled at smoking tobacco in its flaked form. I usually end up getting frustrated and then being mad the whole smoke so I just avoid that by rubbing it out fully. Once this was at the consistency that I like I went ahead and packed a bowlful. The tobacco was a bit moist but nothing like McC’s 2015 or some other blends that I have seen.

Lighting this up was fairly easy. I think it took about 3 matches to finally get this one going. During the first half of the bowl this was pretty much a sweet Virginia smoke. The Perique would slide in and out every once in awhile making its presence known but was not the main component of the first half of the bowl. I would say that the first part of this smoke was going rather well. It was a very smooth, easy smoke. Based on the taste I can tell that this blend has a lot of high quality tobacco in it. Once the blend got going I didn’t have to relight during the first half.

In the second half of this blend, the Perique seemed to make an appearance more often and with a bit more strength. And the blend turned a bit creamier smooth and had a bit of a buttery taste to it. I know that this blend also is supposed to have a bit of White Burley in it so that may have brought about the creamy, buttery taste. I’m not sure. It was very pleasant however.

Overall, this is a very well put together blend and is made with some high quality tobacco. It has an initial flavor very similar to FVF but has some different taste undertones as you progress through the smoke. The price is another concern for me. While this is a fantastic blend, unless I win the lottery someday it will be in my rotation only as a “treat” smoke and not a daily smoke. If money is not a problem for you then I would say buy a few tins. One to smoke now and a few to cellar. If money is a problem for you then I would suggest that you try this at least once in your pipe smoking lifetime. It’s worth the extra $$ to try once.

For the taste and the smoothness of this blend I think that it now holds the 5th place position in the showdown. I feel that it has a higher quality tobacco than those below it but the Perique amount wasn’t enough to go any higher.

1) McConnell Scottish Cake
2) Escudo
3) GL Pease Filmore
4) H & H Anniversary Kake
5) Reiner’s Long Golden Flake
6) Treasures of Ireland – Limerick
7) Dorchester
8) Luxury Bullseye Flake
9) McClelland Bulk 2015
10) GL Pease Telegraph Hill
11) Kajun Kake
12) Luxury Navy Flake

[Slow Triathlete]

Okay, this time my review will focus on another VaPer blend from pipesandcigars.com. This one is Hearth & Homes AJ’s VaPer. As with most of the H & H blends, this one is blended by Russ Oullette. This is how it is described on their site:

Blended with Andrew (AJ) Smith, this is a different turn on the Virginia/Perique genre. A variety of red Virginias is combined with a generous amount of Perique, and the mixture is slightly mellowed and sweetened by Green River black Cavendish.

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. Like I stated above, this is by far the best bulk VaPer I have tried in this Showdown. I have two others from them, Louisiana Red and Virginia Spice, that I can’t wait to smoke. This one has taken over 4th place.

1) McConnell Scottish Cake
2) Escudo
3) GL Pease Filmore
4) H & H AJ’s VaPer5) H & H Anniversary Kake
6) Reiner’s Long Golden Flake
7) Treasures of Ireland - Limerick
8) Dorchester
9) Luxury Bullseye Flake
10) McClelland Bulk 2015
11) GL Pease Telegraph Hill
12) Kajun Kake
13) Luxury Navy Flake

[Slow Triathlete]

Well I finally got to smoke some of Perreti’s Park Square over the past few days. A few people were kind enough to send some my way and now I have around 4 ounces of the stuff!! Thanks everyone.

This is one of the house blends put together by the Perreti company at their store in Boston. Here is the description of the blend on their website:

Red Virginia, Matured Virginia and Stoved Virginia are delicately spiced with just the right amount of Perique to create a rich and complex blend whose character evolves and emerges throughout the bowl.

Boy was I surprised by the appearance and texture of this blend. It is listed on tobaccoreviews as a “broken flake” but the sample that I got would be classified more as a ribbon cut. The only word that I can think of to describe it is fluffy. It is very fluffy and springy and at first appearance appears to be really damp. Boy was I wrong. This blend seems to defy the moisture rules that I have come to learn. Packing it was extremely easy and it pushed down into the bowl without any pressure having to be exerted on it.

The light was also easy. I had to wait for it to go out after the false light because it wanted to keep going!! Once this was lit it was off to the races!! I now see why this is one of everyone’s favorites. And again I am surprised at the quality and taste of a “house blend”. This is sold in bulk and like AJ’s VaPer and Anniversary Kake the taste and behavior of this blend outshines many of the more expensive tinned blends. The taste and burn stayed pretty consistent throughout the whole bowl. Doesn’t smoke hot and there is very little dottle when you get to the bottom.

I would classify this one as a mild to medium blend that could be smoked all day long if you wanted to. It has about a medium amount of Perique in it. Not the most I’ve smoked in a blend but certainly not the least either. It is also very smooth when you smoke it. The different tastes play off of each other but never outshine each other. I think that they mixed the individual components of this blend perfectly. I think that this one will take over 5th place. I enjoyed it more than Anniversary but I like the taste and Perique amount of AJ’s VaPer more.

1) McConnell Scottish Cake
2) Escudo
3) GL Pease Filmore
4) H & H AJ’s VaPer
5) Peretti’s Park Square
6) H & H Anniversary Kake
7) Reiner’s Long Golden Flake
8) Treasures of Ireland - Limerick
9) Dorchester
10) Luxury Bullseye Flake
11) McClelland Bulk 2015
12) GL Pease Telegraph Hill
13) Kajun Kake14) Luxury Navy Flake

[Slow Triathlete]

Good morning everyone. Well after a long hiatus from reviewing I am back and ready to update with another review. This time the lucky tobacco is Samuel Gawith’s St. James Flake. One thing that I must mention about Gawith’s flakes is that I love how they basically fall apart when you take them out of the tin. Now I’ve never mastered the art of folding and stuffing flakes so I always break them up to some degree. Gawith’s flakes seem to be thinner than a lot of flakes and broken flakes (McClelland) and are really, really easy to rub out and pull apart. Because they are thinner, they also seem to dry out a lot faster before smoking them whereas a lot of the other brands take forever!! Another great plus in my book.

As a lover of Gawith’s Full Virginia Flake (FVF), I knew that they had the Virginia blending down to a science but I was curious as to their knowledge of throwing Perique into the mix. Here is how this blend is described:

A sumptuous blend of Virginias and Perique, this big, bold British style flake incorporates a generous proportion of St. James Parish, LA perique.

The tin aroma was typical fruity and spicy, maybe more on the spicy side, which is what I would expect from the description of this VaPer. The Virginia aroma is very reminiscent of FVF and I suspect that they might use a Virginia blend very similar to it. I took out a tin of FVF and gave them both the “sniff” test and they the Virginias were almost identical.

As stated above, I took a couple of flakes out of the tin and gently rubbed them out and let them dry for about 30 minutes before I loaded up the bowl. It was very easy to light and had a white ash right off of the bat. This blend burns extremely clean, just like FVF. During the smoke, the Perique dances along with the Virginias almost as if to a beat. It comes to the front then goes to the back and so on and so on. It was a great experience!!

Now I am going to go against what most people on tobaccoreviews.com have stated about this blend. A lot of people on there have stated that the Perique quantity in this blend is way over the top and that there is a high level of nicotine in this blend. I did not find either of these statements true for any of the bowls that I smoked of this. And I have smoked two tins so far. While the Perique is noticeable in this blend it does not come to the front and punch you in the face with its strength like other blends (Kajun Kake, Night Train, etc). Also, there is nicotine in here but not anymore than I have experienced in other blends.

This blend is very tasty to me and the price when buying in bulk really can’t be beat. Taste-wise, I enjoyed this more than Escudo. The reason is that the two types of tobacco (Virginia and Perique) seemed to be blended together with more consistency than Escudo. I have smoked Escudo where I almost didn’t have any Perique until I hit the bottom and then it came on too strong. St. James Flake is not like this. The Perique chimes in as if on cue every time. It’s a wonderful blend and will be a staple in my rotation and cellar from now on. This one takes over 2nd place.

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 Anniversary Kake
8) Reiner’s Long Golden Flake
9) Treasures of Ireland - Limerick
10) Dorchester
11) Luxury Bullseye Flake
12) McClelland Bulk 2015
13) GL Pease Telegraph Hill
14) Kajun Kake
15) Luxury Navy Flake

[Slow Triathlete]

I wanted to give an honorable mention to Hearth & Home's Virginia Spice. While listed as a VaPer with some cigar leaf in it I would switch that around and state that it is more a cigar blend with some Virginia and Perique thrown in. It kind of falls in the category of VaPer-like, similar to Haddo's, but there is other stuff thrown in to alter the tastes a bit.

Regardless, this was a great blend to smoke and I would highly recommend it to anyone who may be burnt out on VaPers or someone who just wants to try something a little different.

The taste and aroma for this blend takes you on a rollercoaster ride. One minute it smells and tastes like a VaPer, the next it smells and tastes like your smoking a Macanudo Maduro. All in all, it's a tasty blend, burns well, no bite, and the price is good.

[Slow Triathlete]

Up next is Gawith and Hoggarth’s Louisiana Flake. Now whereas Samuel Gawith’s St. James Flake was small and demure, G & H’s version of this genre is a goliath!! I’m not sure if this is sold in a tin and is smaller but the sample I got was from their bulk selection and good Lord those flakes are huge!! I would say they are about 1.25 inches wide by 6 inches long!!

The aroma of this blend is a bit odd as there is more than a hint of chocolate in there. There is also the Lakeland floral that I enjoy so much as well. As far as I can find, this is the only VaPer offering from the venerable Gawith and Hoggarth company. Could it be that we have a mix of something similar to Gawith’s St. James Flake mixed with G & H’s Bob’s Chocolate Flake? This possible combination has piqued my interest and so on to the review.

As I stated above, these flakes are large and take a bit to rub out. I got a pair of scissors and cut them down a bit before I started rubbing them. The moisture level seemed perfect when it was in flake form but once I cut it down it seemed a bit damp to me. So I set it out on a paper towel for about 30 minutes and it seemed ready to go.

After being cut down the flakes become a lot more pliable and this blend is fairly easy to stuff down in the bowl. The pipe I used had a medium-large size bowl. It might not be as easy trying to stuff these strands into a small bowl like on a churchwarden. It took to the lighter really fast and after one false light it was off and racing.

The initial flavors were easy to discern. Virginia, yep it’s in there. Perique, yet it’s in there too. Lakeland taste, yep it’s in there. But there is something on the outlying edges that was just whispering in there. After a few puffs I was able to identify it. Chocolate. Now because I had never run into this flavor combination I was excited and worried all at the same time. I was excited because the tastes coming together at this point were delicious but I was worried that if one started to dominate then the great taste would diminish.

After the halfway mark my worry began to slip away. They had nailed this blend. It was great all the way through. I highly recommend this blend. While it may not be your favorite, the addition of the chocolate to a VaPer blend is something interesting to behold. It also makes this blend hard to rank. I think that this blend will take over the 8th spot. I could rank it higher but because the chocolate taste is added it’s not a true VaPer taste and it would be unfair to the genuine VaPers above it.

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 Anniversary Kake
8) G & H Louisiana Flake
9) Reiner’s Long Golden Flake
10) Treasures of Ireland - Limerick
11) Dorchester
12) Luxury Bullseye Flake
13) McClelland Bulk 2015
14) GL Pease Telegraph Hill
15) Kajun Kake
16) Luxury Navy Flake

[Slow Triathlete]

Thanks everyone for your kind remarks. This has turned from just a Showdown to me to a passion so to speak. After reviewing so many blends one would think that you would become jaded to trying anymore but I always look forward to the next blend. While I didn't know that there were so many different VaPers out there when I started I'm glad that there is a wide variety of choice in this genre. Everyone's tastes are different but I hope that my reviews give a little bit of guidance to everyone when they are delving into the wonderful world of VaPers. Okay, enough of this. Let us move on to the next review.


Woooo Woooo, it’s time to hop on the train. The C & D Night Train that is.

Everyone who I talked to about this blend had the same response. “Get ready, you’re in for a ride. I hope you like nicotine!!” And then they would usually chuckle. They all told me that this was one strong smoke and not to smoke it on an empty stomach.

I ordered a 4 oz sample of this from pipesandcigars.com and it arrived in brick form so I quickly started pulling it apart and rubbing it out a little bit. It seems to have the perfect moisture content straight away. I put this in a jar to let it rest a bit after rubbing it out and unfortunately I forgot about it. Now it’s about two months later and I think that it’s about time to break this stuff out and give it a whirl.

Right off the bat this blend gives off a sweet/sour fruity kind of taste. Delicious in my opinion. The spiciness of the Perique also kicks in very early on. Whoa, I can tell already that this one is going to pack a punch. This blend stays lit better than most that I have encountered. But watch out because if you start puffing on this too fast you will regret it. I let it get away from me one time when I was reading and not paying attention. Didn’t really notice anything except the spiciness of the Perique became almost overwhelming and the next thing I know my head starts to swirl from the nicotine. I actually had to put the pipe down and go to bed after that one.

If you take your time with this and sip on it very slowly it is a very, very good smoke. The sweet/sour flavor remains pretty consistent throughout the smoke but the sour takes over a bit near the end but not in a bad way. The spiciness of the Perique is present the whole way through and really adds to this blend I feel. It adds a kind of dark spice that plays in contrast to the sweet/sour flavor that I mentioned.

I assume that the room aroma is as strong as the blend because at one point my wife walked out on the porch and said, “Man, that stuff smells like it would kick your butt!” She wasn’t far off of the mark.

While I wouldn’t recommend this to a new pipe smoker, if you have a few years under your belt I would highly recommend it. Some people enjoy the stronger stuff and some don’t. I think that I lie somewhere in between. While I will definitely keep this on hand for an occasional smoke there is no way that I could smoke this on a daily basis. For those of you who may be cigar smokers I would compare this blend to the La Flor Dominica Chisel. This is so far the strongest blend that I have smoked so far in this genre but it mixes strength with great taste and that is what sets it apart. I think that this is going to take over the 9th spot. While it could go higher based on the quality of the tobacco I feel that the overwhelming strength of this blend actually hurts it because, for me at least, I can’t smoke it everyday. Someone who likes the stronger blends more than I do would probably rate it higher. I’ll leave it up to your judgment.

Here are the current standings:

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 Anniversary Kake
8) G & H Louisiana Flake
9) C & D Night Train
10) Reiner’s Long Golden Flake
11) Treasures of Ireland - Limerick
12) Dorchester
13) Luxury Bullseye Flake
14) McClelland Bulk 2015
15) GL Pease Telegraph Hill
16) Kajun Kake
17) Luxury Navy Flake

[Slow Triathlete]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After a long hiatus, filled with too many other blends, I give you the next installment in the VaPer Showdown.

Well, I’m sitting down with yet another blend from the Hearth & Home stable. This time it is Rolando’s Own. This is one of the last VaPers from pipesandcigars.com that I have not tried. I ordered this one on kind of a whim due to the fact that no matter how hard I searched and how many people I had asked, not many people knew about this blend and even fewer had actually tried it. So in the name of curiosity and this showdown I decided to order half a pound and check it out for myself.

Here is the description off of the website:

Named for renowned pipemaker Rolando Negoita, this is a Virginia/Perique blend with Rolando's artistry in mind. A mixture of lemon, red and stoved Virginias is enlivened with a moderate dose of wonderful Perique, for a sweet and flavorful all-day smoke.

I have read a lot online that some of their blends are getting shipped out a little raw and need to age a bit more. This is probably due to the fact that most of their blends are so good that it is hard to keep up with demand. My plan with this blend is to smoke 3 or 4 bowls and then put the rest away for a month and see how it has changed in that time.

Okay, off to the review.

The first thing that shocked me about this blend was how light the color of it was. It has a lot of light tan tobacco in there some dark browns and some near black. It has a wonderful aroma fresh out of the bag. It had the spicy/sour smell of a VaPer that I have grown to love so much. This tobacco comes as kind of a mix cut. Some small pieces and some longer pieces mixed together. It says that it is supposed to be a ribbon cut on tobaccoreview but they are not really any kind of uniform length to me. Packing and loading was really easy with this one. I had to take care not to pack it too tight in there (I’m trying to learn from past mistakes). Lighting it was pretty easy as well. This blend came with the proper amount of moisture in it. I just put it out for 15 minutes before I packed it and I had no trouble lighting it or keeping it lit throughout.

I have to say that the different Virginias add an interesting twist to this blend. It is a bit sweeter than most of the others that I have tried. Not sure if this is due to the addition of the Lemon Virginias or not but I like it. The flavors are a bit muted in the first third of the bowl but they all seem to fall into the groove a little before the halfway point. I would agree with their description as to the Perique amount in this blend. I would say it is moderate to medium. It’s not going to overtake the blend but it is also not in the background. Take your time with this one. I learned the hard way that if you puff too fast then the blend can turn a bit harsh.

This blend maintains its sweetness to the bottom of the bowl. The spiciness also kicks in a bit more towards the bottom.

Overall I think that this was a really good VaPer. I rank it right up there with my other current favorite of theirs, AJ’s Blend. It doesn’t taste the same. AJ’s is a bit more bold but Rolando’s makes up for it in flavor. I think that this one is my third favorite bulk VaPer behind AJ’s and Peretti’s Park Square. Now I don’t know Rolando and will probably never be able to afford one of his pipes but I will agree with him on this blend. It is very tasty!!


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) Reiner’s Long Golden Flake
12) Treasures of Ireland - Limerick
13) Dorchester
14) Luxury Bullseye Flake
15) McClelland Bulk 2015
16) GL Pease Telegraph Hill
17) Kajun Kake
18) Luxury Navy Flake

[Slow Triathlete]

Now for something completely different.

Well not that different (forgive me Eric Idle). There are a few VaPer hybrids that I would highly recommend. One of those would be Haddo's Delight commented on by a lot of people on this board. Another would be the Exhausted Rooster that EvanS sent to me. Exhausted to me seems more like a Virginia/Burley (golden sliced) with a bit of Perique mixed in. Since Evan is always trying to pull people over to the dark side of Burley, I truly believe that this is his attempt to tarnish my beloved VaPers with the vile leaf of Burley that he so loves. Sorry Evan, evan a tin signed by Craig Tarlor won't pull me over to that dark side.

One final that I gave props too earlier was the Virginia Spice blend from Hearth & Home. While I appreciate these blends very much, I feel it an injustice to put them in the Showdown due to the fact that the Perique plays such a small role in the overall blend.

The above three along with Peterson's Irish Oak would all be in the top 8 of VaPer hybrids if I were ever to put a list together. Another notable mention would be Waccamaw from Low Country Tobacco (smokingpipes.com). This blend is made for them by none other than the mighty man Craig Tarlor from C & D. This VaPer is made with red virginias (which I love, think Hal O' The Wynd) and also has Izmir Leaf in the blend which adds an extra spice of oriental in there.

Also, if you are a lover of the VaPer blends and you haven't noticed from my reviews, you people really need to hop onto the Hearth & Home website and order some of their bulk blends. Russ is doing a great job with these blends and I enjoy them (and their price) a lot more than some of the more expensive tinned blends.

[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

[Slow Triathlete]

Well, it’s now 2009 and it is time to start this thread back up again. I have a few more blends that I have added to the list and I will put out a full list of what I have left to review in another email. I appreciate all of the feedback that I have received about this thread. I started it as just a way for me to get to know that wonderful world of VaPers but I have noticed that it has helped out quite a few people. Let us delve back into this and see what kind of fun we can have.

This review is going to focus on a relatively new tobacco. It is Low Country Tobacco’s Waccamaw blend. Now for those of you who don’t know, Low Country Tobacco is the actual store for smokingpipes.com. It is in Little River, SC which is about 40 miles from where I live. Yes, I’m that lucky. These blends are the result of a collaboration between Sykes Wilford (owner of smokingpipes.com) and Craig Tarlor (owner of Cornell & Diehl Tobaccos). As of right now there are 4 blends in this series.

Now for those who are VaPer purists I will warn you that this blend has some Izmir leaf in it, which is another spice tobacco that lends itself to this blend. However, since I cannot tell the difference between the taste of Perique and the taste of Izmir I thought that I would go ahead and throw this blend in the Showdown. Here is the actual description of the blend from their website:

The WaccamawRiver meanders through the eastern Carolinas, part of the Pee DeeRiver basin, a region intertwined with the history of tobacco for three centuries. What finer homage to this heritage than a rich, hearty Virginia flake? Bright leaf serving as the base is typical of the tobaccos grown in this region, while beautiful Red Virginias lend it sweetness and structure. Perique and a dash of exotic Izmir leaf complete this complex, satisfying flake.

Now for the review.

When I popped the tin of this blend I was greeted by a wonderful smell. Sweet and sour with a lot of spiciness in there. I will warn everyone that I will compare this to GL Pease’s Embarcadero blend quite a bit for reasons that I will explain in the summary below. This blend smelled a lot like Embarcadero when I whiffed it the first couple of times. This blend comes in flake form and the flakes are about the same size as Orlik’s Golden Sliced. The blend arrived quite moist in the tin and all of my flakes were stuck together. I just dumped the whole thing out on a few paper towels and rubbed them all out so that they would dry out a little more thoroughly.

I filled the pipe with this blend using the 3 pack method all of the times that I smoked it so far. This worked out quite well. After drying the tobacco a bit this blend took to the first light and never stopped. After the blend got going my nose was greeted with the most intoxicating aroma of sweet Virginia, spicy Perique, and a sourness that I can only guess comes from the Izmir. It was delightful!

The first third of the bowl was pretty spicy and kept things interesting. There is A Lot of Perique in here. All of the components were playing off of each other and going in and out of the taste. The second third of the bowl all of the flavors and aromas seemed to blend together and really come to the forefront. It tickled and burned a bit from the spiciness when blown through the nose. Truly amazing!

The last part of this blend was more of the same. It settled down a bit towards the very end of the bowlful with the sourness taking the drivers seat near the end.

This blend is truly a great blend right out of the tin. I can’t wait to see what a little age does to this tobacco. As I stated above, there is a ton of Perique in here and it lends to quite a bit of Nicotine as well. Now as most of you know, C & D makes all of the blends for GL Pease. I cannot help but think that this blend is Embarcadero with some Perique added into the mix. The tastes and smells are almost identical. However, the Waccamaw is about $1.50 cheaper for a tin than the Embarcadero. I’d be interested to hear from everyone on this one about whether they think there are definitely similarities or if I’m just imagining all of this.

If you like Perique bombs, then this blend is definitely one to try out. I believe that this one is definitely taking over the #6 spot because I love the amount of Perique they went with this one.

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) Low Country’s Waccamaw
7) Peretti’s Park Square
8) H & H Rolando’s Own
9) H & H Anniversary Kake
10) G & H Louisiana Flake
11) C & D Night Train
12) H & H Louisiana Red
13) Reiner’s Long Golden Flake
14) Treasures of Ireland - Limerick
15) Dorchester
16) Luxury Bullseye Flake
17) McClelland Bulk 2015
18) GL Pease Telegraph Hill
19) Kajun Kake
20) Luxury Navy Flake