Hearth and Home Obsidian

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puros_bran

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Hearth and Home: Obsidian

Several weeks ago Dock and I conducted a trade. Out of his generosity several large samples were included in the box that arrived. One of these was Russ Oulette's Obsidian.

The website (www.pipesandcigars.com) describes Obsidian as
"An all-black mixture of exacting proportions to balance the flavors well enough that the individual components become indistinguishable. Obsidian is sweet, smoky and spicy without being overpowering. Stoved Virginia, Latakia, toasted Black Cavendish and Perique combine for a unique and cool smoking experience."

The claim of an all black tobac is correct. The aroma in the bag seemed rather muted and I feared the smoke would be to. Not so,after some drying* it has turned into a very flavorful experience. The stoved Virginia and the Black Cavendish are what I noticed in the smoke first, the Perique and Latakia are present but don't seem to 'overpower' as they are sometimes prone to do. Indistinguishable turns out to be a very good descriptor. More sweet and smokey than spicy.
I didn't notice any PG and I am very sensitive to it but the Cavendish is the sweetened variety that is usually soaked in the stuff. I wouldn't call this an aromatic, just a slightly sweet 'English type' From reading the description one would expect it to resemble 965 in some small way but the two are a completely different breed. I would compare it to an amped up Stokkebye English Luxury. The blend didn't develop in the bowl so if your a Peasehead beware, no subtle nuances here, just a sweet and smokey experience, almost reminiscent of a good BBQ sauce.
If I didn't have a huge amount of tobacco that was very similar I wouldn't hesitate to purchase more of this blend. A very good all-day type blend. The only thing I find it lacking in is Nicotene,but I am a nic junkie.








*When I visited the sample the first thing that struck me was the moisture level was out of whack. Now I've never been one to insist on crispy tobacco but this was semi-ridiculous. Adjust the moisture to a smokable level and I would bet that 16oz turns into 13-14oz.
 
Your impressions match mine, Puros, I also found it sweet and smokey. It reminded me a little bit of Bufflehead Emperor Goose, which has been out of production for a while now. I still have about 3/4 lb. of EG on hand to go with my new jar of Obsidian.

Smokey
 
Sounds like a blend I might need to try out. I really enjoy Emperor Goose. Luckily I stocked up on about a pound before David quit producing the Bufflehead blends.
 
Puros, thanks for your impressions.
I also found its moisture level very high.
 
Sounds like a more moist version of my Incestuous Blend....

I'll have to look this up!
 
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