HU English Breakfast:
The red Virginia is a little tangy, dark fruit sweet with some earth and a hint of spice, and is the most noticeable Va, though it’s really a team player rather than a dominant ingredient. The bright Virginia is citrus sweet with a little grassiness. The black stoved Virginia is stewed fruit sweet with minor earth notes as a back up player. The Orientals are a little woody and smoky, with some sweetness in a supporting role. The Syrian latakia is very smoky, woody, and comprises twenty percent of the product. While it’s always obvious, it doesn’t distract from the inherent properties of the other components, which I found surprising considering the amount of latakia blended into the mix. The strength and taste is mild to medium. The nic-hit is mild. Expertly blended, you will notice all the flavors to varying degrees in virtually every puff. Ribbon cut for easy burning, it requires few relights, and barely leaves a drop of moisture in the bowl. Won’t bite, and has no harsh or dull moments. The room note is fairly pleasant. The after taste nicely lingers. An all day smoke, it makes a good starter English blend as well as an enjoyable change from stronger mixtures in this genre.


HU JU 52:
The dark pressed Virginia is very earthy, deeply dark stewed fruit sweet, and is the major tobacco component. The Kentucky is fairly earthy, woody, smoky, and a little nutty sweet as a secondary player. The perique has a mild spiciness with raisin, date and fig overtones, adding a little complexity in its back up status. The floral essences as well as the lightly applied, rich raspberry are obvious in every puff, but they do not sublimate the tobaccos so much as they compliment them to form a well balanced medium strength, medium tasting aromatic. A broken flake mixture that burns fairly easily as a moderate pace with a consistent flavor to the finish. It doesn’t take much to burn it to ash, and leaves just a little moisture in the bowl. No bite, no dull or hot spots. The room note is fairly pleasant, and so is the after taste.


HU Masai:
The low key honeydew Virginia is mild, subtly sweet with a touch of citrus, and a little grassy as it forms the base for the other tobaccos. The Malawi burley is nutty, earthy, and very chocolatey in a support role, though at times it will take a more primary position due to its natural strength, which is deeper than that of the honeydew Virginia. Also playing back up is the lightly spicy, woody sweet dark fired Kentucky, which is mostly a condimental addition. The Syrian latakia is smoky and woody, and though it is eighteen percent of the blend, it mostly serves to add its intrinsic qualities as a flavor push in a subordinate role. A cool and smooth easy burning ready rubbed mixture that has some well balanced complexity, no harsh or dull moments, and will burn to an ashy finish with very little moisture in the bowl. No bite, which seems to be a hallmark of HU products. The strength is just a shade past being mild while the taste is right in-between mild and medium. The nic-hit is mild. The after taste is as pleasant as the room note, the latter being fairly mild.


HU Out of Africa:
The burley has a near-medium strength; nutty with some molasses, earth, and a hint of cocoa. The dark, pressed Virginia is earthy, mildly tangy, richly dark stewed fruit sweet with some citrus and a touch of grass. The perique is a minor player, mildly spicy with a few raisin, fig, and date notes, adding some complexity to the blend. The spice is more noticeable once you’re part way into the smoke. I’m not sure about the toppings, but they are sweet, mildly floral, smoky and woody. Among the fruit notes are tones of pineapple and perhaps apricot. The toppings don’t sublimate the ready rubbed tobaccos that much as the burley and Virginias work well together as the major components. The flavor is at the medium level, and is consistent to the end. No bite or harsh spots to be found; burns smooth and cool with few relights. The nic-hit is just a fraction over being mild. The strength is mild to medium, and could be an all day smoke for the experienced smoker. Leaves very little moisture in the bowl, and will burn to ash. Has a sweet room note and after taste.


HU Sissinghurst:
The ready rubbed Virginia flake is tangy dark fruit sweet with a drop of sugar and a fair dollop of earth. The bright Virginia is fruit and citrus with grass and hay notes. The brown Kentucky is smoky, woody and spicy sweet as a potent back up player. The floral, flowery topping is very mildly noticeable in every puff without distracting from the inherent properties of the tobaccos, and is a little less obvious by the time you get to the last third of the bowl. I think there’s a light fruit topping or casing, too. Well balanced, you’ll taste the complexity of creamy flavors in every puff all the way through. Burns smooth, and cool at an even rate with very few relights. Leaves just a trace of moisture in the bowl, and won’t bite. The strength and nic-hit are mild, while the taste is medium. An aromatic that works well without being boring for an pleasing all day experience as well as a dessert smoke. Has a delicious after taste and sweet room note.


HU White Dog:
The various ribbon cut Virginias offer a fair range of what you expect from those varietals: a fair amount of earth, light grass and hay, a lot of citrus and deep dark stewed tangy fruitiness, and a minor spice hit from the bright Virginia. I also get a very light sugar hit. The “discreet spicy wood casing” has a mild to medium spiciness while the wood taste is lightly cedarish, and perhaps birch and an essence of pine needles, along with some smokiness. Burns at a moderate rate, though it does require a few relights, and I recommend a sipping pace for best effect. The nic-hit is mild to medium. The strength is mild to medium, and taste is just past medium. The complex taste is very consistent with a little creaminess from start to finish with no dull or harsh spots. Leaves very little moisture in the bowl, and the after taste lingers in pleasant fashion, as does the spicy room note. The sweetness level is also medium to full, and would appeal to smokers who like light aromatics, though White Dog is closer to being a semi-aro without touching that demarcation line. Fans of sweet straight Virginias who like blends like Dunhill Flake and Capstan Yellow may find this to be a different twist in the same genre due to the spice level.