Haddo's Delight

[Fight'n Hampsters]

Being British, I don't have easy access to Mr Pease's wonderful blends but did manage to get a tin of Haddos which is now 3 years old.
Is it old enough to pop now or should I keep it a while longer before opening?

Adam

afaic 3 yrs is the minimun for this one. 5 is better, and 10 is sublime.

Fresh, it's far too raw and harsh plus muddled flavours. IMHO of course.


Cheers,

RR

Cheers BD - back to the back of the shelf with it then.

Adam

I've actually found Haddo's at 6 years to be the best, honestly. At 10 years aged, at least for me, it loses a lot. It's still good at that point, but it's over the hump for me.

I've heard of Lat blends loosing something (becoming more mild) the longer they are aged but not others.  I wonder if Perique reacts this way too?

 

[joshoowah]

Being British, I don't have easy access to Mr Pease's wonderful blends but did manage to get a tin of Haddos which is now 3 years old.
Is it old enough to pop now or should I keep it a while longer before opening?

Adam

afaic 3 yrs is the minimun for this one. 5 is better, and 10 is sublime.

Fresh, it's far too raw and harsh plus muddled flavours. IMHO of course.


Cheers,

RR

Cheers BD - back to the back of the shelf with it then.

Adam

I've actually found Haddo's at 6 years to be the best, honestly. At 10 years aged, at least for me, it loses a lot. It's still good at that point, but it's over the hump for me.

I've heard of Lat blends loosing something (becoming more mild) the longer they are aged but not others.  I wonder if Perique reacts this way too?

I know that after around 8 years Latakia becomes a shell of itself, but I am unsure if Perique is affected the same way. When I said "over the hump," I meant that I suspect somewhere between 6-10 years is when the blend begins to decline, at least for me. I'm not saying the tin I had was bad at 10 years - it was, in fact, excellent; however, my 6 year old tin was better, way better even. Other components of the blend will shine at 10 years that won't at 6 years, but 6 years was the perfect meld for me.

 

[Fight'n Hampsters]

That is an interesting aspect I have not thought of, that different components will peak at different times, making it change from year to year.

 

[Deleted member 2386]

Just chiming in to add that I think another relevent aging factor with Haddo's is the plum brandy topping--fresh I think it is very pronounced, but like everything else it mellows with time. Whether one prefers it at six years out or more like a decade may have something to do with how much of that residual plumminess one enjoys.

As with Stonehaven, I actually prefer Haddo's when it's still young enough to have more of that richness come through--IIRC I've tried it fresh, at five or so years old, and a decade+, and while each have their charms I'm with Josh that my personal sweet spot is Haddo's with enough years to tame the topping, age the tobacco, and marry the flavors, but not so many that it loses its oomph, if that makes sense? Worth noting though that I never had the most sensitive palate and it's only gotten worse, so I may just not be able to appreciate the subtlety of the longer aged stuff.

Obviously the only solution is to try them all for ones self!

 

[idbowman]

I love Haddo's both fresh and aged. I think I've said this another thread once upon a time, but it's like they're two totally different blends. Most VaPers change a lot with age, but there's still that "Yep...this is Blend X, but the age has made it sweeter and deeper." With Haddos, the way the perqiue moves from strong pepper to that dark stone fruit, and the way sweetness from the brandy topping changes to sweetness from the aged VA, I can barely tell it was ever the same blend.

Whatever alchemy is going on in that little tin is amazing - fresh, 10 years, or anywhere it between, Haddo's is a winner.

 

[Fight'n Hampsters]

One of my top 5 blends. Funny thing is, I always have to be reminded that it has a plum/ brandy topping. I don't know if I have ever tasted it.