Its Virginia season for this pipe smoker so I'm looking forward to trying this one over the summer. This is his first pure Virginia. No cavendish, burley, Perique, or anything but Virginias.

Quoting Greg Pease from his web site:

In Union Square, bright, sweet virginias, are combined with deep, rich reds, pressed into a firm cake for several days, and then sliced and packaged. The result is a blend that is full flavoured, without being overly strong. It delivers layers of pure tobacco character, and burns wonderfully, leaving both pipe and alate clean and virginia fresh.

Union Square is another great summer blend, for sure, but it will also be welcomed in the cooler months by virginia purists, and by those seeking a softer alternative to a steady diet of heavier Latakia mixtures. I expect it to age wonderfully, of course, developing greater complexity and richer mid-tones over the years to come. Smoke it now, and lay several tins down for sampling in five, ten, twenty years. This is one that I fully expect will outlive me, and I plan on a very long life.

This one was added to the Fog City Selection. Still looking forward to developments with an entirely new line coming later this year.

Mac Baren Arcadian Mixture

Mac Baren has been pretty short on blends with Perique. I don't know what else is in this blend besides Perique, but I'm looking forward to giving it a try.

The other two HH blends (Vintage Syrian and Matured Virginia) were a welcome departure from Mac Baren's usual style. (Nothing against those either of course - big fan of Mixture here.) This one could prove to be interesting.

As soon as I have more details, I'll post.

Following are the blend descriptions for each directly from pipesandcigars.com:

Classic Burley Kake

Classic Burley Kake is a new blend that pays homage to old-time Burley flakes and cakes. Using Tennessee and Kentucky Burleys, ranging from lighter white to darker mahogany, and a bit of matured red Virginia, this sliced cake tobacco is a traditional American-style blend.

We start with four different types of Burley, the aforementioned Tennessee and Kentucky, plus two different premium white Burleys. Then we add a red Virginia for a maple-like sweetness. Then we use all-natural flavors- cocoa, rum and anise and steam the tobaccos with the flavorings and firmly press and slice it. The aroma is mellow and pleasant, and the taste is lightly sweet with a large volume of smoke.

Hearken back to a simpler time when the sight of a pipe in someone’s mouth while walking down the street was common, and the scent of pipe tobacco was everywhere. Give Classic Burley Kake a try and go back in time.

The new Classic Burley Kake is a similar type of tobacco to Edgeworth Sliced. We're not attempting to to copy Edgeworth, but rather provide smokers with a blend that is similar to yet still unique.

Daybreak

After receiving some calls and emails from members of the New York Pipe Club lamenting the loss of Dunhill's Early Morning Pipe, we wanted to develop a blend with similar characteristics to EMP. After a number of "tweaks", we sent a sample to the club, and the feedback was overwhelmingly positive. We're now making it available to the general public. Try this traditional English mixture of sweet Virginias, fragrant Orientals and rich, smoky Latakia.

As soon as I can get my hands on these two and have time to get to know them, you'll see reviews. Expect to see some more of my old favorite Hearth and Home blends reviewed as I revisit those.

Have a favorite Hearth and Home blend? Let's hear about it in the comments.

More good news: Later in the year, he plans to release an entire new line, an "interesting new series" as Greg Pease puts it. Of course, way too early for details. He has three prototypes and working on a fourth.

Roll yer own ciggy and small cigar smokers are hardest hit. The RYO crowd have been getting hit with a $1.10 per pound tobacco tax the same as we pipe smokers. That buck a pound is jumping to almost 25 dollars!

Apparently what you do with the tobacco after you buy it has something to do with how hard you should be taxed? If I put it in a briar pipe I should be taxed 150% more for it, if I roll it in a paper I should be taxed 2000% more?! How about just taxing the hell out of the papers? Consider that for a second and contemplate how arbitrary this is. Pipe tobacco tax is only jumping 158% (this time) to $2.83.

This is just asinine on so many levels and in so many directions. First and foremost, the only purpose of the tax code should be collecting revenue for constitutionally sound government expenditures. This means that punishing people or trying to control behavior is NOT the proper use of the tax code. If legislators want to control a behavior, they should propose, debate on, and pass an actual law to control that behavior. For example, if you rob a bank, you don't face a tax hike, you get put in jail.

Secondly, and on the tail of that, if this SCHIP program is so necessary, purposeful, and all that - shouldn't the entire public have an equal share in supporting it? This isn't just a matter of fairness, but for practical reasons, you don't want the source of income to be something you are apparently trying to destroy at the same time.

I could go on and on. I'll close with this:

Pay attention to who you vote for next exlection.

As always, I want to hear your comments. Especially:

1. What can we do as individuals to change our government's course between elections?

2. Will any of these taxes change how much you smoke?

3. Would a politician's position on tobacco tax effect your vote? Has it in the past?

Judging from the tin descriptions, it appears they are all light on the Latakia or they omit it altogether. Those with Latakia feature Syrian Latakia. Another thing that strikes me is nearly all of them mention aging. In my experience, McClelland tobaccos almost universally benefit greatly from even a year or two of aging so believe them. If something looks especially good, I usually order one tin to try and a couple more to cellar.

Following are the tin descriptions:

Tudor Castle... this beautifully balanced blend of sugary bright Virginia, a good amount of rare No. 1 Grade Yenidje, red Virginia and a nice touch of St. James Perique is a great smoke today and should age and mellow beautifully in the tin.

Beacon...a vintage Matured Virginia flake tobacco smoothed by extended aging, delicately seasoned with deeply aromatic Louisiana Perique

Orient 996...a very special blend of sugary bright Virginia and aged, mellow red Virginia seasoned with a good amount of rare Yenidje and a touch of Syrian Latakia. Ready to enjoy now but designed to age beautifully

Jubilee...the finest sugary Matured Virginia, premium Latakia, delicate Turkish and precious Louisiana Perique...a blend that should age very well in the tin

Aurora...the full spectrum of Matured Virginia flavor from naturally sweet, mellow red to rich, deeply aromatic black stoved lemon Virginia

Tudor Castle Arcade...pressed in cakes, aged to perfection, this blend of naturally sweet Matured Virginias, fragrant Katerini, rich Louisiana Perique and just a touch of Syrian Latakia is an exceptionally smooth and cool smoke suitable for a stroll along the castle arcade

If anyone has smoked any of these, I'm especially interested in hearing what you thought of them. Please post to the comments below or better yet, submit an objective review by clicking on the Site Admin link near the bottom of the sidebar and hit submit. Do me a favor when you submit reviews, shoot me a note on the contact form letting me know you submitted it.