Interview with Tobacco Blender Russ Ouellette

(PipesMagazine) Russ Ouellette is the tobacco blender of the widely popular Hearth & Home pipe tobacco blends. There are over 30 blends covering a wide variety of styles and tastes. Hearth & Home has Aromatics to English and everything in between, and they are all high quality tobaccos that have received numerous rave reviews. Russ presented a detailed and informative seminar on "Tobacco Blending Basics" at the West Coast Pipe Show in Las Vegas during the first weekend in November. He spoke of the different flavor characteristics, room note characteristics, burning quality, finish (or aftertaste) and how these are all different with different types of tobaccos. By knowing the different qualities of Virginias, Burleys, Orientals, Latakia, and Perique, plus the different flavoring agents and sweeteners, you have the basic building blocks of creating pipe tobacco blends. PipesMagazine.com’s Cynthia Sargent talked to Russ after his seminar. Here is our exclusive video interview with Russ Ouellette. Continued

Pictured: Dunhill Light Flake Tobacco (Sjschen, some rights reserved).