My Journey into Dark Moor

 It was a dreary, overcast day as I took the first steps of my journey into Dark Moor. The persistent mist threatening to turn into a smothering deluge as the darkening clouds defeated the sun’s attempts to pick away the clouds. Even the cawing of the ravens clinging to scraggly waterlogged trees had succumbed to the heaviness in the air.

Dark Moor was everything that the Dartmoor of myth and legends aspires to be with its tales of spectral hounds, pixies and even a headless horseman. Birds would occasionally sing in Dartmoor. They won’t fly over Dark Moor. It is too dark and too strong… or so we are led to believe.

HU Dark Moor

HU’s Dark Moor appeared on my radar while visiting the website for Esterval’s, a tobacconist in Germany that shipped to the U.S. I found it searching through the available blends and making a list of the ones that interested me. Dark Moor dropped off the “buy” list when I edited it down to fit my budget. It maintained a place on my “possible purchase” list, but I never seemed to add it to my shopping cart. I won’t say I forgot about Dark Moor but I stopped ordering from Estervals so I figured I would never buy any.

With the introduction of a limited number of HU blends to the U.S. pipe tobacco market, Dark Moor caught my interest again. Dark Moor, one HU’s Pipe Enthusiasts blend, is one of 18 blends (out of about 60 HU Blends) available. It can be found at several online retailers. There was no reason to not order Dark Moor and I now own a 100-gram tin.

I do wish several other HU blends were available, including Dark Sea, Bahia Orange, Tillerman, Hadde’s Best Irish, China Heaven among others. (I have smoked Tillerman, Hadde’s Best Irish and China Heaven and enjoyed all of them.)

Dark Expectations

I admit having an expectation of HU’s Dark Moor being a dark, strong, foreboding tobacco blend that transports you to a dark, haunted marsh (or Louisiana swamp). I opened my tin and found a wood burning barbecue pit after it sat for a day. Maybe with the smell of a pile of damp leaves and grass smoldering nearby. Then I noticed the aroma of sweet, stewed fruit simmering nearby. Intriguing.

I found no nutty burley in this blend. Looking for the sweetness from a cavendish? It’s not there. To be honest, I didn’t find the grassy or hay notes that I associate with a red or yellow Virginia either. At least, not at first.

The peaty smokiness of the dark fired Kentucky leaves stands out. I think the Kentucky is what provides the rich, deep almost molasses barbecue flavor. By itself, it would be overpowering but it is muted by the judicious addition of a perique style tobacco. Perique style? I don’t know if it is St. James perique, Green River Kentucky or some other leaf processed as perique. (Perique is both a tobacco strain and a process.) Whatever it is works for me. It is only when I get pass those two that I find the strong foundation of brown Virginias the blend is built on.

Lighting up

And all that is before I put flame to the Dark Moor. That first puff dispels the images in the introduction. Instead of a strong, almost overpowering hit like a cup of strong, black coffee with six times the caffeine, I found it almost comforting in its balance. All the flavors I described in the tin note I found when I smoked it.

I had expected the dark fired Kentucky to dominate (I’ve seen it described as “peaty” but it’s not what I think of as peaty.” It doesn’t. Too much perique in a can also overpower a blend but it doesn’t in this one. Both works so well together that they pair well with the Virginias allowing the bready/grassiness to come through.

As with other HU blends, Dark Moor is ready to smoke without needing additional drying. I have smoked it in a clay pipe, two different Peterson’s and a Mastro De Paja. I did have an occasional relight in the clay and the Mastro De Paja. It seemed to burn better in my two Pete’s with only one relight in my Sherlock Holmes and none in my System Standard 303. Dark Moor was a slow, cool smoke with no bite.

Dark Moor fooled me into expecting a strong bold tobacco that would be best smoked on a full stomach. What I got was a balanced but complex smoke that I can enjoy throughout the day. It’s a good way to start the morning with a cup of coffee, an after lunch smoke or winding down in the afternoon with an adult beverage.

I’m glad that it is now available for purchase without the hassle of dealing with overseas shipping and U.S. Customs. The only problem now is finding it in stock when you are ready to make a purchase. Like other HU blends, it sells quickly when in stock.

And, as always, these are my thoughts about HU Dark Moor. Yours may vary.

Note: To read my review of HU The Untouchables, follow this link.

© J. Gibson Creative Services. May 8, 2025