F & K Black Bayou Mist

F & K - Black Bayou Mist.

Quite coarse ribbons, going through all shades of brown from some that are nearly black to a few golden ones, with the majority being medium brown. The hydration's too low, shame because that's one of the few negatives.

For the beginning of the smoke the Latakia accounts for the largest proportion, with the Kentucky and Oriental giving a joint support. I couldn't detect much Perique at the start, but it reared its head as soon as the burn had stabilized. When this appears the smoke develops a dark fruitiness, and becomes a lot more enjoyable. The fiery note from the Kentucky also calms down when the Perique joins in; it's still present, but nowhere near as formidable as at the beginning. It burns very independently, but because of the dryness it goes too fast.

The nicotine's above medium, and although the room-note smells nice, it manufactures lots of smoke in the room.....too much.

I'll rate Black Bayou Mist with three stars, the dryness removes the fourth star it would get. If it weren't for that it would be a BRILLIANT smoke.

Recommended.

This is highly reccomended IF you like strong hybrid English blends, such as Engine 99 or any number of C&D's burley/English melanges (Bayou Night, Crowley's Best, etc etc).

The difference is this gets its body from dark fired instead of chesty burley, and the perique is the hot and spicy rather than figgy variety. For me, the latakia and Turkish take a back seat but are both present. Or if they do make themselves known, it is the Perique and dark fired that stick with me.

The bottom of the bowl is quite spicy and overall the vit N is edging to the right of medium.

An utterly overlooked contribution to the genre. I suppose this shows its European roots somewhere but to me is very much like one of the American burley/Englishes mentioned above in body and overall character.

I find it totally biteless, no doubt the perique and the ph is very mouth friendly (prickly = no bite for me).

The dark fired is not as smooth as one finds in ODF. I like it, but I like these types of blends.

The tobacco itself is a mix of colors - tans, browns and blacks. It is a medium chopped ribbon of varying lengths, and mine came at a good level of hydration for smoking.

I like the dark fired and perique combination, and this looked like a good thing to try. I was not disappointed. The latakia is a light touch, and the smoke is a little spicy. The flavor is med-full, and there is a very satisfying complexity. It smoked cool for me and was easy to keep lit.

This one is good, and it scratches the Vintage Syrian itch for me at a lower price point. This one is easy to recommend. I have bought a pound of it, so it is a 3.5 on the rating scale.

The musty, leathery, floral Cyprian Latakia provides of wealth of smoke, earth, wood, herbal incense, some sweetness, and light spice as the lead component. The fragrant Orientals offer a lot of earth, wood, herbs, vegetation, floralness, some buttery sweetness and tart sourness along with mild spice. They are supporting players. Right behind the Orientals is the smoky, woody, earthy, spicy, lightly nutty dark fired Kentucky, which also has a obvious sweet and sour barbecue essence. The earthy, woody, spicy, plumy, date-like perique is a couple of notches above the condiment line. The Virginia produces some tart and tangy citrus, grass, bread, sugar, vegetation, and light floralness. It’s the base for the other varietals. The strength and nic-hit are a couple of steps past the medium mark. The taste level is just past the center of medium to full. No chance of bite or harshness, Has a few rough notes, though fewer than expected. Well balanced, deeply rich and complex, it burns cool and clean at a reasonable pace with a very consistent sweet, floral, spicy, moderately sour, savory campfire flavor. Leaves little dampness in the bowl. Requires an average number of relights. Has a long lasting, pleasant after taste, and a pungent room note. Not quite an all day smoke for the veteran. Three and a half stars.

-JimInks

I absolutely love F&K blends. Lancer slices were a solid 3.5. Their Sterling Balkan is a solid 4 star blend for me, and one I'll always have on hand.

Pouch appearance covers the full spectrum of colors. Ranging from Bright Virginias and Orientals, to medium Dark Fired, all the way down to pitch black Latakia. Very uniform cut of ribbon, this packs very nicely on the drier side. Speaking of dry.... As I noted in my 2016 review of Sterling Balkan, F&K ship on the dry side. And I am not complaining!! You end up with more tobacco by weight in your order due to lack of excess moisture. Not a big deal when you order a few ounces, but when you order a pound or two, it can add up! Initial lighting is quick and easy.

Bayou Mist is a mildly spicy smoke. You'll have no problem finding the Perique in here, but its done right! Add Leathery, slightly sweet, woodsy notes along with the perfect touch of smokiness, you have a winner here! The Dark Fired adds a solid backbone to this blend, and adds that next level of complexity. Although I enjoy this often, it begs to be smoked on a cool, autumn evening with a glass of whiskey. Solid 4 stars.

This is better than the average lat blend overall. The lat is smokey with campfire notes and a little sweet. The Turkish is Izmir I believe, it is creamy, musty, a little spicy and has a slight bitterness that I enjoy. It competes with the lat and often comes forward. The KY is woodsy, spicy, a little sweet, and I think the dry earthiness I get in this blend comes from this and the Izmir combining. The VA's have some dark fruit notes, a passing note of hay here and there as well and a note of sweet spice that comes in on occasion that reminds me a little of cinnamon. The perique is used to add to the body of the smoke but is hardly present in the smoke itself. When it comes in there is a faint pepper note and it may also be part of the dark fruit note I get as well. The nic is solidly at the med level and could easily be an all day smoke if one was inclined. The tobacco was a bulk buy but it did come a little too dry. While this has all the components for an exceptional smoke it just did not rise to the occasion. Better than average but far from distinguishing itself for me. Still I could see how it could be someones all day lat blend. Overall, recommended to try it might be a great bend for someone.

I wanted to try Black Bayou Mist for a while now. Its components seemed like something I would enjoy. I like big English blends with perique. However, something seems unbalanced with this blend. I am not sure what variety of Oriental leaf is in this blend, but it does not meld well with the perique and dark fired tobacco. I see why people give Black Bayou Mist high marks because of its full flavor, but it is not my cup of tea.

A distinctive blend for sure, but not without issues. The bag/jar note smells great; so much more promising than the underwhelming F&K Sterling. I was beside myself to get the first bowl loaded and lit. First impressions were indeed positive: full creamy mid-palate, nice spicy overtones that demonstrate a real synergy between the Turkish Izmir and Perique. However, by mid-bowl this delicate dance turns heavy and flat-footed, the moderate sweetness of the Virginias giving way to the lumbering, droning dark-fired. I had best results in a meer which maintained that pleasing spicy synergy of Turkish and Perique for the whole bowl. That almost made me give this three stars, but in several other very fine briars the schizoid personality prevailed. I’ve put the rest of my supply into a tiny jelly jar and will revisit in a year or two.

Verdict: Somewhat recommended to those who are curious to try something slightly eccentric.

Black bayou is really solid. Its not quite a lat bomb but its there and leads the way.

Appearance is course ribbon , multi colored from black to light brown. I bought in bulk and it was on the drier side.

Its smokes well, really lat heavy to start and then levels out into a nice rich peppery smoke. Im impressed with this one.

Will buy more in the future.