John Aylesbury Virginia Blend

Very little Virginia influence for something called Virginia Blend. Regardless, it's a very good smoke. The Lat is lightly smoked allowing it's Oriental qualities to come through. It combines with the Burley to give a sour, woody, nutty note with just a touch of earth and smoke. The Black Cav brings a very mild sweetness and a touch of vanilla. The Virginias lend a touch of hay. Very smooth and burns cool in spite of burning quickly. Pretty nice.

Medium in body and taste. Flavoring is very mild.

John Aylesbury - Virginia Blend (English).

Another blend I obtained on a trade with Gentleman Zombie, who is a testament to the magnanimity of the pipe smoking community; I can't give the guy a big enough thank you!

I received this in a zip-lock bag, so it's not been laden with moisture whilst sealed in the tin. Result! It appears more like a standard ribbon, than a broken flake. On a whole, it's a dark brown; there's flecks of light and black, but in general it's simply dark brown.

The Latakia has quite a phlegmatic style, it's tasty, but not overly smoky. The black Cavendish enhances the placidity by giving a touch of soft, vanilla cream. The Burley and Virginia form a solid base for V.B., but as these aren't at all caustic they don't interfere with the calmer style, that much. The only negative, really, with Virginia Blend, is that it can burn a bit quick.

The nicotine's medium, and the room-note's nice.

This is a good blend, but due to the speed, and slight tongue bite, I'll refrain from four stars. Three stars!

Recommended.

I was pleasantly surprised by this. I smoke vapers and Virginias exclusively. I am ashamed to say I needed something to break away from Vaper blends. But I didn't want to stray too far from Virginia blends. This blend is exactly what I needed.

Ingredients: Virginias, Cavendish, burley, Latakia. Moisture: very dry out of tin. This is my only concern.

Smoking mechanics: stays lit well, but don't pack tight. It burns hot.

TASTE: This was the surprise for me. They have used sweet virginias, with minute hey flavor. If you like sweet vapers, you will find this very intriguing. I'm not sure why someone here didn't find Virginia to be prominent in this masterpiece, unless he thinks the sweetness comes from a casing, I don't know. But to me the Virginias are in the front, with Latakia as the copilot. It combines sweetness with smoky, earthy flavor. Burley is in the back seat strapped to a child safety seat, occasionally oozing whiffs of nuttiness. Cavendish....well, you will only know it's there if they took it away. It grounds all the rest of the players as a referee, it doesn't intrude too much. But I am picking a vanilla ghost. Conclusion: This is a 2 way highway for both English and for Virginia smokers. Those who smoke Virginias can venture into English territory, and English smokers can take a train up the Virginia mountains. THIS IS A HYBRID, BUT A HYBRID THAT WORKS. It's a harmonious blend. Hope you found this helpful.

11/4/19-(UPDATE)

It's been a few weeks since I wrote the above review. I'm finding out more about this to try to inform you. It is still very consistent. I just had a bowl of Dunhill my mixture 965 . It reminds me of this blend. Yet it is slightly weaker than dunhill. I'm finding it great for Autumn weather. It stands up great to chilly weather. But due to its low strength, I'm sure it won't do well in cold weather. But given its sweetness, it is absolutely great for Autumn. Also, it will burn quick. So get yourself the largest bowl you have for this one. The large bowl gives me 20 minutes. You'll also notice it stays lit, burns even all the way, taste stays consistent all the way leaving an easily tamp-able silky soft ash. I still think its 3 to 4 star.

A nice compliment to JA's English Mixture, this blend has a lot to offer. Makes one feel like they are sipping champagne. Slightly smoky with a very noticeable but not overpowering Latakia note. A pinch sweeter than EM (Brutt-like). Can smoke slightly hot so tamper ever so often. This a stronger blend but not intolerable to the pallate. I'm torn between these two blends because they are quite good and very reasonably priced. Room note is hard to describe but won't offend/toasty and warm. Dryer flavor in the briar but then again I lean more toward a cob. Only drawback, doesn't smoke as well in very cold weather. Highly recommended.