I was disapointed, not repulsed. The cigar leaf seemed to dominate the flavor and it was lower quality cigar leaf than I am used to. I'm hoping cellaring will help.

I smoke cigars. I have high regard for C&D. My three stars are optimistic that when I revisit the blend it will live up to three stars.

It's not like I only smoked half of a bowl and tapped it out in disgust, and I did use a very reliable, well seasoned Castello Collection that has never steered me wrong.

I think there is something to this blend and am willing to give it a chance, but it wasn't as pleasurable a smoking experience as I was hoping for.

I could smoke this all day and all night, if necessary. It is mild, in the vitamin-N department, unlike many of the CD line-up, but it keeps its flavour from start to finish.

You can't really taste the cigar leaf per se. I suspect that it works inside the Latakia, serving as a kind of chemical additive to that worthy leaf.

Towards the last third of the pipe you get even more Latakia, with the burleys muted. I would presume that even CD's burleys, not generally a shy bunch, are upstaged by the other components to the point of just creeping away.

Outstanding in every respect.

BB begins with a nice toasty and smoky aroma with the tobacco lurking just below the surface to give a nice reminder of it's prescence. Roughly midway, the kick and flavor encapsulate your senses into the cigar-esque traits of this blend. The maduro and burley accentuate the Latakia (or the other way around) to allow a nice base note of sweetness from the Virginias to show.

Overall, BB pleases this smoker with it's rounded full flavor, decent strength, and modest profile. Recommended, though a good light roast coffee or dark tea goes quite well alongside this blend. A staple, if not a permanent fixture.

Smoked a bowl when I first got it and tossed it into a mason jar for about about 3 months.

I don't know if it's too much latakia or cigar leaf or maybe my butchered-by-cigarette taste buds but pretty much all I get from the Billy is a harsh smoke and a harassed throat. It's leathery alright but not the usual sweet and leathery flavour I get from other latakia blends but salty and pungent; almost bitter.

See you in another 3 months Billy!

*

After almost 3 months I am smoking this once again. It still doesn't wanna burn evenly, still pungent and musty yet the bitterness is gone. There is something about the latakia in this blend; it's very different from the latakia from other latakia blends I have been smoking. I don't know how or why it happens but I guess I like other latakias better...

I bought a pound of this blend and jarred it a little over a year ago. It took mr a while to get a regular feel for this blend, but I find it not like other blends.

I enjoy this blend in any pipe, but it is especially amazing in my thick walled cherrywood.

A hearty room note that masks a truly smooth, tasty smoke with predominantly latakia and burley taking their turns. I found the Virginias and cigar tobacco subtley showing up now and then to provide an amazing well balanced smoke.

Vitamin N is definitely there, but doesn't overpower. An exceptional C&D blend.

Soli Deo gloria!

Probably wouldn't recommend this to anyone who hasn't smoked an English before, or isn't a smoker who smokes often. If you do enjoy an English blend this is definitely for you. Probably one of the most enjoyable and tasteful smokes I ever had.

I tend to smoke only mild aromatics like C&D's Founding Fathers. But I have also smoked their Epiphany blend as well.

This is definitely much stronger in room note and taste. But it smokes very smoothly. Nicotine hit is strongish but not a head swimmer.

The only problem is that I don't smoke enough to fully enjoy this tobacco. The only time that I really enjoyed this blend was at the end of a week when I had smoked almost every day previous. I usually only smoke a few times a month if that.

So I had an almost nirvana like smoke and then went about a month without smoking at all. Since my previous smoke was so nice I decided to have another bowl. It was very disappointing. The smell seemed very abrasive the taste was overwhelming and was just no good. I couldn't understand why at first but I am pretty sure it is because I don't smoke much

So, if you smoke regularly I would say this is a great tobacco to try. But if you are like me and smoking is more of an casual thing, then you might want to go with something more mild.

Full disclosure: I have also revisited Habana Daydream and enjoy it.

YMMV.

Billy Budd has been his tobacco of choice for a number of years, and because of him and my love of Purple Cow. I decided to try some of this when i ordered a 5 blend sampler pack from the source.

The first bowl i smoked wasn't good, i dont know why, but all i tasted was cigar leaf. Must have not been mixed up right, or just bad bad luck or something, but i was initially disappointed.

I tried it again the next day however, and wow, it is fantastic. I have now smoked a number of bowls of it. Not as strong (at least to me) as other reviewers make it sound, but it is a very full flavored, stout, smoke.

Lots of Latakia flavor, but not a one dimensional tobacco at all; the components are nicely blended. There is always a spicy sort of cigar like note throughout the smoke and it becomes a lot more apparent at times, specially if smoked hot or fast. The virginia sweetness keeps it from being harsh, and the burly makes it a really good, complex smoke(i like little burly in english blends).

I am guilty of being a fast smoker, but i must honestly say that this blend is a whole lot better if smoked slowly.

It burns clean and dry, but a little fast, but oh well, buy it in bulk and its not drastically expensive and incredibly worth it.

I Hesitate to give it the highly recommended rating, simply because some people i would simply not recommend it to.

If one primarily enjoys the fine points of virginia flake, or the mildness of a pleasant aromatic, or even just light english blends like early morning or squadron leader, this may not be for you, but there is only one way to find out right? But, if you like a strong, full flavored, English blend, and want to try something a little unique, I really feel like you will enjoy this.

One thing this blend does not lack is taste. Judging by the tobaccos used in this blend, it lives up to the taste profile I expected when i lit my pipe.

What i tasted was mainly Burley and Latakia. I did get some notes of what could be described as Cigar leaf. I feel that the Virginia leaf is just too delicate in taste to compete with the no holds barred Burley, Latakia and Maduro leaf.

Overall i feel this blend has its place. It is for a very late night smoke when your taste buds have been fried all day by whatever it was you have been smoking and you need some VitN and something you can actually taste at that time.

It does not make it into my rotation but i can see a place for this from time to time.

Mo, South Africa

As for the tobacco, this wasn’t one that I could just ease into, even as a long time purveyor of cigars. Billy Budd is a challenging blend that forced me to really alter my cadence from Allegro to Adagio un poco mosso.

Billy Budd is a flavorful and at times rewarding smoke, but it can also taste out of balance and it can be down right rude. I’m talking like a smack to the face, and this hand isn’t wearing a velvet glove. But there is a silver lining with Billy Budd. Moments where I have experienced true tobacco harmony, tasting the woodsy burley and latakia intertwined with sweet undercurrents of Virginia with just a delicate cocoa note from the cigar leaf. These moments are rare with Billy Budd but they are there, and most of all this is never a boring smoke. Most of the time however, the latakia dominates, the cigar flavor pokes through here and there & the burley and Virginia flavors seem mostly neutered. As for the cut, I am not a huge fan of course cut mixtures and several times this one has clogged my pipe. Room note and Billy Budd should probably not be used in the same sentence unless you live in the ultimate bachelor pad. If that’s the case then I envy you because I do like the smell of this stuff. At my house Billy Budd is an anti-wife mechanism. Smoking it guarantees that my significant other is having nothing to do with the likes of me that day and maybe even the next.

Now that spring is nearly here, I look forward to aging a bit of this over the next 6 months to see how it fares next winter.

2.5 stars..

Yes, "CIGAR TASTE", these are the only key words I have. And after striking a few keys on my lap-top, I have 2 choices: Billy Budd and Habana Daydream. Coincidently there is only Billy Budd in stock at my regular supplier. So I got 200 grams for my colleague and 50 for myself. It was a little too dry when I opened the bag.

And again, one same blend gives out totally different characteristics with different pipes. I first tried this blend in my meerschaum, and the experience was not so great. I could only enjoy myself for the first few puffs and afterwards all elements seem to be mixed up.

I switched my pipe to my James Upshall pot shape which I usually serve with Penzance, and everything appeared as it should be. The latakia is well balanced, not too agressive. However I feel no cigar taste in the flavor but my pallete tells me there is some according to the old memory :)

The coarse cut is the most difficult to pack but I managed it with Frank method. It lights well (maybe because it was too dry ?) and requires no relight even with slow puffs.

Good stuff indeed, but don't expect too much for the cigar taste according to the description. For the blend itself, I rate 4-star. With Penzance which requires forever for its availability, this would be a great alternative.

Because it was the second bowl of my life, it hit a little harder then expected, and I didn't understand why PipeFriend liked it so much.

1 month later, and approximately 15 bowls, I finally get it. This is deffinetly a tobacco that grows on you. If you give it the time it needs and smoke it slowly this will eventually be in your top five, guaranteed.

Updated 1/14/12- Saw old " Billy" sitting in the back of the cellar so after a year I gave him another chance.Sorry I did, upon French inhaling I got a strong ammonia blast. Well that's it, threw out Billy