In the pouch, this tobacco has a typical burley smell. That is to say "agricultural" -- the smell of fresh-cut hay. It's not as sweet as Wilke's Nut Brown Burley.

The down side to this tobacco is that it's hard to keep lit. This is probably due to the cube cut. It tends to burn hot when pushed (which sometimes you feel you need to do when it won't stay lit). If you can keep it lit, it burns to a medium gray ash.

This blend is not as rich in the mouth as Nut Brown Burley, but still a good burley flavor. The flavor remains consistent (some may say boring) throughout the bowl. It's a lot cheaper than NBB, and the milder strength makes it more suitable for all-day smoking.

If this were a beverage, it would be Yuengling Black-and-Tan. A good brew, but not the best. Recommended.

Update 8/25/10: aged a bit this blend only gets better. A lovely bread flavor on first light, followed by a nutty flavor. There is an underlying sweetness that is followed by a bit of "tart" (sweet-tart?) on the tip of the tongue. Make sure you don't over-dry the blend before lighting. Worth aging. With a normal amount of controlled puffing, you can smoke bowl after bowl of this and it will reward you with a mild nutty aroma from the start, and a develop a subtle sweet taste as it progresses. It takes a bit of practice to keep the little cubes lit, and I wouldn't recommend it coupled with activities that require much motion. The cubes can fall out if you are tipping your pipe to violently, and they are often glowing orange. I have decided to give the blend 3 stars. As I said before, it reaches the mark because it is near perfectly done for what it is intended, a lite cube cut nutty flavored blend that can be smoked forever without issue.

This can become "bitey" if smoked too hard and quick, but its flavor is very consistent throughout the bowl. I detect a bit of strength at the last of the bowl, otherwise it is a flavorful smoke from the top to bottom of the bowl.

Mostly a matured virginia plug smoker, and strong enjoyment of the heavy Balkan tobaccos, over the last 10-15 years, I have tried more of the "lighter" mixtures/blends. The cube cut is a change of pace and I like to tinker with packing this in different ways and in adjusting the moisture levels. A reasonable price, I usually buy in 1 or 5 pound quantities.

I usually smoke this in a large group 5 size or oversized bowl, and from packing to lighting, I may wait 20 minutes. Cube Cut is an excellent morning and afternoon smoke and like many burley tobaccos, sets up a nice cake quickly. Very much worth a try, and a tobacco that stays in my rotation.

...a pipe is to be savored...

Update: 09/18/2009 Several bowls later this blend has disappointed me. The tongue bite I experienced slightly seemed to increase and as one reviewer already mentioned it feels like "mouth-bite". My entire mouth was feeling scorched...a shame really since this had so much going for it. I have to downgrade this to not recommended since I'm simply not able to smoke it due to the burn.

I like the flavor of the burley. No bite. Just a enjoyable smoke that will get a compliment or two on the aroma. Some nuttiness and it seems to taste a little bit of caramel.

3 1/2 stars.

If you like Va/burley blends, and are a fan of cube cut tobaccos, give this a try. I suspect you will like it.

Small cubes, somewhat logically, that pile up in the pipe and can't be tamped down easily. It tends to go out until enough cubes have ignited, but the patience is well rewarded.

What a flavour -- burley and virginia, as stated -- and I did not detect any real casing taste. Just pure tobacco, burning very slowly. This is similar to the classic burley blends. I have not tried Half-and-Half, but consider this a half-and-half blend. I would not regard Cube Cut as better than the classics, but an addition to the line-up, and I could adopt this as my ERR replacement. I sense some similarities, and would recommend this to anyone looking for a replacement to ERR or an alternative to CH, Sir Walter and the others.

Maybe after some aging Cube Cut will change a little. Some say burleys don't store well, but others don't seem to agree. I plan to sock away quite a lot for the inevitable tobacco drought within the next couple of decades, but will keep some on hand to smoke regularly. At the price, this stuff is almost a gift.

Interesting thing is -- no bite. No little ferrets nibbling the mouth or big dogs snapping their jaws. Not a lot of N punch in this, so I will probably make it my morning smoke.

I added this one to my 10 top favorite Va/burley list.

My tastebuds don't pick up any topping, but I won't argue if yours do; I just get fine quality burley with just enough virginia to stave off monotony.

I had to adjust my smoking technique to deal with what is a new cut for me: just a light fill, about three-quarters of a bowl, and a gentle tamp, and away I go.

I'm quite happy to have taken everyone's advice on this one. Should I mention that this is bliss in a cob?

Just a brief addition. I have been working my way through a pound of this and the room note has recieved nothing but praise from those around me. So, it's dirt cheap, tastes like real tobacco, and generates praise from those near and far. Maybe the next order should be for two pounds?

This is a decent, good burley in the way that the kid down the street is an honest, hard-working kid. I don't really want to shoot the breeze with him on a daily basis but I'll smile and wave hello.

The burley in here tastes good. The VA gives it mid-body. The first part of the bowl is almost cavendish-sweet but that's gone a quarter of the way in.

My ratings: 1 star: wouldn't smoke again 2 star: decent, might smoke again 3 star: will smoke again 4 star: must have on-hand at all times.

This blend : 2.3

Images evoked include a mummified santa clause dropping brain-tweezers into the the parents' stockings of all the bad little boys and girls. It's going to be an undead egyptian Christmas!

Packed loosely, the cube cut smokes with a nice even tempo. The balance of Virginia and Burley is just right, providing some rich sweetness to the the Burley's good manners. There is something else in there, but whatever casing this may have is very subdued and beyond my ability to identify.

Cube Cut can tend toward being a little bitter. If so, an interesting and smoother mixture can be made by adding 20-30% Black Cavendish such as BCA.

Appearance: Nice cubed Burley and Virginia presentation that reminds me of ?GrapeNuts? cereal (for those not in the USA or Canada, GrapeNuts is a very ?granular? cereal roughly cubed. The colors vary from tans to a deep chestnut brown

Aroma: This mixture has a deep sweet aroma very enticing. Immediately one smells a deep hay-like quality, not of hay in neat bales stacked in the barn; rather of freshly mown hay, slowly drying in the summer sun. Deep, sharp and earthy. Carmel tones and nuts are evident, as in pecan or butternut. There is a darker scent to this as well leading me to believe that some of the leaf has been toasted in some manor. There seems to be a slight ?fruit essence? used at some point, though just by smelling it alone, I'd be hard pressed to identify it.

This tobacco is nearly perfect in moisture and I employed a gravity feed and a very slight hand packing the bowl. I have chosen a Jan Zeman YPSC 2003 Volcano/Bulldog which I smoke VaBur mixtures in frequently. Several bowls of Cube Cut have been smoked in this pipe to reduce other blend prejudices.

Lighting can be a little temperamental with this one until it really gets going frequent re-lights are necessary. As expected, the initial flavor very Burley, with a thick silky mouth feel, brighter notes of fruits and caramel are evident from the fine Virginia. Hay-like tones and smells and flavors of Autumn are abundant with deepening flavors of nuts and a slight fruit essence (which at least one other reviewer identifies as apple) is noted. While I'd not go as far as to say this is an ?Apple flavored? mixture, I do suspect a small amount of apple essence is used in the product. It is a distinct enhancement flavor, not a dominating one, just ?there enough? to make for interest and something slightly out of the ordinary/

Mid Bowl: Approaching mid-bowl, the fullness tends to build the toothsome mixtures of Burley, Virginia, nuts and apples develop in strength slowly along predictable lines. Slowly and gently the blend comes ?together? building in richness and strength to a level of somewhere between ?medium and full?. The rich buttery mouth feel continues building as well making each mouthful of creamy smoke something one savors, not in any hurry to exhale. Once an even light and cadence are achieved this is a self maintaining blend indeed, needing very little attention of tamper. Maintaining the ash is easy as well, and this slow burning blend usually lasts me well over an hour.

Home Stretch: As end of the bowl approaches, the bowl never really changes. This blend remains consistent throughout. The final third has matured nicely with all the flavors working in deepening harmony. Absolutely no temptation toward tongue bite is noted, very cool and even burn rate noted throughout. This is a favorite candidate for outdoor smoking. While not a complex blend at all, Cube Cut has the kind of richness and fullness of flavors to keep my interest without having to think much about it. It seems the perfect companion for outdoor sporting activities such as hunting or fishing or camping especially in cooler weather. I think this blend and a strong cup of ?camp coffee? would warm the soul in ?deer camp?.

Supplemental Notes: I think that Cube Cut has earned a place in my cellar, maybe not for everyday, but for those times when I long to be outdoors all day in less than ?ideal? weather. Rating for those interested in numbers *** stars