I hereby announce that I stand corrected. It is possible to produce a BC blend that actually has merit, and Dan Tobacco (the makers of the Bulldog blends) have done it with this offering.

The tin contains ready-rubbed, very dark-to-black tobacco. I have seen darker BC; this fits in on the brighter end of the gamut. My nose confirms that VA has been used: this is exceptional. It's a BC where I can actually detect the base tobacco used, by scent alone. The musty sweetness with slightly peppery notes of all the "usual" BCs is in there, but far less musty and with much more brightness. The main theme, though, remains "sweetness."

The leaf, being a ready-rubbed, pretty broadly cut flake, does not even need stuffing. Just finagle it into the bowl (wide bowls preferred), gently press down a little and top off, light up and enjoy. It's sweet. There is no Nic kick, nor any hint of strong aromas: this really is plain tobacco, and the advertised pepper aroma is very much in the background, manifesting as a gentle bright note with some... er, pepperiness, which lingers on after finishing the pipe, in a very nice way.

Not bad at all -- I just finished another bowl, in a Falcon, and it was delicious. Though I'm going to have to suck on a bowl of Peterson's University Flake just to stock up on Nicotine.