Anyways, I have discovered that this Briar Fox blend tastes good, smells good, and has a large dose of 'Tine. I am steering away from aromatics for health reasons more than anything, but I do like a nice sweet tasting smoke, and I have found that it is the Virginia tobaccos which provide that natural sweetness that I like. As others have said already and better, the smoke is sweet and forward and very smooth if you are patient with the briar. Put the pipe down for three minutes or so and just a few short, quick puffs had it burning nicely again when I came back to it- didn't have to re-light. Smells good enough that I do not piss off everyone on campus (I do tend to take others' senses into consideration when smoking) when I light up, burns mellow and sweet if you carefully sip, and even looks pretty good, dark and red and, well, "foxy".

Side note: Krumble Kake sounds Kool, like Krusty the Klown.

I love the cake form, which rubs out and packs nicely, and the tobacco came at almost a perfect humidity. Burn is even and relatively cool. Smell in the tin is not totally unpleasant, but it does smell like quite a bit like sour milk.

Flavor is tangy, spicy, and chimeric. The Virginias are not as sweet as I expected - mostly just tangy, sometimes with a pronounced nuttiness. Oftentimes, I could swear I was burning sandalwood. Overall, it is airy and light tasting; seems fair to set it in the daytime / desk work category. The perique undertone gives it an interesting, complex flavor and is well-proportioned relative to the other flavors. Smoking very gently helps to bring out a balanced complexity; puff too hard or too long, and it just tastes ashy and dirty, like a cheap burley.

This likes a small bowl, which is not a problem because it is quite slow-burning.

I'm right on the border of giving this 3 stars - it's a quality tobacco, and I know there are people who will love this. Nevertheless, I am not one of those people. I'll smoke it up, but won't buy again.

The tin had no date stamped on it, so dating is difficult. Seems to have what I would think were at least 6 months age on it. The bricks are somewhat damp though not overly so. (It was illusiory in the end, because the tobacco was at a perfect smoking humidity when rubbed out to smoke.)They also have a very nice press on them, very compacted and neatly cut. There is little shake in the tin at all even after what I can only guess was significant shipping movement. Very nice presentation. The tobacco is a beautiful reddish brown with darker and lighter highlights. The cake rubs out easily.

No problems in packing. False light smoke was delicious. True light after 15 minutes rest was one of the best virginia experiences I have ever had. True mixture of deep and bright flavors with the edge going to those that are dark and earthy. Serious cereal/grain flavors are present throughout the bowl. Black coffee, dark chocolate, dates, figs, and undefinable creamy flavors are constantly dancing in and out of the starring role. A true ensemble cast with equal strengths.

I found this to be at best a medium pace puffer. It really does shine when it is sipped, which is easy because it stays lit so beautifully. No bite whatsoever, but like I said before, medium cadence was as hard as I puffed. A longer smoke than most virginias give me and that I am thankful for. I smoke alot of bowls in a day, and the longer they last the better. The bowl smoked cool and dry to the heel. No overheating with this one.

I think this is easily an all day smoke for the hardier types such as myself, but may be a bit much for the lighter style pipesters. Although smooth and tasty, it does carry a fully medium dose of Nicotine.

I'm not sure what to make of all the negative reviews. I found this one very hard to find fault with. It should make most virginia fans pretty happy.

Cheers!

One more thing I noticed is the base flavor of BF is not that different from Mixture #79 of all things, when I smoke the two side by side the similarity is hard to deny, only #79 is somewhat more robust across the board, maybe due to it's burley content, but it is a condition I prefer.

Overall BF is a decent VA smoke, but I go to C/D to get away from the Danish influence in my Virginia’s, I already have this type of tobacco covered in my rotation, nine ways to Sunday, I don't need another. My personal rating 2/5

There is PERIQUE , a dash of it, in the Fox. And it is perfectly spicing the virginia. Good stuff, good stuff.

The second tin once open revealed a very dry kake. I have a thrid one, and hopefully will not be that dry to request a humidor!!

(Is there burley in this one, really? I wouldn't be suprised; nor would a claim of African grown VA.)

Again, for me...very good, not great. Any others' claims to the contrary I believe quite likely. Worth a shot, y'all.

The tin smell is quite nice; pungent, very "tobaccoey" in the way you'd expect a traditional plug to smell. The blend, however, is bland with a very subtle, almost undetectable, aroma.

This stuff burns cool, does not bite, and packs a heatlhy nicotine punch, but there are other Virginias out there done in a more English style that are fuller in flavor. Briar Fox failed to deliver.

Updated 9/16/11 I still feel this is a fine tobacco and a nice change of pace from the VaPer's, Latakia, Oriental mixtures , however, I do find it very one dimensional. It has a smooth nutty flavor, not bitter, not sweet, but it is boring. I got a recommendation from a reviewer of McC 5100 Red Cake to blend 50% RC and 50% BF, this was good but I like 2/3 RC and 1/3 BF better. I've got to take a star away.I don't think I will buy more only because I have too many other tobaccos I'd rather smoke. I have to agree with reviewer "YINYANG 11/13/2011 " above.

Updated 7/20/12 I keep going back and forth with this tobacco. I've found you have to rub the entire kake out, let it breath and dry and in a month you have a nice blend. Open the tin and fire away, it tastes like Burley. 2 1/2 stars and a nice change of pace if preped right.

The leaf comes a bit drier than average, which I enjoy, packs great (I pack it firmer than most otherwise the draw is too free) and burns impeccably. The flavors are earthy and natural, and I always get a smile on my face when I reach for the Fox.

The tobacco smeels musty in the bag, it is rough cut little flakes of a medium brown color, a touch dry but that is typical of C and D and I like it that way. It packs very well in the pipe, and lights up easy, one charring light and then it burns nice and clean to the bottom of the pipe where is becomes a dry dust like steel gray ash. It emits a good bit of smoke and it is just a very tobacco taste on the tongue, again a little raw but in a good way. The room note is very heavy for a VA, no crown pleaser but pleasant to me. It burns rather fast, but in no way hot or biting to the tongue. I could see this as an all day blend as it is not cloying and it is easy to smoke. I recommend trying this one, it is one of those mystery blends that I like but can't really say why. But enjoyable it is.