The Va?s are virtually undetectable, as is the ?delicate kiss? of a ?subtle and intriguing flavor?. Maybe if the flavor is that subtle, one should not kiss so delicately.

All I tasted was Cavendish and Burley in a way that reminded me of (cheap) dry red wine. I kept hoping it would get better, but bowl after bowl, it just stayed the same: One dimensional and downright boring.

People around me, however found it to be pleasant.

Vacum packed in a resealable pouch, the leaf is pressed together almost to the point of forming a light cake. The color is mostly golden/green and tan, with a few darker bits scattered about. The tobacco is very dry, to the point where I wonder if it should be rehumidified. The texture is reminiscent of coarse sawdust; you know, the kind that they used to sprinke on the floor of Italian restaurants. The pouch aroma is... a little different.

Due to the vacum pressing, the leaf needs to be lightly rubbed out before packing a bowl. Upon lighting and first puff, I am immediately assailed by a grassy, almost vegetal flavor that I do not find appealing. The tobacco flavor is mostly Cavendish, Burley and a smattering of Virginia far in the background without any of the brightness or sweetness that I was expecting.

Mid way through the bowl, the alfalfa taste starts to diminish and the Cavendish is dominent. Puff slowly, because this can be a very hot smoke and will bite like a badger if smoked too aggressively. Near the end of the bowl, the grass is gone (thankfully) and the flavor is mostly Burley with little or no Virginia noticeable. The bottom of the bowl is a bit wet; which I find puzzling since the leaf was so dry to begin with.

I tried to like this blend, I really did. I struggled through most of a 4 oz. bag of this stuff for over three months, and I thought that maybe a revelation would hit me and I would see the light. But I just can't do any more. The monster beat me.

This a natural, plain tobacco, though there is faint sweet note on the background, honey like. It does not inmterfere with the smoking experience. Some would say it is old fashioned in the sense it does not convey any artificial agent, such as you find in drugstore blends to aid in the tobacco?s humidity degree; flavorsome, medium strength, it evokes a traditional Burley taste, with a subdued nutty sweetness that is countered by the harshness common to natural blends (i.e., those in which the leaf has not been tampered with beyond the regular curing processes).

As much as I enjoy smoking this type of blends (there is a certain community of flavor that can be found, for example, in Larsen?s Kentucky Gold, in Two Friend?s Redwood or in C&D?s Haunted Bookshop), I do not smoke them regularly. Somehow I get a dry and rather raw aftertaste which I do not particularly relish. But the smoking experience as such is wonderfully rich, intricate in its layers of flavor, long lasting, and the burning rate and qualities are excellent.