Generally speaking, I found this to have a mild burley flavor with an assertive smoky and peppery taste. Vitamin N needs should be satisfied for most of us -- -- certainly not overwhelming though. Some others have mentioned a fruity taste, perhaps raisin or figs. I did not detect any fruitiness, although I'm not bothered by that at all. I will continue to smoke and purchase this blend, although I am going to cellar a portion of mine for later comparison. This does not bite and smokes pretty cool.

Recommended for those who enjoy burley, yet want something with a bit more punch.

UPDATE (10/15/11): I'd like to add a few additional insights that have made this a more enjoyable blend for me.

1. Despite the C&D reputation for relative dryness, I like to spread each bowl on a small saucer for about 20 minutes prior to smoking.

2. I smoke this one in smaller/medium bowls. Not one for the big boys.

3. I usually don't smoke a bowl full of this one. I've found that if I do that, the last third is not pleasant. I usually load a half to two-thirds of a bowl.

With the above approach, this blend tastes fresher and more multi-dimensional (for this blend). Hot-boxing a full bowl will, of course, not be a pleasant experience. (It never is, right?) I'd pair this with a nice, full bodied, black coffee (one sugar).

Since my sample was aged for a year, the taste may be different when this blend is younger. An unlit sip brought a faint hint of the fruitiness, and the charring light brought almost a plum taste with some of the latakia making its appearance. Overall it seemed the nuttiness of the burley played in the background like the drone on a bagpipe with the latakia and fruity/plum flavors of the Virginia going in and out with each puff. The perique occasionally adds a hint of spice, but only rarely. Epiphany burned to a gray ash leaving a pleasant room note and a short finish. I have never tried the original Revelation that this blend was supposed to be emulating, so I have no opinion on how close the two blends are.

I enjoyed smoking this blend. I found it to be a milder English blend than what I am used to, but I really enjoyed the Virginia and burley components. I would recommend this to anyone wanting a blend containing latakia when it is not dominating the smoke. I will probably be buying more of this in the future.

Additional information: I've just ordered 8 oz of this. Recently it is my all day smoke.

I've wrestled off on on throughout my life to like this blend. I really wanted to like it, but just never been able to do it.

As teenagers we managed to illicitly acquire a few supermarket blends like Holiday, Rum and Maple, Prince Albert and Hickory, but Revelation was one of those finds we'd obsess over. The Burley, Virginia, Latakia and Perique configuration made it intriguing and a joy to have around. It smelled different and exciting. But as I recollect none of my pals ever actually smoked Revelation much because it was just an unpleasant encounter, bitter and biting, like Popa's Camel cigarettes.

And things haven't changed for me. Acquired 8 ounces recently in another attempt to embrace this icon tobac only to find it still smells great, but that is where the adventure ends. It smokes hot, has a tendency to require multiple relites, tastes bitter, is hard on the throat, and ghosts any pipe I ever put it in including the cobs. I'm relegated to using it as a mixer and for me that is where its salvaging grace lies. I give it ** stars in deference to all good Revelation lovers out there.

Sorry Dr. Einstein but your passion for it athwarts a dimension I have never been able to enter.

As for the smoke itself I got some smokiness (i.e. Latakia) in the bag but this didn't really transfer to the bowl where I found mainly burley and perique. The lack of latakia made it a little too spicy for me and because it lacked the smokiness of the latakia, the burley and perique just sort of hung there with nothing to support it. In the words of the 42nd president of the USA, there really was no "there" there.

I blended some in various ratios with 1Q and will see what that does in a week or so. I'll order some BCA and blend it with that, too, and see what happens.

UPDATE:

I have had several more bowls of this and it seemed inconsistent in flavor. After a deep pipe clean days ago, I came back to it this morning and had the same joyous experience as the one above. Could just be the alignment of mood/climate/time of day, but I cannot get enough of this blend. Very contemplative and special to me as I would not have continued my journey into the land of non-aromatics were it not for this.