Blackjack has a grassy tin aroma and a fairly bright appearance. I expected a stoved VA but this is not what I would consider a black VA at all. Perhaps other tins (that I will certainly be securing for the old tobacco cellar) will appear differently. At any rate, this smokes lightly sweet and dry all the way down the bowl -start to finish. I really like this stuff. It has the spicy and sweet aroma you often find in VA types. I like to smoke this in the car while commuting since I seem to get some good side-stream smoke that way.

Highly recommended. I'll give this about 4.5 out of 5.

I have not tried a "fresh" tin and doubt I will.

It is grassy and lightly sugary upon initial light and relight, then eventually gives way to a slightly tangy, very full tobacco taste.

Earthy/woodsiness does come through but remains very airy. There doesn't seem to be a broad range of flavors but instead subtle shifts in the level of spice and sweetness within an overall full VA taste. Letting it settle and giving it a relight definitely increases the fullness of the taste. I believe I taste a tiny bit of cirtus oriental towards the end of the bowl but it is just a hint.

I couldn't detect additional topping/casing. The room note during the smoke is light and airy. It leaves little to no lingering permeation of the room.

I've found that Blackjack burns clean and remarkably cool. I've only had a bit of bite when using it in a pipe that is somewhat virgin, and overpuffing. Even at the end of the bowl there was no sourness, and just a slight increase in VA tang and strength. This may be a good tobacco for those looking to try out straight VA blends.

By far one of the most overall enjoyable VA based tobaccos I've tried (though my range of experience is still admittedly fairly limited). It seems nearly every smoke gives me plenty of satisfaction with very little fuss, bite, or falter. A clean white-gray ash in the end.

F&T BJ is a hell of a unique VA. According to the company list's description, this is a pure red VA. When you open the tin, there appears to be more variety. The fire curing gives this tobacco an incredibly rich and deep flavor. I love English and Balkans, but the smokiness of this VA is reminiscent of latakia.

It's ready rubbed and well-packaged. This is an exceptional tobacco, especially for the price. For an added kick, get some bulk perique from your tobacconist and mix 1 part to 9 parts blackjack.

A fantastic VA for anyone. This is a classic.

Not dark in any way but flavor, it's a red and golden hued rubbed-out flake that packs and burns easily with minimal tongue-bite. It also burns somewhat rapidly, but not as fast as Golden Mixture. It's sweet, but not as sweet as GM. It strikes deeper notes than GM, but I'd still classify it as a light Virginia overall. A pleasant, refreshing smoke. If it didn't burn so durned fast I'd call it an all-dayer.

Appearance: This appears to be a broken flake comprised of roughly 30% each of red and brown virginias, 25% golden and the remainder dark leaf - perique and perhaps a smidgen of stoved Virginia.

Packing and Lighting: I didn't bother rubbing this out any more as it's already at a perfect coarseness and moisture level to load easily into a little Gefapip "Tignes" Rhodesian. The initial light is easy as the smaller pieces on top catch fire readily and the smoke is sweet but sharp-tasting. I puffed up a good crown, tamped lightly and puffed some more then went outside to clear my sinuses. Coming back in, I get a VERY woody smell - not deeply smoky like Latakia, but more of a clean-burning wood like Alder. The second light ignites the whole top, has a slightly mellower flavor and is smoldering well, providing a very cool smoke.

Exposition: The flavor of this is very light and ephemeral even when blown out through my nose. All sharpness is gone now, the sweetness is like a light caramel syrup and the smoke is a deepish blue-grey and medium in density. The smoke wafting off the top of the bowl is the most interesting thing thus far - very sharp and oaky with very subtle sweet undertones like baking ginger cookies. So far it's nice, but a tad dull for my taste this morning.

The Story: After a 30 minute rest and a relight, the body has (as I expected) been kicked up a notch. It's still a nice mild blend, subtly spicy and sweet and now has an added dimension to it - the grassy qualities have faded into something darker and more like holiday baking smells with touches of wood smoke and perhaps someone smoking a mild cigar in the next room. It's a fast smoke even for this smallish pipe, but the flavors are changing quite a bit from one minute to the next. The smoke off of the bowl is now more nutty than sweet but maintains the woodsy sharpness that makes me enjoy this so much in a bent pipe.

Denouement: The tail end of the bowl is still of very consistent flavor, the smoke is still cool and has not a hint of sour- or ashiness, the nicotine level is mild and there has been only a slight tendency to bite which was easily averted by puffing more slowly. When I finished, the bowl of my pipe was coated nicely with a fine mottled black-and-grey ash and there was not a shred left unburned.

Pros: It burns well, cool and is pleasantly fragrant while having some nice pure tobacco flavors. I would be likely to smoke this in a large pipe at night, saving the last half-bowl for breakfast. I must admit that the bright flavors make for a nice wake-up for the palate!

Cons: The only slight negative I could find with this is that it burns quickly even when not dry, but this may make it good for shorter smoke breaks so I can hardly call that a negative.