John Aylesbury Sir John's Virginia

Appearance: a 50 gram tin, released in early 2022. A mix of matured bright and orange Virginia with a small amount of red Virginia. The blend is very reminiscent of Sutliff 707 in appearance and tobacco ratio. A fine, ready-rubbed cut, the moisture content seems ideal, but a little drying out wouldn't hurt - as it turns out, the excessive moisture in it leads to a burning sensation on the tongue.

Flavor: definitely Danish - honeyed topping with a slight note of vanilla and cocoa, somewhat reminiscent of the Robert McConnell Red Virginia topping. However, it's moderate, the Virginia blend notes are quite detectable - hay, some woody notes, a little bit of citrus. A very light fruity note is almost imperceptible because of the topping.

Taste: initially a little sweet due to the topping - you can feel the honey and a subtle note of cocoa. However, the fruity, herbaceous and woody, slightly astringent Virginia notes are quite noticeable. The topping quickly fades away, but the slight fruity sweetness certainly remains, while the woody notes of Virginia are slightly amplified. Initially the tobacco is a little harsh, demanding to the speed of smoking, easily loses flavor, tends to bite and overheats the pipe at the slightest attempt to enhance puffing. Closer to the first half the harshness of tobacco passes, but the blend still requires attention, starting to be bitter when overheated. Straight pipes are more tolerant of it than bents. The overall taste is moderately bright. The strength is expectedly low, and given the very slow smoking, the nicotine hit is not threatening even in very large pipes. The tobacco burns into a light gray ash with a barely noticeable yellowish-brown hue, leaving some moisture in the pipe. The aftertaste is noticeable enough, sweet and woody.

The smoke is light, with the smell of smoldering wood. It is easily dispersed in the room.

What's the result? Obviously, not bad. Virginia purists are likely to be disappointed, as the tobacco has a topping that, while it blends with the flavor and taste, muffles the clean tobacco notes. But for those who would like to switch from aromatics to natural blends, this tobacco would be quite an acceptable purchase. By the way, I tried adding a small amount of perique to it and letting it rest for a while. The flavor and taste became a little softer and a lot more interesting.