Ken Byron Ventures King Black

The woody, earthy, dark fruity, very floral, cigar-like, herbal dark Malawi Virginia takes a small lead over the spicy, woody, earthy, floral, dark fruity fire cured Virginia. It’s easy to tell that these varietals are from Gawith & Hoggarth. The sugary black cavendish helps smooth out a few rough edges as do the toppings. The rich vanilla is the lead topping, followed closely by the honey, and a little sugar. The toppings mildly sublimate the strong tobaccos, and both cohesively bind to create a complex, nuanced, well balanced, punchy aromatic. The strength and taste levels are medium. The nic-hit is a couple of steps behind them. No chance of bite or harshness. Burns cool, clean, and a tad slow with a very consistent sweet and mildly savory, very floral, rich, deep flavor that translates to the lingering after taste. Leaves little moisture in the bowl, and requires a couple more than an average number of relights. Not quite an all day smoke, but it is repeatable. Three and a half stars out of four.

-JimInks

I rarely smoke aromatics. However, I tried King Black and thought it was just great. Rich but not heavy taste. A bit of cocoa, vanilla and honey enhances some sweet virginia and cavendish. Excellent tobacco quality, just as described by the blender. No bite, no goop. Balanced, consistent flavor. I've tried a number of Ken Byron blends.They are very well done. KBV makes a very serious attempt to find the best blending leaf and flavoring components. As a point of reference, If you like Wilke 191, you might enjoy King Black as well.