Ken Byron Ventures Sakura

The deeply matured red Virginia provides a burst of fermented tangy dark fruit, some tart citrus, earth, wood, bread, floralness, mild grass, light sugar, spice, vegetation, and a few vinegar/barbecue notes. It takes a small lead. The aspects of the fermented stoved Virginia are sugary stewed dark fruit, earth, wood,floralness and sugar, while the stoved black cavendish burley adds a nutty, earthy, woody, sugariness. They compete with the red Virginia for attention. The dry, sour, incense-like Turkish varietals offer a lot of earth, wood, herbs, floralness, spice, vegetation, rugged sharpness, and a hint of sweetness. They are almost supporting players. The obvious floral, flowery essences along with the light cherry and prune toppings considerably sublimate the tobaccos. The strength and nic-hit are a step past the medium mark. The taste level is just shy of the center of medium to strong. There’s no chance of bite or harshness, but there are a few minute rough edges. It’s mildly moist, but doesn’t need an dry time. It’s deeply rich, and well balanced with a lot of complexity. It burns cool, clean and a tad slow with a very consistent tart and tangy sweet, sour and floral, flowery, mildly spicy, savory, punchy flavor that translates to the distinctly pleasant, long lasting after taste and room note. Leaves little moisture in the bowl, and requires some relights. Not an all day smoke, but the veteran aromatic/Lakeland smoker may find it nearly is for them. It’s repeatable for the less experienced.

-JimInks

A friend of mine invited me to the pipe club the other day and wanted me to try this. He liked it so much he ordered more. This is a moist tobacco with a light touch of cherry. To be honest I did not smoke a lot of this but what I did I really enjoyed. I have had stronger cherry aromatics but this one was expertly done. The tobacco flavors were there along with a cherry essence just strong for you to know it is cherry. If you like cherry this is a must have.

This is an unusual smoke, for sure. Out of the package it smells like cherries and sweetness, but not as much as most aromatics. It is moist, but I had no problems lighting it or keeping it lit same as most KBV blends. This is also a pretty slow burning blend, which is nice and easy to keep at a low temperature. The fruit and floral qualities are very prominent right from the beginning, front and center. They stayed there throughout. But the second most notable thing is the mouth feel. This blend has what I would call a very dry smoke on the pallet. Only a couple of other blends I've ever smoked had this quality, and I believe it comes from the Burley Cavendish. This dry quality, is there right from the beginning and persists through the entire bowl. If you are not used to this, you may hate it. Heavy Virginia blends usually have a mouth feel with thick, savory smoke that is very smooth. This is a little different.
The room note is excellent, it won't burn your tongue, and it behaves wonderfully. The Virginia's combine nicely with the casing. The floral notes blend into the cherry wood perfectly, and ultimately this is a very nicely rounded out product. I suppose I could smoke this all day long, but it might lose some of its intrigue. This belongs in that special category of tobacco that smells good to everyone in the room, and offers some real enjoyment for the mature smoker.

I do not have a refined palate. I can't tell you all the flavors that this blend contains. However, I do know that it's delicious! I didn't get anything special until the mid bowl then boom! And it continued to get better with each puff! It has a floral/cherry taste that compliments the natural flavors of the tobacco like most of KBV blends and the only aromatics I like. Its complex and behaves well. KVB is a mastermind and the crown jewel of tobacconist. You can't go wrong picking up his blends. Cheers!