Ken Byron Ventures Artifact Blend

This blend consists of several well aged Virginias: some fragrant matured and bright, a fair amount of stoved, and a little red. They offer a range of well known Virginia aspects: an abundance of tart and very tangy citrus, a lot of fermented tangy stewed sugary, creamy dark fruit, some tangy, fermented dark fruit, plenty of earth, bread and wood along with a light grassiness, lemon, orange and apricot, and a touch of vinegar and floralness. The more than a decade old earthy perique provides a wealth of fermented stewed raisins, plums, dates, figs as well as some tingly spice in a support role. The very tangy dark fruity topping moderately sublimates the tobaccos. The strength is a slot below the medium mark. The taste level barely touches the medium level. The nic-hit is a couple of steps short of medium. No chance of bite or harshness, and has no rough edges. Burns cool and clean at a reasonable rate with a very well balanced and complex, consistent, deeply rich fruity tangy sweet, lightly creamy, mildly spicy flavor that translates to the pleasantly lingering after taste. Leaves little dampness in the bowl, and requires an average number of relights. Has a pleasant room note. Can be an all day smoke for the veteran, and certainly repeatable for the less experienced.

-JimInks

Boy was I excited to try this blend after hearing all the hype about Ken Byron's blends. I read the description on the website and I was all in.

Upon opening the bag I was very disappointed, I could immediately tell this tobacco is not what I was anticipating. Its bag note is eerily similar to some of Boswells aromatics. After re-reviewing the description on Ken Website, and not seeing ANYTHING about added toppings or flavorings. So I emailed Ken himself and asked Whats going on here. He said there is a very light dressing applied to enhance the tobaccos flavors. The term "light" as many buzz words used on here are clearly subjective. In my opinion the topping is quite HEAVY.

After a few attempts to enjoy this blend, my verdict could not be swayed. This is a very sugary sweet, fruity blend. Where the topping competes with and at times completely over takes the tobacco flavor. I really wanted to enjoy this blend, but I just cant get past the fact that these fine virginia tobaccos have been ruined by jolly-rancher-esk essence.

While I can not stand aro's, or any blends with jolly-rancher juice on them, it is quite clear a lot of people do. I wont sit here and say this blend is horrible or trash. But I will clearly state that this is NOT a traditional Va-Per blend. More so a training-wheels blend for aro-smokers. If your a fan of overly-sweet blends with a essence of syrup and artificial flavoring give this a whirl. If your of the "No Jolly-Juice" camp such as myself. Id simply state Beware of what you're purchasing, and possibly save your money for something a little more traditional.

2 - stars due to the misleading information provided by the blender.