Ken Byron Ventures Moriarty 2021

The smoky, woody, earthy, musty sweet Cyprian Latakia is one of the lead components. The various non-stoved African Virginias and Malawi burley offer a lot of earth, nuts and wood, bread, some fermented tangy dark fruit with a little tart and tangy, sugary citrus and cocoa along with strong floral, vegetative, herbal notes, and a few pinches of spice. They share the lead with the Latakia, and occasionally surpass it. The earthy, woody, herbal, vegetative, floral, toasty, lightly sugary, slightly spicy, stewed nutty Kentucky is in a potent secondary position. The fermented, sugary stewed, tangy dark fruity, earthy, woody, bready, stoved Virginia participates in a lesser support role. The dark chocolate and vanilla toppings moderately sublimate and smooths out most of the rough edges. The strength and nic-hit are a step past the mild to medium threshold, while the taste is a rung higher. It won’t bite or get harsh. A mildly moist shag cut, it burns cool, clean, and a tad slow. It has a fairly consistent, sweet, mildly floral, savory, light campfire flavor that translates to the pleasantly lingering after taste, and sweeter room note. Leaves little dampness in the bowl, and requires some relights. Unlike the 2020 version, this can be an all day smoke for the veteran, and easily repeatable for the less experienced. The Latakia is a little less pronounced here, and this blend is a tad sweeter, a notch less floral, and less stronger.

-JimInks