Ken Byron Ventures Mind The Gap 2021

The smoky, woody, earthy, musty, floral, incense-like and mildly sweet Cyprian Latakia is the lead component. The matured Virginias provide plenty of fermented tart and tangy citrus, vegetation, bread, some sugar, floralness, grass, sour lemon, mild earth, wood, tangy dark fruit, spice, and a touch of acidity as supporting players. The fragrant basma and yenidje offer a fair amount of earth, wood, floralness, herbs, vegetation, mild spiciness, some dry sourness, and light buttery sweetness. They are a couple of steps behind the Virginia most of the time. The earthy, woody, lightly nutty, sugary Yana-2 blackened burley is a condiment at best. The apricot and absinthe toppings very mildly accent the proceedings though they slightly weaken near the finish. The strength and taste levels are medium. The nic-hit is a slot below that. Won’t bite or get harsh. Has a few minute rough notes that are typical of blends in this genre. Burns cool and clean at a moderate pace with a deeply rich and mostly consistent tangy sweet and sour, floral, mildly spicy campfire flavor that extends to the pleasantly lingering after taste. The room note is tolerable. Leaves little dampness in the bowl, and requires an average number of relights. May be an all day smoke for the veteran piper, and is repeatable for the less experienced. Three and a half stars.

-JimInks