Ken Byron Ventures Pork Chops & Apple Sauce 2022

The multi-continental matured, fermented red, brights, and orange Virginias provide a wealth of tart and tangy citrus, vegetation, grass, bread, floralness, some very dry, sour lemon, tangy ripe and dried dark fruits, earth, wood, mild spice and smoke along with light acidity. The perique offers a fair amount of sweet plums, prunes, raisins, earth, wood, and pepper as a supporting player. I sense a very light red wine casing. The strength and nic-hit are a step past the medium threshold. The taste is a notch past that mark. It won’t bite or get harsh. Has a few rough notes. Burns cool and clean at a moderate pace with a very consistent fruity, peppery, floral, mildly sour, smoky, zesty, piquant flavor that extends to the pleasantly lingering after taste. The room note is a bit more potent. Leaves little dampness in the bowl, and requires an average number of relights. Not an all day smoke, but it is repeatable. Three and a half stars rounded up to four.

-JimInks