Ken Byron Ventures B. Frog's Voodoo Tour

Appearance: Voodoo Tour is a blend of processed mature red virginia (appears to be hot pressed), then flake sliced and broken down into individual fibers, plus some mature bright virginia and a good portion of almost black perique. The blend darkens quickly, taking on the color of baked apple with lighter and darker shades (the picture on the website clearly conveys the color of the tobaccos just mixed). Humidity is almost perfect. The consistency is close to excellent - I found only one short "log" per ounce of tobacco.

Flavor: The manufacturer didn't let me down by taking a nice bright perique and treating the Virginia with apricot casing. Powerful notes of figs, raisins, baked apple and notes of stale wood (like from an old barrel) support this bouquet of quality perique nicely. Apricot jam and citrus notes are in a secondary role, only emphasizing the overall fruitiness of the bouquet.

Taste: surprisingly, the tobacco taste is not as overtly fruity, unlike the flavor. The overall taste bouquet is moderately bright, but of good density, mild, without any harsh notes sticking out. The 20% perique gives a good dose of light spice, on the retrohale, giving off a nice spiciness to the nostrils, a good portion of mild fragrant pepper and a very light metallic aftertaste on the tongue. A bit of apricot jam in the Virginia casing holds on almost to the finish, supported by a light raisin note, moderate wood tones and a small amount of dry wine. Very moderate sweetness - the blend seems even less sweet in the bents. The Virginia processing ensures that hay and bread notes are almost completely absent. The strength is above medium, which is not surprising, but the nicotine hit from a large pipe is quite mild. The blend smokes very slowly cool and fairly dry, being fairly tolerant of overheating. It burns evenly into a whitish ash, leaving virtually no moisture in the pipe.

What's the bottom line? If the old "nuns" had survived to this day, I would absolutely know what to compare this blend to. Only the world-famous "nuns" used orange casing, while here it's apricot casing. But the only tin I have of the old recipe will wait for a more convenient occasion. And if you ask me what famous Voodoo Tour can be compared to, my answer is Saint James Flake with a dash of red virginia and an added dose of perique. It's just as cool, voluminous and dense, with a similar taste but a slightly higher than average strength with a nice, more vibrant perique.... As a fan of perique and good red virginia, I'm just delighted with this blend - and I rarely write reviews of such things. But your opinion may differ from mine. Either way, this tobacco is worth a try.