Fribourg & Treyer Blackjack

Fribourg & Treyer - Blackjack. This is a surprisingly good blend.

After doing some reading up on this I was prepared for your 'straight forward' ready rubbed Virginia blend so it was a good moment when I opened the tin to find broken flakes! In fact, some of the blend is that chunky it could still use a bit of a rub; this is a bit of a shock as I note how a few other smokers found theirs to be over rubbed. The aroma from the can is a straight forward Virginia one, some citrus, some grass, and slightly sweet. The amount of water makes it smokeable right away but after a few weeks of being unsealed it becomes absolutely perfect.

The taste I get is very fresh. It has all of the lively attributes of a good Virginia. The smoke is very 'clean'; I mean this in the way that it doesn't leave any heavy aftertaste nor claggy feeling on the palate, it would make for a decent smoke prior to an expensive tipple where you don't want your mouth to be impeded by any lingering flavour.

The temperature of the smoke is about medium and no matter how hard I puff my pipe I get no bite!

For me, the nicotine amount is about mild to medium being closer to mild unless it's stressed heavily.

The room note? A pleasant Virginia one that doesn't generate a huge quantity of actual smoke.

This is a top mark straight Virginia. It has to be highly recommended!

Four stars.

I have smoked a very well aged tin of Blackjack -- back when the blend was called Negro Head. It was a nice, mellow Virginia but just too light for my palate. If you gravitate toward lighter yet flavorful Virginia offerings then I will highly recommend F&T's Blackjack.

Firstly, allow me to wonder about the name of this blend. If you peel off the Blackjack label, you will see the original name, Negrohead. Obviously not Politically Correct. Neither name describes the tobacco accurately.

Appearance: An orangey-red broken flake of medium thickness, just right for packing as-is into medium and large pipes

Aroma: Mildly sweet Va. Aroma, with a subtle top-note of something citrusy (to my nose).

Packing: Packs well into any size pipe, for smaller pipes you probably will require a bit of rubbing out.

Lighting: Takes flame perfectly, charring light very easy to establish. Tamp, relight, enjoy. Almost foolproof.

Initial flavor: Mild to medium Virginia sweetness, slight citrus taste, mostly medium notes with occasional highs and lows

Mid-bowl: Not very complex, but not monochromatic or dull. The flavor can best be described as lively, but without tingle. Very gentle on the tongue and palate, when smoked slowly. If puffed aggressively, it flattens out, and can get hot, but what tobacco doesn?t?

Finish: Finishes dry, cool and gently. No trace of gunk from the flavoring agent. It generally left me wanting another hit in about an hour (not high in nicotine).

Summary: A great choice for an all-day smoke, mild enough for breakfast, lively enough for all day. Might even be a good choice in the evening, if you don?t crave something heavy.

Beautiful straight red Va broken flake. September hay and faint fruit sweetness and a little twang. Simple and delicious. The consistency of the broken flake and the moisture level are very similar to DTM, not quite C&D dry, but close.

For me this is a top 5 straight Virginia. I put it up there with BBF, Butera Golden Cake, McClelland Rich Va Ribbon, and Germain Brown Flake. There isn’t anything magical or complex here, it’s more a Va for a guy who loves Va and VaPers, but who probably also enjoys a frequent bowl of Prince Albert or Carter Hall. A tobacco lover’s Va.

My F&T Blackack came in a tin that seems rather large for 50 grams of tobacco. Inside, I found a fairly loose pile of well broken flakes, dark to light reddish-brown, at what looked and felt like a moisture level fit for smoking. Tin note is very subdued, aged, VA tobacco, slightly earthy, like aged hay; nothing more. Though I can smoke it OK straight from the tin, IMO Blackjack is best after maybe a month’s rest in a jar and some drying prior to smoking it. Lit, rested and dryer Blackjack promptly unfolds and “blooms” with subtle, floral and wood resin side notes wafting through its rather bluff, woody/earthy primary notes. I taste well-aged, cold pressed, air cured VAs that are sweet, earthy, herbal and floral, with some treacle, citrus and a smidgen of anise atop it. There might also be some lightly stoved leaf here, but there is no “dark fruit”, or “stewed fruit”, whatsoever. Like most VAs, Blackjack “intensifies” down the bowl, going from mild to past medium in taste. There is some sharp-ish, VA-type tannin here that reminds me a bit of the original Rattray’s Red Rapparee. Strength is mild. Room note is pleasant. Aftertaste is a little tannic at first, but it soon settles down to sweet, delicious best-of-the-end-of-the-smoke.

I have to admit, I get no wow factor from Blackjack. But, in view of what I do get, that's alright with me. 4 stars from me, with noted reservations.

Surprise surprise.... no idea why this blend would be called blackjack, it's a straight red virginia. Quality of leaf seems high, very little debris. Nothing fancy, just a good quality enjoyable virginia. No bite, no difficulty. When your favorite is unavailable, try this out!

Funny how some of these terrific blends stay under the radar.

Revised 5/22/2014- I've had this breathing for about a month and it has improved greatly. Any hint of "Lakeland floral" is gone and the interesting spice and sweetness that I associate with a "Red" is present ( I still think there maybe some Perique). I should know better and give any vacuum packed tin more time to breath before I evaluate it. 4 stars

Agree with "DK" , "a different kind of sweetness"

Original Review- A smooth Virginia. Initial light gives a whiff of sweetness and maybe even a hint of Lakeland Floral scent, Perique is not listed, but I think there is a touch in here, well done. Unfortunately, I don't find much sweetness or flavor , the blend becomes very bland very quickly( to stoved). Except for the light color, I find a lot of similarities with SG's FVF in strength and it even has a background bitter note that I also find in FVF, both darker base noted tobaccos. I prefer more sweet high "Reds" , like McC 5100 and even FVF has some sweetness. This smokes with no bite, has a solid base , respectable "N", but is missing that " twang". I can't disagree with those that like this, but I won't buy again just because it's not my style of Virginia ( this doesn't remind me of a "Red").

Agree with reviewers "TK Pipe" & "JimInks"

The first true Red virginia I have tried, bought a tin of this earlier in the year and thoroughly enjoyed it, thus the order of five more tins prior to Christmas, and no regrets.

Not as full bodied or as sweet as McCllelands Bulk 5100 but still a nice tasting red virginia. Interesting, polite and well behaved with good burning qualities, this is a virginia that for me could easily become habit forming. At the moment I buy it as a treat, but I cannot help but wonder, what would this be like with a few years on it ? Will have to seriously consider cellaring some of this.

Pouch Aroma: This is a very sweet and grassy smelling tobacco in the bag - it actually reminds me of the hayloft when I was a kid and summer was drawing to a close. I love the smell of Timothy hay, and this aroma is really taking me back. Very nice! It's sweet, but has a musty, dusty undertone to it, likely from a combination of aging and the addition of a touch of perique. The balance of aromas is interesting, and I hope the flavors play off of one another this nicely.

Appearance: This appears to be a broken flake comprised of roughly 30% each of red and brown virginias, 25% golden and the remainder dark leaf - perique and perhaps a smidgen of stoved Virginia.

Packing and Lighting: I didn't bother rubbing this out any more as it's already at a perfect coarseness and moisture level to load easily into a little Gefapip "Tignes" Rhodesian. The initial light is easy as the smaller pieces on top catch fire readily and the smoke is sweet but sharp-tasting. I puffed up a good crown, tamped lightly and puffed some more then went outside to clear my sinuses. Coming back in, I get a VERY woody smell - not deeply smoky like Latakia, but more of a clean-burning wood like Alder. The second light ignites the whole top, has a slightly mellower flavor and is smoldering well, providing a very cool smoke.

Exposition: The flavor of this is very light and ephemeral even when blown out through my nose. All sharpness is gone now, the sweetness is like a light caramel syrup and the smoke is a deepish blue-grey and medium in density. The smoke wafting off the top of the bowl is the most interesting thing thus far - very sharp and oaky with very subtle sweet undertones like baking ginger cookies. So far it's nice, but a tad dull for my taste this morning.

The Story: After a 30 minute rest and a relight, the body has (as I expected) been kicked up a notch. It's still a nice mild blend, subtly spicy and sweet and now has an added dimension to it - the grassy qualities have faded into something darker and more like holiday baking smells with touches of wood smoke and perhaps someone smoking a mild cigar in the next room. It's a fast smoke even for this smallish pipe, but the flavors are changing quite a bit from one minute to the next. The smoke off of the bowl is now more nutty than sweet but maintains the woodsy sharpness that makes me enjoy this so much in a bent pipe.

Denouement: The tail end of the bowl is still of very consistent flavor, the smoke is still cool and has not a hint of sour- or ashiness, the nicotine level is mild and there has been only a slight tendency to bite which was easily averted by puffing more slowly. When I finished, the bowl of my pipe was coated nicely with a fine mottled black-and-grey ash and there was not a shred left unburned.

Pros: It burns well, cool and is pleasantly fragrant while having some nice pure tobacco flavors. I would be likely to smoke this in a large pipe at night, saving the last half-bowl for breakfast. I must admit that the bright flavors make for a nice wake-up for the palate!

Cons: The only slight negative I could find with this is that it burns quickly even when not dry, but this may make it good for shorter smoke breaks so I can hardly call that a negative.