I've smoked this blend fresh and with 2 years on it. It got noticeably better with age and look forward to what it will do in a few more years. Very nice tasty smoke if you keep it going above a smolder. Takes little to get it in smoking shape as it's near dry enough out of the tin. It is a chunky rubbed out straight Virginia. If you are looking to get into this as a new experience you could do a lot worse starting with this.