Ken Byron Ventures: Verge Engine Overdrive
Last night we had some friends from my old Grad School Cohort over for a Moose Bourguignon and fresh baked Rosemary bread dinner. Wine, Beer, Whiskey, Ice Cream, the lot. But not pipes. So today, I was forced to rectify this with a trip out to the smoke shack for a Bowl of Ken Byron Ventures’ Verge Engine Overdrive. An interesting blending outfit he has, but everything I have tried so far has been fantastic. For those that prefer brevity, I will say, this blend was no different.
It has come up to a balmy 30 degrees here so I grabbed a simple wool sweater and my boots and headed out for the shack just as some big fat snowflakes began to fall. Packed along the computer and flipped on an old classic movie “Jeremiah Johnson.” I decided this movie selection warranted a trip to the past with my pipe as well, so I loaded up my 1928 Dunhill Double Patent Shell Briar FET Prince for a rare smoke.
On first light, the Perique is immediately noticeable to me. Given that this blend is purportedly pushing 20% I suppose that is not a surprise. That being said, the Virginias still take the lead out of the gate. A lot of bready character, some light grassiness, and the sublime unmistakable sweetness of Red Virginia. After a few puffs these settle down a bit and the Perique begins to creep it’s way out from behind them with some dark fruit flavor, really figgy and sweet, and not much spice character early on.
As I roll through the middle of the bowl it has really begun to come down outside. Huge flakes of snow falling as the smoke shack finally makes it’s way up to 60 degrees with my little heater. Jeremiah is learning to love his Indian bride. Meanwhile, the Perique has made itself even more noticeable in this blend. It is still sweet and jammy, but a lot more musty, earthy, spicy character has begun to develop. Although this is well balanced by the various Virginias, as it has been since the top. They balance each other quite well.
Towards the end of the bowl it remains quite balanced, but the sweetness in the Virginias has begun to outweigh any sweet character in the Perique. The flavor has become somewhat rich, like buttery bread almost with a hint of spiciness from the Perique still lingering. Jeremiah is now on an Indian murdering rampage.
All said and done, this was a very interesting blend. The flavors changed and melded significantly throughout, however each and every puff was very well balanced between the various Virginias and the complementing Perique. Quite honestly I expected this to be more of a Perique bomb, but the Virginias are so complex that it really works well to balance itself out. You can taste both in every puff, they just somehow seem to slowly but surely change in their own right as the bowl moves along.
Overall, is it on par with the greats? Esoterica Dunbar? HU LA Broken? St. James Flake? Sutliff Match Victorian? PH Curly Block? In my opinion, not quite. But is it a fine Va/per that is worth acquiring? Absolutely. Not one I will cellar deeply, but one I will continue to enjoy from time to time for sure and would like to keep in stock. Time to head back inside for a dark beer by the wood stove and some dinner. As for Jeremiah, some say he is still up there in them mountains…..
Last night we had some friends from my old Grad School Cohort over for a Moose Bourguignon and fresh baked Rosemary bread dinner. Wine, Beer, Whiskey, Ice Cream, the lot. But not pipes. So today, I was forced to rectify this with a trip out to the smoke shack for a Bowl of Ken Byron Ventures’ Verge Engine Overdrive. An interesting blending outfit he has, but everything I have tried so far has been fantastic. For those that prefer brevity, I will say, this blend was no different.
It has come up to a balmy 30 degrees here so I grabbed a simple wool sweater and my boots and headed out for the shack just as some big fat snowflakes began to fall. Packed along the computer and flipped on an old classic movie “Jeremiah Johnson.” I decided this movie selection warranted a trip to the past with my pipe as well, so I loaded up my 1928 Dunhill Double Patent Shell Briar FET Prince for a rare smoke.
On first light, the Perique is immediately noticeable to me. Given that this blend is purportedly pushing 20% I suppose that is not a surprise. That being said, the Virginias still take the lead out of the gate. A lot of bready character, some light grassiness, and the sublime unmistakable sweetness of Red Virginia. After a few puffs these settle down a bit and the Perique begins to creep it’s way out from behind them with some dark fruit flavor, really figgy and sweet, and not much spice character early on.
As I roll through the middle of the bowl it has really begun to come down outside. Huge flakes of snow falling as the smoke shack finally makes it’s way up to 60 degrees with my little heater. Jeremiah is learning to love his Indian bride. Meanwhile, the Perique has made itself even more noticeable in this blend. It is still sweet and jammy, but a lot more musty, earthy, spicy character has begun to develop. Although this is well balanced by the various Virginias, as it has been since the top. They balance each other quite well.
Towards the end of the bowl it remains quite balanced, but the sweetness in the Virginias has begun to outweigh any sweet character in the Perique. The flavor has become somewhat rich, like buttery bread almost with a hint of spiciness from the Perique still lingering. Jeremiah is now on an Indian murdering rampage.
All said and done, this was a very interesting blend. The flavors changed and melded significantly throughout, however each and every puff was very well balanced between the various Virginias and the complementing Perique. Quite honestly I expected this to be more of a Perique bomb, but the Virginias are so complex that it really works well to balance itself out. You can taste both in every puff, they just somehow seem to slowly but surely change in their own right as the bowl moves along.
Overall, is it on par with the greats? Esoterica Dunbar? HU LA Broken? St. James Flake? Sutliff Match Victorian? PH Curly Block? In my opinion, not quite. But is it a fine Va/per that is worth acquiring? Absolutely. Not one I will cellar deeply, but one I will continue to enjoy from time to time for sure and would like to keep in stock. Time to head back inside for a dark beer by the wood stove and some dinner. As for Jeremiah, some say he is still up there in them mountains…..
