There's so many good choices out there! It's tough to pick just one. I'd probably say Old Joe Krantz or Solani 656 as my top contenders if I was trying to be as objective as possible. But these have been mentioned here many times. Let me put some shine on some blends that weren't mentioned.
Briar Fox - a great, classic Va/Bur blend. There is nothing particularly unique or awe-inspiring about this blend. It is the chocolate chip cookie of he Va/Bur world, but it's a damned good chocolate chip cookie. It's reliable, consistent, readily available, great for breaking in pipes, and tastes good and has a nice, slightly spicy taste by the last third of the bowl.
Jupiter - a really underrated VA/Bur with DFK by Savinelli. Very well balanced, sweet and smokey with plenty of nuttiness and cocoa. Just really solid stuff.
Gawith & Hoggarth Dark Flake Aromatic - one of those rare aromatics where both the casings and tobaccos are strong. The tonquin bean and licorice are very strong here, but so is the dark fired Malawi and air-cured Indian. Very smokey and sweet at the same time, with a nice nicotine and sugar punch. I will say, however, this is a very finicky tobacco. The flakes are sticky and the tobacco very wet, so some proper prep is needed if you don't want to be relighting your tobacco every five seconds. It's worth it, though. If you don't have a sweet tooth, this comes in a non-aro form that is also good.
SWR - my favorite codger blend. I'm sure someone mentioned it here before, but I don't recall seeing it. In any event, this blend hasn't changed since the end of the second world war, and it doesn't need to. Good burley flavor, with some anise and cocoa doing their thing, that is repeatable and affordable. I always have at tub of this at the apartment or in my pouch, ready to go.
