The bready, lightly spicy, barely sugary, red Virginia has little tart and tangy dark fruit sweetness, much less so than other blends where it's the dominant component. Also has a mild earthiness and a few splinters of wood. I would not label this as a sweet Virginia. It possesses a fair amount of hay and grass, tart and tangy citrus, bread, light sugar, with a bare touch of tart lemon, and a very slight spice that comes and goes as you smoke it down. Has a few small rough edges. It's not very complex; mild enough to be an all day smoke with a very consistent flavor from start to finish. The strength and nic-hit are a couple of steps past the mild mark. The taste is in the center of mild to medium. It loads easy, burns clean and rather cool at a moderate pace, but can bite a constant puffer. Leaves little moisture in the bowl, and requires few relights. You may want to sip it to get the full effect, and avoid potential tongue bite. It gets two stars for that. Three stars for the flavor.
Update June 2022: The blend has been changed. There's a sweet sugary citrus topping now that mildly tones down the tobaccos. The citrus and sugar from the bright Virginia is a little more prominent now, and the grass/hay content is a couple of steps lighter. The red Virginia seems to be a tad sweeter. The bread notes are a mildly more obvious. The spice content is less than before; there's not much more than a hint of it now. The bite potential has disappeared as this is a smoother version with almost no rough notes. The rest of my previous observations still hold, except I give this version three stars in all aspects.
Update June 2022: The blend has been changed. There's a sweet sugary citrus topping now that mildly tones down the tobaccos. The citrus and sugar from the bright Virginia is a little more prominent now, and the grass/hay content is a couple of steps lighter. The red Virginia seems to be a tad sweeter. The bread notes are a mildly more obvious. The spice content is less than before; there's not much more than a hint of it now. The bite potential has disappeared as this is a smoother version with almost no rough notes. The rest of my previous observations still hold, except I give this version three stars in all aspects.
