Ken Byron Blends Great Virginias

[wayoutwest]

Recently took delivery of some new-to-me KBV blends. Specfically "Your Welcome", "Mr. Christian's Brown Flek" and "Merchant Service Fireside Chat." I also re-upped on Jupiter Slices, possibly the best straight Red Virginia readily available.

All three of them are excellent. Fireside Chat is an aromatic, a great take on a nostalgic drug store style pipe tobacco. Very good, but what I am most impressed with his KBVs Virginias. The tobaccos are already well matured by the time they make it into the blend which is great if you don't have a deep cellar of aged brightleaf to pull from. I might write a more in depth review in the Tobacco Reviews sub-forum, but just wanted to give KBV his respective due. I think KBV and RL Will are the current best blenders of Virginias around. Anyone agree? Disagree?

 

[fireground_piper]

Unfortunately I haven’t gotten into anything Iv tried from his catalog so far and actually stopped trying. I’m in various stages of trying to finish what I have, tossing some and donating the rest.

Verge engine isn’t bad. I’m finally almost through my 2oz of Overdrive. I had a bowl of Byronic that didn’t much for me and I’m sitting on the rest along with Jupiter slices(have not tried).

robo burlesque, burley morning pipe, Sakura, and dark fired cherry are all in my donate pile. I’ll possibly put the goblin mixture in there too.

The 2020 festivus blends Iv just been sitting on. Hopefully they will be something I like. His style just hasn’t been for me, plus if you get tired of small batch chasing, that’s almost the entire catalog.

Some people love it though!

 

[hawky454]

I haven’t tried any of his blends. I was gifted a nice sample of Jupiter Slices but I haven’t dipped into it yet.

Where is he sourcing his tobaccos? Is RL Will still blending or are you just speaking of his blends still on the market? I honestly don’t know much about either but I am a big fan of some of RL will’s blends.

 

[jerry]

I’ve tried maybe 15 or 16 of his blends. Most of them suit me. I do like how they are packaged, also. Fireside Chat and 1928 Preserve are next.

 

[sablebrush52]

Smoking The Endless Void at the moment. Just an excellent smoke.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

I've found most of his blends I've tried to be bitey, I'm assuming because of his toppings. His blends are good but not great to me.

 

[gamzultovah]

Hit and miss for me. I love Verge Engine Overdrive & Outshine, but greatly dislike Jupiter Slices and River of Deceit. Bryronic Slices is an acquired taste as is the Patience of Dr. Silence…and I think that’s the point. What he (and Yoshimi) does is admirable and I support him when I can. I have quite a few of his other blends deep in the cellar, for enjoyment at a later time in life.

 

[Simmerdown☕️]

Byronic Slices ended up being very tasty red Virginia. Burley Morning Pipe is a nice smoke in the morning sometimes after my Haunted Bookshop. Verge Engine Overdrive was delicious in my opinion…just a very good VaPer. That’s all I’ve sampled of the line so far. ️

 

[musicman]

Ken makes some nice blends, and I like his approach and packaging as well. Some of it can be hit or miss and it's often hard to stock up if you like something since so many of his blends are one time releases, but it is what it is. He also does some great things with Orientals, IMO, and his VaPerOr blends can stand side by side with the best out there today.

 

[cohiba007]

Smoking The Endless Void at the moment. Just an excellent smoke.

Same. I’m on my second bag and love the stuff.

 

[Peter Turbo]

Brown Flek has so far been my favorite, Mona Lisa Overdrive was a miss for me I think. I like his VaPers still have a bunch of 2020 VEO and 2021 Hellstar Dreadplanet (I need to read the Manga this is named after it looks WILD). Still need to try Bright and Orange Flek, brown VA's are really where its at for me though in terms of flavor.

 

[wayoutwest]

I haven’t tried any of his blends. I was gifted a nice sample of Jupiter Slices but I haven’t dipped into it yet.

Where is he sourcing his tobaccos? Is RL Will still blending or are you just speaking of his blends still on the market? I honestly don’t know much about either but I am a big fan of some of RL will’s blends.

Honestly I don’t know if RL Will is still alive but his blends rules. I didn’t know who else I could have mentioned.

 

[krizzose]

I’ve been enjoying a few of his blends lately, and I’m puffing on Mr. Christian’s Brown Flek right now.

My thoughts on what I’ve had so far:

Mr. Christian’s Brown Flek - Flake. A straight down the middle brown Virginia. Nothing unique or ground breaking, but extremely smooth with no vices at all. It has a tin note of bread or even dry, uncooked grains. I’m not positive, but I think there might the tiniest amount of molasses or brown sugar added (as a comparison - much less than what’s in Wessex Brigade Campaign). Folds and stuffs easily.

Byronic Hiro - Red Virginia plug. Too much vinegar (like 515RC), but luckily it burns off pretty quickly (unlike 515RC). The bottom half of the bowl is fantastic. Very tangy, sweet and rich.

Hell Star Endless Void 2021 - Virginia ribbon. A mix of different Virginias, and one of them is fire-cured, which was new to me. Soft, warm, sweet, but a little spicy and smoky. Unlike any Virginia I’ve had before, and very enjoyable.

Yoshimi’s Scented Plug (now Mr. Christian’s Scented Plug) - VaBur plug. The tasting notes say this is similar to Mac Baren Navy Flake. I compared it to NF, and it was almost exactly the same, but that was 2014 Navy Flake.

Purchased but I haven’t tried yet: Your Welcome and Jupiter Slices.

 

[SpookedPiper]

I think it's cool to have a choice of boutique blend's/blender to choose from but often they are difficult to obtain and from the ones I have tried haven't really wowed me.

Nice that shipping is included and the stickers designs were sweet!

 

[AlanH]

What I have had I really like

 

[spicy_boiii]

After the closure of McClelland, he's the only one I can get much in the way of a Va/Or and Va/Or/Per.

As was said earlier, KBV blends can be very sensitive to personal preference and taste. I've had some I really didn't like, and some of his blends are at the top of my list.

As usual, gotta try 'em to find out.

 

[pantsBoots]

Have tried less than 10 of his blends. I like Byronic Slices for a great straight-forward Red Virginia and as mentioned previously, there aren't many VaOr blends on the market, and Ken definitely focuses on those.

 

[pantsBoots]

After writing the above, I had to have a visit with Byronic Slices as it had been several months since I enjoyed some. Wow, it's a pain to dry this enough (harder than FVF, for sure), but the reward was immense. This is easily the best straight red Virginia on the market, to my tastes.

 

[kcghost]

You are confusing your favorite with "best". There is no best for everybody,

 

[DotAndBang’sPipes]

Wanted to weigh in on this one. I’m loving KBV’s blends so far, Brown Flek and Byronic Hiro being favorites. But I haven’t even tried Juniper Slices or Tavern Bar. Can anyone comment on these two? How do they compare, since they’re both red plugs?