Manufacturer Description:
Virginia Blend belongs to the same category as Virginia No. 1. The basic difference is the presence of brown Burley tobacco in the blend. Where Virginia No. 1 is made out of 100% Virginia, the Virginia Blend has some Burley added to it, which gives it a more rounded and mellow taste experience. The small amount of Burley simply smoothens the taste of the natural Virginias.
This is a Ready Rubbed tobacco which means that the tobaccos are pressed into big blocks of tobacco and then stored under pressure for weeks. Finally the blocks are cut into slices and partly rubbed out.
If you fill your pipe with Virginia Blend, just as you find it in the pouch or tin, you will experience a slow burning tobacco with a dominating natural sweet Virginia taste.
Characterisation:
The Virginia Blend Ready Rubbed is both available pouched and in a larger tin. As a pouch, it can be easily put in the jacket pocket and taken along, while the tin is well suited to store the tobacco for a longer time. The Ready Rubbed is well worn and light to medium brown, the larger pieces have golden-yellow inclusions. The scent is that of a typical Virginia, mild and reminiscent of hay and fresh bread. As is customary for the manufacturer, the tobacco is so well conditioned that it can be plugged immediately after the pack has been opened.
Plugging:
The plugging turns out that the Ready Rubbed pieces can be a bit more solid, so you should rub them a bit between your fingertips and be careful not to bring the Virginia Blend Ready Rubbed too hard in the pipe. Some loose crumbs placed on top of the filling will quickly pick up the flame, making it easier to light.
Light up:
As with many Ready Rubbed blends, the pressed tobacco fibers tend to expand slightly when they come into contact with the flame. If you press the Virginia Blend Ready Rubbed gently after the first flame with the tamper and give evenly fire, but it needs no further attention until the end.
Smoking properties:
The smoke of the Virginia Blend Ready Rubbed is mild-spicy and not too strong. The flavors play between the expected toasted notes, hints of juicy bread and even leather, which are pleasantly surprising in the actually clear composition. A natural sweetness is always present, but it is unobtrusive and thus completes the overall impression pleasantly. After a completely uncomplicated burn, without the usual ticks of a Virginia blend such as tongue burn, only slightly to medium gray, quite fine ashes and virtually no unburned crumbs remain. Even the hardly formed condensate does practically no work during the cleaning.
Redolency:
The Virginia Blend Ready Rubbed makes a tobacco-like impression in the room, but is so mild that you should not be noticed in society that tolerates smokers.
Conclusion:
The Virginia Blend Ready Rubbed is, as the name implies, a Virginia-based Ready Rubbed. As such, it demands some attention during plugging, but then makes no additional problems in the further course of the smoke. The burning is so uncomplicated that you can hold the pipe with the Virginia Blend Ready Rubbed well during any work in the mouth angle. But the tobacco is almost too good, because despite the few basic tobaccos it delivers a relatively wide bandwidth of flavors, ranging from roasted aromas, juicy bread to leather notes and makes it worthwhile to smoke the Virginia Blend Ready Rubbed reclined with a good book.
Copyright © 2007 by TECON GmbH
with friendly support of Dennis Hübel
