Tobaccos Ken Byron Ventures - Notorious

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JimInks (3008)	2020-02-10		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable to Strong

The smoky, woody, earthy, leathery, musty, incense-like, sweet Cyprian Latakia comprises sixty percent of this mixture. The nutty, earthy, woody, sweet burleys are essentially secondary players. The sugary, lightly creamy stewed, fermented dark fruity, earthy, woody, bready, stoved Virginias compliment and contrast with the deeply rich Latakia and burley to create a harmoniously consistent, well balanced sweet and very savory bold campfire flavor that translates to the pleasantly lingering after taste and pungent room note. For some reason, I sense a very light marshmallow note. The strength is a couple of steps past the medium mark, while the taste almost reaches the center of medium to strong. The nic-hit is medium. Won’t bite, but it does sport some rough edges, and fast puffing may result in a harsh note or two. I recommend a slow pace as I always do with heavy Latakia blends. Burns cool and clean at a moderate rate. Leaves little dampness in the bowl, and requires an average number of relights. It’s not an all day smoke nor is it a total Lat-bomb because of the level of sweetness inherent in this blend. Three and a half stars.

-JimInks

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Nickpimpslap (6)	2020-12-08		Medium	Very Mild	Full	Tolerable to Strong

This is an interesting blend, and one that I'm not sure I like, but that may be down to personal preferences.

I get hints of something kind of sweet from the burley, maybe vanilla? The latakia is also nice and strong. The combination of the two I find jarring.

Pipe Used: Bones Straight Cauldron

Age When Smoked: Fresh

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Driftedshank (6)	2021-12-05		Medium to Strong	Medium	Full	Tolerable

Notorious reminds me of the excellent American English style tobaccos that were around in some NYC pipe shops many years ago. Back then, these American English tobaccos typically had a significant amount of Latakia along with a good dose of Burley. Virginias typically were present with some condimentals but in small amounts. If you're familar with Father Dempsey, you'll understand the style. Notorious is better than Dempsey in my view. Very rich, creamy taste, with a vague sweet note that you wouldn't associate with a topping. There is no inherent bite, and only a tiny rough spot here and there. That's what you expect with this style when done well. Although the Latakia dominates, Notorious can be smoked repeatedly during the day. A classic example of the American English style.

Pipe Used: various

Age When Smoked: new

Purchased From: Ken Byron Ventures

3 people found this review helpful.