Red, White & Burley - House Blend by Smoky Vale

A pleasant Burley blend with punch!

A new to me blend, Red White and Burley, a Burley blend from Smoky Vale recommended to me by Rick at Smoky Vale as an actual burley alternative to C&D’s inaccurately named Eight State Burley. I smoked this in my MMC Emerald Cob. I have all three iterations of this pipe (all bent): the Emerald, the Raven, and the Charles Towne Cobbler. Same pipe, different finish/colot. Description from the website: Red, White & Burley is a bold, full-bodied Smoky Vale blend crafted to honor America’s 250th with hearty Kentucky Burleys, Dark-Fired Kentucky Burley, Red Virginias, and Virginia Flake for a nutty, sweet, spicy smoke with plenty of strength. ————————— Bag note is sweet (ish) but not overly so, definitely tobacco forward. I’m guessing the sweet faintly fruity bag smelts are from the Virginias. It had a perfect moisture level out of the jar (this 2oz package was jarred immediately on receipt a few weeks ago. Easy to pack I’d call it a normal ribbon cut. It lit easily and was not a chore to manage during the smoke. Smoke flavor was not strong, definitely on the mild side. I didn’t pick up anything I could attribute to the Virginia’s other than an occasional faint hint of caramel.. The primary flavor I got was a unobtrusive woodsy, maybe earthy (nut like?) flavor with occasional hints of smoke. I did get something that is tough for me to describe. Not the taste of anything minty or mint like, but the ‘bright’ or cleansing ‘feel’ the back of your mouth and tongue get from a mint or a bite of fresh parsley. I.m assuming this is from one of the burley variants (white?)? One thing changed in the blend about halfway down - the retrohale quite easy, started to have a bit of bite.burning sensation in my sinuses. Vitamin N might be the culprit but can’t really say. It has a definite nicotine hit that sneaks up on you by the time the bowl was about half gone. I imagine if you got hot with your smoke tempo it would feel more aggressive. A mild blend but medium or stronger on the nic hit. Like any blend, your personal palette is going to determine your ‘like’ ratio. If you want a nice non-aromatic burley blend, I suggest you try this one

Sep 06, 2026