It reminds me of many of my favourite blends rolled into one. LGF, HOTW, Old Gowrie, Briar Fox and Marlin come to mind, i know many reading this will think its a very weird thing to say but i find this blend strangly familiar in a different way as the bowl evolves.

I cannot see how any lover of Virginias cannot like this. The flake is very easy to pack and it does burn slowly for a reasonably long smoke in a biggish pipe.

I am really impressed with C&D offerings and have to say that they understand the pipe smoker and i thank them for that. Enjoy guys

Mo, South Africa

After opening it was clear that C&D had mastered the flake. It is much better than the dreadful Safe Harbor Flake from a couple of years ago. The moisture was fine, but I dried mine a little more due to personal preference. I have smoked Opening Night in a variety of briar pipes, but nothing over a Group 4; it performed well in all. Opening Night is a beautiful tobacco, mostly red or brown with streaks of lighter colored leaf. You can rub it out, stuff the whole flakes into bowl, or make small balls of tobacco and stuff them in; I liked it each way. The burn is excellent all the way down the bowl. Relights are easy and it performs well with DGT. Opening Night is not an overly sweet blend, but more on the grassy, hay-like end of the spectrum. It can burn the tongue a little if you're smoking too fast. The taste is fairly monochromatic (not a bad thing at all) and that flavor deepens as you progress through the bowl.

If you like straight Virginias that are grassy, bright and slightly sweet, I can't imagine you not liking Opening Night, a rock-solid Virginia that should age well. I like it best in the morning, but it's great any time of day.

Char light - The room note is very pleasant. It has a light tobacco smell with a grassy sweet taste.

There is not much complexity here but there is a depth in taste. The first two thirds of the bowl remained unchanged but boy was it a grassy earthy flavor with a hint of natural sweetness. Complexity is not always needed especially if you have a great tobacco. I have never smoked a straight VA this good before.

The bottom of the bowl the flavor deepens somewhat although it is the same flavor it is sort of thicker and even more pleasant. You just wish it would never end.

So in the end there is not much complexity, but then again who would buy a straight VA and expect alot of complexity.:) Sometimes (alot of times) I crave a straight smoke that tastes light and earthy, THIS IS IT (for me). It is like smoking sunshine.

A SIDE NOTE: The people over at cornell and diehl are some of the best people in the business. There customer service is TOP NOTCH and world wide. No I don't work for them, I was so impressed with there service, tobacco, and prices that I will have a hard time shopping anywhere else. 4 stars

This is a tasty, slightly sweet blend that exhibits no signs of tongue bite. I believe that the bright Virginia play a supporting role to the dominant reds.

I imagine that it would burn slightly better if fully rubbed which I am sure I will try at some point. For now, I am very satisfied with the performance of this blend considering its youth (my tin was less than four months old).

This is yet another winner from the Folks at C&D. I expect that it will age well and get even better.

Two or three lights at the get go and you're off to the bottom of the bowl with an even cool burn. This blend passed the uber-puffer test with flying colors. Despite my best efforts, I could not get this flake to bite!

delivering subtly sweet flavors up front which give way to a nutty finish, this flake is unadulterated tobacco at it's best. The room note is, as expected, the usual woodsy Virginia aroma.

I'll note here that I am not usually partial to Virginia Flakes (I'm a Burley smoker born and raised), but I'll continue to make an exception with this one. A must for the lover of smooth unadulterated tobacco flavor!