Cornell & Diehl Carolina Red Flake

The label on this tin is vexing, what, exactly, is the name of this blend? Is it Small Batch? That aforementioned name is prominent on the label. Come to find the name of this blend is Carolina Red Flake, not Small Batch. Why the confusion? The word Small Batch is white, bold and large on the label—easily read. The actual name of the blend is in black on a dark red background color, in written script, and half the size, at best, than the words Small Batch—so pardon you for the confusion, right?

In any case, labels, as important as they are, fortunately, have nothing to do with the actual tobacco itself, which by the way, is, in this particular instance, nothing short of fabulous! The tobacco's in this blend are mildly sweet, verge on being full flavored (but not strong), and very tasty indeed! This tobacco is best when sipped, the retro was fantastic! This was my favorite blend of the year! Because of this blend, I'll have to seek out more Red VA's.

I hope C&D unloads the small batch label and releases it as a standard blend.

Excellent blend!

Keep on Pipin!

Tin aroma is that of hay, earth & grass with no preservative aroma. I found C & Ds Carolina Red Flake to be an excellent tobacco. I was surprised & appreciated its strength... it may roll your eyeballs as it might possibly be the strongest & best tasting Red VA in the world? It is much stronger than a mild, 2000 batch of aged McCrannie's Red Ribbon which didn't impress me all that much due to it's mild nature & lack of strength... almost like plain air but it did possess a good flavor. However, this Carolina Red Flake is richer & tangier with a more earthy flavor. It doesn't bite & offers a relatively sweet, pure, Old Belt Carolina Red VA flavor.

This is a broken flake tobacco... can be smoked as is or rubbed out into its course cut condition & has a long burn rate. Very satisfied with the flavor & appreciated the extra strength. One medium or even a smaller bowl would be enough to satisfy the Vitamin N necessity of any piper. This is probably not an all day smoke for many but can certainly be enjoyed on a daily basis, being much closer to the strong side in the medium to strong classification, especially toward the last third. It is much better in a deeper bowl & provides you with a long, cool burning smoke session... like the Energizer Bunny, it just keeps going & going, getting stronger and tastier as the smoke wafts over the lower portion of the tobacco in your bowl. Dried properly, it burns down to a fine grey ash with very little moisture to contend with, depending on the quality of your pipe which has a lot to do with gurgle & moisture content.

I also use this Carolina Red & McConnell's Red VA, Samuel Gawith FVA, Wilke's Turkish Yenidje, Unsweetened Black Cavendish, Burley & a smidgeon of Lane's 1Q with a little Wellauer's Latakia or McConnells Cyprian, or both, to mix up a good Balkan Blend. Really gives it a boost & turns out a Balkan better than most others on the market. If you like a good Balkan, best to mix it to your own taste preference. Great blend & I've bought plenty to cellar but always on the lookout for more... should age fairly quickly & the longer, the better. I would never have guessed that a straight Red Virginia could be this strong & tasty. Obviously, my favorite Red VA. Excellent!

I found C & Ds Carolina Red Flake to be an excellent tobacco. I was surprised by its strength... pretty darn strong. It is much stronger & tastier than the wimpy, McCrannie's Red Ribbon which didn't impress me in the least but it did possess a good flavor but this one is richer & tangier with a more earthy flavor. It doesn't bite & offers up a fairly sweet flavor.

Can be smoked folded or rubbed out & has a long burn rate. Very satisfied with the flavor & satisfied with the extra strength & one bowl was plenty for a good while. Probably not an all day smoke for many but can certainly be enjoyed on a daily basis.

I also use this or McConnell's Red VA & SGFVA with Yenidje & unsweetened Black Cavendish with a little Wellauer's Latakia or McConnells Cyprian, or both, to mix up a good Balkan Blend. Really gives it a boost & turns out a Balkan better than most any on the market. If you like a good Balkan, best to mix it to your own taste preference. Great blend & I've bought plenty to cellar... should age fairly quickly & the longer, the better. Excellent.

This bowl started out with the sweet vinegar, earthy, grassy, brightness that Virginias are known for, and then.... that's it. I didn't feel like anything developed. There wasn't much complexity to keep me interested. It tasted acrid when it got too hot, but cooling it down brought back the same monotone taste. I often feel like I unlock a next level of complexity when I push the smoke through my soft palate, but it didn't answer. I am left feeling like I just snorted an ashtray. I felt the nicotine coming in at around half-bowl and I wasn't enjoying this bowl, so I just dumped it. The aftertaste is as persistent as it is monotone.

If you like straight Virginias and you enjoy your pipe as a background for doing something else, you will probably enjoy this tobacco more than I did. If you like to sit outside and probe the complex intricacies of interesting tobacco, I can't recommend it. I will keep this on hand to mellow or brighten some other unbalanced blend, or maybe one day, I'll try my hand at blending my own. But I don't see myself loading up another full pipe of this straight. Two Stars.

Edit: It didn't seem out of the ordinary at first, but 12 hours after I smoked this bowl I am hanging my tongue out of my mouth to deal with the bite. I've never experienced a creeping bite like this. Revising down to one star. I don't understand this blend.

My tin is from the September 2019 batch.

Tin note is almost not there. Just a very faint typical red virginia aroma. From first light to last puff it's very consistent. Sweet enough to be noticeable, smooth, and creamy. Has a very slight spice to it that you get from red Virginia. I dont pick up on any herbal flavors. Burns cool and clean with no harshness or tongue bite.

It seems to be a very good quality grade of red virginia. My understanding is this the last batch of CRF with this grade of Virginia that we will see. While it is good, I dont see myself missing it when my tin is empty.

To my tastes, this is similar to Hearth and Home Marble Kake. Marble Kake does seem to have more depth of flavor imo. This is more on the higher end of mild were Marble Kake is on the lower end of medium is flavor.

Its definitely worth trying if you can get your hands on it.

Fairly dry broken flakes, but still get a little drying time for my preferences. This does not have heavy tangy/sour smell of something like 515 RC-1 (missed 5100), it is more muted and earthy. Nor is it overly sweet as the sugar content would suggest. It is lightly "bready" which is a huge positive for me. Rounding out the taste profile is a subtle spiciness, but not VaPeresque. I've ordered 22 tins of this now over multiple orders and wish I had maxed out the limit of 25 when SP.com originally released it.

Regarding the release itself, I chatted with Jeremy Reeves at the WCPS about CRF and he mentioned they increased the tin count each year because it was selling out too fast. For those wondering why the release count jumped from 2400 initially to 10000 for the final year. I also asked about future blends, with this being the last of the 2015 leaf, and they are still evaluating replacement options at this time. Here's to hoping the next crop is as good as this one!

Just received two tins of Carolina Red Flake (dated 9-23-2019)

Packed a rather large bowl of this (in an over-sized Neerup) for breakfast this morning.

Decent looking broken flake with tin notes of hay, earth.

One reviewer used the word "boring" -- and that is what immediately came to my mind, initially, but it soon began to develop some character.

I've become quite fond of Virginia's since first picking up the briar -- red Virginias in particular. So, when I saw "Carolina Red Flake", Sutliff Matured Red Virginia 515 RC-1 came to mind, as did Sutliff's Crumble Kake Red Virginia (alas, I missed the 5100 -- I can only imagine) . . . Carolina Red Flake didn't have the tang or sweetness that I was expecting (I certainly didn't get the sweetness, dark fruit and tanginess that other reviews from 2016 were raving about). That being said, Carolina Red Flake did strike me as a solid, good smoking VA: earthy, woody, some dark fruit; a trace of sugar. The bottom two-thirds of the bowl was more reminiscent of McClelland's 40th Anniversary (closer to a straight VA as opposed to something called "Red Flake" -- not to engage in unnecessary criticism). Good dose of nicotine, just past the medium I would say. One reviewer cellared some for a few years and remarked that it improved with age (surprise), so I think I'll follow suit. 3.5 stars.

UPDATE: January 30th, 2020: Just purchased 16 tins (out of 10,000 tins) of the 2019 batch from Pay Less Cigars & Pipes for $204 (with express shipping). Boy Howdy, did I ever get lucky, or what?

This is a superb red Virginia flake. I prefer it to 40th anniversary which is definitely saying something considering how good that blend is. C&D has really made something special with this blend. IMHO this stuff is on par with esoterica Virginias. In fact English blending houses don’t have a comparable blend so one could say that this might be one of thee best red Virginia flakes in the world right now. On to the description...like others have said it has a lovely sweetness with a slight tart undertone. When I retrohale I get a wonderfully smooth tanginess that tickles the nostrils. Every bowl has been better than the previous. I’ve found that the flavor is so bright and fruity that one can’t ignore it. It forces one to pay attention to the delicious flavors of citrus fruit and sometimes a sweet wine like note that is ever so tasty. It burns like a dream and needs a below average number of relights. Only drawback is the availability. I was lucky enough to snag 2 tins to try it and immediately regretted not purchasing more. If you see this tin on a shelf in your local tobacconist PICK IT UP!

2020 edition: Spicy is what I recognize first and strong for the first third of the bowl. After that some Virginia sweetness here and there shines through and some earthy tones are more noticable. Burns at a moderate pace and needs 2-3 relights. The nic hit to me is more on the medium to strong side. I will set the tobacco aside and try it in a year again. Not an immediate love affair...