Cornell & Diehl Carolina Red Flake

For the most part, the flake is fairly broken up right from the tin, requiring very little prep before packing a bowl. Right off the bat, there is a dominant flavor of earthy pepper with a barely detectable note of plum sweetness. The retrohale magnifies the pepper and the plum comes a bit more forward. Into the second half of the bowl, the pepper and earth mellow out a bit and I can detect hints of orange peel. I do recommend letting the tobacco dry out a little bit before lighting up because there was a little bit of moisture build up. It did require a fair number of relights, but I think that may have had more to do with my inexperience with flake tobacco.

Very good tobacco! I found this flake to be an exceptional tobacco. The tin note is grass and fruit. It is ready to smoke from the tin and is easily rubbed out. It lights easily and burns very well. It is a sweet smoke and satisfying. I bought this because smokingpipes sent me an email and I responded immediately. If you can get a tin, do it. You will not be disappointed if you are able to get some.

This was good before I returned it. Had no mold but my buddy wanted to return his 10 tins. Red virginias were pleasant with earthiness, tangy sweetness, woodsiness and fruit.. some decent starting age to the tobacco but not anything special.. certainly not much older than most tins you can find at b&m' that have sat for a few years.. perfect 4 star blend no, so I'm giving it a 2.9. Don't want ppl thinking this was some mythically good blend or anything. C&D flakes are real messy btw, wish they could fix that bc they're my favorite producer of tobacco other than SG whose flakes are perfect.

I’m pretty late to the game with this blend but finally picked up a tin. I really haven’t had too many Cornell & Diehl tobaccos. Working through this tin has been a real treat. Smokes perfectly, burns perfectly, tastes wonderfully delicious. Plan on picking up many more tins.

Production date: Aug, 30, 2022 | #9,231/15,000 | Sugar Content: 13.53%

The first third of the bowl is impressive. It's sweet, tangy, tart, grassy, with absolutely no bite to speak of. Not even a hint. The retrohale is full, round, and smooth, but spicy, and present. They're not wrong when they say it has undertones of dried cranberries. I kept thinking of a dry Cranberry Tart.

The second third gets darker, richer, and earthier. The retrohale intensifies, and gets spicier, all the while maintaining an afterglow of the first thirds profile. It dries out my throat quite a bit, so I've been pairing it with black tea and honey.

Unfortunately the room note did not pass the wife test. Said It smelled a bit like cigarettes. I didn't smell that, but later I noticed my office smelled musty, and stale. It wasn't awful though.

It’s an interesting blend. I adore the first half of the bowl. I was hoping it would stay on the lighter, brighter side of the Virginia spectrum, but that's okay. I think I'll appreciate it more in the colder months with some age on it. I can totally see this being a Thanksgiving/Christmas blend. 3 1/2 stars.

This is remarkably good. Tasty, sweet, fragrant and light. Excellent blend that will undoubtedly improve with age. A little stronger in the nicotine department than I am usually comfortable with, but when sipped is quite stunning.

Another great Virginia Flake that, for some reason, I came to late in the game. It stands along side my other favourites, Opening Night and GLP Union Square. I don't miss the lack of bright. I find it has slightly less of a nic hit than the most, already mildish VA flakes (a positive for me) and a slightly deeper flavour. It leaves me wanting more than my self-imposed, nightly two bowls. It may also have a slightly more consistent burn but that could be down to me. No tongue bite unless pushed to hard which is hard to do. Burns down to white ash. If I were an all day smoker, I could smoke this all day.