Cornell & Diehl Carolina Red Flake
(3.54)
A blend of the finest North Carolina grown red Virginias, harvested in 2015, our Carolina Red Flake is a tribute to the Old Belt. Plucked straight from Carolina soil, these top-tier Virginias were all grown, thrashed, blended, pressed, and then lovingly sliced and tinned right here in the heart of old tobacco country. Sweet, tangy, and spicy, Carolina Red Flake is both surprisingly straightforward and pleasantly complex: you'll find it's rich, deep, and earthy, with undertones of dried cranberries, orchard grass, and citrus.
 We're proud of our heritage—and we're particularly proud of this damn near perfect red Virginia flake. Enjoy!
Notes:
First retail launch: June 10, 2016. 2,400 tins produced.
2016 - 2,400 tins produced.
2017 - 2,400 tins produced.
2018 - 8,000 tins produced.
2019 - 10,000 tins produced.
2020 - 10,000 tins produced.
Components by production year:
2016 - 2019 : "L2DH-0-15" 100% USA FCV from 2015. Grade D1A, D1F, D1H Top Grade Virginias Sugar Content: 10.49%
2020 - Current: "SM2-18" 100% USA FCV from 2018. Grade D1A, D1F, D1H Top Grade Virginias. Sugar Content: 8.33%
Recalls: 6/21/2016 All 2400 tins have been recalled due to mold being found in some tins. Refunds or trades for other C&D blends are being offered.
Details
| Brand | Cornell & Diehl |
| Series | Small Batch |
| Blended By | Jeremy Reeves |
| Manufactured By | Cornell & Diehl |
| Blend Type | Straight Virginia |
| Contents | Virginia |
| Flavoring | |
| Cut | Flake |
| Packaging | 2 ounce tin |
| Country | United States |
| Production | Re-release |
Profile
Strength
Medium
Extremely Mild -> Overwhelming
Flavoring
None Detected
None Detected -> Extra Strong
Room Note
Pleasant to Tolerable
Unnoticeable -> Overwhelming
Taste
Medium
Extremely Mild (Flat) -> Overwhelming
Average Rating
|
3.54 / 4
|
Reviews
Please login to post a review.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 Reviews
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 24, 2019 | Medium | Medium | Mild | Tolerable |
Carolina Red Flake is one of those tobaccos that has a cult following. Not surprising as it's a limited edition offering.
I have the impression that pipe smokers can be described by various terms, divided into distinct classes along several lines of distinction. One of these is Cornell & Diehl. Either you love them or you don't. If you love them, their catalog has much to offer you by way of variety and unique blends that, failing distinction, don't wander far from the general vane than englobes their tobacco worldview--"honest, unpretensious tobacco."
I on the other hand just can't get hooked. I try and try. Generally I don't write reviews for tobaccos unless I like them, but somehow I think that this flake has a 3.8 rating because only its habitués have reviewed it. I suppose it was a limited edition so most of you aren't torn with indecision at spending a paycheck on 'in stock' Carolina Red Flake. So why mention it?
Well, Sansepolcro, another Cornell & Diehl limited edition run, is due to make an appearance tomorrow. As curious as I am given the appetizing reviews that others have written about it, I nonetheless can't bring myself to forget that, for my tastes anyway, Cornell & Diehl has always been a purveyor of tobacco mixtures that tend toward the harsher, dryer, and monotone end of the spectrum. Carolina Red Flake is a perfect example of it. A beacon herald, flagship tobacco. For example, it is an 'honest' tobacco, inasmuch as it is simple. As charming as a one-note piano. It is best sipped early in the morning otherwise its linear appeal will escape your distracted senses. It would likely make a good blending tobacco, but that's missing the point of a small batch limited edition, isn't it? I'm grateful to my friends who've given me many samples of Cornell & Diehl blends, most of which I've not enjoyed terribly much (the one exception being Star of the East Flake). I wonder how much Carolina Red Flake tins would have sold if they'd given out free samples first.
Anyway, that's my review. Call it a 'dissenting voice.'
I have the impression that pipe smokers can be described by various terms, divided into distinct classes along several lines of distinction. One of these is Cornell & Diehl. Either you love them or you don't. If you love them, their catalog has much to offer you by way of variety and unique blends that, failing distinction, don't wander far from the general vane than englobes their tobacco worldview--"honest, unpretensious tobacco."
I on the other hand just can't get hooked. I try and try. Generally I don't write reviews for tobaccos unless I like them, but somehow I think that this flake has a 3.8 rating because only its habitués have reviewed it. I suppose it was a limited edition so most of you aren't torn with indecision at spending a paycheck on 'in stock' Carolina Red Flake. So why mention it?
Well, Sansepolcro, another Cornell & Diehl limited edition run, is due to make an appearance tomorrow. As curious as I am given the appetizing reviews that others have written about it, I nonetheless can't bring myself to forget that, for my tastes anyway, Cornell & Diehl has always been a purveyor of tobacco mixtures that tend toward the harsher, dryer, and monotone end of the spectrum. Carolina Red Flake is a perfect example of it. A beacon herald, flagship tobacco. For example, it is an 'honest' tobacco, inasmuch as it is simple. As charming as a one-note piano. It is best sipped early in the morning otherwise its linear appeal will escape your distracted senses. It would likely make a good blending tobacco, but that's missing the point of a small batch limited edition, isn't it? I'm grateful to my friends who've given me many samples of Cornell & Diehl blends, most of which I've not enjoyed terribly much (the one exception being Star of the East Flake). I wonder how much Carolina Red Flake tins would have sold if they'd given out free samples first.
Anyway, that's my review. Call it a 'dissenting voice.'
Pipe Used:
all shapes and sizes
PurchasedFrom:
Tobaccopipes-dot-com
Age When Smoked:
2018 limited edition
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 22, 2020 | Medium | None Detected | Medium | Tolerable to Strong |
Was eager to try this with all the hype. I adore Reds especially red flakes. First of all, I'll say the sour room note coming from my wife's pipe lit before mine, did not give me a high expectation. The tobacco is ready to smoke as far as moisture is concerned. To be clear the tin not is so rich, I'm not sure I can understand why it does not translate into the smoke. A monochrome, non eventful, easy burning, dry smoke followed. Then as the last Grey ash was spent. I got an aftertaste that lingered for an hour that reminded me of a cheap Connecticut wrapped cigar. I wish I could enjoy it, but it's going to be gifted for sure.
Pipe Used:
Bones Snorkel
PurchasedFrom:
Trade
Age When Smoked:
6 months
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Oct 20, 2020 | Medium | Very Mild | Mild to Medium | Tolerable |
So you know where I'm coming from...... I've been enjoying pipes for the past 35 years. I am a Virginia fan and most of my favorite smokes are from Virginia laden pipes with an occasional foray into light English blends. How do you get a tobacco to become a loved, best selling, cult followed tobacco? Include "small batch" in the title. I just don't get it....... I smoked this in various pipes from meers to cobs to favorite briars at different times of the day. This is a fantastic tobacco for the first 1/3 of the bowl. Then something goes wrong. Not sure what it is but a strong cigar essence takes over and the wonderful Virginias fall far to the background. By the end of the bowl I feel something I don't feel too often with tobaccos. Tongue bite. My whole mouth feels abused. I don't tend to smoke fast whatsoever so I was very surprised at that outcome. The cigar taste and aroma is not necessarily bad but not what I expected from this tobacco. The tongue bite was a total surprise. It does light easily and stays lit with no need to relight throughout the smoke. I am cellaring a few tins and will try again in a few months but for now, I'd say stay away, which is a totally different opinion from most others that try this blend.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 04, 2022 | Medium to Strong | None Detected | Medium | Pleasant to Tolerable |
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.
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.
Pipe Used:
Peterson Mycroft
Age When Smoked:
30 months
target="_blank"
