BriarWorks International Country Lawyer

Although I bought one of each of the Briarworks' blends when they came out, this one stood out the most because I am kind of a country lawyer myself. I live on the edge of suburbia, but do work out in the country. That, and I am a sucker for a blend with cigar leaf. Particularly when it is used well as this one is.

This is a nice smoking blend. Made by C&D it is right at the proper moisture content (surprisingly though due to jarring mishap, more on this later). It is a typical ribbon cut/almost shag and it takes a light nicely and will stay lit to the bottom with a little bit of concentration and attention.

I took a baggie of this with me on the road often as it is one you can easily smoke whilst socializing and not worry about it torching your mouth because you got carried away puffing while not paying attention. This one won't bite and it is not so stout as to impede enjoyment of multiple bowls back to back; however, it does have a decent amount of back bone, so the multiple bowls will likely need the accompaniment of some sugary beverage. This is not a problem with me since I typically socialize with a glass of bourbon in my hand. 🙂

Overall I liked this blend; however, it can get boring and one note and that maybe another reason I tended to enjoy it most when I was preoccupied. What complexity it does deliver comes mostly from the interplay of the oriental and Kentucky. It is funny, but the two of them together had me thinking this also had a small amount of latakia in it, alas, my taster failed me. It did not.

Now to the mishap at which I alluded earlier. I was excited at the idea that someone had finally decided to sell tobacco in the jars that we often end up storing tobacco in anyway. This certainly saves a few steps when storing, particularly, if you are one of those real anal types that opens all your tins and immediately jars the contents (I am not one of these people btw). I was not very happy though when I opened my jar of CL only to find, not one, but two strands of tobacco between the glass and rubber seal in two different spots. This is pretty piss-poor if you ask me. I guess that I was fortunate enough to have opened this soon enough as it was not a tight seal and likely would have led to problems in the future.

This is the first Briarwork's jar I have opened, so I don't know if this is a common occurrence or not. It will not keep me from giving this blend 4 stars as I would not have rated it that high anyway. It just doesn't have the wow factor. This one resides somewhere between two and three stars. I personally would rather smoke CD Purple Cow or GLP Robusto, but I will still up this to three stars. If the jarring thing appears on any more of my jars, I will drop it to two stars as I feel that a bad seal, considering the container they chose to use, is completely unacceptable.

Presentation: I LOVE this packaging. It comes in a 57g (2oz) canning jar -- no need to jar this tobacco! The label is very antiquelike, but that only adds to the charm. It has a drawing of a cigar laying on a leaf.

Cut: Chunky ribbon cut, perfect moisture out of the jar.

Tin note: Smells smoky, chocolatey, and slightly fruity after smelling and thinking about it, but at first whiff I just smelled a cigar.

Tasting notes: Upon drawing it is smoky with just the slightest tinge of sweetness. The finish is earthy and woody. Very cigarlike and also very smooth. Although when I smoked this fresh about a year ago (and a few times in between then and now) I remember it having more sweetness (a fruity red virginia kind) than I am currently detecting.

Mechanics: Many smokes cause saliva when smoking, but this one dries out my mouth. Not a concern for me in the least though, I just have a water on hand while smoking.

Extra Remarks: A very good blend. If you want some cigar leaf in your pipe, this is absolutely a blend worth trying. For me, this a blend I enjoy every time I smoke it and it is a great "once in a while" blend to mix into the rotation. 3 stars.

This was an interesting smoke. Just had it for the first time.
The tin note has a semi sweet standard pipe tobacco smell (probably the cavendish) as the major tone with the cigar ever present as the minor note.

Upon smoking the cigar leaf is front and center. If smoked slow you get an under current of the sweet Virginia . It has a very dry mouth feel and some nice plums. Stats lit really well.

I can see myself reaching for this when I’m in the mood for a cigar and being satisfied.

If someone is a cigar smoker getting into pipes I think this would be a great starting point.

If you like Cigar leaf then you will like this one. It's got a nice tin note but you can definitely smell the cigar leaf. The smoking was a bit one dimensional and if it wasn't for the DFK, I think I would have passed this one on because the cigar leaf negates the Orientals. It's got a decent nic hit and is more of an outdoor smoke when it comes to room note.

It's decent but not very complex. I can see smoking this in a pipe when your buddies are smoking their cigars. 3 Stars.

(June 2020 - Update) I found a 2017 jar in my cellar and opened it as the temperatures got warmer. The blend is even more enjoyable than I remembered in 2018/2019. The main thing I get that distinguishes it is a musty/earthy note which is always there but doesn't overwhelm. It's never going to be my all-day blend, but I found it pairs great with a Guinness. The only thing that keeps it from 4 stars is that I feel the components compete instead of complimenting each other. I've tried tossing the tobacco in the jar to mix it better and it helps slightly.

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Another blend which I didn't like when I first tried it, but now really seem to enjoy much more as my tastes have developed.

When I first smoked it, the dark fired and cigar leaf were the things that turned me off, now I find them nice compliments to the other components. Not an everyday blend for me, it does hit a spot when I want it.

The DFK starts in the lead. It is woodsy, earthy, slightly spicy with just a hint of sweetness. The cigar leaf has a mildly sweet, smokey nuance that mainly stays in the background at the start. It does move forward as the bowl progresses as does the Turkish, which has notes of dry earthiness, some floral and herbal notes, a little musty at times with a slight hint of spice here and there. The VA's are more of a supporting role, I get a little grassy note and a hint of citrus along with a slight earthy and bready grain notes. The black cav. has that characteristic brown sugar note and to be honest, this is were I think the blend lost greatness. In fact after considering a Maduro leaf might be better suited to match the black cav. Any way, that note aside the black cav is used sparingly but seems to underscore the entire profile for me. Sipped slowly it stays in the background but if you push this a little it will take over and move to the front of the flavors. That said this is still a very good blend and I am glad that I picked up a jar of it.