Cornell & Diehl XX Flake

Upon opening I found a very user friendly flake. These flakes are very supple and easy to pack and the burn is a pure pleasure . I notice that C & D are using this flake format lately and it represents a huge step forward for them . The tin note is very pleasant with overtones lite fruit and grass . This blend is a combination of Orientals , perique and Virginias that all work very well together . I would call it a lite VaPer with oriental overtones . The smoke is very creamy and smooth with the Orientals leveling off the VaPer taste. The flavor , however , is not really full enough to satisfy , Compared to other lite VaPers such as HU Janneman or Astley #2 this falls a little short . True , these two tobaccos do not include Orientals but they are lite VaPers that give basically the same smoke . XX flake falls a little short because the Virginias are young . That is the reason that other reviewers said that it still needed time in the can . I remember when we used to get Virginias that were well aged right out of the can . Today the makers expect us to age their tobaccos for them . I have little doubt that in a few years XX flake will be a 4 star tobacco but , as it stands I could only award 3 stars right now . This blend has a delicacy that can be appreciated only with a loose pack smoked very slowly and with total concentration . C & D seems to be moving up by presenting pure tobaccos with no topping , tobaccos presented for their own taste and qualities . I Think that C & D is now concentrating more on pure tobacco blends and less on adding aromatic agents . Good move C & D ,