Cornell & Diehl Carolina Red Flake 2022

my first bowel today. the description of dried cranberry is spot on for the tin note. at first, I was thinking raisin bran cereal. it does have that grass smell in the background but definitely cranberry. Near perfect moisture once rubbed out for me. first light was typical. a bit of sour and hay. after settling in burns quite well. a really good mouth feel. I am biased toward Virgina and this one is maybe the best going. the sweetness is well balanced with the tartness. don't think of sugar sweet but more than your average in a good leaf. the dried cranberry will come in mid bowel when sipped. as with most straight Virgina leaf sipping is best, or it can get harsh and charred tasting. patience with this one. C&D has a blend for everyone but not everyone do I care for. I do try to be objective and try as many as I can. This is the #1 so far. last year's sun bear was good after aging and i wont smoke this year's till next year. 2021 was good but not great. this red with some age should be top tier. it is close to that fresh out the tin. but remember the leaf is already two years old. if you have some enjoy it. I have two in my special place for a year or two later. with the number of choices out there I won't be so tempted to crack the open sooner. primarily a Balken/English smoker I do enjoy a good Virgina. well hell that's where I'm from. truly wish everyone could try this one. some of the small batch/limited editions are a lot of hype. not this one. worth three times the price or maybe more.

I’ve been smoking a pipe for about five years now and only recently did I discover my love for red Virginia. I remember being a newer pipe smoker and trying it in blends that had it as a base like Autumn Evening and not really caring for it, now it’s my favorite part of the blend. I blame C&D for gradually changing my taste as nearly ever other blend has red VA in it, usually as a base. I think the blend that broke me on red was Blockade Runner, a tasty rum soaked navy cake that still has a raw, pure tobacco taste behind the rum. Fast forward a bit and I’m smoking through tins of pure red flakes or stuff with a lot of red in it and dedicating a Savinelli to just red Virginia. In short, I kind of like the stuff.

I’ve tried Wessex and H&H - Bright Night and Astley’s black, and all have been fantastic blends in their own right, but none have come close to this. It’s even better than the tin of Christmas Cheer that I spent a stupid amount of money on, and is possibly a close second. CRF is it.

It’s got the earthy body and cranberry tartness. It’s got a touch of caramel or brown sugar and natural sweetness. It’s not too complicated due to it being a straight Virginia, but it has a lot of depth of flavor. Every now and then I can nose out herbal, spice, and peppery notes.

Like a lot of reds, it has a similar taste profile to an Amber Ale style beer, which is also one of my go to beers, which probably explains why I like it. The mouthfeel can be tart, like I’ve eaten a bunch of dried cranberries. It’s a shame this can’t be produced in greater quantity, because my natural instinct would be to smoke through the entire tin without thinking about it, but alas I must preserve this for the wonderful and occasional smoke that it is and be thankful I have it at all. Luckily, between Pease and C&D, I have lots of fall backs that I can smoke the rest of the time.

CRF 2022 arrived and I put 2 away and opened one tin to smoke now. I have a few CRF 2020 put away and it has become my first pipe of the day with some Community Coffee. Very satisfying with a nice daily starter dose of Vitamin N. Very rich and flavorful VA I really enjoy the red virginia flavors. Wish this one was available all year. Good job by C&D.

I am very pleased with this blend. I was very sad that Anthology replaced the CRFwP this year but CRF2022 had more than made up for it. The lead note is something I have no was of identifying accurately, but it is a special thing. I’ve found that the note comes through Best when are taking your time, creating near whisp-like smoke.

I love VAs but I still wish all straight VAs could taste this good.