Cornell & Diehl Briar Fox

I recently openened a tin of this blend and have smoked it quite a bit since then. I find as a smoker of Virginias, that this blend fits in very nicely amongst my "need to have" blends. I do not really smoke lots of Latakia blends and have great difficulty as a nicotine junkie to get my fix from the likes of Rattrays etc. This is now my evening Virginia smoke.

The taste is really wonderful for when one craves something hearty in the evenings or after a big supper. It has a very faint sweetness and the right kind of bitterness and lots and lots of cool smoke with no bite. That wonderful taste lingers in my mouth for a while and keeps me satisfied until the morning.

Now I need to explain why it gets 3 stars instead of 4. Unlike Rattrays HOTW this blend is not very sympathetic to relights and I would reccommend smoking it in a bowl size that you can finish in one sitting. If you do that, you will be rewarded with a very enjoyable smoke indeed.

#UPDATE. I have to upgrade this blend to 4 stars. It has become indespensible in my rotation. Really good stuff and I am stocking up

I WOULD LIKE TO THANK VERY MUCH THE REVIEWER PIPESTUD CAUSE AFTER READING HIS REVIEWS, THE LAST TWO YEARS, I LEARNED A LOT, REGARDING THE TOBACCOS TASTING With the opening of box, the light sweet and sour smell of its quality leaf of Virginia came immediately to my nose. The level of humidity is precisely right. I cannot detect certain aromatic wrapper. It reminded me of the taste of cigarette with more elegant flavor. As long as you smoke this tobacco, it becomes more tasteful and stronger. Quite heavy with strong dose of nicotine in it, Briar. Certainly it is a tobacco which gets much better (after one or two years), when it gets mature.

much like ciggarettes. simple VA... several tins later (I cant just give up) it is in fact more complex than at first. has nutty, woodsy element others describe, I would buy this, but be aware this takes a little time and thought to find the sweet spots.

A very fine VA. I can smoke this one all day. No bite whatsoever for me...just good clean virginia taste. This was my first krumble cake and it was a litte strange at first, but I found it was very easy to break off what I wanted. I will buy more of this.

There's not much I can add to the descriptions already provided. I submitted this review mainly to contribute to the average rating. I like it that much.

I love Virginia's, however, I tend to enjoy the milder ones the best. This one is all I could ask for. It is also worth noting this is my first "crumble cake" and it allowed me to overcome the intimidation of pinching and rubbing. This is an easy tobacco to crumble, smoke, and enjoy! Thanks again Cornell & Diehl!

This is an exceptionally good VA cake - it crumbles and burns exceedingly well, and it has a rich, deep flavor. It's not a VA I'd smoke every day, but it's an interesting change of pace when I'm in the mood for a medium-strength VA with absolutely no hint of flavoring. It also excels as a blender.

BARK, WOOD, EARTHY

A nice Virginia. Slow and relaxed will bring out raisin/fig sweetness. Hurried doesnt work well with it. It most certainly comes too dry. Worthy of anyones rotation. Earthy,Woodsy, Nutty, Sweet, Light/Smoky. Crap. The next few tins I bought were more earthy and unilateral. woodsy,woodsy,woodsy. i AM THINKING THAT c & d LACKS in the consistancy dept.

BETTER PICK: MCCLELLAND CHRISTMAS CHEER 05' OR 06

It is my turn to completely revise my earlier review of this tobacco. I removed it because it was not a very well thought out comment.

Briar Fox, over a period of a year, has become a regular in my rotation. So much so, that I have completely become a VA snob. It has forced me to say farewell to some of the tobaccos that will remain nameless, that had a series of subtle flavorings in the background that were meant to mask sour and inferior VA tobaccos with low sugar content from a variety of continents. While I mean no disrespect - there's no comparison of the high quality of this tobacco to some of it's global cousins.

I make slices of the plugs so that I am left with a more uniform size morsels to pack. It crumbles rather easily so the slices are more virtual than literal. The array of colors mahogany, reds and a spec of gold here and there are a clue to what's ahead. There's a wonderful toastiness to the blend that makes me think of fire roasted cashews. As previous reviewers commented ... nutty - woodsy / woodsy - nutty ... but with a very subtle and unmistakable caramel sweetness sneaking through. Mind you, I'm talking about rich VA sweetness not that of additives or flavorings. I've smoked this in all shape and size bowls and they have all smoked well but typically I smoke it in a medium size which suits my slicing method best.

When smoking, I try to puff this just a wee bit above a smolder. If you get too aggressive with this blend you'll miss all the complexity. Even the non-smoker is curious about the room note - which is nutty and sweet but unmistakably fine tobacco - no flavorings here. It burns to a white ash and never disappoints. However, I would keep this as an 'indoor only' smoke.

Wonderful stuff !!

Cheers, VC

I really like the versatility of this 'crumble cake'. I've horizontally peeled off and fully rubbed thin slices for quick smokes, as well as vertically sawed off hunks and slowly stoked the ember. Each time I smoke this a different way I notice different notes.

Each time it is a rewarding, cool smoke with good Va flavor, that smokes down to a white ash. While I found the room note extremely pleasant, non smokers only found it tolerable.

While Briar Fox is extremely smooth, I do not find it super sweet for a virginia. The tones are earthier and woodsier, compared to something like pipesandcigars.com "Marble Cake", which is sweet and sticky with more abrupt flavor changes. "Marble Cake" is in the rotation as well, but Briar Fox is more sly, sleek, and mellow. It's aptly named. It also doesn't require a Ph.d in Virginias to be enjoyed like the ketchup club #24,#25,#27, and Dark Star. It's very accessible.

Hats off to C&D and 4 stars!!!