Cornell & Diehl Briar Fox

The tin contains two krumble cakes that would look like two bricks of chewing tobacco if they were compressed and contained considerably more moisture. Of course the cakes don?t contain much moisture at all and that is why they ?crumble.? Actually, I found the two cakes to be ?bone dry.? After breaking and rubbing them out, I re-hydrated the tobacco just a little.

This is a delightful, pure VA blend that is smooth, natural, straightforward and with a nicotine kick. It does not have a pronounced, classic VA sweetness and this it where it differs from many other VA blends. Briar Fox may be a bit harsh for some at first light but it soon evolves with pleasurable sweet and sour notes and a ever so slight spiciness / tanginess in the background as you progress down the bowl. Can I say this tobacco has a ?sweet tartness? or is that an oxymoron? As with all VA blends it is best enjoyed with a slow, smoking pace if not just sipped. It has excellent burning qualities with no bite. I think that any cigarette or cigar smoke would especially enjoy Briar Fox as it is an all natural blend with substantial nicotine. If you don?t like blends high in nicotine, stay away from ?the Fox.? If you are ?perique intolerant,? BF would be a good, pure VA blend to try.

A cigarette is to be smoked. A cigar is to be enjoyed. A pipe is to be savored.

I rate this tobacco 9.5 out of 10.

I like this tobac very much. Nothing spectacular, but a good honest virginia that can be smoked anytime of the day. As is common with C&D blends, the background taste has a dryness to it which I like on occasion. But there are a couple of great attributes to Briar Fox; no tongue bite and a clean refreshing aftertaste. Smoked in a large bowl for a long time seems to bring out the subtle virginias; a small bowl definitely seems to concentrate the flavors. I like and will keep a tin or two on hand.

This tobacco packs a nicotine kick. Otherwise, it is a unique crumble cake with nothing but VA tobacco. Sort of reminds me of C&D Bow-Legged Bear without the Latakia/Perique. On the dry side, but no bite. Burns to a clean ash. This VA does not have that spicy/tart VA component that is so pronounced in McClelland VAs. Much more moderated and smooth.

Again, this is strong on nicotine but medium in flavor. My eyes are still dialated. Nevertheless, a unique VA tobacco that a veteran pipe smoker should try. It sort of has that iron fist/velvet glove thing going on. Kind of like tossing back a Cognac at the end of the evening. Tasty but makes the head swim a bit.

This is a unique blend that should be tried at least once. It is the virginia version of C&D's Pirate Kake. This is a very rich, simple virginia that is completely bite free. It's very basic to my tastes, and reminds me of what I imagine tobaccos must have tasted like in past times. This is a typical C&D blend: high quality and great burning characterisitics. I have to admit that it is just not quite my style. I need a little more complexity and natural sweetness in my straight virginias. This would make a great all day smoke if someone was into virginias this much.

Another excellent blend from Cornell & Diehl. If you like Virginias, you must try this one. no bite and a wonderful flavor.

This fills the gap in my rotation for a mild, flavorful, and tame Virginia pipe tobacco.

I really do not like the smell of casing when I open any tin, and I smell casing in Briar Fox. In BF, casing does not seem to interfere with the smoking aroma, taste, or temperature in the experience that counts.

Probably not the most economical blend I have smoked. My medium-large sized pipes seem to gobble this crumble cake up (I get 8 bowls from one 50 gram tin; a few bowls less than what I am accustomed).

A worthy Virginian. It is the first C&D blend I have tried, other than Two Friends. It will keep me trying more. Give it to a newbee for a proper introduction to premium tobacco.

Not only does Peter Heeschen make fine pipes he (and Craig) know how to put together a fine virginia blend.

In The Tin: This comes in crumble cake form. I generally prefer ribbon cuts to all others but if it has to be something else this is about the easiest form to deal with. Just pinch off an edge and roll between finger and thumb and you get a nice packable mix. The aroma is a gentle sweet Virginia smell with just a hint of sour.

Taste: The first few puffs don't yield much taste. But after that it's all good. Pleasing subtle Virginia flavors and just the right amount of sweetness. The smoke is moderately rich and billowy, and quite satisfactory in mouth feel.

I would recommend this to pretty much anyone. It is the best introduction to pure Virginia blends out there. I'm going to be smoking my way through a good bit of this.

For a number of reasons, I avoided doing a review on this blend for a long time. First of all, it is the bestseller in the Cornell & Diehl lineup, and writing a review on a bestseller is a thankless task. Secondly - which actually follows from the first point - the blend has a huge bunch of fans, many of whom have been smoking it for a long time, have formed their own opinions about it, and would be able to tell you much more about it than I could. And, finally, thirdly, a lot of spears have been broken during the discussion about the composition of this tobacco. However, the final verdict was partially answered by Chris Tarler, who pointed out that the blend is not pure virginia (at least at the moment), and there is burley in it. I have smoked it both fresh and aged, and I must say that the taste of the blend changes dramatically as it ages, becoming sweeter over the years. Perhaps it is this fact that leads some to argue that there is no burley in the blend. However, for the review, I took a blend with a little less than a year and a half of age.

Appearance: the 2 oz tin was packaged on November 9, 2022. The blend is a compressed brick of finely cut tobacco that includes three varieties of Virginia and some burley. Alas, as frustrating as it may be to some guys who said that the blend consists of only Virginia - burley is here. Any desired amount of tobacco can be easily detached from the cake. The moisture content of the tobacco is close to perfect, but it's still worth drying it out a bit. The consistency is excellent - in the entire time I've been smoking it, I haven't caught a single, even the smallest, stalk of tobacco leaf.

Flavor: the overall bouquet is surprisingly complex, although quite even. On a separate note, even though there isn't much burley in the lineup, its earthy and nutty notes play almost in line with the Virginia notes - a nice bouquet of dried fruit, hay, bread, and woody tones from the red leaf. There are also notes of citrus, molasses and a very faint note of cinnamon in the far background.

Taste: this is where the fun part comes in. Very many fans of this blend note that in order to understand it, you need to smoke it as slowly as possible. If you follow their advice, the taste of the blend will be as interesting as the flavor. I picked up notes of sweet molasses with a slight grassy note, oats, a slight note of raisins, a pinch of walnuts... It was as if I put a small piece of oatmeal cookie with walnut crumbs in my mouth. Forgetting myself, I inhaled a little harder, desiring to increase the pleasure - and the magic immediately disappeared, leaving a woody dusty note of burley and a slight astringent taste of tannin. The mixture was completely intolerant of overheating, but not in the sense that it usually results in bitterness or a burnt tongue - it simply lost its taste. The pipe smoker should be patient and smoke at a pace that is most comfortable for the blend to experience the full bouquet. Bents slightly enhance the woody note in the bouquet, so I recommend using straight pipes. The blend smokes smoothly, burning out into a light-gray dusty ash and leaving literally a drop of moisture in the bowl. The strength of the tobacco is medium, but considering the smoking rate, nicotine hit is unlikely even in very large pipes. The aftertaste is not pronounced, sweet and woody.

The smoke from the tobacco is persistent and has a woody odor.

What's the bottom line? This tobacco is an excellent teacher of slow smoking. It will probably become your favorite tobacco. It also ages beautifully, achieving a sweetness. Having a slightly different preference, I give it credit - it is very good. Also, to the advantages, it can be found in a large pack.

Tin note bright, raisins. Smoke is floral, fruity. Not sweet to speak of. Flavor wanes quickly. Crumble kake was on the dry side, breaks up and rubs out easily.

Rehydrated the second bowl with my breath, getting the barest hint of sweetness now and a little tartness. Mutes some of the floral and fruit notes, but what flavor there is lasts longer into the bowl. Pretty much just a sort of grassy sweetness. Still pretty underwhelming. Retrohaling any quantity of smoke causes a sharp stinging in the nostrils; the second-hand smoke is fairly unpleasant, acrid. There's enough here to enjoy, but barely.