Cornell & Diehl Briar Fox

Briar Fox leaves me a bit into ambiguity. I like it because the proportions of White and Dark Burley allow me to appreciate them better than in the Burley Flake series; but their proportions is still high enough to the point where they, sadly, smother the virginias' taste. That makes, thus, Briar Fox more of a Burley than Virginia krumble kake. As I purchased BF because It as presented as a Virginia based mixture, my verdict is ambiguous. There is nothing wrong with BF per se; 4 years of aging makes for a smooth and rather rich and tasty smoking experience. The nicotine is also right. But I would have liked to see a dominance of the Virginias instead of the Burley. Therefore, I appreciate the stable, cigarish and slightly bitter aromas and taste from the dark Burley; but I get very little grassiness, hayness, sweetness and citrus notes from the Virginias. A few weeks after opening, the virginias have a more pronounced presence; but despite throwing a bit of sweetness and hayness in there, it still remains a burley blend. This, in the end, makes for a rather overall boring tobacco as where, if there had been more Virginias, it could have proven a rather very pleasant venture developing some complexity. Too bad. If you love Burley, by all means, you will be conquered by BF. At that level, I can understand why it's C & D's top seller. It makes for a very good all day smoke. I, personally, lament the too small proportions of Virginias.

SP lists this as C&D's best seller, a combination of Virginias and Burleys. While accurate, there's Va/Bur and then there's va/BUR. This is the latter. If you're looking for complex Virginia undertones, look somewhere else.

It's appropriately dry and easy to rub out, although laziness has led to me just knifing some of the cake off and dropping it in a pipe. It burns just fine that way too. I tend to smoke it at a glacial Virginia-appropriate pace, but this could be bitey if pushed - it might make the Burley pop more to smoke it hot though.

As far as flavor goes, it's a nutty Burley. Briar Fox is the apex predator of drugstore blends. There's not a lot here, but folks looking for a simple Burley blend will find it pleasant enough.

This a a good tobacco. It feels very old fashioned like something my grand father would have smoked. It's a no non-sense straight ahead type of tobacco. It's a virginia and burley taste and not sweet. I got a tin about five years ago or so. I smoked a little then jarred it and forgot it. I just tried some again. It's pretty smooth now. It's a good smoke but won't be a regular for me. It's good for working in the yard or gardening when you don't need to focus on the smoke. I bet it would be a good all day smoke for someone who likes a stouter, stronger VA flavor.

A friend of mine gave me a sizable sample back in June. I smoked half of it then and put the rest into a small clean babyfood jar untill today,(8/3). I can tell that this is a quality tobaco blend. I'ts taste is nice and almost full in my opinion. I venture to wonder if there's more than Va in it. Maybe a real light splash of an oriental? But I wouldn't call it burley like some others have. In a previous review here another pipester mentions that C&D sent him some notes on this blend and it mentions that it is 'mostly' VA. That tells me there's another lurking here. I'm just not sure what it is. I'm a big fan of another VA and it's rather sweet as a few others I smoked but this one I find not as sweet if at all. However, Briar fox is a satisfying Va for sure. Most other VA's that I have smoked aren't as satisfying. I smoke 'em becasue I just like the taste and like playing with my pipes if you know what I mean.

Upon opening the jar I stuck my nose right to the rim to catch whatever it had to offer. I was teated with a nice full aroma, earthy, full, kind of smell but nothing too light. Pleasant just the same. I smoked this right away wihout any drying. The krumble kake broke up rather nicely. I broke up a handful and into my palm then let it gravity feed into the bowl of my 1970's Ben Wade freehand. I figured that an ancient well cared for briar would do a C&D blend justice and it did just fine. Possibly drying it out a bit might bring out the sweetness a bit like it does with other straight VA's. Maybe I'll do that next time I fill a bowl with Briar Fox. I'm smoking this alone right now so the room note I can't say much about but since it's a VA it can't be anything less than pleasant. Still wondering what gives it the body that it has bein's it a VA and in my experience I've known them to be lighter.

Taste to me here is nothing to write home about though I'm not complaining. As a matter of fact I think it's something that might oughtta be called something like a backwoods sort of name. It just seems like it has a full mountain 'air' about it with a pretty fair Nic Hit to it about halfway down the bowl. I'll rate this blend about THREE stars here.

I am an explorer of the VA landscape these days. Don't get me wrong, I am still a Latakia junkie, but one must have variety! The tin I consigned to ash is another stop in my journey. I am afraid that this one gave me mixed feelings. Upon opening the tin, you are greeted by a brick of various VA's: Red, Mohagany, and Golden. The tin aroma is a little tangy and vinegary. Crumble this well before packing or it will give you frustration trying to keep it lit! Initial flavor is not very good, smelled like cigarettes! Blech! I almost gave up, but I persevered. Mid-bowl gets better. You now start getting an interplay between the sweet, sour, and spicy leaves. I think I detect a little perique (my throat got a little scratchy). I found that DGT works good with this blend. Bottom third of the bowl intensified the flavor a little more, but before you know it, you are sucking ash. I found I was trying to get more flavor out of this blend than it has, so I didn't burn my tongue, but sure did burn the roof of mouth the first few bowls. I suppose that if you concentrate, you might enjoy this blend, but with other blends like Old Gowrie or Orlick Golden Sliced available, why fight with this one? So, in ending, this is a good middle weight blend, but not a great one. Rating 2.5 out of 5 points. Enjoy...

I bought a tin of this when I started smoking my pipe again in May 2017. When first tried then, I didn't care of it at all and put the rest of the tin into a jar for later or trading.

Now a year+ later, I found the jar hiding in my "look at later" box and decided to give it another try.

The crumble cake still has a great moisture level. Easy to take a piece off and place in the bottom of my Country Gentleman and sprinkle some "Dust" on top to get lit.

It comes across to me as a BurVA, the burley supports the blend with the VA in a complimentary role. Unlike a year ago, Im getting sweetness from the VAs. I think I'm smoking it much slower than I used to also.

The flavor didn't change much through the bowls now and it seems ideal to smoke in my favorite cob while I watch football and sip a cider.

The Fox isnt something that I'd stock up on, but I do look forward to finishing out the rest of my jar.

This is not a bad blend at all, just not very memorable and I can think of a half dozen better versions of it just off the top of my head. That said, many people seem to like it. It is burley forward and has all the nutty taste one associates with this sort of cube cut white burley. I dont know really what else to say. Its just sort of blah.

As DK already mentioned: This tobacco lacks sweetness up to a point to dustiness. Quite a punch of nicotine, too. As a comparison: GL Pease Union Square is about as strong, but much sweeter. I suggest this tobacco as an option for cigar lovers.

Pretty straight-forward tobacco. Not a lot of bells and whistles, this is a natural smoke that needs some drying before you fire it up. Pleasant enough, but did not impress.

Govern yourself accordingly,

SmokeKing David