Cornell & Diehl Briar Fox

I have discovered that this Briar Fox blend tastes good, smells good, and has a large dose of 'Tine. I am steering away from aromatics for health reasons more than anything, but I do like a nice sweet tasting smoke, and I have found that it is the Virginia tobaccos which provide that natural sweetness that I like. As others have said already and better, the smoke is sweet and forward and very smooth if you are patient with the briar. Put the pipe down for three minutes or so and just a few short, quick puffs had it burning nicely again when I came back to it- didn't have to re-light. Smells good enough that I do not piss off everyone on campus (I do tend to take others' senses into consideration when smoking) when I light up, burns mellow and sweet if you carefully sip, and even looks pretty good, dark and red and, well, "foxy".

Side note: Krumble Kake sounds Kool, like Krusty the Klown.

The Disney-esqe tin art proclaims this is a best seller, and I can see why. This is a very solid Burley/Va blend in an easy to rub out crumble cake form. It packs and lights easily, yet burns fairly slowly. The burley becomes much more pronounced as it burns down to a fine white powder. A little condimental tobacco would keep this more interesting, but there is something here for everyone. For my tastes, C&D is the king of burley/Va blends. For those who want to try such blends, Briar Fox is the perfect place to start.

Perfect moisture to smoke right away, the krumble kake is fun to prepare and it smokes slowly. I found out it works better in a smaller, pipe with time on hand. This tobacco, is an autumn smoke for me, the flavors are akin to this kind of weather.

I find more Burley taste than Virginia, in fact it's very nutty with cocoa bean accents and I am reminded of an earthy cigar that is very smooth tasting. There's some toasty, brioche like flavors as well but they play second violins. Also as with many C&D offerings, the tobacco is on the strong side for me, must be a personal chemistry thing. Overall, a quality Bur/Va related in taste to french Brun or Scaferlati tobacco.

Virginia lover

This is one of the first tobacco's I smoked. I really liked it then but all I could really say about it was that I liked it. It was in my rotation for about a year. This is from a jar that has just a little age on it but I wanted to come back to it again. I still like it. The VA's are tangy and a little sharp out front with some grassy notes following behind. This is balanced by the burley which gives the blend depth and adds earthy notes to it. Overall, just a great blend that is slightly complex but not overly so. I enjoy this is early fall and late spring and it will remain in my rotation. If you are a Va/bur lover this one is a must try.

You know you read the reviews and you just pass on certain tobaccos. Well, this was a mistake for me. This tobacco burns well and you taste good solid Virginia and Burley. I am getting more burleyish in my old age and find this crumble cake quite pleasant. Some would call it an all day smoke, me too. It burns clean and quite well. Try a crumble or two. The little sample I got piqued my interest and now mid-tin I find it quite pleasant, all day.

Chocolate brown Krumble Kake. Breaks up easily into small pieces. This tobacco has a very interesting tin note; in addition to the expected dried fruit aromas there are cocoa and cinnamon notes with malted barley.

This tobacco takes a light easily and burns without attention. It is quite rich for a Virginia, and other reviewers have said there is Burley in the mix. No argument from me. There might even be some DFK given its creaminess.

I'm not a fan of straight or nearly straight Virginias and despite the depth this baccy has, it still lacks something for my tastes. I also found it burnt a little wet. If savoury Red Virginias are your thing, then this is up there with the better quality offerings such as McConnell's Scottish Flake or F&T Cut Blended Plug.

Surprisingly, the wife gave this a thumbs up for room note, not something I would have guessed from the other side of the pipe.

I wanted to give this four stars, and may yet...fickle as I am. For now, though, I think my personal thoughts put it at three. It's damned good, just doesn't hold my attention like a bright VA, or even a char grilled Brit rope does. It's somewheres in the middle of these two extremes, and while compromise can be(and is) good, I guess I seem to prefer the extremes. It's possible Briar Fox would make the better desert island blend, but fortunately i'm not on that island presently.

(Is there burley in this one, really? I wouldn't be suprised; nor would a claim of African grown VA.)

Again, for me...very good, not great. Any others' claims to the contrary I believe quite likely. Worth a shot, y'all.

Do you ever get a blend that really does not answer your requirements for a blend but still, you keep on smoking it. Well this one is like that for me. When smoking VA's, I like the taste to be haylike sweet, with a little tang and I like it smooth and creamy with the smoke. This blend really is not sweet but does have a good flavor, it has no twang but is very rich, and it really is not smooth and creamy but is a little rough around the edges. I recieved a two ounce bag of it to try, and for the past two days it is all I have wanted to smoke, I am on my last bowl now, enough for a pot Wilmer AAA I am smoking and I will be sad in the morning, so I for sure will be ordering more of this one.

The tobacco smeels musty in the bag, it is rough cut little flakes of a medium brown color, a touch dry but that is typical of C and D and I like it that way. It packs very well in the pipe, and lights up easy, one charring light and then it burns nice and clean to the bottom of the pipe where is becomes a dry dust like steel gray ash. It emits a good bit of smoke and it is just a very tobacco taste on the tongue, again a little raw but in a good way. The room note is very heavy for a VA, no crown pleaser but pleasant to me. It burns rather fast, but in no way hot or biting to the tongue. I could see this as an all day blend as it is not cloying and it is easy to smoke. I recommend trying this one, it is one of those mystery blends that I like but can't really say why. But enjoyable it is.

Briar Fox is my first C&D sampling, and I must say that I'm very impressed. This is a nice "straight VA", although by all accounts, there's a little more to the blend than that.

The crumble cake is a nice change from ribbon/loose cut tobacco, or even flakes, and this one rubs out quite nicely. Packing the bowl gently yields an easy light, and the flavor of the high-quality VA's is readily apparent. I tend to smoke this in a Hackert cob, and it burns well to the bottom of the bowl.

I really enjoy this blend, it's a very well made offering, with a nice, clean tobacco flavor. I find myself smoking this more often, where it tends to be the only blend in my current rotation that has me slow down and savor the experience. That's saying something...

TonyC