Cornell & Diehl Briar Fox

Although the virginia in it is mostly red, it is not a sweet one. The burley is rather a supportive role and provide the backbone to it. A man's smoke, maybe not for the beginners, but should be a must try for all virginia lovers.

This is a difficult tobacco to wrap ones head around. First off, and perhaps to my detriment I expected a very forward Red Virginia flavor upon examining the cake. However, upon lighting, the burley component was ever present, which in itself is not a bad thing, it was however, unexpected. The tin note on this tobacco is unmistakably C&D, Vinegar and Tomatoes, I can't figure this out but it is a common occurrence with there blends and I have no idea of its origin. Having experienced this with many of the C&D blends, it did not put me off and I was intrigued by the cake, moisture content and break ability of the cake. It rubbed out easily and took to the match nicely straight from the tin. I detected an absence of top note, just pure tobacco flavor. Here begins the conundrum. For a VA blend, it seemed the nutty, dried fruit flavor of the burley, and certainly the smokability, dominated this blend. Only after a second bowl, and halfway through that, did my palate begin to detect the dark Va sweetness that I expected would dominate throughout. I also detected a bit of cavendish, was this my tongue playing tricks on me? I have to say that I am not at all displeased with the smoke and find it quite to my liking, even though it is not at all what I expected. There could be a fair argument that this is the Bentley version of Half and Half.

A really solid Virginia burley blend. Straight forward, no nonsense tobacco flavor that could be an OTC codger blend if not served in cake form. No bite at all, easy burning and delicious. I give it 3 1/2 stars as a straight VaBur.

Briar fox is one of the lightest tobaccos in my line up. It crumbles very easy stright out of the tin. Full of Virgina and melded with burley it is easy to light and is one of my shortest smokes. To be honest here I can only taste the burley with my morning coffee. Name should be changed to tobacco light. I only have 10 tins in storage because of the cost at $6.99. I bought it site unseen and have been stuck with it. I only smoke this in the am or if it rains. I don't know why it b just happens that way.

Nice medium strength tobacco. I found it to be kinda sweet, with a bit of tanginess, and hints of nuttiness. A good, solid everyday tobacco.

I primarily smoke aromatics. However just the name of this cut was intriguing AND for once the name lives up to its smoke! I enjoyed every puff of this. Even though its straight virginia it does have a very mild sweet note and no bite what so ever. The krumble kake comes apart with the slightest squeeze and packs beautifully. Never thought I'd be so fond of a non-aromatic. Well done!

I like this mixture, it's quite good and really well balanced. Another reviewer described the tin note as “pure,” and I agree. The tobacco cake smells grassy but in an earthy, sour-barnyard & vegetal kind of way. The flavor has a light sweetness that I really did not expect, along with a robust unadulterated neat-tobacco taste. I find the update to TallPuffO'Burley's review quite telling, as I could swear that I too tasted a measure of C&D's burley in this, at least enough to give it a kick and a bit more structure. There's also a nice spiciness at play which keeps things interesting. Briar Fox does bitter towards the end of the bowl, but I still find it satisfying on a number of levels. Smokes super great in a cob.

The first comment I want to make on this blend is how easy this is to pack and smoke. The best crumble cake I have seen yet. It's stays a bit more moist then your average C & D, but lights up and smokes smoothly.

The strength is decent but wouldn't say strong. This blend truly shows with the simplicity of the Virginia. It's an excellent taste with a great aroma. The wife quite enjoyed it.

This blend grabs the extra star because of how good the smoke was, without a ribbon cut. If your new to crumble cakes or Virginia in general, grab this right away.

Kudos Peter Heeschen.

I love the Krumble Kake cut ,it packs real easy and burns nice and slow to a fine white ash. Smoke this at a smolder , which is easy to do, and you get a rich sweetness and no bite . If I didn't know better, I would say there was some Burley in the blend because of the nutty mellowness and no bite. This is more on the style of a Danish than an English Virginia . This is more of a sit and savor than a work in the yard type of smoke. I will be buying more and cellaring. Oh, take some care in packing, in that you don't block the air hole , it's easy to do with the KK cut.

Updated 9/16/11 I still feel this is a fine tobacco and a nice change of pace from the VaPer's, Latakia, Oriental mixtures , however, I do find it very one dimensional. It has a smooth nutty flavor, not bitter, not sweet, but it is boring. I got a recommendation from a reviewer of McC 5100 Red Cake to blend 50% RC and 50% BF, this was good but I like 2/3 RC and 1/3 BF better. I've got to take a star away.I don't think I will buy more only because I have too many other tobaccos I'd rather smoke. I have to agree with reviewer "YINYANG 11/13/2011 " above.

Updated 7/20/12 I keep going back and forth with this tobacco. I've found you have to rub the entire kake out, let it breath and dry and in a month you have a nice blend. Open the tin and fire away, it tastes like Burley. 2 1/2 stars and a nice change of pace if preped right.