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

C&D has done it yet again. You get all tobacco, no excess moisture with this blend. I love a good kake and this one is "top drawer". Peel off a layer and rub it out, load, and light. It can't get any easier than that. Taste is all tobacco, and what a taste it is. Mildly sweet, and cool. Nice combonation for a Va. blend. Great burn...few if any relights. Burns all the way to the bottom of the dry bowl. I love this stuff...one problem is cost. At nearly $40 per pound it is rather pricey, but you can't take it with you. I might as well burn it up now, rather than leave it behind for others to blow. ****

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!

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!!!

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.

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

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.