Cornell & Diehl Briar Fox

Briar fox great name... The tobacco blend is Virginias with some burley noted and is presented as a kake. The tobacco itself was easy to work with and easy to pack in the bowl. The smoke was nice with a room note that was tolerable no real flavors noted but not a bad thing. I feel this product wasn't bad but by far not my favorite. I will most likely cellar this mostly because my taste for tobacco may change in the future and it may age well. The tin artwork was also a very cool concept figured I would comment on that.

Tin Note: The Sample bag smelt like a smokey dark chocolate almost as if it were a dark cocoa powder the smokey part though wasn't that appealing when mixed with cocoa.

Initial Light: Took 4 charring lights to get this pipe going however once it lit it was burning really well.The taste at the beginning went from harsh to extremely dull in flavor.Burn was consistent though and that is what i am looking for in the beginning of any smoke.

Mid-Smoke: The Tobacco is maintaining a slow and even burn down the chamber and leaves a nice thick ash behind. The Nic Hit was heavy, at one point i almost got hiccups and there was a bubble in my chest. Sadly the flavor had not changed much it was still a harsh smoke at this point.

Bottom of the Bowl: Dumped out the Ash to try and relight the pipe as it had gone out twice on me and i suspect the thick ash that was being left behind was snuffing out the flame. The ash coated the sides of the bowl extremely well. After removing the smoked tobacco the smoke began to take form in the sense of flavor. The Virginia was peeking through but only just a little. The taste reminded me of a cold worn leather jacket that still has the faintest smell of your favorite cologne, of course meaning the Virginia that's there but not there just a slight presence.

Room Note: My wife surprisingly gave my a legitimate answer i guess me asking here all these times has giving her the sense of being a connoisseur, Her words "This blend gives the smell of black licorice...no no Anise say Anise it sounds better" haha i am a proud husband... That hates licorice.

Dottle: The ash was thick and fell into dust when touched the burn was slow but it was very consistent but left behind traces of goop near the draft hole and clogged the pipe.

Smoking Duration: 35min

Overall: After a month of trying different Va/burs it has become apparent that i am not much into this type of blend. That being said there are a few that i did enjoy just this not being one of them. Good things i can say about this blend is that it burns really good and will build an excellent cake in your pipe. But i like smoking a pipe not to just build a cake i would also like to enjoy what I'm smoking. Flavor and/or complexity wasn't there for me in Briar Fox.

I received a 1/2 ounce sample with a recent order from smokingpipes.com - thank you! The sample arrived as 2 small crumble cakes. A very mild Virginia smell coming from the sample bag. Breaking up and loading for the pipe was an easy affair and it took to the match very well, remaining lit throughout the smoke. I am predominantly a Burley smoker (ABF, Burley Slice, Irish Flake, ODF) and find many Virginias to lack the body I would like in a smoke. Briar Fox I like. It reminds me of Pease's Union Square, but milder and not as harsh. I can't detect any flavoring and no PG which was off putting for me in their Autumn Evening offering. There is a fairly decent nic kick so one needs to smoke this slowly. Even with fast puffing I couldn't get this to smoke hot nor did it cause any bite. Before trying I thought I wouldn't like it, but Briar fox proved to be a relaxing, tasty (in a natural tobacco way) smoke. Since I am predominantly a Burley smoker I don't smoke any Virginia on a daily basis but Briar Fox would be first on my list of Virginias that I would reach for when the mood strikes. Very enjoyable and a solid 3 stars.

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.

I do not have as refined a pallet as many pipe smokers. As in I cannot describe a tobacco like a famous chef describes food. But I did very much enjoy Briar Fox. It smokes cool and long. My Peterson Shannon bent apple has a bowl for 30-40 minute smokes; a bowl of Briar Fox lasted a little over an hour. The flavor is pleasant and full; it would be easy to call this blend mellow but that is the wrong word.

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The blend has decent nicotine kick. As someone who crossed over to briar from cigarettes it's often hard to find tobacco that satisfies the addiction without being overwhelming in taste. This has become my new stand bye because it tastes wonderful but isn't mellow. It's pleasant; if I may go so far, the epitome of pleasant. This blend stands out to me because it is full and complex but never so much so that it feels like a war in my mouth. Maybe balanced is the right word?

I really like that C&D only uses distilled water, no propylene glycol to mess up the leaf. That little technique really comes through with BF which is a very natural-tasting, tasty treat. Not overly sweet, not overly bitter, it's like a good IPA with a great balance of sweet and - as we say here in Louisiana in reference to iced tea - unsweet. And I really like the crumble cake format which is very easy to rub out.

The leaf comes a bit drier than average, which I enjoy, packs great (I pack it firmer than most otherwise the draw is too free) and burns impeccably. The flavors are earthy and natural, and I always get a smile on my face when I reach for the Fox.

Briar Fox is a blend from Cornell & Diehl described as the personal blend of Peter Heeschen. Knowing that pedigree, I anxiously cracked open a tin. This is a straight Virginia blend, in appearance a mix of gold, brown, and dark brown, pressed together into a crumble cake. The aroma is both sweet and slightly fermented, and, to my nose, exceptional and alluring. The cake easily breaks apart, yielding a nice pile of tobacco at, for me, the ideal moisture level for smoking. The early bowl has a bit of a tang to it, but I suspect that tang may mellow as a tin is allowed to age. But unlike many C&D blends, which I feel need some age before they are smokeable, Briar Fox, because of the pressing, is ready to go. The tobacco lights easily, and once lit it stays lit. Once into the bowl, the smoker is in for a real treat. The early tang disappears, yielding to flavors of sweet hay. But there is a subtle depth to it as well, which comes through more and more as the bowl is burned. The smoke becomes quite smooth and easy. Sipping will yield the various flavors within the smoke, but heavier puffing isn't going to send any smoker looking for a tongue transplant. The sweetness level of Briar Fox is less than that of many Virginias, especially red Virginias. But that shouldn't deter anyone from trying this tobacco. The flavor is delightful and surprisingly complex. There is a nicotine punch that surprised me a bit, and Virginia lovers should be aware of this. It took me several bowls of Briar Fox to learn the tobacco, and how to smoke it. Once I did, however, I found it to be smooth, pleasant, gentle, and extremely tasteful. This is a Virginia I will return to frequently.

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.

Ordered a tin directly from CnD. Since I am a fan of Heeschan pipes. The tobacco has a wonderful scent. Upon smoking my first bowl this backy to me just has an bad flavor. I can't point it out what it is but seems like lever 2000 or Dove soap was put in it. It also MUST be smoke slowly cause it cause the bowl to heat up. on a positive note even though the bowl heats up it still delivers a cool smoke. I am fan of Cornell's but this tobacco just doesnt deliver that it should.