Cornell & Diehl Briar Fox

There's something about crumble cakes that I find hard to resist. It's not just the intriguing nature of seeing various leaves come together in a sort of melange, or the great fun in packing them with a pressure to your exacting desire--it also has to do with the way the flavors seem to meld together in a way that escapes even flakes and plugs.

The nature of this cake in particular was different. It's not in the same as something like Penzance, which is a moist, oily beast that seems to just fall apart in your hands. Briar Fox is instead a tightly compressed block of ribbon cut Virginias. It's a dry, hay-like thing that lends well to breaking apart with your hands, or a slice from a sharp knife. I remember arguing with a fellow pipe smoker how this didn't exactly fit the definition of a "krumble kake", but we seemed to agree that the cut is different, and it works..and well at that.

Because of the lack of excessive moisture, Briar Fox lights and burns with a focussed intensity. There's a relaxed variety here in how you can cut the block-like cakes, which is great for those who prefer long, smoldering smokes, or a short, fast burning exercise. I found it best to allow for a thicker cut, which cut the heat of the burn and didn't excessively tax my pipe.

The taste here is certainly a much different animal from your typical McClelland Virginia. It has the sweetness of a Virginia with something of a crisp definition in flavor. Briar Fox also manages to come with a body that will pack a wallop, which I have found rare for such a light Virginia blend comprised of mostly golden ribbons. Smoke this one with a tiny bowl, and you'll find yourself running for seconds. Good stuff.

The Fox is welcome in my home anytime.

4.0 of 4.0

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...

This has to be one of best kept secrets from Cornell and Diehl, upon removing the lid and unwrapping the clear plastic wrap I saw what looked like a couple of medium sized meat balls.

The packing of my Erik Neilsen was fairly easy as was the lighting of the tobacco itself. The tobacco itself was a two match light with the first just to lightly braise the tobacco. To my surprize (IMHO) there was very little tongue bite, but one needs to smoke this tobacco very slowly to enjoy the taste of the Virginias that are blended together.

I did notice the first 6 to 8 puffs the tobacco was not what I really expected, but continueing on became very rewarding as the sweetness of the Virginias were coming through. By the time I reached the bottom of the bowl I wanted at least another minute of this extraodinar blend.

If you enjoy the taste of a fine Virginia this tobacco is meant for you, and if you want to try a Virginia for the first time this is the one I would highly recommend. Cornell and Diehl have proved once more that you can enjoy a Virginia Blend without the harsh tongue bite.

I avoided Briar Fox for a while, since it sounded a bit basic and I wasn't fond of burleys. Now, however, I've been smoking almost nothing but Burley and have developed my palette a bit more. Turns out that the leaf can be quite complex once you gain some experience with it and purchase the right varieties, and you can't go wrong with C&D.

Many reviewers say that this blend is basic, boring, tastes like cigarettes, and so on; but I believe they are simply inexperienced with C&D's burley for the most part. Almost all C&D tobacco has minimal casing and as such will taste closer to cigarettes or cigar leaf. It's a divisive trait but I love it, expect spicy and earthy natural tobacco flavors from all C&D blends.

Except, Briar Fox is the most familiar of all C&D blends. It has less natural flavor, it seems to be more heavily cased and possibly topped. To the nose, it seems like it's been draped in molasses. It seems to be mostly VAs with a healthy amount of Burley, so the blend is naturally pretty sweet on its own, but maybe not as much as pouch aromatic smokers might expect. If your palette is not well refined, you might find the sweetness lacking, but I found it to be just right.

Tin note is wonderful. It smells exactly like fresh-baked oatmeal cookies -- an aroma of molasses, cinnamon, allspice, oats, and dark raisins.

The flavors blend wonderfully and are surprisingly complex. It tastes almost like the tin note, actually, once you get past the first third of the bowl. At first it's not that impressive, but it definitely develops well. In the foreground I got a distinct buttery flavor, almost salty and caramelized. In the background -- brown sugar, barley, and an ephemeral hint of dark fruit or floral vanilla from the VAs. Burley ties the whole blend together and gives it an earthy, hay-like quality dominated by a toasty flavor and a nutty profile similar to macadamia nuts.

This is, however, a VA/Burley, so it will present with some unpleasantness from time to time. Occasionally it has a soapy or metallic taste, but it will go away quickly. This is an extremely divisive genre and people seem to either love or hate it. Like most VA/Burleys it also sometimes reminds me of urinal cakes or Dr. Pepper. I love this flavor, but many hate it, so beware. If you can handle the occasional rare divergence into VA/Burley's idiosyncrasies, then it won't be an issue.

The burning characteristics are good and the tin arrived rather moist. A handful of minutes of drying time might be beneficial, but I found it to burn well with minimal bite right out of the package. It can burn quickly, so watch yourself.

Some tips for enjoying this blend, and other VA/Burleys, or even C&D blends in general:

1. Sip it verrrry slowly. Smoke too fast and you will get harsh "cigarette" flavors and lose all the nuances and complexity. I suspect people who claim this blend is bland or simple were puffing too hard. Most people who hate Autumn Evening seem to have sipped it too fast and gotten only "cigarette" flavors or harsh tongue bite. Briar Fox has the same pit fall, so sip even more slowly than you sip other tobaccos.

2. Make sure the tobacco is lit well. It should produce quite a lot of smoke. If it's only partially lit a lot of the complexity will disappear and you will only have weak burley flavor. But, make sure not to scorch the tobacco. Suck the flame into it for only a brief moment, don't bury the lighter into your bowl or cook the tobacco.

3. Make sure to keep it tamped well and pack it properly. Not too loose, not too tight.

I personally don't see why this is C&D's bestselling tobacco. Not because it's bad, but instead because it requires an expert touch and well-developed palette to enjoy. I recommend trying it out only once you get some experience with burley and VA/Burleys under your belt. I found it to be exceptional and surprisingly good.

Well, well, well... I guess the blender read St Exupery - The Little Prince - prior to coming up with this gem. It took me years to apprehend the fox and fall for it. I am a Virginia lover, a VaPer passionate, but sometime I like some top-shelf burley mix for a thick, nutty and easy smoke.

Ok, let's get straight to it : Briar Fox has it all. In. One. Single. Blend. All boxes : Check.

It is tasty but not too sweet, easy going and deep towards the end of the bowl, has some N but never hits you, and even if not mentionned, contains a hint of perique, this I could bet on without the tiniest doubt.

Briar Fox can be your friendliest daily tobacco, and it can also be a treat.

Love you, fox.

I keep smoking bowl after bowl and I just don’t get how this tobacco is this highly rated ? In a smaller pipe I get just a hair of sweetness . In a larger bowl nothing , no taste ! The description says Virginia with a touch of burley or something like that . The burley dominates the blend and that would be fine if it tasted good . It tastes like a white blending burley with no molasses or cocoa notes at all . There is a slight earthy nutty flavor but that’s about it . Very disappointed. Not even a bitter sour cigar note . It is tasteless . 0 stars

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.

I have been smoking a lot of krumble kake tobacco from Cornell & Diehl lately, and I’m becoming a fan. The flavors in this format seem to be married together quite well and the moisture level has been perfect right out of the tin.

The profile is simple- a nutty base with a sweet note on top which reminds me of apple. I smoke this very slowly and do have to relight a couple times usually to my own carelessness. Supposedly this is C&D’s bestseller, and I will purchasing my share.

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.