Cornell & Diehl Briar Fox

For a number of reasons, I avoided doing a review on this blend for a long time. First of all, it is the bestseller in the Cornell & Diehl lineup, and writing a review on a bestseller is a thankless task. Secondly - which actually follows from the first point - the blend has a huge bunch of fans, many of whom have been smoking it for a long time, have formed their own opinions about it, and would be able to tell you much more about it than I could. And, finally, thirdly, a lot of spears have been broken during the discussion about the composition of this tobacco. However, the final verdict was partially answered by Chris Tarler, who pointed out that the blend is not pure virginia (at least at the moment), and there is burley in it. I have smoked it both fresh and aged, and I must say that the taste of the blend changes dramatically as it ages, becoming sweeter over the years. Perhaps it is this fact that leads some to argue that there is no burley in the blend. However, for the review, I took a blend with a little less than a year and a half of age.

Appearance: the 2 oz tin was packaged on November 9, 2022. The blend is a compressed brick of finely cut tobacco that includes three varieties of Virginia and some burley. Alas, as frustrating as it may be to some guys who said that the blend consists of only Virginia - burley is here. Any desired amount of tobacco can be easily detached from the cake. The moisture content of the tobacco is close to perfect, but it's still worth drying it out a bit. The consistency is excellent - in the entire time I've been smoking it, I haven't caught a single, even the smallest, stalk of tobacco leaf.

Flavor: the overall bouquet is surprisingly complex, although quite even. On a separate note, even though there isn't much burley in the lineup, its earthy and nutty notes play almost in line with the Virginia notes - a nice bouquet of dried fruit, hay, bread, and woody tones from the red leaf. There are also notes of citrus, molasses and a very faint note of cinnamon in the far background.

Taste: this is where the fun part comes in. Very many fans of this blend note that in order to understand it, you need to smoke it as slowly as possible. If you follow their advice, the taste of the blend will be as interesting as the flavor. I picked up notes of sweet molasses with a slight grassy note, oats, a slight note of raisins, a pinch of walnuts... It was as if I put a small piece of oatmeal cookie with walnut crumbs in my mouth. Forgetting myself, I inhaled a little harder, desiring to increase the pleasure - and the magic immediately disappeared, leaving a woody dusty note of burley and a slight astringent taste of tannin. The mixture was completely intolerant of overheating, but not in the sense that it usually results in bitterness or a burnt tongue - it simply lost its taste. The pipe smoker should be patient and smoke at a pace that is most comfortable for the blend to experience the full bouquet. Bents slightly enhance the woody note in the bouquet, so I recommend using straight pipes. The blend smokes smoothly, burning out into a light-gray dusty ash and leaving literally a drop of moisture in the bowl. The strength of the tobacco is medium, but considering the smoking rate, nicotine hit is unlikely even in very large pipes. The aftertaste is not pronounced, sweet and woody.

The smoke from the tobacco is persistent and has a woody odor.

What's the bottom line? This tobacco is an excellent teacher of slow smoking. It will probably become your favorite tobacco. It also ages beautifully, achieving a sweetness. Having a slightly different preference, I give it credit - it is very good. Also, to the advantages, it can be found in a large pack.