Cornell & Diehl Briar Fox

One of the best C&D blends in their extensive lineup. The 1lb brick comes vacuum sealed in a bag. If you plan to cellar I would recommend getting the two or eight ounce tins instead. This, like many C&D blends, needs some shelf time to soften and meld. With as little as six months age it really opens up and becomes a bit more complex. This can be an all day smoke and won't have any tounge burn or wear out your pallet.

Perfect moisture to smoke right away, the krumble kake is fun to prepare and it smokes slowly. I found out it works better in a smaller, pipe with time on hand. This tobacco, is an autumn smoke for me, the flavors are akin to this kind of weather.

I find more Burley taste than Virginia, in fact it's very nutty with cocoa bean accents and I am reminded of an earthy cigar that is very smooth tasting. There's some toasty, brioche like flavors as well but they play second violins. Also as with many C&D offerings, the tobacco is on the strong side for me, must be a personal chemistry thing. Overall, a quality Bur/Va related in taste to french Brun or Scaferlati tobacco.

Virginia lover

This is one of the first tobacco's I smoked. I really liked it then but all I could really say about it was that I liked it. It was in my rotation for about a year. This is from a jar that has just a little age on it but I wanted to come back to it again. I still like it. The VA's are tangy and a little sharp out front with some grassy notes following behind. This is balanced by the burley which gives the blend depth and adds earthy notes to it. Overall, just a great blend that is slightly complex but not overly so. I enjoy this is early fall and late spring and it will remain in my rotation. If you are a Va/bur lover this one is a must try.

Another home run by C&D! This is an exceedingly smooth blend, the very definition of an all-day smoke.

Crumble cakes are my favorite cut, so easy to work with and infinitely customizable. This comes in an attractive block that is predominantly a press of medium brown ribbon, but includes lemon Virginias and some blackened pieces, presumably uncased cavendish. The tin note is mild straight tobacco. Great tin art too with a 70s exploitation cartoon fox with a floppy hat, turtleneck, and wide lapel jacket- think Shaft.

It takes the match well and burns cool and dry. The smoothness jumps out, and the smoke is soft and velvety like rain water. There is a wonderful aroma that is mossy with some boozy undertones. The impression is one of utter freshness, but no hint of being green, unseasoned, or harshness as in a young tobacco. A latent sweetness persists throughout the bowl. As the bowl progresses you are greeted by some woody and toasted notes. Cobs accentuate the dark notes while briars contribute to sweetness.

I've plowed through this tin quicker than anything I've yet tried. It hits all the right notes in all the right ways. A unique VaBur that is like nothing else I have yet tried. Fantastic.

As DK already mentioned: This tobacco lacks sweetness up to a point to dustiness. Quite a punch of nicotine, too. As a comparison: GL Pease Union Square is about as strong, but much sweeter. I suggest this tobacco as an option for cigar lovers.

I bought two tins of this blend from a guy's duffle bag of blends being offered for sale at our 2014 NASPC show in August. I was curious about it as it had predominately positive reviews. I intended to use it as a Virginia component in English microblending. I was obliged to sell one tin to a long time Virginia smoking buddy of mine and he felt so-so about it. I opened the other tin and this is what I found: a light-colored, brownie-sized rectangular chunk of naturally aromatic and quite variegated tobacco in appearance. The variegation ran the gamut from light blond to dark and was not only appealing to the eye, but looked very much like a lot of medium English blends that I have smoked - most unusual for a Virginia blend. I then lit up and found it to be a pleasant smoke; more pleasant than any Virginia blend I could remember. The taste and aroma were somewhat narrow compared to Englishes I had been smoking, but there was a wonderful nuance of flavors in the smoke. In there, somewhere, was a slight kick-up in taste that I later found out was a Burley component. I enjoyed this blend far above almost all other Virginias I have tried. I started to give it three stars and then thought, you're judging it as to how it can stand up to an English blend - judge it for what it is: a four star blend. Good job C&D!

You know you read the reviews and you just pass on certain tobaccos. Well, this was a mistake for me. This tobacco burns well and you taste good solid Virginia and Burley. I am getting more burleyish in my old age and find this crumble cake quite pleasant. Some would call it an all day smoke, me too. It burns clean and quite well. Try a crumble or two. The little sample I got piqued my interest and now mid-tin I find it quite pleasant, all day.

When I first opened the tin I was greeted with a smell that I have come to associate with most C&D blends. A pre-hamster hamster cage. Not all that prominent in this blend (unlike Burley Flake #3), and it dissipates rather quickly after opening the tin. After that the flavors shift towards a sweet citrus with a little bit of bitter chocolate.

Dividing up the pressed cake is a matter of personal preference. Sometimes I cut a piece off and use it like a flake, and sometimes I just take a pinch off with my fingers. It is quite moist when the tobacco is first removed from the tin but a few minutes out and it's ready to pack.

The flavors, while not all that complicated, are lovely. It has the typical citrus taste of most golden Virginias with a little bit of bitter chocolate. Almost identical to the tin note.

This blend will kick you hard if you smoke a lot of it, but a light pack in a standard size bowl is nothing to worry about. Overall an excellent blend, but for a Virginia I still prefer Orlik.

Chocolate brown Krumble Kake. Breaks up easily into small pieces. This tobacco has a very interesting tin note; in addition to the expected dried fruit aromas there are cocoa and cinnamon notes with malted barley.

This tobacco takes a light easily and burns without attention. It is quite rich for a Virginia, and other reviewers have said there is Burley in the mix. No argument from me. There might even be some DFK given its creaminess.

I'm not a fan of straight or nearly straight Virginias and despite the depth this baccy has, it still lacks something for my tastes. I also found it burnt a little wet. If savoury Red Virginias are your thing, then this is up there with the better quality offerings such as McConnell's Scottish Flake or F&T Cut Blended Plug.

Surprisingly, the wife gave this a thumbs up for room note, not something I would have guessed from the other side of the pipe.