Cornell & Diehl Red Virginia Cavendish

A continued review of some C+D blending tobacco I have recently sampled. I find the Red VA cavendish superior to the black cavendish for my purposes: a more natural flavor of deep va sweetness than the usual black cav aroma and kind of flat flavor. The cavendish process nearly elminates any harshness and bite from the red VA. It does however flatten the taste a bit and make it a bit less husky. A fair trade off particularly when using it to smooth out a blend.

Jar note of burnt mild tart fruit and peaty vegetation. Tobacco is a ribbon cut of reddish dark brown and a little brown. Moisture content is great. Burns is average with a few relights. The strength is medium and nic is mild. No flavoring detected. Taste is medium and very consistent, with notes of spices, bready, floral, wood, dry hay, earthy, spicy/acidic, creamy, semi-sweet, moderately savory, bitter orange peel/zest, a tart stewed dark fruit background note, and a peppery retro. Room note is tolerable, and aftertaste is good.

Smoking now:

Comes rather dry, broken pieces of various small shapes and sizes. The taste is bready, a little tart, a little hay, little sweetness. Has some wood and spice too. Rather harsh at times. The retrohale has more tart and bread, a little sharp. Gets harsh if puffed too fast. It’s pretty straight forward. I got it to make my own maple blend à la autumn evening which this is the base for that blend. This kind of grew on me the more I smoked it. It was is ok. I’ll use it for blending.

Quite remarkable. I detect aniseed and licorice. It sort of reminds me of Autumn Evening. Out of the bag, I thought it was sweetened black Cavendish, but it is not. It is a little bit unidimensional though, but I can see the potential as a blending component. I guess the topping is part of the cooking process, so it is to be expected, but it does not bother me. Not something that I'd smoke on its own, but I recommend having a bowlful or two just to know what it can bring onto the mixing table. The taste is medium but can pack a nicotine punch if you are not careful. Just because it is so different from anything I have tried so far, and because of its versatility, I shall give it 4 stars this time.

I bought this as a blender and have not smoked it alone. I mixed it with Gawith's, Kendall Kentucky to cool the bite & burn. It works fabulously. Since my early review I have smoked this alone. I don't care much for it that way. Dry, dusty no taste.