Cornell & Diehl Kelly's Coin

Despite the description at Smoking Pipes, there is no black cavendish in this blend. It’s a nutty, very woody, earthy, lightly sweet with a slight floral note; mostly burley. It also sports a light semois-ish flavor. The grassy, tart and tangy citrus from the bright Virginia is in the background. The strength and taste are just short of being strong. The nic-hit is a hair shy of the center of medium to strong. Won’t bite, but can border on and/or hit a harsh note or two if pushed. Burns clean, but a little warm if puffed beyond a slow cadence. The tobacco does burns a tad fast. The flavor is consistent from start to finish. Leaves virtually no dampness in the bowl, and requires few relights. Has a lingering after taste and room note. Not an all day smoke. Also makes a good mixer.

-JimInks

Ok, so I'm going to be that guy that'll have to say: There ARE other tobaccos than Burleys in this blend! My tin at least (dated 01/15/19) contains at least some speckles of black cavendish. There are, albeit very little, also some very bright ribbons that tease me to believe there might be a few ribbons of Virginia in it as well. Maybe it didn't contain those tobaccos before or for a while... my tin does! Maybe they reacted to the reviews pointing out there was just burley in the tins? Who knows..

Anyhoo...as Pegasus is my favorite smoke I was teased to buy a tin, as the description read very similar to that of Pegasus. Opening the nice looking tin I'm greeted by scent similar to that of Pegasus, but it also has some intriguing floralness, a distinct vegetative quality to it. Less sweet as Pegasus as well.

Perfectly conditioned a bowl is easily packed, lighted and kept alight. Due to it being rather dry (which I like) this is best to be smoked rather slow, or sipped if you will. If you're smoking too fast, it'll get harsh, this is for the relaxed kind of smoke(r).

If sipped and savored this can be a very pleasing smoke in my book. It is nutty, but not the sweet kind of nuttiness, but rather tart. Think walnuts. There's some sweetness present to round off potential edges, it just works! I think the b. cavendish helps smoothing out the burley(s), just as in the Pegasus blend! There's also a interesting floral/vegetative quality to the smoke, which adds depth to the rather monochromatic smoke.

It's strong, but not overly so, and somewhere between Pegasus und Burley Flake #2 strength-wise. Burley-lovers won't have problems, if you're sensitive to nicotine, try smoking a small bowl - which I also do, albeit not being too sensitive to nic.! A small bowl satisfies me enough, full-bodied, stout smoke, with a nice toasty undertone to the smoke. I like it!

3 1/2 stars so far and I'll update when the tin is finished.

Kelly's Coin has a tin note that is very earthy, vegetative, slightly nutty and sweet. My tin does have some short flakes of what looks like black cav to me in it. It is just a smattering of flakes but they are there and I think this rounds the tobacco out and keeps any rough edges away while smoking it. The smoke itself is rather simple. I get the normal nuttiness found in burley, it is toasty, woodsy, very earthy and has a slight vegetative flavor that comes and goes. There is a sweetness here that seems more than just burley should deliver but it is not really a sweet smoke this might come from the cav. that I noted above and I do get some brown sugar notes which I associate with black cav as well. The body of the smoke is med to strong nice thick and does tickle the nose on the retrohale, which places the nic at the med to strong level as well. The room note is not great and a little strong overall. This does make a great mixer and will be used like that for the most part for me although it does make for a nice fairly quick smoke on its own. Since this just comes in 2 oz tins the price per pound is nearly $87.00 and as such it gets nudged out of normal rotations since for the price I can pick up others that I prefer over this one and I would not really call this a cheap mixer at the price point either. Still a good smoke and recommended. An easy 3 stars.

I'm reviewing a tin from 2017. I agree that there might be something besides burley hiding in there. Dark flakes unless they are dark fired of some sort.

Tin note is earthy and nutty. Moisture was perfect from open. Its a ribbon CD cut so it is ready to pack and burn. From the name I sort of expected.. well a coin?

Like most burley blends, I really felt the nicotine in this one but it burns really great in my radiator pipes that I smoke most of my ribbon cuts in.

Flavor was nutty, no real sweetness. I can see the comparisons to the Semois blends which I love except for being more moist. Same one-note, easy smoke. No tongue bite, but it def will burn hot if pushed. No real moisture left over and in the Radiators at least it is a cool smoke.

If you enjoy burley forward blends, you'll like this one.

Big thanks to fellow reviewer DK for sending me a (huge) sample of this one. It has been a while since it was sent, so I can't quite remember what precipitated it. I believe I had sent him some of the Burley Ribbon Blending tobacco C&D made wherein I remarked how similar it was to my tastes to these fancy semois burleys being sold.

In any case, I finally got to trying this one out and I came to the same conclusion as with the Burley ribbon cut. It tastes a lot like one of those fancy semois burley blends. lol I think the moral here is, don't waste your money on semois when the same taste can be achieved by a C&D straight burley for half the cost.

Big thanks to Jiminks for confirming that this is, indeed, a straight burley. I don't know if it had Virginia and black Cav at one time, but it clearly does not now.

OK on to the performance of this burley. It is typical C&D dry fish food cut ribbon that burns as fast as the hair on your knuckles when you over fill your zippo. It is perfect for when you have a short time to smoke and you want to feel sated. This will give you all the nicotine you desire. It is strong and it is stout. If you are expecting a nice mild naturally chocolate tasting burley ala ABF, you will be disappointed with this one.

While it does pack some natural burley sweetness, it is not forgiving at all. You will need the perfect cadence to unwrap the flavor of this or it will just be a harsh experience on your palate. It is for this reason that it would never be my top choice for a burley to smoke as I don't like to think or concentrate on my pipe when I am smoking burley. Usually I am working around the garage when I am smoking burley.

But this blend has its charms and if you really like semois, then this should be right up your alley. This is also and ideal blender for diluting heavily topped aros or just putting a little kick in an otherwise lightweight tobacco. I am giving it three stars more for its versatility than on its own merits as a burley.

Cornell & Diehl - Kelly's Coin.

From the name I'd expected a tin of coins/curly cut, I didn't expect this! Although it's listed as coarse cut, it resembles more of a straight forward ribbon. The moisture's great, so on with the smoke:

Easily initiated, and it burns evenly. I get no tongue bite, but it can become warm if strained. There isn't too much to decipher about the flavour, it's as good a Burley as any: nutty, toasty, rough, and rustic. If you enjoy a high quality Burley you won't go wrong by cellaring a few tins of Kelly, but it's too boring for me; one bowls alright, but any more risks putting me to sleep!

The room-note's a steadfast Burley one, and the nicotine's strong.

Kelly's Coin? I wouldn't want it as a regular smoke, but the quality can't be contended:

Recommended.