Cornell & Diehl Safe Harbor Flake

I'm a lover of Burleys and a lover of flakes. I bought this tobacco hoping it would be a Burley 'par exellance'. Liking everything C&D makes, I bought 2 cans.

Disappointing to say the least. Upon opening the can, the moisture and aroma hinted to Redman. Where's my chocolate, nutty aroma?

I gave it a weekend of air, then tried a few bowls. Nothing of note that justified the price.

This burley does nothing to justify the price. Go with Granger of Carter Hall for real Burley.

This is exceptional. My favorite burley flake to date. The tin I am reviewing is dated 11/07/07 so it has about 12 years of age on it. The flakes are loose and fall apart as soon as you begin to handle them. They are a lovely, consistent, dark brown. The tin note when I first opened it was very fermented, sharp like dark dried fruit and yeast. That smell yielded to a less stinging version of the same thing.

This tobacco has a velvety soft mouth feel and has a great nutty, earthy, slightly cocoa flavor which is typical of quality burley. I love the earthy character to this smoke, it adds a bit of dynamic to the monochrome burley is known for, which is fine with us burley smokers. The earthy flavor reminded me of carrots at one point, with a deep earthy taste that is sweet but not because of sugar.

I have never rubbed these out and this tobacco burns like a dream with a dry fluffy white ash. I pack the broken flake peices without rubbing them and have experienced no issues with burn.

This tobacco does better if smoked all the way through and does not stand up very well to many relights. It is still nice to smoke but it seems to lose much of the nutty and cocoa character, and behave a little more harshly if you smoke half now and half later.

I wish I had a stockpile of this tobacco but unfortunately once my tin is gone I will never have it again. I really wish this was not discontinued. If you know anybody sitting on tins that they want to get rid of, let me know!

This is good stuff, and it smeels just like the Simply Elegant After Hours Flake, but with less Rum. Right, there is no rum according to C&D, but nevertheless this stuff is very similar to their After Hours. It's not a flake, since it is broken into stripes and it looks like wet. It's not: I like the fact that this good tobacco lights up and burns to ashes or even better to white dust. I found the Safe Harbor not much mild, and I would call it a mild-strong in fact. It does require its own pipe or you risk you pipe to taste Safe Harbor for a couple of bowls after. I am not disappointed at all and will buy it again. But this is not an all-day tobacco both for its strenght and its cost.

I had a very bad experience with this tobacco.

The tin aroma was awesome, close to something like molasses.

The broken flakes were dark coloured, which I enjoy. But they would break easily into the hand and were moist.

Smoking proved to be a disaster. It just got more and more peppery and hot.

Let me begin by saying that I would find it difficult to name a tobacco that smells better than this when you open the tin. I liken it to the smell of a sweet tawny port. However, the flavor is a bit harsh and overwhelming. This is a property of pure Burley that I do not prefer. However, I give it a good rating based on its accomplishment of its particular mission: A finely crafted, full-bodied Burley flake. It's just not my cup of tea.

Tin: Not exactly a flake cut, but a sliced cake. Each slice crumbles and falls apart in your hand, when touched, into a powder. Brown mahogany. Essence of licorice smell.

Lighting: Took two lights to start it, whereupon, itstayed lit, burning to the bottom of the bowl. The tobacco, being moist, obviously has to be lightly packed. Produced moisture in the stem, the bottom of the bowl burned hot, but the smoke remained warm. May want to air dry, to minimize the moisture in the pipe.

Aroma: Top of bowl--gentle nutty burley. Bottom of bowl--very strong molasses and licorice, nutty.

Taste: Not much, vaguely burley, not sweet. No tongue bite.

Nicotine: light

Room Note: lingering, heavy nutty, licorice, medicinal burley smell; not smoky.

Sit back, folks. I have a bit of a funny story about this one. I like to place my orders online. Sometimes I like to pay by phone and add extra stuff on at the last minute when I think my tiny budget can handle it. I decided to ask for this blend to finish off an existing order. When I recieved my parcel, I was suprised and somewhat dissapointed to find I had been sent "Sunset Harbor Flake" by mistake. I emailed the company after a long 10 hour second shift at the press shop, not feeling very clear-headed or focused. No biggie, I thought. Another C&D for the collection, right? They returned my email and said that what I originally asked for was indeed "Safe Harbor Flake" and that they sent the other by mistake. But what they couldn't understand was why I was asking for "Snug Harbor Flake" last night. It doesn't exist, they said. I emailed back saying it does if you request it pressed from Craig at C&D. Apparently this confused them even more. On the third email, I wrote it twice in capitol letters "SAFE HARBOR FLAKE". I must have struck a nerve. A week later I recieved another parcel, containing YET ANOTHER TIN OF SUNSET HARBOR FLAKE! This was both perplexing and hilarious. I have since ordered it again and finally recieved it. As you can imagine, I have learned to love Sunset Harbor Flake! I guess its very easy to land in the wrong harbor when its late, or your tired and confused like a second shift worker or a phone order recipient. Thank goodness it was worth the wait. I heard rumors and read up about it on the Cornell & Diehl website (which I recommend) to find that it had been recalled and the sale of it was temporarily halted for certain issues. Then an update stated that the problems had been remedied and the quality was improved to boot. Believe me, you can take their word on it- there's nothing wrong with this tobacco. I half-expected to see a flake similar in texture to that of its multiplying counterpart. I was not dissapointed to find it pre-crumbled and perfect for instantanious packing. The first whiff reminded me of fresh sliced cantaloupe on a mid-summers day. As easy to light as it was to pack. I thought it most appropriate to put such an infamous tobacco into the notorious Petersons System #31. The design is unusual, because it doesn't allow for smoke-shaft clearing mid-smoke, but it has a nice small bowl and the system design keeps the expected moisture away from the pallet. This tobacco didn't strike me as a big bowl tobacco, as it is very moist and would likely get gloppy in large portions. The initial flavor (my nose would tell you if it could taste and talk) is reminiscent of warm, wet cedar. Then it travelled to a place that reminds me of Pennington Gap, but much more subdued in the way of a liqueur sweetness. This harbor IS safe! No muck on my finger after poking the top ashes down to see where I was at. After leaving the room, I returned to find it smelling like a cedar lined walk-in humidor! Upon relight, the same good flavor picked up where it left off and stayed with it to the finish. Some might call that one-dimensional or monochromatic, but I personally don't like too many drastic changes while I'm having my pipe meditation. This blend is both contemplative and comforting. It only gets better with every bowl. No unwelcome suprises at the end, either. Although the ash is dry and dusty, it leaves a good surplus behind, making it perfect for building that ideal cake! I can't knock this at all, and if you've had troubles in the past, maybe you should try again...this baby's back up and ready to sail!

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Petersons Rule!

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(especially with C&D blends in them!)*UPDATE* Apparently what I have IS the old version. I will have to try the newer version and see how it compares for myself!

Not as bad as all that, but not a keeper either.

I'm a bit out of my league, as I know nothing about 'lost American classics'. Usually I smoke English blends, sometimes aromatics. My main issue with SHF was that I couldn't taste tobacco. Rum or brandy, yes. Molasses, yup. But not a hint of burley. Might be good as an after-dinner aromatic, but not for my larder.

I think there are a few that have been overly harsh on this tobacco, but I would have to agree I expect more out of C & D. It is a very pleasant smelling tobacco in the tin. Hints of brandy and chocolate. Upon lighting those smells turn into a basically flat burly taste. There is some casing but nothing obnoxious. It burns cleanly and completely, but really does not leave me wanting to come back for more.