Cornell & Diehl Safe Harbor Flake

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!

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!

---

Petersons Rule!

---

(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!

Safe Harbor has everything that one could look for in a Burley based tobacco. The burn is even and complete, leaving no dottle or gunk in your pipe. The flavor is like a good burley - deep and cocoa-like and the aroma is not so strong that it chases the dog away. I have found that SHF is my new "go to" burley tobacco. It is comforting, in that burley/comfort food sort of way. If you are not a fan of burley tobacco, then this will probably not become a favorite for you. If you, like I, enjoy a nice and uncomplicated smoke that is rich and satisfying, then you might like Safe Harbor.

Jay

I just bought a 2 ounce tin of Safe Harbor and during the first few minutes into the first bowl, I knew I was going to buy more. I've read other people's opinions on this blend and don't taste the molasses/vanilla sweetness that others mention. There is a slight sweet/sour component which hovers in the background, adding some complexity to what is basically a very round, gentle burley. Though it's advertised as a flake (and comes in a sliced cake) it breaks off into a irregular pebble cut. Some have commented that their tins were too wet to smoke right away. And while I'll agree there's a little more moisture in this one than many C&D blends, mine smoked beautifully without any drying out. Just make sure you don't pack the pipe too tightly, leave some air between layers. No bite and little alkalinity with this blend, so I can load up another pipe right away; but I find it pretty satisfying so rarely do. I give this 4 out of 4 stars. A solid winner.

In short, this is a great burley! Previous reviewers have likened the subtle flavor from eggnog, vanilla, licorice, brown sugar to molasses. The flavoring is hard to pinpoint but I will agree with a molasses / brown sugar taste. I also tasted wisps of cocoa and chocolate. Regardless, the taste is why you perceive and if you perceive a taste you like, you will like this blend. The flavoring is not overpowering or overly sweet and it dissipated somewhat as I progressed down the bowl into a truer, cleaner, honest burley smoke.

The tobacco is very moist and comes wrapped in a ball of thin, white paper. To quickly get it in a more smokeable condition, I spread the tobacco out in a plastic mixing bowl and placed it directly under a hinged 75 watt lamp for 5 minutes + -.

This isn?t a true flake????yet. It is more of a broken flake for the time being. But as Craig Tarler mentioned in a recent ASP post, flakes are difficult to produce and blenders, unlike pipe smokers themselves, are loath to share their methods, secrets, tips and tricks with each other.

Quoting Craig, in part, from his post:

?SH has some rough cut burley and that's causing the flakes to break up. We will correct this. Please bear with us until we get the fix. FWIW, flake is extremely difficult to make and "Gimbels doesn't tell Macy's" when it comes to getting information.?

The old maxim says ?A high tide floats all boats? but I have no doubt that Safe Harbor Flake will ?float YOUR boat,? ????even at low tide! ?Harbor? some of this flake in your cellar! Good stuff! Hats off to Craig and, if he had any hand in it, hats off to Bob 'The Polish Tobacco Prince? Runowski as well!

A cigarette is to be smoked. A cigar is to be enjoyed. A pipe is to be savored.

I rate this blend 9.8 out of 10.

This is a good all day smoke. I just scoup us some broken fibers and drop them in the bowl with a light tap.

It seems closer to the recently demised European version of Edgeworth Slices than does Wessex's (which is sweeter like the Richmond original, but still full sized flakes), but this is a broken to fully rubbed flake and on the lighter side than Edgeworth.

Neverthless, whether a dab of licorice or brown sugar passed over the flake, this is a little bit of extra fragrance added to accompany the white burley base. Pleasant, nutty, and light.

Mild as May aroma and taste. Cool and dry but don't puff too fast, as flavor is light and will be lost. Better than the protype previously offered by C&D which was grandular and burned too fast IMO.

Higly recommended for nostalgia and as an excellent all day smoke. Mild as May. I dig it but if you want fuller, try some estate Edgeworth or go to Wessex.

This is a classic American Burley Blend! What else can be said? A no -nonsense, straight forward, simple Burley blend. If you like The C&D cube cut burley blends, this will be a nice change of pace, while still remaining in the same vein. Cool smoking with a Vanilla/ Nut flavoring gently applied - a real Winner. !

This is my favorite of the Harbor collection. Bob Runowski and Craig Tarler have faithfully resurected a flavor from the past and made its current incarnation obsolete. Tried this both as a broken flake and flake form. The flake form was more enjoyable, if for nothing else, the flavors blended together more succesfully. From start to finish a wonderfull burley flake with the spice that was so characteristic of a once proud blend. Amazing what those two gentlemen can do when they get together with some quality leaf. Whats an Edge worth? Not as much as a Safe Harbor....