Cornell & Diehl Manhattan Afternoon

I am honored to be the first to review this fine tobacco as well as to have sampled it during the Chicagoland 2007 show. I have already purchased and cellared alot of this tobac and for good reason; I believe that it can rate with the classics of virginias.

At this time, the tobacco is young but, with a couple of years aging, it shall get better and sweeter. There are similarities between Manhattan Afternoon (MA), SG's Best Brown Flake, SG's FVF, McClelland's Organically Grown Flake, and McClelland's Christmas Cheer. The latter four, in my opinion, are the gold standard for virginias. However, MA is a little anemic now and needs some age. Given that the virginias are all golden, this should be like smoking candy in 2009 and 2010. Nice hay-like smell. I'm excited!

aj

As a lover of Cornell & Diehl's Sun Bear, I thought I'd check more of their Virginia and honey blends. While Manhattan Afternoon doesn't have Turkish leaves or Tequila in any case, the honey topping is also far in the background. So far that I can't really taste it. For comparison, the honey is very prominent in Sun Bear and is definitely aided by the Turkish leaves which are absent here anyway.

From the tin I get sweet candy, citrus, berries, a bit of grass. No honey.

Smoking notes: Citrus comes to the front, a bit of this candy and berry too. Still no honey. Hint of bread and hay. In the same lane as Orlik Golden Sliced, John Aylesbury Classic Flake, etc., although this comes as a broken flake.
Tastes primarily of bright Virginia. Not getting any spice or dark fruit that I would usually get from a red leaf.

Around the end of the first third the sweet candy/berries fade away a little and I get a bit more black pepper spice and overall body, although not enough to suggest that the blend has more than a bright leaf. Last third of the bowl and I lose that spice as well. Not much flavor coming through.

Easy to rub out and pack. I suggest letting it dry for about 30 minutes (depends on the humidity in your area). Smokes at a slow-moderate pace. Minimal relights, if any at all. No tongue bite. Great all-day for straight Virginia lovers although I don't find enough distinction between this and other more affordable straight Virginias, so I would go for Golden Sliced, for example, over this one simply for the price.

Mild in body and strength.

This is a pretty typical straight bright Virginia blend, especially since I'm not really noticing the honey. It is just a little boring due to some flavor disappearing halfway through and the leaf being pretty mild. But this is not atypical for straight Virginia and aside from just a little boredom, this is a very nice all-day blend. Three stars.

A pleasant, mild smoke.

The honey is not overwhelming and this one burns to nice, white ash.

I prefer my Virginias with a little more moxie but would not hesitate to recommend Manhattan Afternoon to someone looking for a milder, sweet smoke.

I'm going to be presumptious and review MA and Interlude at the same time since they are quite similar and I'm giving them both three stars, even though neither of them is really my thing. They are both obviously well made of high quality tobaccos. Unlike at least one of my fellow reviewers, I like the semi-broken flakes. For me, though, the flavoring is just too strong to enjoy smoking either of them regularly. Someone with a better pallate might be able to taste the subtlties of the tobaccos through the casing through the flavoring but I really can't. Like others have said, though, this would be a great introduction to "real tobacco" for an aromatic smoker Plus, if I ever win the lottery, I will be buying several pounds of one of these to smooth out some of the the over latakiaed or overly nicotined blends that haunt my tobacco shelf.

it smokes cool and smooth. the flavor is great. it has just enough honey to complement the tobacco but not overpower the subtle sweet flavor. i've been looking for an alternative to hal o' the wynd b/c of it's immense nicotine content. this blend is a good alternative yet not quite as fine as hal which to me is the bench mark.

the only downside is the absolutely BONKERS cut that C&D use for their flake tobacco. it would be nice to rub out into ribbons but instead you get tiny useless specks of tobacco. i've found smoking small pieces to burn faster and produce harsh bitter smoke. you must smoke this tobacco in broken flake form or fold large half flakes into your bowl. C&D should just sell this as a crumble cake like briar fox, blockade runner, etc. that's how the tobacco is cut anyway. at least then there would be a logical reason for the odd cut.

even with the wierd cut this is still a fantastic blend and well worth checking out.

This has quickly become one of my favorites. I find it very mellow and delicious, a good relaxing smoke. I can't add much more to the favorable reviews ahead of me. No bite, no bitterness, just a good sweet Virginia.

The fastest I've ever gone through a tin. This was my go to smoke for quite a while. Light and tasty. Highly recommended.

A nice, slightly sweet tobacco without being overly sweet. It takes awhile to get the packing of this one down correctly, but it burns very nice once you do. Light honey flavoring comes through and is very light. The taste of the tobacco is at the forefront, and is naturally sweet in and of itself. A nice Virginia.

C&D's "Simply Elegant Series" is

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Yet another winner from the Tarler's at C&D. This is the sixth blend I have tried from this GREAT blender of fine tobaccos. I have rated each one 3-4 stars. M A is simply a fine golden Va. I detect no casing, only sweet mild tobacco. After drying and rubbing out I find that M A packs, lights easily, and burns cool. Briar Fox, and Sunday Picnic may be slightly better, but I will be buying more of this for now, and the cellar. It will only get better.........for now a give this one a solid * * *