Cornell & Diehl Opening Night

This comes in somewhat of a broken flake. There are flecks of golden and brown. The smell is slightly fermented and with not even that much time it changes to one of the loveliest smells of sweet bread. It remind me of SG Best Brown Flake.

The flavor is sweet Virginia goodness. This has some tangy fruit notes and a lot of bread character with some prominent, assertive honey notes, wheat notes, oats, cinnamon and earthiness that develops and it makes me wonder if there are air-cured Virginias in this as well. It develops a nice aroma of sweet bread. It's just a delight to smoke. It could burn hot if push, and the same goes for harshness. A note on re-lights-- I would get these sublime caramel or toffee-like notes with re-lights on many occasions.

The strength is medium. It's a stronger straight Virginia with some individuality. The nicotine was medium. It surprised me.

I would definitely buy this again. It's readily available for a great price, and it has a noticeable identity without the aid of detectable additives.

Opening Night is one of the best straight Virginia you can find in the market. As indicated above, delicious is the perfect word. An excellent Virginia with the real taste of Virginia. It burns very well and leaves all the taste nuances of a good Virginia. Only a very small flaw: sometimes at the end of the bowl, you can perceive a taste not really clean, slightly bitter. To avoid that, at the end of the bowl, you have to puff very slowly, with little breaks between a puff and another. Anyway a great straight Virginia, ideal for Virginia lovers. In my personal rating system (from 1 to 10) my score is more than 9 and three and a half stars.

In my quest to try all American made Virginia flakes, Opening Night is a blend that came to me early in my venture.

Opening the tin the aroma is quite delectable. Typical of its genre with much hay and grass and something sweet smelling that I cannot put my finger on. The dark brown speckled flakes break apart quite easily and minimal drying was required to bring it to how I prefer my blends for packing.

Lighting was ok once a couple of char lights had done their work and off I went. Initially all I got was warm air with no flavour whatsoever, rather like some McClelland straight virginias I have smoked but as the bowl progressed glimmers of flavour started to appear but these really had to be searched for. Unlike Sam Gawith's Full Virginia Flake which has solid flavour from start to finish I found Opening Night to be pretty much hit and miss, mostly miss.

Yes there is flavour to be found if gently sipped but it is on the thin side, this is no flavour powerhouse unlike FVF. Other reviewers mention tasting various fruits in this blend but I just tasted 'typical' Virginia tobacco. Nothing wrong in that at all, I just wish there was more of it.

Will I buy it again? Likely not. It isn't a bad blend in any way at all, it just fails to satisfy this particular Brit piper.

Nice flake of bright and red Virginias. Barnyard grass/hay smell with some fermented cherry over the top (think this is natural, not a top dressing).

Flake crumbles easily and takes a light well, minimal drying time needed.

Nice, creamy smoke. Can start out a bit harsh (the brights?) but settles down about a 1/4 of the way in.

Nice, toasty, pleasant Virginia. Mild/moderate smoke. Quality leaf. Suspect this would age well.

Most VA fans will like this, I think. Very harmonious blend of reds and brights.

A bit damp upon popping the tin; drying out seems to help a bit.

I've got nothing bad to say about Opening Night, and while it is certainly a quality blend, it does not compare with Mc Cranie's, and Rattray's highly rated Virginia's, as well as Full Virginia Flake. Were these blends unavailable, I'd certainly give Opening Night a second look.

I've smoked this blend from a fresh tin as well as one aged 2.5 years. Surprisingly, the additional time did nothing to improve the tobacco.

What a special virginia flake! This smoke has strong lemon notes, but just enough grass, hay, and spice undertones to provide a full body and rich experience. The sweetness is right "up the middle" for a virginia, not overwhelming, but it leaves you with that happy sugar on your tongue for an hour afterward. I can taste the quality of the pure, genuine, VA tobaccos all through this.

Very little bite to this, which is also a pleasure for a VA. You can get a bit of bite if you really, really freight train your pipe, but the flake helps keep it cool and the moisture level is lovely. The flake breaks apart easily (I like to rub this one out for packing), and seems nicely consistent.

If you're looking for those citrus notes with a pleasant sweetness and a full virginia tobacco flavor, its hard to go wrong here. And its great fairly fresh (I've happily enjoyed it with only a few months of age), and just gets better with cellar time. What a treat!

In terms of comparisons, its sweeter and more lemony than Gawith FVF (I prefer Opening Nights to FVF). Less spicy than Amphora VA (which is extremely full bodied for a virginia). Less sugary and clearer lemon flavors than Yorktown (although I suspect C&D is using a lot of the same base for these two mixtures).

No big nic hit at all. Probably mild+ in terms of vitamin N.

Not much more praise I can heap on this fine, natural VA. It is a fine, fine tobacco.

I was immediately taken by the tin note which hit me with a fantastic burst of orange citrus - I swore there was orange zest in the mix.

A bit richer than Union Square, but possessing the same clean, grassy, light sweetness, this is an easy bowl to enjoy all day, any day.

Excellent loading, lighting and burning characteristics... I can’t think of a single negative. An exemplary Virginia.

Very yeasty tin note. Also sweet citrus fruit, like tangerine and hay which seems to be only the natural tobacco taste.

Could use a few minutes of drying time but it can be smoked as it is. Quite citrucy, ample hay (both green and dry) notes. It is spicy and sweet and earthy. Actually I feel the Bright Virginias dominate with their higher notes while the Red provide a deeper succulent dried fruit undertone. It never gets hot and it won’t bite. It lasts long and smokes dry. Room note, for those who like tobacco is excellent - pure tobacco. Flavour and strength build up as you go making a quite potent tobacco, past medium strength and yet absolutely smooth.

I cannot find enough words to praise this natural Virginia. Suffice it to say that it’s one of the top in the market. Different than both FVF and BBF as it is more on the bright spectrum but comparable to Golden Glow. In any case I dare say Opening Night is definitely easier to handle than all the above, more complex and more flavourful.

An exquisite natural Virginia!!

Very nice smell off the tin, the flakes are quite moist but could be smoked right away. I recommend some drying for a more enjoyable experience. I get a slightly toasted bread taste with some sweetness. This is a evening smoke based on the fact that there is more strength than usual for a middle of the road flake.

Do not puff too hard in search of more flavor, you could be rewarded by a splitting headache, mine lasted for three hours the first time I tried it. Even when sipped, this tobacco gives me a sensation of heaviness which I cannot explain. All in all a good tobacco that I would have rated higher if it didn't cause me this unpleasant sensation.

Virginia lover