Cornell & Diehl Opening Night

The only thing I could say bad about this blend is that it's not a flat flake. It's broken up a bit. However I could care less about that.

The flavor is all there. I was really looking forward to a full Virginia from C & D, as I usually think of them as a Burley based company. It was very naturally good. No excess flavors trying to be squeezed in.

The room note was also very natural. Its how a good pipe should smell, and the wife liked it.

It was a long lasting smoke that changed throughout. I tasted some sweet Virginia right off the bat, with a smokeyness, but sometimes it developed into more of a savory smokey.

I would definitely recommend this to anybody, english, aromatic, it's for everybody.

It comes as a very loose flake and breaks apart easily. The flakes are made of light brown and dark brown tobaccos. They smell lightly fermented and sweet. The flakes have very little moisture and are ready to smoke, as is.

Upon lighting, I get a flavour burst of hay, cut grass, and a slight citrus like sweetness. It’s also pleasantly spicy and sweet.

It’s medium in body, and the nicotine level is somewhere between mild and medium. Set aside at least an hour, as it burns at a less than moderate pace. It never gets harsh, but the bowl will heat up if you’re not paying attention. It burns to a dry, white ash.

Opening Night is a very high quality, medium bodied Virginia. I’ve smoked it in various briars and cobs. I smoke it regularly, and it’s never disappointed. In my opinion, this is one of the best pure Virginia tobaccos currently available. It’s relatively inexpensive and readily available.

I suspect it will age very well, and have set aside several tins for further research.

This is a complex VA! The reds lead with their tangy dark fruit notes, some bread like sweetness, perhaps toasted grain, occasionally that turns sweeter and reminds me of dough after it has risen (a sweet yest-like note), a little earthy note comes up here and there as well. The brights add their citrus and a little grass. At times the citrus and tang combine to make an almost tart note. There is a little spice that comes and goes, a slight woody note that came in at times too. It is a little rough around the edges but at 10 months this is far from being in its prime. The flavors deepened as the bowl progressed and makes for a great bottom of the bowl. It did not bite, get harsh, or cigarette like in any way. I found that I liked this rubbed out and packed a little tighter than I normally pack my bowls otherwise it smoked just a little hot. This is currently in my top 5 straight VA's it will make it into a rotation and I will be stocking up to see how it is in 5 or so years.

This blend has distinct layers of flavor and they hit you all at once. The finish provides its own experience as well! Spicy earthy hay citrus toasty slightly sweet tangyness like dried apricots. All natural, with some slight earthy edge to it but in a good way. I Love Virginia tobacco and this is legit.

Interesting to compare this with GL Pease's Union Square. Both are all Virginia blends. Both are excellent. Opening Night is a bit spicier and offers more tingle. Union Square is creamier, smoother. In the end I like Union Square better as an everyday smoke. For that purpose...its perfection. Opening Night though is an excellent tobacco, just a bit more demanding, and a little more piquant. (there's a word for you). But it's true...its more Va/Per like except it has no Perique. Its great stuff, and like US I am sure it will age beautifully.

This is the most delicious tobacco I have smoked in my thirty years of smoking. Everything about this blend is perfect.

Two ounces vanished within days. I ordered a quarter pound, and now it is almost gone. I want to lay in several pounds just in case it isn't available some day.

Sweet but not cloying, creamy, mild, and wonderful. I have devoted three pipes to this blend. It smokes clean, cool, and dry.

February 12, 2016 Update: I am going through some of my past reviews just to see if further experience with smoking each blend over time.

In this case my love for Opening Night has only grown over time. Many pounds later it is still as gentle as a kitten but strong enough nicotine to satisfy me. I have noticed that at first light I get just a whisper of the flavor of spice cookies.

Here is tang, sweetness, rich depth and the prickle of nicotine in one fine bowl after another. In the tin: tantalizing! Is that a note of chocolate (from casing?)? If so, it is not directly noticable as such in the smoke. Velvety and cool from first light to the last puff, this is one surprisingly rich Virginia (with a bit of burley?) flake! Too much nicotine for the novice or for the mornings for this smoker, but a superb offering from C&D!

This one pushes all of my buttons! Highly recommended!

This tin was from 2008. It has developed beautifully!

A sublime straight Virginia smoke, if this is your kind of tobacco, look no further

Outstanding!

This is easily the most delicious straight virginia flake that I've yet tried. It's as buttery as FVF, but the remarkably clean, fresh, sweet red virginia is the star of this blend, making this the most nuanced pure virginia I've come across.

This masterpiece sings for me. I will always keep a tin of this around. Opening Night is my first C&D blend. I will be trying others.

Highly recommended!