Cornell & Diehl Opening Night

Opening Night is offered at my local Tobacconist and based on the steady good reviews thought I would give this straight VA a go. It is my first Cornell & Diehl.

Great VA sweet smell from the tin with the right moisture, though I let it dry an hour before the light.

Wow! I was surprised by the complexity of this simple blend. There is a steady spicy note caused by the red VA balancing perfectly with the sweetness of the bright Va. When I mean sweet I mean the end of my pipe tasted super sweet like sugar water. I thought my mind was playing tricks on me. That's a first. I didn't expect the spice and it reminded me of Perique. I actually sat my pipe down and ran to look up the ingredients again.. Okay.. what am I smoking again?? I was shocked when this was a straight VA blend.

The smoke was thick and the ash was soft like velvet and burned down clean. All evidence of a fine high-quality-no-joke tobacco.

The rich flavor stays to the end and I love the warm spice and rotating sweetness. I must say be mindful of the nic kick. While puffing away trying to disceren this blend I was caught with a Tyson hook to the jaw. I awoke about an hour later in my bed with a cool fan blowing in my face. It made me quite nauseous. Now that's a VA blend by God!! Smooth, spicy, sweet, Med flavor.

Recommended for a good quality VA only smoke. Looking for a straight VA blend with some med flavor and some complexity? Give this a shot, but watch the left hook.

Update: 4/7/14 This tin has turned into my go to blend and its disappearing faster than any pipe tobacco I have ever bought. The blend has mellowed since opening and it went from spicy to a warm tasty red. I can handle the nic pretty well and even crave it. A very tasty blend. I will be buying more and in larger quantities.

The tin aroma of this stuff is lovely, like a hayloft on a hot day in July. Add to that the smell of fall fruit and the delicious smell of hard apple cider, sniff a little more and find dried apricots, prunes and raisins, dried grain and curing hay, and after a day or so of the seal being broken, a delicious aroma like white wine develops. A beautiful Virginia blend with an extraordinary aroma in the tin.

Practically rubs itself out. Lights OK, burns well, only a few relights.

Nice balance, warm flavors of well cured Virginia fill the mouth. The bright Virginia provides sweetness with a little tangy note. (It also makes this blend bite a little if you rush it.) The red Virginia seems rich, sweet, and warm. I wish I could try the red Virginia in this stuff by itself, bet it would be interesting.

A bit middle-of-the-road, but still a tasty little VA blend, another fine example of the style, complex on the nose - more straightforward in the smoking.

I like this series from C&D, so far my favorite is “Sunday Picnic”. This one is very good too, if you enjoy a descent straight Virginia - this is the a good example.

Oh my goodness, oh my gosh ,oh my soul this is good. Move over FVF this is the Craig Tarler Show and its Opening Night. Marvellous stuff, sweet, tangy/sassy, citris explosions now and again as the bowl progresses onward down. Lord give me strength to abstain from opening at least one tin for a couple of years because I can only guess what will be waiting inside......pure delight without question. Buy some and have your better-half hide it away from you for a couple a years.

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.

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.

Opening Night is a very good pipe tobacco. When I opened the tin and smelled it for the first time, I was sure I would be giving it a Highly Recommended rating. Without a doubt, its tin aroma is delicious, one of the best ever, reminding me of Juicy Fruit gum. I was also impressed by the small, soft flakes that are so easy to rub out and pack. Upon lighting up, however, I was a tad disappointed that the taste -- while very good -- did not quite live up to the expectations created by its aroma. Certainly, it is good, with a lovely combination of sweet, fruity flavors, rich tobacco taste and a good bit of spiciness. But, for me, it was just a bit on the mild side and, as I smoked to the end of the bowl, somewhat unidimensional.

I've finished the tin now and my opinion of ON hasn't changed. It's a very good tobacco and one that I would be happy to smoke again from time to time but, at nearly five dollars an ounce, it's not one that I will smoke very often.

This was my first tin of Opening Night, and the tin had been aged ten years, so some fine sugar crystals and added sweetness to my bowls. As noted by others, this is a semi-flake, semi-broken flake blend of bright Virginias.

Tin aroma of bread and fruit, which also dominate thru the smoking experience, although I found it getting sweeter as the bowl progressed.

Packs and burns easily. Little to no moisture. A nic hit that creeps up on you! Similar to Sutliff 515-RC, but in a flake form. A fine substitute for McClelland red Virginias.

A top notch straight Virginia tobacco as so many others have noted. I added my two cents because my tin is a decade old, and, yes, it makes for a delightful smoking experience. There’s nothing like a decade old quality Virginia.

Usually I start writing review from charing light and ends when the bowl is finished. But in this case I waited till half the bowl even though I'm slow puffing I feel dizzy so Nic hit is there and it also tends to burn hot when try to push it. Popping up the tin you're greeted with as they say golden but to me is yellowish tinted as I got some tint when lightly rub with my fingers. Those broken moisturised flakes but smokeable smell some what hay and bread. Halfway through and it's taste tangy and gives sweetness of Virginia's. Re light gives some what sweet caramelish taste but after that it burns and taste like Burleys to the end. I have smoked better Virginia's flakes and inspite the date on the tin is from '18 I think further jarring age will improve the taste much better. Since this is my first C&D buy I won't say Tobacco is of inferior quality instead it's good and further aging will give it more shine and it's worth trying out.

Opening Night! Put on your tux and pack up a bowl. It's Opening Niiiiight!

If you’re looking for a tasty virginia with promising potential to age, this could be a strong contender. The tin smells exactly as described: ripe mix of bright and red virginias. It’s a citrusy mix with some light hay. I’m a big fan of the cut of C&D flakes. Similar to GH&Co: thick n chunky, and perfect moisture. They really crumble, pack, and light well. No kitchen appliances necessary for prepping.

So this blend smokes young with a bit of harshness at spots. But it’s a fantastic “light and go” smoke. Perfect for reading, walking, or mindlessly staring into space as you ponder the seemingly infinite size of the known oceanic landscape.

The tin note pretty much transfers to the taste and a slow retrohale is rewarded with some classic virginia notes. For me, the winning note comes from the side stream. Stick your nose right up to the bowl and let the smoke gently float up into your olfactory nerves, penetrating your brain. What do I get? A hemorrhage. Just kidding. I get a delicious, warm, bready red virginia note! If I close my eyes I can almost smell the battlefield remains of a 5100-man strong army.

This is a tasty but young smoke. I’ve thrown half in a jar and will revisit in a little bit. But I’ve got pretty high hopes. At the best, it develops some more of the red virginia taste. At the worst, it’s an inexpensive orange virginia that smokes effortlessly.