Cornell & Diehl Interlude

Just finished up a tin of this in the last week and really enjoyed it. It is the second blend I have had and enjoyed from the Simply elegant Series, the other being Sunday Picnic. I can only assume that the purpose of this series is to highlight the Virginias, something not so common amongst the C&D blends where Burley is usually the highlight whether by design or not.

I have even heard remarks that C & D's Virginias even taste like burley. There is no doubt that this is a straight Virginia blend and it is a nice hearty Virginia in the thick flake that C & D does. It has all the hay like sweetness, (albeit a little mild) and some earthiness you would want from a Virginia.

The honey topping is a nice addition to the leaf adding sweetness to the mildly sweet Virginia. The topping is also very light on this. It is just a condiment, the Virginia remains the star. It is not PS LTF and someone purchasing this hoping for something similar to that will be let down.

One thing that it does have in common with other C & D blends is that it does have a substantial amount of backbone to it. It is far from mild on the nicotine content and their is also plenty of body to the smoke. One should not be expecting a lightweight aromatic when purchasing a tin of this.

I will be ordering some more of this for the cellar as I am curious what some age will do to this one.

Although I prefer McClelland red Virginia's to most other companies, C&D really outdid themselves with Interlude. The light honey topping enhances the sweetness and adds a lovely toastyness that would be missed if removed.The room note was pleasing I am told so that's a plus, the taste is what you would expect from a light to medium strength red Virginia flake, notes of oats and honey, the sweetness increases as you get down the bowl. I really enjoyed my tin and even though it was not a 4 star blend for me I can see how this would be someone's favorite, a solid three stars!

This is a revisited review. My initial impressions wasn't what I was expecting. For a honey cased flake, it sure was pretty dry in sweetness. My tin had about 13 months on it when I originally tried it. I jarred it up for 6 months.

It's much, much better now. Its still herbal but a more pronounced sweetness and much more creamy in flavor and texture. Burns cool and dry.

A very good candidate for cellaring as it did take a lot of the edge off.

This is a pretty straight forward, one dimensional, typical red virginia tobacco. I would not call it a "blend" because it is just one component, red virginia. However, it is a very good quality tobacco and has a nice tobacco flavor. It is topped with honey but it is so lightly applied that you never really notice it. I think it serves to take a bit of the sharpness off the flavor, sort of like a little cream in a dark roast coffee would do. If you like straight virginia, you are sure to love this tobacco. It comes as a broken flake and it at the perfect moisture content right out of the tin. Upon opening the tin, a ketchup like aroma is present but this subsides after a day or two. Then it is more bready and dark fruit like, none of the grassy or hay like notes that you might find with bright leaf. This flavor comes through in the smoke, though it is not as sweet as one might expect with a honey topped blend. At times, a black tea flavor comes through and as such, this pairs well with a nice, slightly sweetened iced black tea. This is a good warm weather blend to just sit and relax in the shade with a nice iced tea. It is very easy to enjoy and, while the flavor is not complex, it is definitely relaxing as you don;t really have to think too much about it. I find the broken flake rubs out easily and smokes down to the bottom to a fine white ash with zero dottle.

Nice flavor, zero tongue bite, few to no relights and no dottle make for a very nice, easy going pipe, any time of day. Nic hit is about medium.

This a wonderful tobacco for those who wish to shift gears from the aromatic world to that of Virginia flakes.It has just the right amt of sweetness and absolutely no heat or tongue bite.It is actually quite pleasant in its own right. The smoke is creamy and plentiful. I find it doesn't develop much in flavor and henceforth why it makes a great transition tobacco. Very similar to Bjarne's Flake Deluxe just not quite as good. My only complaint- A VERY HIGH NICOTINE PUNCH!!I kept getting hic cups!!! Aside from that a really good smoke.

Prep: As per usual with C&D flakes, this comes more in a broken flake form. It's on the wet side. Letting the tin sit out of for sometime would be beneficial.

Tin description: It's like smelling a bottle of grapefruit juice with some spice. Incredibly pleasant.

Notes: (bear in mind, this rating is from a 3yr old tin). If you prefer Virginia blends on the spicy side, this blend is up your alley. It has to be the spiciest straight V blend I have ever put into my pipe. You would think there was orientals or perique in the blend.

Aside from that, the sweetness is at a lower level than expected. The red leaf carries more woody, earthy, slightly sweet fig tones with some stringency that akins to grapefuit (as evident in the tin note). The typical bready notes are there as well, though less compared to other red V forward blends. The honey is noticeable at times and certainly isn't as prevalent as the description leads you to believe.

It burns fairly cool for a straight V blend, doesn't leave much moisture at the bottom, and the nic level is around medium. I can have a couple of back to back bowls with maybe a slight "buzz".

I enjoy this well enough with several years of age and so WITH some aging, I could certainly give it a comfortable 3/4 stars or a 8/10. But if a fresh tin is any less sweet than this, I couldnt imagine enjoying it near as much. Take that for what you will.

Tin date 6/07 and it's been opened since. Somehow this tin has been able to retain a perfect moisture level over the last 4 1/2 years, which leads me to believe there is some kind of PG added to this leaf.

Some complain about the flakes being "broken", but to me, no matter. Just makes my job easier to rub and load. Lights faily well, smoke evenly to the bottom leaving a nice gray ash. I cannot detect any honey, and to be honest there is really no sweetness at all. Pretty much a straight forward Va. The taste can turn cigarrette ashy if smoked too fast, but slower puffing will prevent that from happening. Taste is flat, and uninteresting. Would be a decent no-bite flake for the novice smoker looking to get into some C&D VA flakes.

Good red virginia for me, not too mild, perfect after dinner with some rum. I will buy it again.

My very generous sample came at perfect humidity for immediate pouch to pipe enjoyment. Took to the match quite well and burned evenly and cleanly all the way to the heel of the pipe with a single pass of a cleaner.

Quality stuff, handled with care. Just not my cup of Virginia Flake. I guess I'm one of those guys that feel condiments belong in the food, not the pipe.

I do strongly recommend for those that like lightly flavored flakes of excellent, cool burning Virginia