Cornell & Diehl Interlude

The slices of this mottled, auburn broken flake are simply beautiful to look at and effuse a delicous, appetizing, and sweet scent that doesn't seem artificial at all. You can easily identify the grassy, haylike Virginia notes with just a hint of honey in the background. In a fresh tin the tobacco seems to be a somewhat on the moist side, so a little drying time does it some good.

I fill my pipe by making small balls from the pieces of broken flake that I stuff lightly into the bowl. Lighting is uncomplicated: after the charring light I level out the ashes before applying the true light.

The taste is also mostly that of a straight Virginia blend with the honey casing or top flavoring just dicernable in the aftertaste. There's a distinct tangy sweetness that seems to me to come mainly from the natural characteristics of the tobacco. The aroma is that of freshly cut hay and dried wild flowers with just a hint of honeydew. Enjoyed with care, it burns down evenly and slowly, leaving some dry, greying ash, all this time being mild on your tongue. If you draw too too eagerly on your pipe, however, it'll loose some of its taste and might even bite.

The room note is sweet and pleasant.

Interlude is a good name for this blend. I enjoy smoking it in the afternoon while reading a good book. I can load up the Peterson 302, light it, and enjoy several hours of bliss. A cup of French roast coffee, made in a French press coffee pot, goes with the smoke perfectly. Occasional sips of coffee cleanse the pallette so the hint of Virginia sweetness can keep presenting itself as I puff through the bowl.

I love this flake because it doesn't distract me from whatever I am focusing on. There are times when I want a tobacco to keep my nicotine level comfortable without barging in on my consciousness. This flake is perfect for that situation. I have about ten C&D tobaccos with Latekia, and they are all wonderful for late evening or after a big dinner. But they keep my focus on a cavalcade of flavors and scents, and really deserve full attention.

My tin arrived with acceptable moisture levels, but the flakes were not intact. Since I like to fold flakes I would prefer them to arrive intact. It isn't a crippling defect, but it would be nice to be able to fold the flakes.

There's not much bite in my Peterson 302 and 303. In my big CAO meer I have to go slow or the Virginia bite becomes a problem.

Casing is normally a reason, for me, to completely avoid a blend, but the honey is not noticeable, and might make it burn better than without it. There's nothing gooey, it burns clean, and there is no cloying like you get with many cased flakes.

I will certainly keep a tin for my literary afternoons.

My tin is dated 1/17/2020, and I wanted to open and try it right away to see what it's like at a relatively young age. I know C&D Virginias are good with age, and everyone is critical of their Virginias for being green.

The presentation is nice and rustic, packed to the brim with nice brown flakes. The flakes fall apart and you can crumble them easily. They're easy to work with. They're slicing them thinner than they used to, say, two years ago. Smells tangy, and reminded me of Sansepolcro, astringent, but nice.

The smoke starts off with light tang, bitter flavors, like citrus rind, some bread sweetness, earth-like soil, woody, creamy earthiness, nic picks up mid-bowl, and earth and spice pick up.

Slightly smokey, like wood smoke and tang (barbecue maybe), some saltiness, a red dried fruit note, or overripe strawberry, but it's just a hint of it. The development subtle, with some malty and some cereal notes, hint of nuttiness comes up at the end, and some vanilla.

Nicotine is noticeable but never overwhelmed. Strength is maybe medium, and the same for the taste. Combustion is good if you give a little air time and pack it on the lighter side. Packed too tightly and you get a hotter bowl and more bitter flavors. I love the aroma of this stuff. It's like a sweet woody smell. Not really like the baked good Virginia smell from bright Virginia.

This is a unique iteration of straight-Virginia. It's not a fruit bomb. It's got range and complexity. It's more earthy, spicy, tangy, malty, and dusty, tobacco-forward, kind of minerally. I am enjoying it. I could smoke it all day. In just a few days in the tin or in the jar, the bitterness in the smoke recedes and the molasses note becomes more prominent in the development. It's simply fantastic.

I would recommend this to Virginia and Burley smokers, and someone looking for a Virginia blend that's unique and a deviation from the typical fruit-forward style of straight-Virginia blending. Four stars from me.

This is another VA. blend from C&D.Most tins from C&D have been ready for the fire out of the shoot. This one was quite moist. Upon opening the tin I was met by a mild grassy sweet aroma. After some drying, I found this to be a good smoke. It is not complex, just smooth honest tobacco. Hint of the sweetness drift through as the bowl progresses. May be the Va. or the "touch" of honey. One thing that I was pleasently surprised by was that each time I came back to this blend it seemed to get better, and better. This may be that further drying has benifitted this tobacco, or maybe age is helping out. What ever...it gets better.The price is higher that much of the competition, but this blend could move up to a * * * * rating.....for now I give it a * * *. I will buy more to smoke now, and some for the cellar.

I liked this tobacco. I barely noticed the honey...instead enjoyed the taste of the red virginias. When the honey did make itself known, albeit very briefly, the taste was a bit like a Bit o Honey candybar if you remember that one.

This is definitely a keep, however the price tag is a little high. There are some other very good VAs out there that are much more affordable but I would definitely recommend this blend.

The tin just opened was a bit too wet, but the Virginia fragrance was really excellent. The lightning is easy and the tobacco is burning evenly all over the smoke. The honey flavoring is barely noticeable and it is never disturbing. What you really feel is the richness of the Virginias. The sweetness comes from the Virginias, not the honey. The strength is medium and the nicotine hit is a mark below medium. I found this tobacco extremely pleasant, rich of nuances and never tiring. It is one of the best I ever smoked in the last 47 years. I really enjoy it.

This is a very nice Virginia flake. C&D, as far as I know is the only North American blender to take on the process of creating flakes- and they are coming along nicely. On opening the tin, the first thing noticable is that they have changed their inserts. No longer the paper wrapper with the intro placard- Now when you remove the C&D welcome card, there is a nice fold over cardboard sleeve the flakes fit in. It can be a challenge getting the flakes near the rounded edge out but this is a minor point. The flakes are a pretty deep red shade, and a spicey aroma drifts off. I let them dry for about 20 mins to get the moisture content I like. Packing is the fold and stuff, rubbing some kindling on top. On char light, Spice hits right off the bat. I would swear there was some perique in there. Flavor is a spicey, sweet. the sweetness increases as the bowl progresses, and every now and then the smell of cooked honey wafts through the nose. Burned down to a clean bowl, and the nicotine is VERY satisfying. I repeatedly found that two flakes at once lasted most of the evening..

C&D has made great strides in their production of quality Va Flakes over the past few years. This is another good one. The tin describes this as a straight red Va 'kissed with a touch of honey.' I didn't taste any honey but maybe that's my limited palate or maybe that's the intention. I smoked this back to back with my favourite C&D flake, Carolina Red. The differences were small. Interlude might be a wee bit smoother and smoke a wee bit cooler. CR might have a wee bit more depth flavour and strength. Both are mild, tasty smokes which stand toe to toe with most of the old favourites from other manufacturers. C&D flakes don't have much flake form but that's fine for me since I rub them out anyway. Highly recommended, especially for flake beginners but old hands as well.

Delightful smoke. Interlude has the expected Virginia bready note, with citrus, and darker fruit like fig. The honey adds a hint of extra sweetness in the background and is a nice compliment to the Virginia. It's a bit moist, so dry time will be needed. Doesn't bite or get too hot for a Virginia.

I think this has been unfairly knocked by some reviewers who didn't like that it's more of a broken flake; one even giving it a 1 star review based on that detail alone. Severely underrated in my opinion. Highly recommended.