Cornell & Diehl Winchester

The red Virginia is tangy dark fruit sweet with some wood, earth, mild sugar, vegetation, light bread, grass, floralness, a wine-like vinegar essence and a pinch or two of spice. They say the black cavendish is processed from Kentucky Green River burley, and I believe it because I certainly taste some toasted nuttiness, earth, wood, and a drop of molasses from it. It plays a nice back up to the Virginia, and it appears they did not sweeten it, but I get a sugar note from it. The strength and nic-hit are a couple of steps past the center of mild to medium. The taste barely reaches the medium mark. Well blended, you’ll taste everything you’re supposed to in every puff from start to finish. No dull, weak or harsh spots to be found. Won't bite. Barely has any rough notes. Burns at a reasonable pace with a cool, clean, lightly sweet flavor, and virtually leaves no moisture in the bowl. Requires very few relights. Has a pleasant, lightly lingering after taste and a slightly stronger room note. An all day smoke. Three stars.

-JimInks

My sleeper pick for favorite new tobacco of 2010!

I loved the strength and the sweetness (natural), of the leaf. The Burley Cavendish was mixed expertly with the quality Virginia. It burned nice and dry with nary a nip.

I've decided that extolling the virtues of Winchester without sounding truly excited is impossible. This is great stuff!

This is an interesting blend. It struck me as a blend that came about when someone at C&D wondered what you would get if you replaced the burley in Pegasus with red Virginia. Initial impression is good but nothing too exciting.

It grows on you, and I have a pipe with a tapered bowl that gives me a wonderful smoke with this. It is slightly sweet with a hint of fruit from the red Virginia, and there is a smooth, soft quality to it. The last half of the tapered bowl picks up in sweetness and intensity. There is a certain delicate quality to the taste, and it is very enjoyable. I do not discern any topping, and the tobacco flavor is good.

Mine came a little damper than probably anything I have ever bought from C&D. I have not dried it, and have smoked it as is, being careful not to pack it too tightly. Eventually I may try drying it a little, but I have not had problems with damp heel or gurgle.

This is a remarkably good smoke that falls in the "all-day" camp. It is subtle and not a powerhouse. I claim it benefits from a dedicated pipe. It may not appeal to everyone, but if the description sounds remotely appealing, you should give it a try.

Winchester is good Virginia blended with quality black cavendish. This means that it gives the smoker a multilayered but never cloying sweetness. One will taste the warm, bracing flavor of simple red Virginia leaf, which has, in and of itself, an underlying sweetness. Couple this with Cornell & Diehl's black cavendish, the single most honest and masterly black cavendish to be found today and you have a combination of mere mild sweetness and a genteel, restrained sweetness that common aromatics could never aspire to. There is true tobacco flavor here, but it flirts with you from behind a voluptuous, velvet curtain. It puts me in mind of a seemingly proper, but slightly naughty Southern hostess.

This was a surprise for me. I had never heard of it. I was ordering sample of C&D from my tobacconist and checked it off. Wow, I like tobaccos that you can smoke often and this one can be smoked all day every day. It's funny in that the first few bowls didn't rock me...kind of like GL Pease's Stratford but when you just TASTE it a few times it grows on you. I admit I'm hooked now and it is one of my favorite C&D blends. It hits the rotation daily.

There’s not a lot of blends like this on the market nowadays. An unsweetened, old-time American mixture of Virginia/Burley/Cavendish with no topping, no hint of liquor, no vanilla, just tobacco.

I found the flavor of Winchester to be centered on the subtle bitterness of C&D’s burley. The Virginia and Cavendish help to sweeten and round out the edges but they don’t entirely spell the character of the burley leaf. Oddly, the Cavendish is noticeable and it lends body and a gentle creamy quality to the smoke that really comes through by midbowl where the overall flavor is much more harmonious than dissonant. This is a decent smoke with pure tobacco taste and a woodsy, bittersweet & slightly spicy finish.

Altogether, Winchester performs well. It’s easy to pack and light and burns cool regardless of cadence. This tobacco produces a large volume of smoke and even smaller sips can be worthy of a smoke ring or two. I ran this through a few cobs, which seemed fitting, but for whatever reason it tasted best to me in a briar.

For me this is a wonderful everyday Virginia. By no means a powerhouse of flavour, it rewards slow, relaxed smoking by revealing subtle Virginia sweetness in whatever size of pipe I may choose. Totally without bite or bitterness if smoked at a sensible pace, it becomes the tobacco equivalent of an old and valued friend, well suited to relaxing times of quietness and contemplation. Delightful!

C&D's Winchester features a gently sweet/zesty Va melded with a velvety Cavendish to produce a creamy, luxurious non-aromatic smoke. Sip on this one and allow wisps of smoke to wreathe through the nasal passages while the full mouth-feel of the Cavendish washes across your palate. The honest tobacco taste is manly: assertive without being harsh; sweet without being saccharine; and earthy without being bitter.

Easy to light and burn; good smoke volume; medium nicotine hit; nice alternative for smokers who are tired of the ubiquitous, overworked condiments: Latakia and Perique. This works best in a well seasoned pipe with, in my experience, a medium capacity bowl (I use a ¼-bent bulldog, ~17mm). It puts me in a serene, contemplative mood. Can you tell I like it?

Cornell & Diehl - Winchester.

I smoked this by mistake! Because Sundays are my days for aromatics, the name made me think 'Aromatic', I grabbed this. I quickly ascertained an aromatic it wasn't; the pouch note set the record straight! But, I smoked it anyway! Never got chance to post until now!

Medium size ribbons, more brown than black, and the moisture made it smokable right away.

The overall flavour is pleasant enough, a VaBur with a touch of black Cavendish smoothing. Of the tobaccos I get the most Virginia, fruity-sweet, with the Burley taking second place. Nice enough, but, what lessens the rating, for me, is a sort of arenaceous, dusty, top-note. It burns well, giving a dry smoke, without bite.

Nicotine: just above medium (to me). Room-note: not good.

Winchester? Not 'bad', but I won't give it any higher than two stars:

Somewhat recommended.

Winchester is a simple, but tasty red Virginia blend with some unflavored Black Cavendish thrown in for a little toastiness. I actually ordered a few ounces of this stuff on a whim and the few ounces will translate into about a half pound purchase. I'm exploring Virginias and have been becoming more of a Virginia smoker; this blend is an excellent introduction to that World.

Rich, flavorful, and wine-like red Virginias, which are combined with Black Cavendish, are all that are present in this blend. At least, from what I can gather and what I can detect. There is no topping and there needs not be any. This Virginia has enough going on to need no supplementary flavorings. I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised when I tried this one. It's definitely a keeper.

The trouble here is the rating. For me, it's a sold 3.5 blend. Winchester has the flavor and the body that I want in a Virginia. No airy, steam-like experience , but definitely not overwhelming either. Just good flavor and mild complexity. A true all-day tobacco. Virginia purists may not like it because it's a bit boring. That's okay, I like boring a lot of the time, but this is not boring to me. I can sit and think about what I can taste in the blend or I can mindlessly puff away. I love the stuff, myself. I can't wait to see how it ages!