Cornell & Diehl Winchester

This is my first %100 non-aromatic. It makes a great transition blend in that respect. Very mild comparatively, however it never tastes flat or dull. Always rich and satisfying. This blend showcases all of the flavors I was looking for in my aromatics but could never quite find under the casing of those blends.

Summary: Mostly flavorless and slightly sweet, this is mild tobacco done too generic to be anything but boring.

If you like your flavors flat and unthreatening, Winchester revives many of the blends of old: a bland flavor of Virginia and unsweetened Cavendish made from Kentucky Green River Burley, merged together, becomes an invariant and unexceptional leaf taste with barely measurable doses of Nicotine. The Cavendish has an earthy watery peat flavor that is particularly unnerving. I like the theory behind this blend, just not the implementation. On the plus side, dumping in some dark and white burley and adding a patch of Dunhill "Nightcap" makes an interesting, relaxing bulk smoke.

456 - Winchester

Star Rating = 2.75

Rating Scores - 10 is the Best and 0 is the Worst

Pouch Note = 8

Room Note = 8

Flavor = 7

Bite = 7

Burn = 7

After Taste = 7

Raw Score = 44

Rated Percentage = 73%

Comment = Strong Flavor, has a bit of a Bite, This is not a very good smoke

I don't really want to give this blend a bad review as it is put together well, but it is just so very uninspiring and unsatisfying. Compared to another C&D Burley/Va/Cavendish, Pegasus (I just ordered a pound of Pegasus this morning for how very, very satisfying it is), this blend just does not satisfy. It is mild, monochromatic, and, as mentioned, just does not satisfy me and leaves me wanting.

It would probably be a great blend for an aromatic smoker looking to try non-aromatics, and I can see how this is a four star blend for some people, but, for me, there is just nothing there. I actually consider it a one star, except it is too smooth and too well put together to rate it as that. There is nothing offensive about it, like with Shandygaff, so I cannot, in good faith, give it just a one star rating. I will not reorder it, but I will try to open-mindedly finish the one ounce sample I received to see if it can redeem itself. It is 'somewhat recommended' as tastes differ and plenty of men will like this, but, to me, it is just too drab, boring, soft, and unsatisfying.

This is a red VA blend that gets very little attention here on TR despite being one of the older Craig Tarler blends. Admittedly, I can see how red VA and unflavored burley based black cavendish could sound dull on paper. After smoking around 20 bowls or so, I came to the conclusion that Winchester contains 15% BC at most.

This tobacco has almost no distinct pouch note, it just smelled vaguely sweet and raisin like. The tobacco came wetter than most C&D products, and I initially feared heavy casing or humectant application. This is not truly the case. There are some pleasant dry fruity notes upon ignition. The majority of the experience is dictated by the red Virginias, which yield varying themes on red fruity notes. At times, the the fruity tones were tangy, vinegary, or even more dry/Demi sec. There is no bite. The smoke is smooth unless it is carelessly puffed wherein it turns ashy and acrid. If you respect this blend it will respect you.

This blend was unusually stemmy with sizable twigs in my purchase. It burns down fairly well to a wet clump of dottle no matter how much I dried it out. As far as C&D Virginia leaf goes, this is a solid choice that deserves more attention. I can only imagine that the BC functions to smooth the reds out, and I cannot perceive it independently as an ingredient.

Another good vabur from C&D. The roundness of the black cav and the sharp sweetness of the red va are an efficient combination. Much smoother than most red va blends i've tried. This stuff doesn't jump out and grab you by the neck but it's a solid natural tobacco blend that I enjoy on occasion. Since I'm not a huge fan of red va's this won't be a regular in my rotation but I may come back to this one once my never-ending exploration of C&D's proliferation of blends is...uhhh...complete.

The VA spiciness in my somewhat-dried-out sample bag shines through here.

A decent tobacco- nothing special.

Images evoked: a caravan of marauding undead barbarians stopping on a tropical isle, lying on the beach, mid-day, trying to get a bleach-tan.

**Update*** Time is not kind to this blend.

As noted, in part, at C&D?s web site:

"Winchester - the city, not the rifle - is strategically located at the mouth of the beautiful Shenandoah Valley. Winchester was the most fought over town of the Civil War. It changed hands 72 times and was the site of three major battles.?

Winchester (VA) changed hands 72 times in the Civil War? So neither the Confederacy nor the Union could WIN WINchester (for any length of time) but which side finally WON WINchester? It makes no matter now but the winsome WINchester, the tobacco, WON me over. This is another nice blend from C&D that I found to be on the medium to strong side with natural, tobacco flavor. At times, it had cigar-like notes about it. At other times, it could be ?red Virginia sweet? and flavorful. I also noted that in some pipes it did grow a bit harsh towards the bottom third of the bowl but this could have been because of an inadequate cake. In most well caked pipes this was not a problem and proved to be a great smoke from beginning to end. This is not an everyday smoke for my tastes but it is a real nice after dinner smoke on the front porch.

A cigarette is to be smoked. A cigar is to be enjoyed. A pipe is to be savored.

I rate this tobacco 8.7 out of 10.

This blend comes a little moist to smoke straight off and requires a little air time, especially since the cavendish makes the broken flake a little heavy and needs a little coaxing to burn properly- not a problem, just a note.

No evolution to this smoke, just a constant enjoyable experience first light to ash. The cavendish provides a sugary component, and the Virginias, are midrange and tangy, a perky flavor hinting at citrus that mixes well with the blend. The burley adds a little dryness and body completing the experience.

Nothing to write home about, just smooth, mellow, flavorful, a little on the sweet side blend. All in all a good smoke for all day, or any day.