Cornell & Diehl Yorktown

Wow, I too am baffled by the negative reviews here.

I smoke a lot of virginias and va-pers. When I'm smoking a straight virginia, I'm looking for the sweetness to come through, some grassy/herbal notes, some toasted bread -- and for it not to bite me to death.

This mixture more than meets those criteria. It has more natural sugar than Opening Night or even Golden Slices (which, ok, I know has a touch of perique, but seriously not much...). It's not as creamy as Golden Slices, but does a better job of highlighting the toasty/bread flavors. Similar in the herbal/grassy notes to Opening Night, which I like, but I actually prefer this mix given the improved sweetness.

It's not a Tilbury-style "super subtle" mixture -- it does have some earthiness and a touch of spice to it. We'll call it a "medium" straight virginia, medium-mild overall. In contrast, something like Amphora virginia or FVF are medium+ straight virginias, medium overall type smokes.

I bought this in bulk, and can completely agree with other reviewers -- it came bone dry in the bag. It still smokes fine, but I put it directly into a jar to avoid any further drying. Maybe some rehydration would help it smoke a little slower (its a reasonably quick burn), but it's not critical. Almost no fragrance from the bag, I've gotta stick my nose down in there to smell it. But taste? Abundant.

It can bite ... if you really try! Smoked at a moderate pace, this was much less bite-prone than the Amphora or Opening Night.

This is a truly great straight virginia. If you're looking to really experience pure VA, look no further. Comically cheap in bulk, and totally lovely.

I'm putting this one right next to Golden Slices and Tilbury as my go-to virginias. Different flavors for different moods, and all equally good in their own way.

Almost shag cut. Nice blonde ribbons of tobacco. Medium in strength but exceptionally smooth and mellow and very natural-tasting. Mostly citrus and straw aromas on a spicy background. Not grassy, closer to the hay side of the Virginia spectrum. Not very complex but completely natural as I said and really tasty.

I bought in bulk and it came a little dry but it smokes perfectly well if quick. Does not produce any tongue bite and does not smoke hot for a Virginia even if pushed.

Good for an all-day blend and ideal for me as a first smoke in the morning with coffee. Fully recommended to the purists of tobacco and former cigarette smokers.

When I first received this blend it was super dry, but that is what I've come to expect from C&D bulk. I was underwhelmed by the bag note, though I could smell a very slight sweetness, but I really had to go looking for it. I decided to try this in a cob first, and that was a mistake. I think because of the open draft of the cob and the fact that the tobacco was so dry, this blend burned super hot. There is a spiciness to the blend already and if it burns too hot it just over amplifies this. After I switched to briar, I was able to get a little more of the flavors from it, but that spicy note is always there in the background. If you sip this, there is a nice bread/toast flavor that comes through. The retro hale is loaded with the sweet dried fruit flavors, so it allowed me to vary the experience adding that needed complexity. This blend can be harsh and gets an ashy taste pretty quick if you let it, but what surprised me was the last third ramps up in flavor adding that fruit note to the toasty flavor on the palate.

This is not a bad VA, but because I had to really focus on it to get what I wanted it would not be something that I purchase again. I think this blend could very greatly with the pipe used, so I'll experiment with what I have left. Someone mentioned using this as a blending tobacco and I think that could be a good idea since there is a lot of sweetness here, especially if it was able to pick up some moisture from the another tobacco. Pressing this with an oriental could be really nice.

I picked this up in Bulk during a recent sale before holidays. I had read where this is a component of Popular Camp (VaPer) which I enjoy, so I figured it might be worth a try on its own.

I was right. This has quickly became my favorite C&D straight Virginia blend. It's a ribbon cut with lots of browns, lighter color, and a few dark strands in it. The bag note is sweet hay. The ribbon cut makes it easy to pack into most any shape bowl. Lighting is a breeze. The combination of Virginias produces a smoke which has a good level of sweetness, supported by a base grassiness. It's not as sweet as the European VA's that I smoke, I'm guessing because there isn't a topping. The taste is very consistent through the bowl and from bowl-to-bowl, which is another benefit.

I'd say the strength is about medium to my taste and the nic level seems mild-to-medium. I always feel the nic in this one, but I can smoke multiple bowls through a day still. It produces some moisture, but just requires a quick swab of a pipe cleaner to eliminate. Burns down to grey ash.

Available as a Bulk, this is a great smoke for the price-point and I've already ordered a pound to jar up and add to my cellar, it will have a place in my rotation as my VA Ribbon going foward.

A straight Virginia that has many other characteristics. Maybe it's the process, maybe the high quality leaves, but there is a lot of flavor developing out of its simple ingredients. Short verdict: I love this blend.

Tin Note are mostly of zest, hay, grass, and dry fruit.

Smoking notes: The smoke begins as a fairly mellow "flat" smoke. Some red wine from the red Virginia, some sweetness from the bright leaf. However, as the smoke proceeds, around a third of the smoke in, the flavor develops and becomes more spicy and more full bodied.

Red wine / dry fruit notes increase from that point on, as the red Virginia takes over the show. The bright Virginia is only there to add just the right amount of sweetness. Even some smokiness coming out, mostly in the retro-hale.

The tobacco comes pretty dry. I drop a small humidifier in for a bit and that does the work perfectly. Otherwise, it's a ribbon cut, very easy to pack and smoke, no relights. It has just the right amount of complexity to make it suitable for an all-day smoke. Aside from complexity, it has a good nicotine kick, but certainly not too much. When I finish a bowl I feel just the right amount of "full", like after a good meal. Doesn't get too hot, doesn't bite the tongue. This is very much a "sipping" type of blend, although it does smoke relatively fast.

I was pleasantly surprised by this blend. How a two-ingredient, both parts of the Virginia stock, processed in a certain way, have such a full flavor, sharpness, smokiness, spiciness, and still the hidden sweetness of the basic bright leaf. I went through the tin like a tornado and ordered more. Would love to see how it smokes with some age. Four stars.

C&D Yorktown has a very limited jar note after 3 months. All I can smell in the jar is a light grassy note and some sweetness. This however, may be due to the fact that it came a little dry. Smoking it dry was a mistake, it burned hot and needed lots of relights to keep the temp down. The flavor was good. So I hydrated it and this has made all the difference. If you found it burning too hot re-hydration is the key. The flavor is more complex than I would have expected from a mild to med. VA blend. The note of hay starts in the lead but after a few puffs finds itself in competition with a lot of dark fruit notes some of which lean towards a stewed fruitiness, sawdust, a dry earthiness, some notes of toasted grains, a faint grassy note that underlies the blend, a note of citrus that comes and goes as well as a sweet spicy note that moves in and out as well, finally an occasional floral note or two pops in once in a while at about the half way point. These flavors deepen just a little toward the bottom. There is still enough sugar content to have a couple of rough edges but it did not bite. The underlying sweetness is quite pleasant and makes me think that it might improve a little with a couple of years of age on it. The room note is not all that noticeable outside but others around me had mixed opinions of it. The nic hit is not really noticeable either. The finish is very short and will not linger so this is a perfect blend for my first bowl of the morning or as an in-between bowl for bigger blends. I plan on picking up some more soon to see how it will age in the short term.

Absolutely delicious! I find Yorktown complex and very refreshing in this genre. I'm surprised its not talked about more. The tin note is unremarkable and the tobacco dry. Regardless, even in a rather dry state, it smokes like a dream. Based on the cut and color, you might expect a young grassy smoke. Not the case however. The blend tips to the darker, aged bakery and fall harvest flavors, with notes of bread, nuts, bailed hay, earthy fresh cut fields and cedar. This is a Burley lovers Virginia. The stoved Reds lead with dark fruit, walnuts, and a sweet medium bodied coffee note. Supporting that lead is the bright virginia with a grassiness, citrus, tang and a wee bit of honey. The flavors are right in my goldilock zone between bright and dark. I've smoked and cellared many straight Virginia blends and they typically take considerable aging to hit the kind of deep flavor profile that Yorktown is producing fresh out of the tin. Truly unique balance in my experience. I love it. All day smoke. Blending potential. Comes in bulk. Extraordinary bang for the buck. Smokes well in cob and briar. Yorktown takes my #1 Virginia spot. Simply gorgeous.

Straight Virginia Short ribbon cut, very smooth, mild to medium taste and strength, medium nic, unlike some straight Virginias this blend does not burn hot, burns even with very little relights. No bite. Soft mouth feel.

No topping detected, just a very nice tobacco flavor. Tin note is old school pipe tobacco, no fuss just an outstanding solid Virginia flavor.

I like this blend a lot, great for relaxing, not complicated but not boring, a good blend for savoring the experience of smoking.

I had high hopes for this one but I must say I'm just terribly disappointed. No virginia sweetness detected at all. None of the hay-like flavor or any other attributes I look for in a good straight virginia blend. Bland and boring that leaves an unpleasant musty aftertaste. I did mix it 50/50 with Stokkebye's Sweet Virginia and that made for a pleasant smoke. If your looking for a good inexpensive straight virginia blend I would suggest looking elsewhere.