Cornell & Diehl Yorktown

Yorktown is a short-cut medium ribbon with a tin aroma which is earthy and grassy, a very natural scent.

The flavor is herbal and, again, grassy. There is a light touch of sweetness, simple and rustic with a vague citric quality. Overall, there is an impression of rawness and earth which gives this blend a homey, rural quality.

Try this if you want a rustic and straightforward Virginia. It is pleasant and inoffensive. This went best in a narrow to medium gauge chamber.

Sometimes you wonder when buying bulk if you get the correct tobacco. My pouch tastes like a medium English dominated by Oriental leaf. Sort of a Durbar clone. A quality blend, it won't make my top ten at this time.

The red virginia components mentioned in the description encouraged me to try this blend. I am a dedicated red virginia smoker, prefering the depth of flavor and natural sweetness. My sample was somewhat dry, but still within the range that I consider smokeable. The charing light did not reveal the bitterness that some other C&D blends have produced during my testing. The flavor was consistent throughout. I found the flavor acceptable, but never detected the subtle sweetness that I expected from the red virginias. The flavor was never very exciting. The tobacco burned cleanly to the bottom with no tongue bite.

I concur with the esteemed reviewers before me that this is a nice VA that could be an all-dayer for some or a good evening smoke to finish off the day. Visually appealing with shades of gold & brown, nice cut for easy packing & lighting, burns nice and even to gray ash and leaves the pipe clean & dry. Nice citrusy flavors are there at the start & through 1/2 the bowl with a light sweetness here & there for balance. Subtle spice notes now & then. Becomes more full as you near the end of the smoke. I notice slight "ashiness" at this point but it is not unpleasant. I had no gurgle trouble at all and used no cleaners till the smoke was done and the ash emptied. The pipe I used was a full bent carved IL Ceppo apple that is exclusively a VA pipe. This is a dry smoking pipe in most cases, but I have had good results with other pipes including a coupla' straights. As advised by the others, keep your puffing moderate or you could fry your tongue a bit. Good VA flavors, smokes & burns well...not bad. Works for me.

This is another excellent go to tobacco for nice smoke after dinner.

I packed this in a Bjarne Brandy Glass (A) and gently glided over the tobacco with a lit match, before firing up the second mmatch. I immediately detected the taste of a mild Lemon, which gradually became an almost full delightful Virginia. This blend needs to be smoked very slow as not to cause tongue bite.

As I was nearing the end of the smoke I could taste just a bit of sweetness but not overwhelming. This tobacco really needs to have a chance to entice a dedicated Virginia Connoisseur, the first 7 to 10 puffs leaves you wondering if this tobacco is really that satsifying; It is, very much so. I noticed this blend needs a little more attention when it comes to tamping, but seemed to me to be a very even buring tobacco.

For those who have never had the pleasure of a Virginia Tobacco, beware this is a medium to full taste with more of an emphasis on the full. Myself, I thoroughly enjoyed the rich tasteful tobaccos and I do smoke this on occasions.

On opening the bag one is greated with a very mild tobacco aroma, Virginian. The tobacco is a mixture of yellow to medium brown tobbacos. Packing and lighting is easy.

The taste is a simple Virginia smoke, and remains consistent throughout the bowl. There is a mild sweetness that is very satisfying. This should be smoked relatively slowly to avoid tongue bite. I find it excellent in a bent bulldog pipe.

This is an excellent smoke for Virginia lovers looking for something that can be an all day smoke. Also, its a good introductory Virginia for smokers of aromatics looking to try straight tobacco blends.

Summary: a balance of bright and red Virginia flavors, this blend has a slight malted or bready flavor from the stoving.

Virginia blends serve best for slow smoking when distracted so that a sweet flavor rolling over the tongue is like an oasis for the mind. "Yorktown" offers a mixture of bright and red Virginias that is cost-effective because these bright Virginias are very new, so it is expected that you will throw the tin in the closet for a year to let the leaf mellow. Like many C&D blends, this has "rough edges" meaning that it is a bit bitey and inconsistent, but that is part of the charm we want from C&D, namely frontier blends with irrepressible spirit. Out of the tin, this blend provides an acidic and citrust flavor moderated by the fruity and malted grain flavors of the red Virginia, resulting in a wonderfully sweet and tangy flavor similar to the "Virginia Slices" from C&D also. If you hid any Burley in this blend, it would be a little white Burley before stoving, but I suspect there is less of that than people think, and mostly they are tasting the vegetal flavors of very "new" bright Virginia. Nonetheless, thanks to a sample from a generous reader, this blend remains a favorite, although it needs a year or more of age and is often prized most as a blender (try it mixed with "Cube Cut Burley" and some dark fired Kentucky Burley for a European-style long-burning blend).

Smoking now:

Bulk version: The bag note is sweet honey and a vinegar tang. Interesting. The moisture is fine and ready to go from the bag. A no thrills ready rubbed straight Virginia.

Sweet honey, slight tangy grassy lemon, white bread. That’s the dominant flavors. The retrohale is fantastic with more of the same flavor notes. It’s quite good especially if you like bready Virginias. The more of it I smoke the more I taste dry crusty white hard rolls. I rather enjoy it. Nic hit is maybe up to medium. It’s a tad rough, grassy, has some harshness, especially if puffed on, but there’s enough good Virginia flavors in here that it can be over looked. Mild easy going after taste, smoked well for a Virginia. At bulk prices this isn’t bad. Less harsh, more sweet, and bread like than Derringer.

I tend to use this as a blending tobacco combining it with Izmir as it is very one dimensional. On its own it’s not bad at all especially because I like bready Virginias. 3.5 stars.

Been putting this one off for years but finally decided to pull the trigger and try some. I'm surprised not many people talk about this one.

The bag aroma is sugary sweet with slight bread notes. Moisture level is perfect. Very consistent flavors from beginning to end with sugar, orange citrus, bread, and just a occasional slightly nuttiness. It can bite if it's chief'd on but does smoke smooth.

Overall a nice blend. Not as full flavored as I would have liked but a very nice blend that's worth having around.

Update 11/11/2021

The more I smoke Yorktown, the more I like it. After having Yorktown and Escudo in my rotation, I find that Yorktown is very similar in taste and aroma as Escudo though it's not as smooth and obviously has no perique.

Update 8-1-2022.with almost a year of age on the last batch I purchased, the flavors have deepened into a fuller flavored blend. The sweetness and orange notes are still there from the brights and stoved brights, but the reds have deepened, adding a fuller quality and almost like a cinnamon roll quality to it but more bready then cinnamon. This has really started reminding me of Elizabethan Mixture or a lighter version of Ye Olde Signe. Imagine adding around 8 to 10% perique and pressing it for a month or so.....it could be a dunhill killer.....