Tobaccos Cornell & Diehl - Burley Flake #2

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JimInks (3023)	2014-10-23		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable to Strong

The rugged dark and white burleys offer a lot of strength, earth, wood and cocoa, a little nuttiness, with a note or two of coffee, and a hint of sweetness. A slight, dry, sour sharpness from the rough white burley is a tad more than condimental. This is not a sweet blend, but what little there is mainly comes from the tangy dark fruity, earthy, woody, bready red Virginia, which is an important minor player. It adds a little balance to the burleys, and helps tame some of the harsh and rough spots to a small extent. The strength is a step past the center of mild to medium, while the taste is a slot short being full. Won't bite, but fast puffing may result in a little harshness. Burns clean and cool, and a little slow with a very consistent savory, woody, roughly sharp, lightly sweet, nutty flavor to the finish. Leaves very little moisture in the bowl. Requires a few relights. It has a medium nic-hit which I seem to notice more at the end rather than the front of the smoke. Has a pleasantly lingering after taste, and a potent room note. Not for a beginner, and certainly not an all day smoke, but experienced smokers may desire more than one bowl a day if it fits their flavor profile.

-JimInks

23 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2010-03-25		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable

The first thing I always do with a new tobacco is take a deep whiff of the tin aroma. This one has easily the worst tin aroma I've ever experienced, a very unappealing mixture of old gym socks and recently spoiled milk. Not a nice introduction! But a tobacco is to be tasted, right?

This has excellent if monodimensional flavor. I have not yet smoked #3 but this one is not nearly as complex as #1. In this one, the inclusion of virginia seems an afterthought but I do believe it provides some of the flavor. But essentially this is a burley blend - hefty, full and robust. As someone else hinted at, this redefines what a straight burley can be. It lacks all but the slightest hint of sweetness and surprisingly doesn't really taste of the usual "nutty burley" to me. It seems more earthy to me (yet another traditional burley descriptor) and in that respect, this could be considered bland by someone reading this review. Somehow this blend escapes that designation but I'm clueless as to how.

Recommended for those who love burley. In fact, for those who love burley, this is a "must try" blend. 3 stars for my own personal taste, 4 stars for what I believe to be a stroke of blending genius.

16 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Gentleman Zombie (729)	2013-10-23		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant

I first tried this in 3 different briars with no joy. When I stuffed it in a cob it made all the difference in the world. Lovely burley flavors with just the lightest presence of Virginia sweetness. A nice flake that shouldn't be ignored. Try some.

12 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	TK Pipe (101)	2011-11-12		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Burley flake #2.. My fresh 2oz tin had a mild bread dough aroma to it, and was filled with attractive, moist and easy to rub-out flakes, that almost crumbled when handled.

Originally purchased for adding some zing to otherwise tasty but thin blends, that on occasions left me wanting in the nicotine department, I found a pinch of #2 (IMO) solved that problem nicely.

I also found this blend has a delicious all tobacco flavor on it's own, and I frequently have some in a small bowled pipe, because this one has a little more kick than I'm used too, a small bowl does the job.. .

Overall a excellent but stronger burley blend, with no added topping that I could detect, in it's aroma or taste. I also found no tongue bite, and #2 is easy to manage. Probably because of #2's strength, there was no “need or want”, to get aggressive with this stuff, those two issues seem to take care of themselves! As is, or as a enhancer, I would think most burley smokers would find this stuff both interesting and satisfying.

11 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	J.R. Patton (106)	2017-11-22		Strong	None Detected	Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

This is the first of the burley flake series I've tried. And it's an immediate hit! This is why I smoke a pipe, right here. All my personal favorites contain burley, dark fired kentucky, or both in most instances. So I knew before ordering there was at least an 80% chance of falling for this blend. And upon popping the tin, the deal was sealed.

It's nutty, it's leathery, it's earthy, with just the perfect small amount of sweetness on the finish to smooth it out. But the best part is the way the dark fired intermingles with the light burley and virginia. The characteristic smokiness and dark tea notes are immediately discernible, but without overshadowing the other components. It's just very balanced! With loads of flavor, and quite a bit of vitamin N(which I quickly discovered after a manically puffed mega-cob full of the stuff).

My hat is off to the guys at C&D, and I plan to order the full line now to see what other gems I might have been missing. This is undiluted, old-timey American tobacco, strong and balanced as it comes. If you lean towards burley, you've got to try this. If you've never tried burley, then give this a shot...in small quantity. Don't load your General MacArthur cob with it in other words. And if you just find burley offensive, you're probably not even browsing this blend. As for me, it's a permanent member of my favorites and my cellar.

Pipe Used: MM Wizard

Similar Blends: G. L. Pease - JackKnife Plug (New World Collection).

10 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	King Weed (228)	2015-05-27		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant

At the time I opened BF#2 I had already smoked BF#1 and BF#4 and really had enjoyed both. I was hot to trot on smoking BF#2 as it has no perique nor latakia and promises to be the purest BF experience, and, it was. Strong, flavorful and nutty it is the definitive burley blend experience. It's basic aroma and taste is very familiar to any of us who have smoked the earlier generations of Burley blends, as well as the newer ones. My immediate feeling was: Now, this is what most burley blends are trying to be even though most fall somewhat to greatly short. BF#2 is, simply put, the best burley blend I have ever smoked in my fifty-plus years of pipe smoking. When you smoke this blend you are at the DNA of burley smoking. Now comes the only negative that I have to sadly say. After about five or six puffs I began to notice a familiar gremlin - tongue bite. Persistent and consistent, no matter what I tried I could not escape it - sad but true. My rating is four stars for aroma, taste and being number one on the list but three stars for smoking qualities.

Pipe Used: Ashton: thick-walled pot and thin-walled canadian

Age When Smoked: recent

Purchased From: pipes and cigars

Similar Blends: a number of burley blends but stronger and more satisfying.

9 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Calamiti (85)	2018-06-11		Strong	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Tolerable to Strong

The Burley Flake line by Cornell & Diehl is a treasure. It's the finest Burley I've ever tried. Generally, making straight Burley blends is a risky business; few producers cope really well with that. Burley tobacco easily gets bity or bitter or, otherwise, bland (like in the celebrated Solani Aged Burley Flake, a favourite of many and not of mine). In the case of C&D, however, the result is stellar: all four blends are superbly balanced.

All four varieties deliver equally good healthy dose of Nicotine, while flavourwise they are not overly full (they shouldn't be: it's Burley). The flavour is rather thin-bodied, like the flavour of a light liquor (say, tequila) against dark spiced rum. Adding to the similarity with clear liquors, the Burley smoke, instead of flavour fullness, has unique sensatory qualities, unlike most other tobaccos. It's hard to describe the feeling, I just can say I love that soft alkaline "throat hit" when inhaling the smoke a bit.

===

Well, that was about the whole line. And now to this exact variety, the Burley Flake #2.

This one is the closest of all four to the pure Burley Tobacco. It's also the most "sensatory" and, flavourwise, the thinnest of all. There's some Virginia at the background, which manifests itself in slightly rounding the taste but otherwise remains in the shadow and doesn't add any characteristic Virginia flavours or sweetness to the smoke. The Virginia here is apparently of the Dark Red variety: strong, slightly tart and subdued. The smoke is thin, dry and light in body while full of strength and abundant in fine and unusual peaty, woodsy and doughy notes.

Great tobaccos. Try all four of them. You'll be rewarded with an experience you won't get with other blends.

8 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	TallPuffO'Burley (632)	2015-06-22		Strong	None Detected	Full	Tolerable to Strong

I got a sample of this at the Chicago show personally bagged by Chris Tarler. I also bought a beautiful pipe by Abe Herbaugh which I picked up from him as I was leaving Sunday. Since the bag was handy as well as the pipe. I loaded the pipe with BF2 and loved it. I loved it so much I had 2 more bowls on the five hour trip home. I also ordered a couple tins for the cellar.

I found this one to be more enjoyable than Burley Flake 3, which I found to be a little overwhelming. This one, likely due to the lack of perique, seemed to be the perfect tradeoff to nutty burley goodness and sledgehammer nicotine. I have yet to really find a burley perique from C & D that I really like, because their burleys are already so strong in Nicotine, the perique is just another nail in the coffin.

The Virginias in BF2 do a wonderful job of accentuating the natural burley sweetness. I did enjoy this and do recommend it, but for this type of smoke, I still prefer Pegasus, which includes some unflavored Cavendish which even smooths the burleys out further. One thing that C & D burleys tend to have in common is the ability to get very harsh with the slightest provocation and this one is no exception, but I find it more forgiving than BF3.

Pipe Used: Herbaugh squashed tomato

Purchased From: sample from Chicago Show.

Similar Blends: Kind of close to Jack knife plug if I had to pick one..

8 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Steverino (6)	2011-01-01		Strong	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

I have tried all four of the C&D Burley Flakes. No. 2 comes across to me as the "plainest" of the four, but this isn't a negative. It has plenty of burley flavor and enough strength to satisfy most.

My first tin seemed to sour about halfway through, morphing into something that tasted very bitter and smelled similar to cow dung - literally. I contacted C&D about this and they quickly replaced it with a new tin, which smelled and tasted fine. I am constantly impressed with C&D's committment to customer satisfaction.

The tobacco seems a bit moist when the tin is first opened but I've had no problem getting it lit and burning. The crumbly flakes are easier to rub out than to smoke whole to me but I've smoked it both ways. I have heard a number of people say that burley does better in a large bowl, so this is what I initially used for BF2. I was not very impressed - mostly a flat taste with bitter notes toward the bottom of the bowl. It wasn't until I tried breaking up the flakes and smoking them in a smaller bowl that the blend really came alive for me. In a medium-sized Kaywoodie or Grabow billiard, I get a smooth, consistent burley with not a little Virginia sweetness throughout the bowl. I enjoy this blend enough to keep coming back to it and it's in my regular rotation.

Without hesitation, I'd recommend this blend to all burley lovers as they will likely be prepared for what BF2 delivers. I'd also recommended it to other smokers who wish to try burley with the advice that their results may be somewhat dependent on the pipe.

7 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	moniker (217)	2019-12-08		Strong	Extremely Mild	Full	Tolerable to Strong

Of the 5 Burley Flakes, #2 is the Country Cousin, “simple” and rustic, even by C&D standards. It presents as well broken flakes ranging from red-ish tan to medium brown, with some darker ribbons, as well. Scent in a new tin is well-melded varietals posing as musty, moldering silage, with very faint dark fruit leather and a faint but distinct barnyard component. After some futzing I’ve found the “right pipes” for myself, including two briars I use for Kentucky, a #4+ and a #5. BF2 handles, loads, lights and smokes down quite well. The barnyard part of the tin note abates with rest but it reappears when BF2 is smoked. Lit, the scents are a “fragrant” version of the rested tin/jar note, musty, very earthy, with significant barnyard, also woody, more bitter than sweet, “saturated” like a cigar but not all that cigar-ish, along with some nutty fat, and dark fruit leather WAY down there. Tastes follow suit, joining the scents to produce a “strong current”. BF2 is NOT the toasted version of Burley some prefer, at all, but it’s very “basic” and downright “primal” in this way, along the lines of Gawith, Hoggarth & Co’s Dark Bird’s Eye. I detect a floral component but I’m guessing many will not get this, due to the barnyard aspect and the sharpness from the white Burley. It’s like this from top to bottom, gaining in strength and fullness through a long smoke. Strength is strong, including the nicotine. Tastes are full. Room note is barely tolerable; in fact I think it will probably clear out civilians in short order. Aftertaste is the best of the smoke, only sweeter and nuttier over time, almost reason enough to smoke this blend, IMO.

Probably no need to say outright that I deem this blend best suited to experienced Burleyphiles. Though it doesn’t pack quite the wallop of Burley Flake #3, still, most will want to be fed, hydrated, and seated before smoking a 4’s worth of BF2. Confirmed codger that I am, I find it quite satisfying, and I will continue to enjoy this one as an occasional smoke. It’s a 4 star blend as far as I’m concerned, despite it’s not on my Favorites List at this point; but this is only because we have so many great VA/Burs to choose from at this wonderful point in time.

Update, 02-09-20: The more I smoke this, the better I like it. The tobacco is more rested, and I've got a better idea how to smoke it. It still smells like a barnyard, but it's also quite floral, with delightful, delicate side streams. Quite nice, if you ask me. It's replaced #1 as my favorite of this series.

Pipe Used: KY briars preferred.

Age When Smoked: 8 mos.

Purchased From: 4 Noggins

Similar Blends: Compare/contrast to other C&D Burley Flakes, Tabac Manil's La Brumuse, Gawith, Hoggarth & Co's ropes and Dark Bird's Eye Flake.

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2010-02-16		Medium	Extremely Mild	Full	Pleasant

Being an ardent VA and VAPER fan, I was a little tentative about buying and trying this semi-straight Burley. Now it seems like I can't stop going to this superb flake. The flavor/taste is a wonderful deep cocoa/dark coffee, which makes me wonder if there isn't a light casing. I like the room note, and my wife says it smells "chocolaty" , which is good thing with her. I haven't noticed an appreciable nicotine kick, but there is one there. This by itself has changed my opinion about what can be done with straight Burleys, besides the CH, PA, and array of others that I have tried in the past that have not met my expectations of a good, memorable smoke. As I puff away with a pipeful and a cup of strong back coffee (excellent combo), I'm planning my next bowl of relaxation with this exciting new discovery and contemplating what else in the Burley line of presentations I should try next.ENJOY!

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Stan (178)	2009-11-20		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable

Another great burley flake by C&D.

To me this may be the "mildest" of the three (No. 1, 2, and 3 of C&D), but is still on the strong side.

Here burley again dominates, but I taste more of the white or milder burley used in blends years ago.

Maybe closer to UK Edgeworth Slices (no, not the same), but rubs out more easy.

So far my favorite as it is milder and can be puffed more often if one choses.

What a treat if you like burley.

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	fr_tom (393)	2018-12-31		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

The tin note is slightly sweet and earthy. There are lightly pressed partially broken flakes that rub out to a medium-wide chopped ribbon and fish food. It is delivered slightly on the moist side of my preference, and I smoked it as delivered. I tried rubbing it out and just stuffing it in the bowl. It smoked well either way.

This is a full-on burley blend. It is earthy and woody with a slight bitter edge when puffed. The Virginia provides a little sweet. It is a very pleasant flavor profile, and I found it easy to smoke, keep lit, etc. Nicotine was a solid medium, and the smoking experience was very consistent. Sometimes burley can get ashy or harsh at the end of the bowl, and this did not.

This is easy to recommend, but the price point of the tins means it will be the sort of thing that goes on a Christmas wish list. It will not be the sort of thing I keep in stock.

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	StevieB (2076)	2017-06-09		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Cornell & Diehl - Burley Flake #2.

To date I've reviewed Burley Flake #1, and #3. I gave #1 four stars, it was a superb smoke, but #3 didn't exactly suit me; with a push it managed two stars, only because I felt generous enough not to give it only one. So, Burley Flake #2?

I'll clear one thing up first, it's a broken flake. Some of the tobacco in the bottom half of the tin has the appearance of whole flakes, but they crumble into thick ribbons under the lightest of touches. The colour's medium brown, unlike its darker sibling #3, and the moisture's perfect.

The flavour of the smoke oozes quality. It has everything I want in a Burley: a touch nutty, rich, and rustic. I can't fault it. It takes until a little way in for me to be able to identify the Kentucky, and it's still miles behind the Burley. The Virginia gives a lesser flavour too, there could be some sweetness from it but nothing particularly indomitable. The burn from #2 is perfect, although it can become warm if strained.

Nicotine: above medium, and I'm indifferent toward the room-note.

Burley Flake #3? One of the best Burley blends available.

Highly recommended.

Pipe Used: Cob

Age When Smoked: Three months

Purchased From: 4noggins

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Cherry picker 1779 (51)	2020-08-19		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Strong

Wow. What is as good as burley flake 1 which is better than burley flake 3 ? Duhn da duhnnnn - you guessed it, Burley flake # 2!

Tin aroma is on par with 1 & 3, but toned down a bit and a little rounder. It’s the classic C&D burley note- smells like a barn and it’s not sweet nor hay like. It’s deep and raw - or maybe better to say unrefined.

Indeed as you have read, this is lighter than all the others. However I’ll say it’s still a strong heady smoke at the top of the charts, just not over the top.

The mouth feel is medium, dare I say even mild , at least comparing to 1 and 3. The retrohale and side stream is quite sharp and strong. This takes #1 and tones it down quite a few notches. Zero top note, all natural very very quality burley.

It deepens as you smoke down as it starts pleasant and ripe, but develops into a toasty rich mouth watering unison flavor.

I haven’t smoked a lot of this one yet. I still really love #1 but I will also be ordering much more of 2. This is the easiest on the palate and I’m yet to figure out if burley flake #1 or bf # 2 is the masterpiece. Yea it’s that close.

Hey, maybe sometimes you just have to admit there are two masterpieces in a scenario such as this one!

Five stars !

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Gr8tefuldawg (87)	2020-05-04		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

C&D- Burley Flake #2

Tin is dated 27Aug19, upon opening I was met with what I can only now call the C&D Virginia smell, slightly sweet, hay and barnyard type smell. This blend comes in the standard C&D flake, broken and not an actual flake.

The blend was ready to smoke directly out of the tin, no drying time needed. Nutty burley with a hint of Red Virginia’s, I think this blend will take over for #2 once aged, the Virginia’s need some age, as it’s added for sweetness but I never achieved any good amounts of said sweetness.

The burleys are nutty and have a slight spice to them , I never had any sour aftertaste, this blend smoked cool and the nic hit was medium although it may vary for others.

With age this blend could far surpass the other burley flakes, and due to the roughness of #1’s Perique, this one slightly edges it out.

Burley lovers should enjoy this blend.

Pipe Used: Rossi 320

Age When Smoked: 8 months

Purchased From: Tobaccopipes.com

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Kokinhenik (93)	2020-02-10		Strong	None Detected	Full	Strong

Good God whoa momma! Wow...this blend is manly. It sneaks up on you. The tin note is woody and musty with a hint of cocoa. The mechanics are perfect, loose cut ready to smoke. And let me tell you, it smokes like a dream! The burley is powerful, walnuty, mildly sour and woody, with brilliant notes of coffee, espresso, cigar and leather. The sweet, bready, virginia offers just enough sugar to balance it all... but not consistently. There's an occasional flit of harshness that gets more frequent as the bowl progresses. It's forgivable though as the last half of the bowl brings a note of dark chocolate and the espresso/cigar note goes nuclear. It's at that same time the nicotine punches you in the back of the throat. A howling wind couldn't drown out the flavor or the ember. As for the nicotine, gentleman, I've smoked for 10 years and indeed this is a strong tobacco. Anyone claiming it's not, would have to be a regular user of Copenhagen (or something else capable of delivering massive doses of nicotine). Use a small to medium bowl. Even on a full stomach the nic hit slaps you across the face in the first 1/4 bowl. This blend is is something.

Pipe Used: Bjarne

Age When Smoked: 1 year

Purchased From: Smoking pipes.com

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	DenizBeck (323)	2018-04-25		Strong	None Detected	Full	Tolerable

Being the Burley-Bloke I am I was more than excited when I received my first tins of Burley Flake #2 and #4. I couldn't help myself but to crack, no.. tear them open imediatly, just as a kid would ripping apart the box of its new GameBoy on christmas!

Inside the tin there are flake-ish pieces (i suppose they were flakes, but due to the rather loose density broke into flake-strands with shipping processes), neatly stacked, rich in colors and - typically for C&D's flakes - quite thickly cut. As DK stated: The initial tin note is odd. Spoiled milk and gym socks hits it quite well. But airing it out for 10mins it vanished and left me with a rich scent of Burley goodness. Nutty, slightly sweet, with some coffee-ish notes and lots of earth. It smells of pure tobacco, and a tame, natural sweetness. A bit moist fresh from the tin, but smokeable right away if you wish to.

In the pipe I was in Burley-heaven.... I instantly loved this weed! Some may consider this to be quite monochromatic, and I'm not really arguing that. But what flavors there are excellent, bold and rich! Richly earthy, with decent nuttiness and whole-rye-bread aroma. A note or two of freshly grinded coffee beans is everprensent in the background, so are mild notes of dark chocolate and cocoa. I've smoked unadulterated (pure) Virginia tobacco that didn't had anything added to them but water - no extra sugar. It tastes a lot, a lot(!) less sweet than the typical, blended Virginia tobaccos we know. Burley Flakes have the exact same very mild, natural sweetness, which leads me to belive this is most natural pipe tobacco. Not overly complex, but far from being boring! Not too much depth, but bold, rich and full-bodied flavors! If I look for complexity in my Burley blend I'll grab #4 or blends like Evening Rise or Riverboat Gambler!

#2 is not only rich in taste, but also in nicotine-strength! Albeit the smoke being mellow on the palate its nicotine kick literally can kick ass. I've once smoked #4 and #2 back to back when they arrived here and got a bit light-headed afterwards, which virtually never happens to me. So..this isn't an All-Day-Smoke, but A-Good-Bol-Or-Two-Every-Day-Smoke to me. All-Day? Nope! Repeatable? Oh hell yeah...! After a bowl of Burley Flakes I'm satisfied and don't bother packing another bowl for the next hour - but when I'm back on track to pack another bowl I'm instantly thinking "pack some more of this delicious Burley Flakes!!!". Best to be sipped slow.. it won't bite, but puffing fast will destroy its delicate, lovely nuances. 4-stars and an insant All-Time-Favorite of that I'm sure after several bowls! Burley Blokes, stop lurking for a decent Burley Flake... C&D's Burley Flakes are the peak of Burley-goodness to me! We don't have too many Burley offerings over here in Germany, and I've grown to love the C&D Burley blends (and leafs used!). An institution in Burley blending!

Pipe Used: Clays, Cobs, Briars, Morta

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Sybariten (61)	2016-09-28		Very Strong	None Detected	Medium	Strong

Designed for a big bowl, this is a fine smoke rich in flavour and complex enough to keep me interested throughout the smoke. Sadly it turns a bit too harsh in a smaller bowl, and it is too strong in nicotine for me to handle the size that it favours. Highly recomended for those who can stand this beast of leaf, though it is not for us weaker ones.

Taste: Smokey, nuttyness, earth and coffee greets at first light. After a while traces of dark chocolate with a hint of chili pepper appear. Smoked in a rather large bowl, at a slow pace, this is fairly smooth and rich. If I did not know better I would have thought that it contained cigar leaf. In a small bowl and/or pushed it turns sharp and hot; this clearly feels designed for contemplation - if treated the right way it is rather complex and rewarding.

Mechanics: Comes at a functional moisture, ready to light, burns cool and clean with no bite. Rather strong in nicotine and a medium plus body.

Pipe Used: Briar, cob

Similar Blends: A mix of Solani Aged burley flake and Peterson Irish flake without the topping..

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	beaupipe (102)	2010-07-02		Medium	None Detected	Very Mild	Tolerable

I decided to let Burley Flake #2 serve as my introduction to the quartet of flakes that now form this little C&D collection. On paper, it appears to have the least condimental leaf, so it seemed to be a good place to get a sense of the base Burleys in these Burley Flakes. Luckily (or not…we'll see) I already own tins of the others, because if I'd based future purchasing on my experience with #2, I doubt I'd ever get around to adding them to the tobacco shelf.

The flakes are familiarly C&D—that is, fairly thick in the slicing and more loosely pressed than most other flakes. Tin aroma is slightly grassy with a mild, chutney-like sweet-and-sour quality. Moisture levels were well-nigh perfect and I decided to rub out the flakes on most occasions.

Truth is, nothing I did seem to make any difference with this flake. Rubbed out, folded and stuffed, rolled into a plug, fresh from the tin, dried, aged for six months…Burley Flake #2 remained irredeemably dull. On the palate, the smoke remained a little bitter and a little astringent. The smoking qualities were fine—dry, biteless, pleasingly smoky—but the flavors are painfully muted. I confess that I consigned the last half dozen bowls of the tin to rolling papers, and it seemed to fare much better there. Burley Flake #2 now occupies the top of my list in the cigarette-ish pipe tobacco category.

It's entirely possible that my expectations were too high for this flake from the start. I'm a huge fan of numerous C&D blends and C&D Burleys in particular—Epiphany and Old Joe Krantz, for example, are favorites. I suppose that in those tobaccos the condimental leaf rounds out the Burley base in ways that are more appealing to me than does the red Virginia in this flake.

It's also true that in the back of my mind, I may have been looking for a local competitor to my all-time favorite Burley, Solani's Aged Burley Flake. If so, Burley Flake #2 falls way short of the Solani standard. Where the Solani product benefits from the aromatic hangover of standard Burley casings such as cocoa and coffee, Burley Flake #2 seems pale and thin tasting because of their apparent absence. Some will no doubt prefer #2 because of this. But I'm afraid that I'm not one of them. I prefer more richness, depth, fatness, oomph...whatever you want to call it.

I'm still looking forward to hearing the rest of the quartet, but I can't say that Burley Flake #2 has lit a fire under my easy chair and inspired me to pop them open any time soon.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	DavyCrockettwashere (33)	2021-07-27		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

About 80% Burley and 20% crimson Virginia pressed into a small block and loosened. I allowed my tin to dry a few hours before partaking. The tobacco loaded easily and lit quite well. The first few puffs had that bold, and handsome, satisfying Burley taste. The Virginia laced through the flavor to impart a hay flavor that caused the blend to fit together nicely. If you’re like me, and enjoy Burley, you’ll enjoy this one!

Pipe Used: Sav autograph

Age When Smoked: New.

Purchased From: SP

Similar Blends: .

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	BingCrosby (161)	2021-03-01		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I have a feeling this was not the best in the series to start out with.. I found this to be an extremely challenging and yet very simple smoke.. My taste buds felt like they were waiting for something to happen.. A rich robust first couple puffs that hint that it is going somewhere just kind of fizzle into a flat flavor that stays pretty much the same down the bowl.. I don't get even a whisper of sweetness.. just a sharpness with a little vague nuttiness and earth and a slight motor oil like underlying belly.. The strength is impressive.. in that regard it satisfied.. Occasionally I did get something out of it that I liked.. fleeting cocoa traces.. I may be missing something here.. im not an authority on burley.. Maybe this is for the burley purist.. It just didn't resolve to any of my preferred flavor notes and kind of seemed hollow if not just bland.. If I get too much into the mechanics I think I would have some bias as the leaf seems to fundamentally disagree with my ph or something.. I don't normally experience tongue bite.. this one was painful for me and even at the slowest of cadences after being dried to a crisp.. but I don't think it is tongue bite necessarily.. possibly some kind of natural reaction to the leaf.. Resting the tin for a month helped a little bit but not much.. I will give this 2 stars instead of 1 because I really think there is quality here and a certain purity.. Personally, I'm almost ashamed to say it, but maybe a slightly more processed burley would agree with me more.. I am a fan of wessex and solani burley flakes.. I will definitely try others in the series to see if it is just this one.. I know I'm not the only one to have a little difficulty with this particular blend based on some reviews.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	DoctorThoss (146)	2010-06-15		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I went back forth on whether to give this 3 stars or 4 stars and finally settled on a 3 (say 3.5). Over the past several months, I've found myself reaching for it on a regular basis and it's now a regular smoke.... It's easily my favorite of C&D's new line of burley flakes, and I'm not sure I've ever sampled anything quite like it from an American company. Anyway, here's my take on it:

The ingredients are easy enough to summarize: Nothing here but burley and a splash of deep red Virginia, just enough to add (as the tin description says) a little sweetness. The flavor is bold and rich, reminiscent of coffee or dark chocolate, and deepens as the smoke develops. Although the taste intensifies as the bowl progresses, don't expect much complexity here other than a gradually building sweetness. C&D has finally mastered the art of manufacturing gorgeous flakes, and if you smoke them intact you will have a very long, relaxing smoke.

This blend appeals to me for other reasons. One, it has close to zero tongue bite for me, which I consider to be a huge plus. Also, the nicotine content is higher than found in most C&D or GLP blends. Old Joe Krantz, Billy Budd, Haddo's Delight -- none of them pack the wallop that Burley Flake #2 carries, so I'd recommend using a small bowl. It's probably not overly strong for those of us who smoke Lakeland flakes, but I would NOT recommend this to a newbie or aromatic smoker.

If I have a complaint (and I'm not sure that I do), it's that for all this blend's power there is still a certain delicacy to the flavor that requires a dedicated pipe, which is unusual for a burley. Put another way, while "complex" is certainly not a term I'd use to describe BF#2, there ARE some subtle notes that get lost if you don't devote a briar to it.

I was very pleased with this blend, and more than a little surprised. I wasn't expecting a clone of Edgeworth Sliced or other American classics, but I had expected something that at least would evoke their memory. However, this doesn't remind me of any American flake or burley I've ever tried, as it lacks the sweetness of even the plainest of those. Heck, Prince Albert can be fairly described as a heavily-cased aromatic compared to this! In fact, I think I'll summarize my review by saying that BF #2 seems basically to be an American interpretation of British classics like Stonehaven or some of the darker English flakes from the Lakeland blenders, only with no hint of added flavorings and less of an emphasis on the Virginia. There were times, in fact, when I was inclined to think of this as a "lite" version of G&H's unscented Dark Flake --the quality and attention to detail is certainly there, but the overall effect is a bit gentler.

I don't believe that VA afficiandos or those who prefer sweet smokes will like this very much, but those who like their coffee black as pitch will likely fall head over heels for it.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2010-03-01		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant

I have now smoked all three of the C&D burley flakes in some quantity. I think this one is my favorite. They seem to decrease in fullness of body and increase in virginia content from 3 to 1. I think this one is the best combination of body and strength for me.

I give it a light rub out, and stuff it in, packing loosely. With about three lights, it cruises to the bottom of the bowl. Very smooth smoker, with no bite, but a very full burley flavor. So far, I think this is the best burley I have smoked. You have to be a lover of stout burley blends to like this, but highly recommended.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Rustedrailsmokes (293)	2022-03-25		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable

I popped open a tin from 2017 with a nice swelling and whoosh to the can when opened. Moisture level was perfect and the tin note was earthy/barnyard.

I smoked a tin of #1 before I went to #2 (I'm slightly scared of #3) and now wish I'd started with #2. It's a very well rounded blend with the burley shining through and just a hint of sweetness from the Virginia to balance it out. The flavor is consistent through the bowl and I find that it doesn't seem to produce quite as much moisture as #1. The nicotine is there for sure and I felt it for sure and for that reason its not an all day smoke but it goes great with either coffee in the morning or Rum in the evening.

Age When Smoked: 2017

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Antonius Blok (190)	2021-07-26		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

Simply put, a perfect va / bur / ken mix for me. All the ingredients feel, are well combined and do their job. Virginia has a perfect degree of sweetness to balance the earthiness of the burley. Kentucky is felt just enough so that its presence is noticed without overwhelming, giving rise to a rich flavor in its interaction with the other ingredients. Although it comes with a slightly higher degree of humidity than fair, it can be loaded directly from the tin to the pipe. However, after a few weeks he was perfect in this regard. It doesn't bite its tongue at all.

If you liked No. 3 but it was too strong, chances are good that this is to your liking. For my part, I want more of this ...

Age When Smoked: 1 year

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	NEWMAN (305)	2011-04-10		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

This is a nicely prepared flake, thicker that many but moist and softly pressed to remain pliable enough to permit my packing without rubout. The tin aroma is less than inviting but the smoke is really what counts. It that respect, a cool, dry smoke without any hint of bite resulted but I missed any sweetness from the VA in all sized bowls. Since I normally smoke VA and VaPer flakes, perhaps it's not a fair comparison but even among the Burley flake offerings, I'd prefer Solani's BF. However, if you enjoy burleys, this is certainly worth a try.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Country Doc (20)	2011-03-17		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Full	Tolerable

A good, strong burley. The virginia does sweeten it, but way in the background. Delivers a significant nicotine punch. Chocolate note is definitely present, and very pleasant. Not in my regular rotation, but there are times when it is just the thing. If you are a burley lover, you owe it to yourself to try this one. 3 out of 4 for me.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Xeneize (275)	2010-08-10		Very Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Extra Strong

This is a great burley blend, but it's just not my cup of tea. A little more Virginias for some more sweetness would improve BF #2 for me, as it is too bitter for my taste. It's also way too strong, I like burleys on the mild side.

If you need the nicotine kick and don't mind somewhat bitter tobaccos, this might be for you.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	WillardFan (90)	2010-07-16		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

I'm predominantly a Burley fan, but this one left me wanting something more. Straight from the can, a bit hard to keep lit, but after a week or so, it lights up quite easily. Has a bitter taste towards the end of the bowl. Don't think I would buy this one again...

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Arank87 (4)	2019-11-08		Medium	None Detected	Overwhelming	Overwhelming

This tobacco was, in a word, bad. Bitter, harsh, hot. The tin note was horrible. Smelled like moldy bread and locker room. The room note was like a Denny’s smoking section after bar close. Also had hints of rubber and burnt plastic. I will not be trying the others in this series without some seriously strong recommendations.

Similar Blends: Camel Lights, Marlboro Light..

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	½ bowl (103)	2017-08-18		Strong	None Detected	Full	Unnoticeable

Nutty, deliciously sweet, with cocoa and coffee notes. IMO, best as a first smoke in the AM with coffee. No negative issues.

Preparation Notes: The thick flakes were mostly broken, so I rubbed them out by hand. This produced fairly short (~25mm), stiff "ribbons" about 3mm wide. The texture of the leaf was tough and leathery -- reminded me of paper. The smoke had a bitter, woody edge.

Things improved dramatically when I put these rubbed-out pieces in a coffee bean grinder and gave it 3 quick pulses. lt resembled fully crushed crumble-cake, which burned beautifully, and really brought out the cocoa and coffee flavors as well as the sweetness. I give it 3½ stars rounded down because of the PITA factor.

Age When Smoked: 3 yrs. in the tin.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Adrian B. (29)	2015-07-07		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Strong

Continuing my exploration of C&D Burley blends, I arrive at Burley Flake #2.

As with the other blends I've tried so far (Haunted Bookshop, Lunchtime Blues) this is a strong(ish) no nonsense burley forward blend. Nutty earthy natural burley with a little Virginia for sweetness backed by Dark fired Kentucky makes this an outstanding blend. Much smoother in my opinion than the others I tried, it still has enough strength to satisfy.

One of the better blends I've found to go with the morning cup of coffee (if it's a strong cup) this will be in my rotation as a burley staple.

Pipe Used: variety of briars and cobs

Age When Smoked: A few months

Purchased From: SPC

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	ColinK (15)	2015-05-09		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

Hay, Hay, and More Hay- with a little bit of a sweet backing/mouth feel. Quite an interesting- albeit simple tobacco. Great taste right from the start, but you HAVE to be able to enjoy the taste of hay/grass to like this one. Burned well early on, but got a bit more difficult as it went on. Just a super-subtle hint of the virginias to keep you holding on- but does develop that sort of tangy throat burn as it goes on. Very reminiscent of my good old days of cigarette smoking, but not in an overwhelming way. EAT before you go for this one, it can make you a tiny bit swirly.

Pipe Used: Savinelli Deluxe

Age When Smoked: Unknown

Purchased From: Gifted from Friend

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Mesh (51)	2012-07-14		Strong	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Tolerable

The gentle woodsy tin aroma of this blend belies the strength of the smoke. Cigar and infrequent coffee notes are present, but otherwise no complexity to speak of. No sweetness either. It would probably work well for those who enjoy strong burley tobaccos, but this one is a few yards outside of my personal comfort zone.

Recommended for those who wish to experience what a burley with few other additions tastes like. Just don't expect something along the same chocolatey lines as Solani Burley Flake (which is a milder, sweeter, lightly cased burley blend).

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2009-10-15		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Full	Tolerable

If you know C&D products you know what's coming. When you put Bob R and Craig T. in a room, something great is coming out with them. These flakes do need a touch of drying, and I would start with one, cause they pack a punch. On light up, the flavor is a bit like Cuban coffee. Strong and dark. This is a great blend for walking about outside in the cool fall air. It's strong and honest. Burned clean. I got the best results with a wide gauge bowl. Great burley flavor, burn character, and packed a punch. Thumbs up!

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JJ Sir Emmitt (40)	2021-07-15		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable

The first thing I have to say about this blend is that it really shines in a cob.

It has dry notes of wood, pepper, nuts, grass, bread and some plum and a slight mustiness toward the end of the bowl. It smokes great and does not bite. There is a clean smooth retro hale, and leaves no moisture in the bowl.

I really enjoyed this blend, but it doesn't get to a 4 star for me, I find the Virginia's to be a little awkward in this blend.

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