Cornell & Diehl Burley Flake #2

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!