Cornell & Diehl Burley Flake #2

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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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.