Cornell & Diehl Burley Flake #1

I love this blend. I suppose I might be a fan of the burley, but coming to pipes from cigars - these blends offer a richness with tobacco other blends just don’t offer, IMO.

This is a great blend to start the day with a coffee as a companion. It’s rich and deep with flavor. It’s not going to offer you zest like a Virginia, no hay, no sugary sweet - just a plain old deep tobacco flavor. It does have some sweet notes, but it’s sweet like coffee with a dash of sugar.

If I had to do a head to head between a Virginia and a burley, I’d pick burley all day. They don’t burn near as hot and offer a fullness Virginia’s lack. The nutty, earthy and deep flavor of a good burly is far superior to the light and fluffy Virginia, to me anyway. It’s heavier, stronger and I can leave a pipe of this feeling satisfied.

I look forward to smoking the remaining numbers of C&D’s burley - but, if they are anything like this - they’ll be stock piled along this one in the cellar. Probably not a beginner’s smoke - but, I’d recommend it to everyone. A+ in my book. Great smoke.

The tin note is pure raisin bread. Predominantly I get notes of earth, cigar, pepper and dark espresso. Not sure the ratio of Burley to Perique is playing well here. I find it a bit wild, rough around the edges. It is harsh in many spots with the cigar note turning regrettably cigarette like. All in all one might say it has a pure "tobacco" note. Thank you, next.

I dont throw out a lot of tobacco. Usually I can find some redeeming quality to a blend, or find something to mix it into, or just throw it in the cellar for a rainy day and see how it ages.

I'll make an exception here. This is not worth any of those options. Effectively flavorless, except for a bitter, acrid tang, I cant find any redeeming quality about this blend. I love a nice chocolatey nutty bready burley -- but this isn't that. The perique might be nice, but doesn't shine through. I just dont get the appeal.

If you want a straight burley along these lines, C&D's Big and Burley has more depth and character, with maybe just a hair less bite than Burley Flake #1 (without losing the "raw" nature of a pure burley). Or if you want to go the other way, Five Brothers has more of the "rawness", but some additional caramel/nutty complexity. I just don't find anything interesting here.

Nothing to see here. Move along.

Really loved this one. Nice nutty flavor. Great nic hit. It burns cool. What is there not to like? Great tin presentation and smell. Can't really comment on the room note.

Wow. This one's a kicker. I didn't know it until I lit it, but I smoked it in the morning. Kind of a mistake, I think. After the initial shock (and after I've been dosed with a commercial amount of Nicotine), the taste balanced. I could actually feel more Virginia than Burley, and not yet the perique. This kind of disappointed me, because I was expecting something else, but it was just the beginning. It was some kind of a dissonance, because for some reason I ling strong taste to strong tobacco, but taste-wise, it was kind of subtle. I experienced this nic-hit with HG Brown Bogie, and there the taste was thick and rich – on the verge of too thick, for some people I know. Nonetheless, Burley Flake #1 was beautifully balanced. Maybe the fact that I don't smoke much enhanced the effect of nicotine, as this blend is clearly not meant for the faint hearted. Throughout the whole bowl the taste remained consistent, a bit earthy & nutty, but mostly pleasant. It smoked dry and cold, almost no relights needed. This is not a beginners blend, but very recommended as an evening smoke.

This blend has G.L. Pease's signature full body, bold flavor(s), and great clarity. A somewhat nutty Kentucky melds with a woody, papery Burley with a taste like bark, or the pithy interior (endocarp) of a walnut. In the background, one can sense the sweet Virginias just barely managing to rescue the experience. This may very well be Pease's recipe for Barbary Coast, just not cube cut and topped with brandy -- it's that close!

I rate this at 2 stars because I think it's just OK, but not for everybody. You have to tolerate a bitter edge and some astringency. It would probably appeal to cigar smokers transitioning to the pipe -- which is not to say that it tastes anything like a cigar.

The flake, if rubbed out, has an odd membranous, parchment-like texture; but that doesn't seem to interfere with anything.

Prominent perique fruitiness in the tin aroma that is more subdued in the smoke; Seems promising. Dry, light flavor however, the burley is harsh and somewhat bitter which is characteristic of C&D's stronger burley varieties. The high nicotine of perique probably just reinforces this harshness. On the other hand, the aroma had a nice toasty, air cured aroma aproaching a dutch cigar. The burley is simply too crude and unrefined for a credible smoke for me; A weak two stars.

Lately I have been trying to keep my nic. levels in check and this just opens that door again, next thing I know I'll be back to puffing on heavy duty ropes all day with no buzz! A very welcome pipe tobacco that is rich in earthy burly and musty Perique & sweet Virginia's, some times.

This one is probably the best Burley blend I've had to date. I'm not a huge fan of burley's but I got a sample of this one at the CORPS show in Richmond and it is fantastic. It is sort of a creamy almost cigar like smoke, very earthy tasting and smooth. This one has somewhat of a nic hit, but not as strong as BF #3. I look forward to getting more of this at some point.