Cornell & Diehl Virginia Gentleman

The Virginias provide a lot of zesty tart and tangy citrus, grass/hay, bread, mild sugar, light vegetation, earth, wood, floralness, spice, and a touch of acidity. They are the lead components by a small margin. The burleys (one of which is white burley) offer plenty of earth, wood, nuts, light sugary molasses, and a slight floral note as supporting players. Here and there, the burleys equal the Virginias in terms of effect. The floral, earthy, woody, sour and buttery, creamy sweet, mildly spicy, herbal, vegetative Turkish sits in the third position. Its effect varies a mite during the proceedings. Generally, it’s in-between being a condiment and a secondary supporting player. The strength and nic-hit are just past the center of mild to medium. The taste is a step beyond that mark. No chance of bite or harshness, and barely has any rough edges. Burns cool and clean at a moderate pace with a fairly consistent creamy fruity sweet, mildly floral, spicy, lightly sour flavor that extends to the lightly lingering, pleasant after taste. Leaves little dampness in the bowl. Requires an average number of relights. Has a pleasant to tolerable room note. An all day smoke with some depth. Three and a half stars only due to the light inconsistency. Other wise, it’s a four star blend.

-JimInks

I am and have been a fan of Craig and C and D. I tend to like most of his blends and rarely do I come upon one that I don't like. This blend is in the pouch a khaki and light brown flake with a very light and basic tobacco aroma. My sample is pretty dry which is how tend to smoke them anyhow. It loads into the pipe very easily and lights right up on first light. Immediately this blend tasted almost like an aromatic. A very chemical and unpleasant taste and the aroma was very perfume like. I know this could be the turkish I am tasting and smelling but it is way over the top. It smoked somewhat hot as well and all I got was the sweet acrid smoke similiar to a cigarette. I do not have anything good to say about this blend other than it smokes and stays lit well all the way down to the bottom into a fine grey ash. I will not venture into this one again. Too many good C and D blend to smoke this one again.

6/11/14 Actually, I did revisit this one as I still had a tin that has now aged for several years. Over time, this blend has melded together into a very nice blend that I have found to be a pleasure to smoke. It is now a nice not in your face blend that is smooth and creamy and has just the right sweetness on the palette and very little bite. Just proves that some blends do get better with tome and aging.

Virginia Gentleman delivers on its promise. It is an all day, bite-free Virginia based blend. The bright Virginia offers a distinct lemon citrus. The nutty cashew-like burley wrestles for the lead at times and is dominant at the end of the bowl. The Turkish leaf is subtle but contributes sour, spicy, and woody flavors. Overall the blend is much more savory than sweet.

It is like sunday picnic except for Burley replacing Perique. I like SP a lot, but this one seems a little musty and spicy. Maybe a couple of aging will bring out more refined flavors.

A very satisfying mixture with the taste and manners expected of a gentleman. The light citrusy casing is applied gently and adds to the pleasure of this excellent blend. The Virginia and Turkish come to the fore, with the Burley adding depth and coolness. It's been a long time since I've so enjoyed a Virginia blend. The Turkish does indeed add interest, with the Burley eliminating the usual sharpness associated with most Virginias I've tried. I can understand why the other reviewers have rated this blend so highly. If Virginia Gentleman stands the test of time, I'll be raising my rating to 4 stars.

It just goes to show how subjective these things are. Unlike most of the reviewers, who find this to be a burley forward blend, it has a little too much red Virginia and Turkish for me. It has a perfume-y taste and smell that some people love but I don't. It makes my nose run and slightly ghosts my pipes. I won't give it less than 3 stars because it's a quality product and it's what it says it is, and it might be your all day smoke. It just isn't for me.

Most bulk C&D blends come bone dry, Virginia Flake is a perfect example. Bone dry, surprised it even stayed in flake form. I don't mind, I do prefer most of my tobacco on the dry side, plus you aren't paying for added moisture weight.

Virginia Gentleman comes a bit more moist than most C&D blends, which ends up as optimum level for immediate smoking.

Thin, short ribbon cuts made up of medium brown and blonde tobaccos. The burley aroma stands out the most, offering a toasted nutty/bran note, followed by some sweet grass and wood.

Lights well and stays lit. Those same toast/nutty/bran notes transfer to the smoke as well as the sweet grass. Smokes cool and mild, zero tongue bite. Gets a bit spicy in the nostrils after the halfway point. A great blend to break the constant English blends.

Pairs well with Grand Marnier neat, or morning coffee black.

This could be a five star blend! It’s that good. It gets three and only because I’m fairly certain I got another powdery white mold tainted sample. All that being said, this blend tastes awesomely delicious and exhibits ideal burn/ smoking qualities (cool, slow, dry etc).

A blend of long skinny ribbons ranging from gold to red to tan. There was also some scattered broken flake. The pouch aroma is a union of sweet hay and wildflower. The long ribbons lend themselves to a fairly loose pack that leads to a nice long and cool smoke. Sweet earthiness, toast, freshly fallen crisp leaves and funky/musty tones paint an interest grabbing and delicious picture. There are some rare curry notes and some light but appreciable floral/incense like notes on the retrohale.

An earlier reviewer noted this goes well with grand marnier. I don’t drink alcohol, but did find the orange/citrus complement to be true. VG smoked even more beautifully with “constant comment” tea, which is a black tea with orange rind and spices. Delicious!

This is one of those rare blends that is so good that I am basically forced to forgive and forget the powdery white stuff.

This is the blend I grab when I'm working in the garden/painting the fence etc. It is a pleasant flavourful blend that you don't have to think too hard about.