Cornell & Diehl Three Friars

The tin note was tangy with a smell that reminds me of shredded wheat cereal without the sugar.

Lit easy and stayed lit. Only had one or two relights depending on the bowl or what I was doing.

The initial flavor was tangy with a slight sugar spice. I have had times where I would get hit with spice but after I let the blend sit for a couple months that has seemed to gone away to a nice lingering background spice.

I found this blend to smoke really quick and as a result the first few bowls I smoked of this I burned my mouth pretty bad. But once I slowed down with it and found a nice leisurely pace I had no further issues.

There is a slight burn on the retro hale. The room note is a nutty, shredded wheat, almost hay like smell. Smoke out put is moderate but not heavy. It has a nice chewy texture to it.

I gave this blend no dry time. For me it smoked best in my cobs. I tried it in a few different briars and it just didn't work for me.

I have never had Three Nuns so I cannot say if this is a good comparison, but I will say it is a nice smoke.

Cornell & Diehl - Three Friars.

My pouch contains a blend that's 50/50 big and small: half of it's easily recognizable as ribbons, of which a few are quite large, yet a lot of the remaining blend's tiny cube-like pieces.

There's not much Perique-spice to the smoke, it's mostly VaBur, the Perique only adds a mild seasoning. To me there seems to be more Burley compared to Virginia; there's only a touch of grass/hay. Even though Three Friars has no casing it bites me as much as a heavyweight aromatic. T.F. also burns too warm; steady and even, but too warm.

The room-note's pleasant enough, and the nicotine's medium.

I'm not too impressed by this, so I'll only somewhat recommend it.

Two stars.

Note: I won't be discussing this blend in reference to either the original or the current Three Nuns. I've never smoked it, and I don't think this blend needs comparison to any other.

I generally know whether I'll like a blend or not after my first bowl.

Three Friars is the exception to this rule. This was the first Burley and Perique blend I had ever smoked, and I didn't quite know what to make of it. My first impression was that it had a funky 'old man' taste. But after smoking a few bowls, I grew to like it. In fact, I grew to REALLY like it.

The burley is the star of the show in this blend, but the perique adds a really important element and makes it delightful. The grassy Virginia plays a backup role in this, but I would miss it if it weren't there. The smoke is pretty full and rich, and has a kind of grey velvet quality.

Something I really like about this blend, and which makes it a perfect all day smoke is that the flavor is very consistent throughout the bowl. You can enjoy it as you light it, zone out and forget about it for a while, and come back to it without missing anything.

If you're a burley fan but are looking for something a little more interesting than a codger burley, but which can still do service as a no-fuss all-day smoke, look no further than Three Friars.

I am giving this a 4 star rating because this blend gives you a great virginia/perique smoke without all the usual prepwork that other "higher quality" vaper flakes require. Coming in pretty small pieces is its only negitive with me; smaller than ribbon, shag like. I have no need to dry this blend due to, like most C&D tobaccos; especially bulk, it comes rather dry.

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Friars smokes sweet with a nice light perique pepper background. Mid-bowl the sweetness subsides to a nice grassy flavor that a virginia lover would recognize. Grassy is not right, but close. Perique has a tendency to sour in vapers at the bottom of a bowl. Not so with this blend. Friars is not that heavy in nicotine and is light on the palette. It makes for a great all day smoke, if it doesn't get to sweet for you. Pound after pound, this never lets me down.

The description says simply "A combination of Virginia ribbon, Brown Virginia burley and Perique." It is my understanding that this blend was created with the legendary "Three Nuns" in mind.

Pouch aroma: Grassy, nutty scent that is more akin to peanuts than cashew or walnut.

Composition: Mostly light brown and blonde (nearly white) flecks of short-cut ribbon. There only seems to be a 5-10% composition of dark ribbon, which I will attribute to the perique.

Taste: I chose an Ashton XX-sized prince that has only seen VA/Perique as the initial bowl. Flame hits weed and my pallette is very happy. Vegetal sweetness from the VA's are the first taste, the perique does not really announce itself, but it would be apparent if this condiment was missing. I can not help myself but to compare it to the best bowls of Three Nuns that I have experienced. There is little if any bite from this blend, the moisture content is spot on. After the Virginia sweetness subsides, a rich, cigar-like body tickles the nose and begs to be rolled about on your tongue. The Virginia's were complex and sweet, it was only towards the end of the bowl did some considerable strength build up that forced me to slow down. For some people, this gathering of strength is the best part. 🙂 The finish was clean with no gurgling and a fine, fluffy ash is the end result.

I do not care for a large portion of perique (but many of C&D's blends cater to those who differ from my preference), but the balance in this blend is just right. Given that most C&D blends are created "on the spot" I can not wait to see how this tobacco improves with some age to it. Whether or not this blend compares to Three Nuns is irrelevant, it stands well on its' own as a fine Virginia-Perique blend.

A solid nine out of ten stars for this masterpiece.

C&D- Three friars

Tin date 27Nov19. First tin opening smell of buttery nutty toast with a small spread of honey sweetness. This blend is slightly moist out of the tin and could use a little drying time.

Having never tried three nuns I cannot comment on that aspect, although I do find this quite close to Newminster 403, which is blended by the same company that currently produces three nuns.

This blend tastes just like it but not in coin form, slightly spicy with a honey hay sweetness that combines together and works well, smoke it slow and enjoy the combination of flavors, smoke it fast and it all sort of separates which is an interesting aspect but take away from the formula.

If I didn’t have 8-10 oz of the Newminster left I’d gladly buy more of this, but they seem to equate to the same combined flavor profile although both still are cheaper than the three nuns product.

Do not regret buying this while on sale, however it doesn't do enough to separate from it’s counterparts.

I've never had the old Three Nuns, so I have no basis for comparison, but this is a good solid tobacco in it's own right. The burleys are nutty, the Virginia's are grassy and I definitely get a bit of citrus in there. The perique is sweet/spicy and fruity in kind of a fermented way. Some of the flavors are at times, more pronounced than others, and the flavors just kind of trade places coming to the fore and then fading into the background. It's a very flavorful blend with a satisfying nic hit to it. This is a good tobacco to just sit back and sip it, I think you get a lot more flavor from it that way. I'm sure this will age well, so I bought an extra 8 oz. to put back specifically for that purpose. I will recommend this blend and give it 3.5 stars.

I was expecting this to be similar to other C&D VA-based blends, and it indeed is. This tastes a lot like Bayou Morning, simply with the Perique turned down to a more condiment level and the Burley adding a little extra strength and nutty depth.

If you like some of the other similar C&D blends, you will like this. I would not really consider this Burley-forward, but it is definitely in there. Not bad, nothing special either.

A Va forward VaBur with a dash of Perique, made to a British codger style.

This is a short ribbon cut tobacco, quite light in colour, and very dry. The tin note has malt and caramel notes with a distinct spice.

Burns easily. This is a one match tobacco,

The Perique asserts itself throughout in that ineffable way that it has. The zing of salted plums, a strange pepper on the lips. It is imo perfectly balanced; supported by some very tasty Va's, with just a touch of Burley to provide a foundation.

Finger-stuffed into a Falcon Dublin, a Coopers Sparkling Ale, and cricket on the radio: the real world can wait another day.