Cornell & Diehl Three Friars

I wanted to like this tobacco, but just didn't. I found it dry, characterless, and as though I was smoking second-hand ash. I finally tried cutting it with approximately 1/3 black Cavendish and found it wonderful, however. If anyone can recommend this type of blend off the shelf without my mixing it, that would be great.

Not necessarily faulting Cornell and Diehl on this one, but I do have to wonder why on earth they need so many blends. It just becomes confusing and a turn-off after, say, 30-50 blends. What's the point to confusing the consumer to this extent? Focus on quality, especially if I received a potential bad batch?

Three friars has a tin aroma of earth and mustiness and smells very natural and very typical for C&D. So basically not a very pleasant tin aroma. But the smoke is pretty good. The cut has broken flake pieces large cigar leaf looking pieces and bright and dark tobaccos. It’s got a little of everything here. Smoking it now , I get about medium all around smoke in body , taste and strength. It’s not very sweet, however it has a brightness about it. Seems very well balanced. I will compare this to other Cornell and diehl offerings as the classic c&d flavors of their burley, bright Virginia and perique are present. Also I’d say that it’s lighter than haunted book shop and doesn’t even come close to old joe krantz or the burley flakes in strength and flavor. It’s a very mild mixture compared to them. This one doesn’t have too much perique but it is definitely detectable. The burley subdues the Virginia quite a bit and it’s very pleasant and alternates between nutty burley and bright almost sweet Virginia. It’s very immature tobacco and almost has an acridness untill you let it sit for 6 months plus in a jar, but fresh it can be smoked very slowly and u can pick up the nuances. I would consider this a good place to start in the natural Cornell and diehl burley/ Virginia line. It lets you in the door to what they offer and will prepare you for bigger wild adventures like old joe krantz and the burley flake series. Nicotine is medium. It’s really not a light tobacco, but for a C&D it’s a lighter offering. I like it and for me it’s 3 stars however I’ll give it two stars because it’s recommended only if you know you like Cornell and diehl type tobacco - it’s unique and sort of an acquired taste kinda thing.

This blend strikes me as more of a VABur than a VAPer at times. The ounce I just burned through was fresh bulk. In looking at this blend, it seems to be mostly red Virginia and brown burley by volume. I would guess 5% Perique and 15% bright leaf by visual inspection. The pouch aroma has a sweet, fruity barnyard funk. There are some nice spicy notes of black pepper, cedar, and savory spice. Some delicious toasty notes appear mid bowl.

The Perique is less sweet/fruity and much more spice/umami. TF is on the lower end of medium to strong with regards to nicotine. The room note is similar to your average American cigarette. Quite unfortunately this was another C&D blend wherein the VA leaf had a rough mouthfeel that lead to some tongue fatigue. I should be careful to mention that this blend did not bite. TF is by no means a bad blend, but it is not for me.