Cornell & Diehl Three Friars

Nice play between the tobacco's in this one. For my taste buds mostly good quality Burley. Packs a decent nicotine punch. Burns well, didn't bite (and I can puff like a freight train sometimes)and was basically a cool smoke. Picks up some strength about one third into the bowl and finishes fairly strong but pleasing to the palate. For quality leaf at a fair price you just can't beat C&D.

No, in spite of the name it's not a 3 Nuns clone... but it's great stuff in its own respect! I have never seen such a bright, lemon-colored Virginia: it's like hay, but even lighter in color! I'm usually not a fan of lemony bright Virginias (I prefer the sweeter red variety), but this is as good as they can get: lively, spicy, lemony, with just a nice touch of sugariness. I guess that the burley provides some extra body which is usually absent from most of VA+Perique mixtures: it's not clearly noticeable, but it's there. The taste stays consistent, like lemonade, until the bottom of the bowl even if you puff too fast, and never grows tiresome. Just be careful not to press the tobacco too much when packing, because the long ribbon cut can clog the airhole spoiling the experience and causing tonguebite.

It's actually VERY similar to Straford (no surprise, considering the friendship between Greg Pease and Craig Tarler), but I think that Three Friars is the best of the two: tastier, more consistent and cheaper!

Like many I originally bought this blend in a search for an older Three Nuns match. Not knowing what the original was like, this is markedly different from the current iterations of the Three Nuns line. That's not a bad thing, but I want to warn you to try this based on the description instead of what it's trying to imitate.

This blend comes in a tin or in bulk. I bought the bulk version and promptly jarred it up. My sample has lasted me quite a while, at least a year. It comes in a ribbon cut with some broken flakes here and there. The color is mostly light yellows with a little bit of brown and black. The tin note smells of hay, barnyard, nuts, musty fruit and cocoa. It loads well, and is at a good moisture to light. It holds a flame well, and burns a little fast and hot.

When you light up and get past the charing light a lot of flavor comes up. It tastes nothing like what it smells. The Virginias are bready, grassy, and citrusy. A very typical C&D Burley is present; robust, nutty, oaty, earthy with light chocolate. To me the Perique tastes more fruity than it does spicy. Now as I always say when something that has a lot of Burley: slow smoking will yield the best experience. The virginia content in this blend makes it want to smoke really fast. I actually had to smoke it in a cob when I first bought it, because I kept making my briars too hot.

The taste is a medium. It's a typical sort of smoke. The strength is likewise a medium. Even with the amount of Burley in the blend, this smokes without holding you in your chair. I mostly smoke this when I am working in the yard and in the garage. It doesn't need a lot of attention and gives a good taste.

I know the name is a play off of Three Nuns, but I can see no resemblance to the new and have never tried the old...but for whatever reason this reminds me more of Dunhill Elizabethan Mixture than anything else (even with a healthy dose of Burley in it). This is a nice VA/Bur with just a hint of perique (all my palate can pick up). A faint sweetness from the Virginia's provides a nice backdrop for the earthy and grassy flavors from the VA's and the woody and slightly nutty (think Brazil nuts). After the half way point there are some toasty notes and I get a unique spicy favor, like a hint of white pepper and all spice. The perique is more of a feeling than a flavor in this blend for me, but I am sure it accounts for the peppery favors toward the 2nd half. Very nice, simple smoke that goes well with morning coffee.

So full disclosure, the C.S. Lewis fan boy in me made this purchase after reading that this was supposedly a copy of the original Three Nuns that he smoked. I've since read several reviews that indicate it's not even close. That being said, this is a really good smoke. The perique has a spiciness that doesn't overwhelm things and burley gives hints of fruit and grass. The both come to play at different points but neither pushes the other too the side. It lights and stays lit pretty easily and the room note is tolerable. It's mild enough that I could see it being an all day smoke.

Medium brown, fairly uniform in color, ribbon cut. As is usual for C&D bulks, it is a bit on the dry side, ready to smoke. The tin note (or, rather, jar note, as it is bulk) is sweet and fruity.

The virginias seem to be the star of the show here. Grass/hay/straw and a bit sweet. Perique is obvious, sort of a fruity spice, but is well proportioned and balanced by the Virginias. There is a bit of burley. The burley doesn't jump out at me. I know it's there; when I pay attention, I certainly pick up that subtle dry nuttiness. But the burley isn't the star. It is there supporting the other components, though, adding a bit of oomph.

I can't compare it to the original Three Nuns. And I doubt anyone else can either LOL. That doesn't matter, though, because you shouldn't try. Three Friars is a great blend on its own.

This is a really nice VaPer with some burley to give it a kick. I struggle between 2 and 3 three stars on this one. I would give 2 out of three. It burns nice, is not too hot and has a great nic level. I'll go with three. BTW the room note got an approval from the girlfriend.

Nutty, slightly sweet, medium/strong "N". However, best smoked at a sip where it's hard to keep lit, otherwise gets spicy hot. Very one dimensional, would love this as an all day smoke if only it didn't need so much attention. May be better as a blender.

Updated 1/12/2012- After some aging and drying the problems with keeping this lit has been solved, I acually like this as a change of pace, much smoother than OJK in the straight VaPerBur's, 4 Noggins "Weybridge" is more interesting with a little whiskey topping . Good "on the go" blend

Smoking a bowl of this right now as I type. Very spicy on the palate and in the nose. Not tongue bite, but spice. The room note is pleasant, but seems a bit "dry". Lighting and packing took a few rounds, due to the springiness of this type of cut, but once the fire was established, it has been maintenance free. Ash appears to be fluffy and gray, a good sign it is clean underneath. No dampness in the bottom of the bowl.

I do not see this being an all day blend, I think that spice could hold this down to a few bowls a week.

Pairing it with a Kenya AA coffee right now.