Cornell & Diehl Three Friars

This blend is, as other reviewers noted, sort of a stepped-down version of Cornell & Diehl's Old Joe Krantz. A good blend with occasional hints of Virginia sweetness, this tobacco will likely please many VaPer fans especially those that appreciate the fullness that the added burley provides.

Govern yourself accordingly

I have to agree with Moe on this blend. It is simply a great blend. It is also a great value. It is a shame that some knuckleheads have to post "edited" reviews that bring the rating of this blend down below what it richly deserves.

Just enough Perique for a fair nosebite and just enough brown burley to keep the virginias from biting. This is a a very well balanced blend

This is one of my favorite C&D tobaccos. I used it to break in a "new" 30 year old Castello KKKK and it was excellent. It really shines in a CAO Meerschaum as well.

It is an all day smoke if one is so inclined and it has just enough tin moisture to last for months from a 8 Oz. tin.

Yes, there are other good tobaccos besides Christmas Cheer 2005 and 2006

I bought this on a whim thinking it would be good, as it is in my general wheelhouse.

Fairly dry when I got it. A mixture of little bits of dark brown and black. Some fine cut ribbon of lighter shades of brown and a small amount of well rubbed flakes.

It chars and lights pretty easily. Smokes well and is fairly easy to keep lit. It’s sweet to me, and has a little zip from the perique. The burley gives it some body, and I’m not sure what the flake bits are doing.

Overall, I like it. Has a nice sweetness, and a bit of the bread character I enjoy. The perique is present and more of a evenly laid addition than a main feature. Has a good strong flavor, with a intense retrohale. Has a tendency to be a bit bitey for me in the first third of the bowl. And I’ve tried it in several different shapes and sizes. If it didn’t do that, I could smoke this all day.

Va/Bur/Per -- blends made from Burley, Perique and Virginias -- blends may be trending, but finding the perfect balance proves elusive. "Three Friars" attempts to replicate the original "Three Nuns," using Burley, Bright Virginias with some red Virginia, and a moderate amount of Perique. The result tastes at first like a rich nougat as the bright and red Virginias meld, then as they caramelize, brings in the slightly sweet-sour tang of the Perique and then warms it with the broad taste of Burley. The result is a flavorful smoke where the second half of the bowl is the superstar as flavors fully converge. While I miss the little round coins of "Three Nuns," this is probably a better substitute for those who simply want a plain, solid, and balanced Va/Bur/Per.

This is a blend that not only could I smoke all day but I find myself wanting to smoke all day. It's medium strength, well balanced, and very flavorful. The burley is toasty and nutty with fresh baked bread notes. The Virginia is earthy and grassy. And finally the Perique is fruity with some spice/pepper. It isn't a very complex blend but it never gets boring throughout the day. The DGT is great, no loss of flavor.

Two side notes: the tin aroma is pretty rancid. Sour and fermented smelling. But this is no indication of the taste. Also; this blend ages wonderfully. I recently opened a tin from 2007. The blend is visibly darker. Much more sugar with fruit, black pepper, and tea flavors.

This is a good relaxing smoke. My one complaint is that it often burns poorly and requires frequent relights (I am not used to this problem, so perhaps I get disproportionately annoyed when I cannot keep a bowl lit). I am too young to have appreciated the original Three Nuns; however, this tobacco, when judged on its own merits, is worth buying.

This is the Virginia-laden brother to Haunted Bookshop and Old Joe Krantz, in my opinion. The Virginia is at the front in this blend, whereas it is in the background of the aforementioned blends. Not at all unpleasant, assuming you enjoy Virginias. The perique and burleys barely take the stage here, and when they do, they serve to round out what is otherwise a straightforward and fairly linear smoke.

I will keep this short since so many others have reviewed this blend. As a lover of VaPers I have to say that I feel the Burley addition to this blend ruins it. It drowns out the sweetness of the Virginias and also the spiciness of the Perique. It turns it into a bland blend. No surprises here.

Thanks to Laudante, my fellow reviewer and friend, I managed to get an 8 Oz. tin of Three Friars (among other smokeable goodies). So far, I?ve smoked around five bowls, and I certainly intend to smoke much more!

Maybe I should start by stating the obvious: this is an excellent tobacco. In fact, I find it scrumptious. It has all the piquant-sour-sweetness of most Virginia/Perique blends, plus the added Burley that provides temperance to the fiery nature of the other two components, as well as an earthy smoothness to the whole construction, rounding up its flavour nicely.

I was surprised to find the blend rather moist (which, in my experience, is unusual for a C&D tobacco), but that didn?t interfere with its excellent slow burning rate, nor did I find it difficult to light and keep lit. By no means a cool smoke, it never really got uncomfortably hot, nor did it bite.

Medium strength, with quite some nicotine, the different layers of flavour gradually developed throughout a smoke that was never boring, nor overwhelming. Though pretty well balanced, I ?m under the impression that the Perique is more pronounced than the Virginias or the Burley.

As to the inevitable comparison to its female counterpart (the bygone Three Nuns, as spun and blended by Bell?s, which I did manage to smoke in the late 70?s and early 80?s), I find there are more differences than similarities.

True, the Virginia-Perique relation is common to both. Then again, the Nuns never invited King Burley to their sorority, nor did they allow themselves, as befits their religiousness, to be rubbed up to the point of becoming ?lose?. In this context, it?s not only the Burley leaf what gives Three Friars its ?manliness?, but also a more abundant and stronger variety of Perique, and the general flavour of the blend seems to me stouter, with a density and depth that I never really found in the Nuns (as good as it used to be). It is also a more pungent blend than the Nuns!

In my opinion, this blend shares the same flavour-region as the Nuns and Escudo. It is definitely not as sweet and ?juicy? as Dorchester or Astley?s Nº2, and though slightly less powerful than Escudo, it seems to me closer to the latter than to the Nuns. If you enjoy Virginia/Perique blends, this is a must.