Cornell & Diehl Three Friars

I don't have any problem with this. It's a good smoke..you can taste the Perique, and it billows with great fun. My only concern is that--to me--it tastes exactly like 067 Bayou Morning, also by C&D. If I were given a blind taste test, I would be unable to tell the difference.

The site that I bought this from described it as a Three Nuns clone; although this is a ribbon cut, unlike Three Nuns, which I believe is curly cut.

I can't compare the two regarding taste, as I have had a hard time coming across Three Nuns in Southern California..but I would definitely recommend it as a good, solid Vaper. Just a step below Escudo's in my opinion--in preference, not similarity.

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!

When under a few years old, I found the perique and it's nicotine level overwhelming. I bought it in bulk, so maybe the perique jar fell into my batch. On the positive side, it doesn't bite. After 10 years at the back of my shelf, I now find the nicotine level moderate and the perique is much more subdued. I may pick up a tin when my bulk runs out to see if I got a bad batch, as I do like the constituent tobaccos when I can taste them. It tastes nothing like the old Three Nuns.

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.

Having never tried any iteration of Three Nuns, consider this a purely unbiased review of Three Friars.

There is a great deal of veiled complexity present in this blend. It’s pretty mild for a C&D blend, but fairly stout otherwise. It doesn’t bite, at least not MY tongue, and it burns as clean as anyone could ask for. The base is a delicious Bright Virginia ribbon cluttered with withered balls of a strong Perique - it could even pass for a VaPer at times. The blend itself is not entirely ribbon-cut, there is a significant portion of “broken” (some even partially intact and whole) flakes mingled in the mix. It might be raw, but it’s packed with flavors. I’m finishing up a pound right now that I bought at the beginning of this year, in my Brigham 116 with a new filter, and the first half of this bowl tasted just like milk chocolate - that similitude has only just stuck me. I would have said it tasted like musky lemonade or sourdough bread last week.

I believe the review I published on the vendor’s site wasn’t entirely accurate regarding the flake in this blend - it is a Brown Virginia after all (and quite similar to Newminster no. 400.) Since I had yet to try that variety of Virginia when I wrote said review, I could only guess the flake was a white Burley that had assimilated a Virginia tang. Otherwise, I can’t taste any Burley in Three Friars - it’s totally overpowered by the Perique (as even the familiar chocolaty taste I just encountered had the fermented musk of Perique.) Granted, the Perique in my batch was covered in bloom, and quite strong. In fact, it drove my sinuses crazy and occasionally caused me headaches. But that didn’t stop me from smoking it all (haha). I’ll have to edit this review, my 2 year old won’t let me finish it, but suffice to say this is also good DGT tobacco - and one I will be ordering again for sure.

Been three months since my last review, so here goes.

I got Three Friars because the name intrigued me, and I heard about the Three Nuns comparison. As others have stated here: no idea why this comparison was made, because it is really quite different from that respected blend. But that's not to knock Three Friars one bit!

I've smoked this fresh, and aged about two weeks in the jar. First thing to note is the bag/tin note: kind of reminds me a bit of a barnyard -- mostly hay and funk -- probably from the quality VAs -- even reminding of a ripe cheese. (In this way, I'm very much reminded of C&D's excellent Habana Daydream.)

When smoking, that barnyard funk comes through as cream and butter, almost like it is lightly cased, which I don't believe was done. So there must be some quality in those VAs! The burley isn't as noticeable, but probably holds this blend down to the earth quite a bit. The perique, on the other hand, isn't particularly noticeable. Maybe it is supporting that creaminess? I mean, there is a little spice, I suppose; it also may be adding to the room note that DOES recall Three Nun's boldness, but only a little.

In summary, I'm a huge fan. I could see cellaring a good quarter or half pound of this. But fresh-out-the-bag, it's a quality, no nonsense, smooth and buttery smoke, and likely repeatable. Three and half stars.

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.

This is my first review of a tobacco on this site, I apologize that I don't have the gift of words as others do.

A previous reviewer had stated something to the effect that he had rarely smoked a more changeling blend bowl to bowl as this one, I think that is why I really enjoy Three Friars. This blend is most definitely Virginia-forward, I can barely detect the burley, which I believe unobtrusively gives the blend some nice body. As to the changeling aspect, sometimes there is a heavy, spicy presence of the Perique, sometimes a subdued, yet sultry sweetness that really appeals to my palate. The Virginias always shine through in this one, I highly recommend it to any Virginia and/or VaPer lovers. This is the only blend I purchase by the pound, love it!

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.