Cornell & Diehl Three Friars

Don't look for a Three Nuns clone here. This is very tasty stuff, with satisfying strength without being overpowering. The flavor is solidly in the middle range, with a decent amount of bottom range activity. Not especially complex, but delightful in its straightfowardness.

3 Friars is a neat looking tobacco, lots of light colored leaf mixed with cocoa brown and black. The tobacco fills the pipe easily, small bowls may have a harder time with the wide ribbons but it will work. Easy to light, and easy to keep lite. It tingles your tongue at first, and you think oh boy hold on. But all of sudden you get a sweet and pleasent taste and the pepper stands back and almost goes away. Then mid bowl it comes back and mingles with the sweetness which I really liked. You get plenty of smoke to watch curl away and give you that satisfying feeling. Smokes right down to the bottom of the bowl, and leaves a nice dry ash. I have decided to add this one to my regular smoke list and will see how it ages with time. Its going to be a good every day smoke. No Buzz either, just enough of nic to soften your day without putting you away.

So, what happens when you take a younger smidgeon of Cornell & Diehl’s VaPer element from Poplar Camp and add a metered portion of qualified Burley? Possibly it is this, Three Friars? Okay maybe not, but that is precisely what initially struck me with this one for what it is worth.

Cornell & Diehl’s Three Friars combines a mix of Bright and Brown Virginia as its primary feature while being moderately peppered with the two mentioned varietals. A coarser ribbon-cut mixture, this tobacco shows a spectrum of earthy hues ranging from pale tans, red/orange, brown/umber to minor stints of black. The projected nose endows a lighter nature on the whole. What comes across is a general sugariness overcasting of vinegar tart wood and settled herbs predominantly.

Key points of the assessment:

Mild-Medium strength/intensity: Foremost, there is a demonstration of some degree of inconsistency in the demeanor all told. Mainly, this tobacco has its moments of more convincing boldness, but for the most part, the standard experience that renders is a gentler strengthened offer. As such, it could stand as a common all-day indulgence,

Baseline: Virginia – Forming the dominant note is the selection of mixed Virginia, which perhaps is the single best attribute of this blend. Primarily the Brown varietal adds some seasonable nut-woodiness as it binds with the natively sweeter Bright strains. In simple terms the registration revels with hints of floral that favors a mossy pine, smoky citrine tang, and stronger chord of rustic spicy hay/warmed grass. Highlighting this common stream are various colorizing elements of caramel, raisin, sweet toasty bread, general herby tart, and finally some inklings of lemony vanilla

Forward mid-band taste: Burley – The inclusive Burley selectively thickens the middle width of flavor with the addition of exceptionally darkening spice. This comes to be characterized as notably earthy, stodgy, and largely leans to the feel of a medium cigar-like remarking. The zestful profile does similarly bring a node of sulfur wood, some wavering nuttiness, minor sourness, and a tinge of a salty licorice note. There is a darker fruity nuance that comes into play that equates to the taste of soiled beets, which if that trips your trigger more power to you in that enjoyment. The tannic aspect of the leaf seems fairly earnest as well because this tobacco feels especially dry upon the palate. Generally, the Burley influence bolsters the blend’s suitability to the assigned genre, yet it materializes with a marginal luster.

Accenting: Based upon the recipe’s configuration, distinguishable notes of the Perique character roll with a slighted crescendo pattern, arriving as a somewhat contained complement. Riding in the upper back tier, the leaf does add an excitable seasoning to the base notation when it shines through cleanly, which seems to be for the initial half of the bowl. Yet, its enduring presence is of perceivably average importance in helping to define the overall appealing value. Its strongest comments bring the effects of stewed prunes, brothy umami, mild soured woodiness, and a tad of earthy must. I should say that, in general, with the smoking you do get periods of sincere vibrance that serve to stimulate the nasal cavity and upper palate, nonetheless.

• A simpler Virginia/Burley adaptation with an interesting addition of Acadian spice.
• Evidence of some diluted sugar-based additive on the finished taste.
• I am not remiss with the suggestion of rehydration from the get-go on this tobacco.
• Minimal complexity but evenly pleasant overall.
• Can be rough and a bit edgy in the flavor stream joins which leads to a minor binge of harshness in the feel and the melding of taste.
• Nicotine is a spot concentrated on this one, higher side of medium.
• Mechanical performance is generally okay, some challenging occurrences with temperature and burn reliability.
• Definitely charters better through a taller/narrower bowl construction.
• Enjoyable in cob or briar.
• Modest and tolerable room aroma that diffuses hushed spicing and grassy/wood sweetness.
• Cost is nicely affordable and is readily available in bulk.

Scoring: Objective scoring came in at 2.66 WAVG or 145/188 in total. In practical terms, this is an easygoing alternative that has some merited facets in all fairness. Overall, it achieved a high average ranking on both Flavor and Genre metrics and does seem to exhibit reasonable blending quality. Again, as to the embodiment of the associated Leaf attributes, the Virginia shines as the most endearing feature followed by the Perique, the Burley scored less impressively.

Finally, in addition to what has already been stated, I found Three Friars to be median on appreciable savor and charisma. Mainly, the upper band of flavor encounters as a little underdeveloped and at times the tobacco suffered from inconsistency in engaging fullness. But it is not to be perceived as an inferior product by any means, just a little hampered in magnitude in my opinion. Without reservations, the goodness of the Virginia presentation is quite appealing indeed, which I thoroughly admired. 2.9 Pipes

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.

After spending some time with Three Friars I have to say that I've really been enjoying it. I get the sweetness and some of the citrus of the Virginia's, the dark plum and spice if the perique and it's rounded out nicely by the earthy, nutty, woodyness of the burleys. It's got all the lovely notes I look for and has been a nice smoke . It's got plenty of nicotine, but it's still mellow enough to smoke multiple times throughout the day.

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.

Three Pleasant Friars

This Va/Bur/Per is quite similar to Haunted Bookshop in terms of components and flavor profile. However, C&D traded a bit of the burley in HB for more red Virginia. This change really enhances Three Friars. The Virginias are sweet and earthy with a slight grassy-crispness—all of which are much more evident throughout the smoke. The burley adds a bit of nuttiness and a wisp of sharpness. The fermented spiciness of the perique is noticeable at all times, but to a lesser degree than what is in HB. This might be the cause of having less of the condiment leaf or in how it interacts with the abundance of Virginia leaf.

Overall, I prefer Three Friars over Haunted Bookshop in that TF smokes a little sweeter and smoother, though neither blend quite hits the mark of perfection. That said, I still might pick up a pound for the cellar.

I would echo the sentiment of MysticRune...'Naturally sweet and nutty with...[an indistinguishable] hint of spice best describes Three Friars.'

In my 4oz offering, I too have an aesthetically pleasing mixture consisting of light golden and cocoa brown...but, no ‘black leaf' that he mentions.

The processing involved in order to make Perique creates a black tobacco...and...I have no black leaf in my mixture...none. So it makes some sense, that I, like DoctorThoss, ‘...didn't taste much in the way of [P]erique.' Nonetheless...I, like the Dr., found Three Friars to be naturally sweet and creamy to my palate as well.

Highly recommended.

A companion infusion: as with other Virginia/Burley blends...a couple of pints of Newcastle Brown Ale.

Not being a fan of C & D, I went into this by the legend of Three Nuns and the great price. This is really a bargain at twice the price and should be tried. All flavors are mild, nothing stands out or dominates, the last 3/3 of the bowl become very ashy and ciggarette like so I usually stop on the 2/3rds. But initial flavors are quality and perfect for an all day smoke that wont BBQ your mouth.