Cornell & Diehl Burley Flake #4

A very stout burley blend with a small amount of latakia to enhance the smokiness of the fire cured burley and just a bit of Va to sweeten it up a bit. I would smoke it more often but find the nicotine content a bit overwhelming, even after aging and smoking slowly in a small pipe. 1/2 bowl in a small pipe is all I can handle, but I enjoy it from time to time for it's smoothness and very full flavor. Not for the faint of heart. One could say it is economical since a little bit goes a long way. I love the pure, in your face tobacco aroma, but it will clear a roomful of non-smokers in seconds.

White and Bronze Burley are at the forefront with a wee bit of ripe Red Virginia playing in the background for sweetness. Then, a dash of Latakia to make things interesting for the smoker. Not a limp wrist, but no Arnold Schwarzenegger either in the strength department, and unique in its presentation, I rather enjoyed my tin of this one.

Conclusion: A straight burley with some condiments, if you are looking for some nuttyness this will hit home. Goes well with coffee.

Rubbed out it is mild taste wise, a sweet nuttyness and honey sweetness dominates with some faint latakia in the background. The latakia fades and turns mellow after a while, while the burley keeps rising and taking charge without ever really developing any spicy pepper-ish characteristics. I never really pick up the virginia or kentucky, this is really a burley blend all over. If one folds the flakes instead of rubbing them it brings out a bit more nuance, the flavours interchange more but the key elements are the same. This is one straight smoke, not much complexity here, but you always know what you get so that does not have to be a bad thing. Medium bodied, it does not fill one's senses to the brim.

Mechanics: Burns well, dry, cool and clean with no bite. Medium to full strength, but not a power horse like Old Joe Krantz or Big n' burley.

Edit 2019: Most of what I previously stated still stands, but it has grown on me. As I have grown more experienced the latakia now is evident. It is actually quite perfectly blended for my taste. That means the salty, savory qualities are evident now as I can tell the parts from each other. That, in combination with the wonderful burley of c&d, makes me bump this one up a star. This is one great blend. If only a flake version would be constructed out of the blueprint of Crooner...

If you've tried C&D's "Big N Burley" and found it good tasting but too strong, meet BNB's little brother. Aside from the different cuts (this is a broken flake, BNB is more rough cut) and the fact that this one is milder, they could be twins. The flavor profile is very similar to my taste buds.

Lighter in nicotine and strength, this has the same cigar notes and rush of burley flavor that come on at first light and are maintained throughout the smoke. This one will bring the fire if overpuffed but sipped appropriately, this is a fine blend. I do happen to prefer its bigger sibling but this is a nice toned down version for earlier in the day. That said, I find this one to be the least realized of the C&D Burley Flakes. The other three seemed more unique somehow and contained a greater depth of flavor. Still, this is a worthy blend to sample if you like your blends heavy on the burley and light on the latakia and sweetness.

I get mostly Kentucky with the other components in the background. The Virginias add a very modest sweetness. The Burley is barely discernible, but seems to smooth out the Kentucky to a small extent. The Lat does little more than make the Kentucky smokier. A fast pace will get you some harshness. I find sipping to bring out the best flavor and keep it cool and smooth. If you like Kentucky, and I do, you'll love the flavors here. There is no evolution so it may get a bit tiring. I have been smoking my bowls in three parts with long breaks in between. Can take a few hours to finish one bowl. A very satisfying smoke.

Body is medium to strong. Taste is medium to full. No added flavorings. Burns very well.

While I didn't like #4 as much as #2, it's still a very good kentucky/burley forward blend. I really enjoy the way latakia was added so sparingly, lending just a little extra smokiness to the background. It needs a little dry time but not much, and burns cleanly to fine ash without relights. There's just a faint touch of molasses-like sweetness, probably from the Virginia I presume, especially in the lower third of a bowl. I'm awarding 3 stars instead of 4 because I got a little harshness towards the end of the smoke. But I may have been puffing it a little too hard, so could be my fault. I do recommend any burley lover give this one a try. Another solid, old-time tobacco from C&D.

This is the third of the BFs that I have tried. The other two were # 2 and # 3. I found this to fall in the middle as far as my personal enjoyment. I did not like 3 as I found it so stout as to be overwhelming. I loved #2 as it was to the brink of stoutness that I could still enjoy and had a nice nutty sweetness.

BF4 also has a nice nutty sweetness to it with a nice touch of smoke thanks to the Latakia, which is pretty lightly applied btw. I also found it to be less stout than the other two I mentioned which added to the enjoyment of the blend for me. The nicotine content is still pretty strong though.

Other than that, it is the normal thick C&D Flakes at the perfect smoking humidity that one would expect from C&D. As is also expected from C&D the red Virginia is not that sweet, but it does its job of accentuating the burley.

I only purchased one tin of this, but would add more if I was still buying tobacco. It is good.

This stuff is intense. I smoked lmost a full tin and every time I need to back off of it. I like it, but it is just a big punch of strength. The vitamin N in this is strong. Upon opening the tin it smells of straight burley. I detect no latakia. The flakes a somewhat broke one the edges but one can easily tell there are flakes. I am sure if I didn't roll the tins arond and had softer treatment then they might be full intact flakes. Lighting is easy. I used the fold and stuff method but the flakes easily broke. I also used the rub it out method. Both light equally easily. I used a meer and a briar. Taste is pretty typical of a burley base with kentucky. In the briar you taste more of the sweetness of the virginia but it is minimal. And in the meer I only taste the burley and kentucky. And at no time do I taste latakia. Even in the smoke, no latakia. Tastes of dark hay and dried grass mostly. It burns evenly, cool and dry like it should. Ashes out very easily in the rub out way. I did have a few unburned flakes here and there when using the fold and stuff method, but only about half the time. Now, I mentioned above about its strength. About the second half of the tin I was packing 3/4 full as the nicotine in this was gettng me light headed. And I am not big on this feeling way. I would rate this around a 2.9 so it'll end up being a three star. Can't say I'd ever buy it again but I'm glad I tried it.

I found this tobacco to be strong, stout, dense and smelling like dirty socks - and I rather liked that! I didn't find it to be the butt-kicking knock-your-socks off blend that other reviewers noted. I first smoked it straight out of the tin and it was pleasant but not as strong as I anticipated from other reviews. It had that smelly but nut-like aroma in the smoke that I have always enjoyed in burley blends and the small amount of latakia lodged it squarely in the English category. I experienced no tongue bite at all.

I knew that this would not be a steady stand-alone regular smoke for me as it didn't have enough variety in tastes; i.e., it just wasn't complex enough for that. I began to add it in varying amounts to my microblends and that worked out quite well, giving each one that special little extra taste that can only come from a quality burley.

I can easily recommend this tobacco to fellow pipe smokers for both straight smoking and blending. Cornell and Diehl will be at our 2014 NASPC show in August and I am planning to purchase a tin of the other three Burley Flake blends for experimentation. A very solid three stars.