Cornell & Diehl Old Grove

The red Virginia offers tangy ripe dark fruit, earth, bread, wood, vegetation and light sugar as a team player for the top spot. The mildly smoky, woody, earthy, buttery sweet and sour, herbal, vegetative, moderately spicy and floral Katerini shares the lead with the red Va. The tart and tangy citrusy, grassy, sugary, lightly floral and spicy, slightly acidic bright Virginia just manages to play a supporting role. The dark burley offers nuts, earth, wood, and very light molasses in a secondary position. The spicy, raisiny, earthy, woody, plumy, figgy granulated perique is a step above being a condiment, thought its impact varies here and there. At times it equals the burley in terms of effect. I barely notice the sugary black cavendish, which mainly helps tame some of the rough edges. The pomegranate topping sublimates the tobaccos quite a bit, though it doesn’t drown them out. The strength and nic-hit are medium. The taste is a step past that mark. There’s no chance of bite or harshness, though a few small rough notes are present. Burns cool and clean at a reasonable pace with a mostly consistent sweet and sour, spicy, floral, nutty, savory flavor that translates to the pleasantly lingering after taste, and slightly stronger room note. Leaves little dampness the the bowl, and requires an average number of relights. It’s not an all day smoke, but it is repeatable. Three and a half stars out of four.

-JimInks