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VIRGINIA_GUY
About Me:
Started pipe smoking irregularly in 2008. Became more committed in 2012 after trying my first bowl of McClelland 5100. It's been downhill ever since.
Reviews
Erik Stokkebye 4th Generation - Black Dot
Quite surprised with this one.
The description is true. Red VA with perique. This doesn't taste anything like Peter Stokkebye Luxury Bullseye Flake. I still haven't figured out if the Bullseye core is the perique or if its cavendish. Pretty good flake. The perique is heavier than I anticipated. The only drawback is the price. $120 a pound???? These prices are beyond ridiculous as a whole. At the end of the day it's just tobacco like all the rest of it.
Cornell & Diehl - Skyward Gate 2oz
Nice
Reminds me of Luxury Navy Flake from Peter Stokkebye but without added flavoring. Smooth, sweet, citrus, a little nutty, and like a lot of virginias, tea. I suspect there are more of the lighter va then red va. I like this one a little more than Lone Sentinel.
Cornell & Diehl - Lone Sentinel 2oz
Triple Play without DFK
Tastes exactly like GL Pease but without the dark fired kentucky. Very prominent perique notes in the background but with no roughness. I estimate 15% to 20% perique. The virginias are light on the sweetness and heavy on anise notes. Does go well with coffee. A pretty one dimensional blend but not bad.
Seattle Pipe Club - Mississippi River Special Reserve 2oz
Much better
I'm not a fan of the so called "original" MR. As stated in my MR review, MR now is nothing like MR from 2014 and before. I've never had the Sutliff produced version of MR Special Reserve due to the size and cost. I never wanted to spend that kind of money on 4 oz of tobacco and not know if I'd like it. Even though the tin note has vinegar, it dissipates pretty quick. This actually a little closer to the old P&C version. Has a little more body and flavor than MR. A little sweeter, smoker, and fuller but no drastic differences. Has a touch of tang from the vinegar but not over powering. Over all its better. Not worth $21 a tin but if I had a itch for it then this would ve the version I'd get.
Seattle Pipe Club - Mississippi River 2oz
Still the same
This version is still the same as the Sutliff produced version. Same cut, tin aroma, and flavor. Sweet tart and tangy virginias with added characteristics from the condiment components. Of course with the same casing/flavoring that includes vinegar. That hasn't changed at all. It does not taste like a C&D product. In comparison to the old P&C version when it was available in bulk, they are day and night. I still have a couple of bowls from the P&C version and it was one of the best blends on the market. I wasn't a fan of the Sutliff version and I'm not a fan of this one. Vinegar aromatic.
Seattle Pipe Club - Hogshead 2oz
Don't worry. This is a REAL REVIEW.
Just received my order. Full disclosure, I've never had the Sutliff produced Hogshead so this is the very first tin I've ever purchased. First impressions are promising. For anyone in fear, no it does not taste like a C&D product. Sweet, tart, and bready Virginia's. Reminds me of Elizabethan but without perique. It's very tame with no surprises. Just a good solid everyday Virginia.
Presbyterian - Presbyterian 50g
I'm not impressed
I've been putting this one off for years. I should have tried it before Mac Baren took it over. My tin is from 2022 and was made by Mac Baren. Like most blends, this has an obvious plum/fig topping. It smells like Esoterica's And So To Bed in the tin and tastes similar for the first few minutes. Then the topping wears off and the true problems shows its face. The base tobaccos are raw and inferior quality. The topping is so heavy that it burns hot. I haven't been able to finish a bowl of this. Maybe when the STG version starts coming out I'll try it again. But in the mean time, this tin goes in the trash.
Cornell & Diehl - Fires on the Levee 2oz
Nice
Got my order in today and loaded a bowl for my 1 hr commute to work. There is definitely some added flavoring in this blend. Anyone who has had consumed C&D blends long enough will know if a C&D blend has been added to or not. It's hard to say what it is but it helps capture the natural sweetness and added a nice creaminess to the DFK. Almost reminds me of the flavoring in Carolina Christmas or in Sun Bear. Sweet, creamy, hardwood smoke and a light spiciness. Almost captures mild 1792 flake characteristics. I find that no component dominates the others. Very uniform flavor profile and doesn't burn hot. Nice.
McConnell - Mature 50g
What is going on with getting a restock!!!!
It's been 2 years since this was restocked. It's not just SP, it's everyone in the US. You can't get this stuff out of Germany anymore. WTH is going on!
Cornell & Diehl - Yorktown 2oz
Escudo/Elizabethan Killer
Over the last 4 or 5 years, Yorktown has become the epitome of a great everyday blend for me. A lot of people have complained about harshness. Yes, it can be harsh. BUT.....the key to this blend that I've found is the pipe and packing method. I've found the small and narrow bowl of a cob pipe works the best and packing the bowl on the tight side helps slow the burn down. I've found with this method it tastes toasty, sweet, bready with baking spice undertones. Tastes similar to cinnamon bread. I'll be shunned for saying it......but Yorktown is way better than Escudo or Dunhill Elizabethan Mixture. Sure yeah, Yorktown doesn't have perique. Take some Yorktown and add some perique at about 10 to 15%. Maybe even 20%. You'll have something in the same vane. Get Yorktown in bulk or tin. It doesn't matter as I've never noticed a difference between one or the other. I highly recommend it.
Cornell & Diehl - Redburn 2oz
Just keep trying
I know there are a lot of complaints about Redburn being boring and bland. It's very burley forward. Not a lot of sweetness. The rum is in the tin note but not much in flavor as you would think but it is there. It's more or less to help tame down the harshness of the high amount of burley used. The molasses is used in the same way. But if you have a bowl of this with a chocolate milkshake or a nice coffee, you will see a lot more of what Redburn has to offer.
Cornell & Diehl - Blockade Runner 2oz
Not supposed to be a rum aromatic.
It's not a big deal and it's not to bash anyone or break anyone's balls, but a lot of people miss the point on a tobacco with rum. A pure tobacco with the addition of rum or really any kind of alcohol is not going to have much if any aromatic flavoring at all. But if you remove the rum from the receipe then the blend will taste different. When tobacco was being shipped from the colonies to other parts of the world, it had a high tendency of going bad. So what they did was soak the tobacco in rum or in a sugar to preserve it from spoilage or from just turning into dust. But during transportation, the rum or sugars would transform the tobacco into something way more enjoyable. This was essentially the precursor to casings. I completely understand if people get put off by the lack of rum flavor in Blockade Runner. But to me the point of BR is not to have an aromatically weak blend, but to showcase and pay homage to how it was traditionally done in the past. Blockade Runner is what I look for in a traditional style navy blend. While the tin note is boozy, the booze note doesn't translate to the flavor. Instead you get a light sugary sweetness, molasses, and a very very light fruity note from the fermentation. I don't notice the flavors that stoving imparts on Virginia's. Maybe just a touch of breadiness, but the base Virginia's have your typical flavor profile with an almost black tea profile. Not much spice or any kind of complexity, but I get no harshness either. I imagine if no rum was added to this blend and it was not pressed, it would taste similar to Yorktown as they both seem to have similar stoving proccesses and the same tobacco base. I like it. I think it's enjoyable straight from the tin. I had the opportunity to purchase a 25 year old tin just to see what it was like back then but i waited too long. A similar blend (kind of) is Afterhours Flake but it's alot sweeter. This a nice all day blend that I recommend.
Cornell & Diehl - Billy Budd
Pipefriendchs
Right before I got heavy into pipe smoking, I was just a pouch of Captain Black here and there guy. But I was still terrible with smoking a pipe. So I got on YouTube and came across pipefriendchs channel. Marc still has his channel up but all his videos are private now and hasn't made a video in many many years. Billy Budd was his replacement for Dunhill Nightcap when it went off the market in the mid to late 2000's. It was Marc who got me interested in trying Billy Budd. It's been a very long time since I've had it but decided to see if I still enjoy it so I got a 1 oz bag. My first bowl was very muted. It wasn't strong in flavor at all but I remembered my very first order was on the dry side so I let the bag air out for a couple of hours and that made all the difference. Sweet, smokey, spicy, creamy, and bold. The interplay of the cigar leaf and latakia work very well with the burley adding more fullness and the Virginia flake amping up the sweetness of the cigar leaf. Other than the cut, nothing else has changed since I first had it. Definitely brings back memories.
Samuel Gawith - Commonwealth Mixture 50g
Nostalgia
This brings me back to the days that I really miss. I was in Nashville with my wife on our anniversary 10 years ago. We stopped into Uptowns and I bought my first few tins of Samuel Gawith blends there. I didn't get Commonweath but one blend I purchased was Balkan Flake. Balkan Flake is like the flake version of Commonwealth. Light up a bowl of Commonwealth brings me back to that trip. This is not a power house. It's a very mellow mixture. Sweet and powdery vanilla notes along with campfire smokiness. But not in a strong way. The further I go down the bowl, the more powdery vanilla notes come through. I haven't had a blend with those notes since my last tin of McClelland Frog Morton. Good but light. More tins will follow this one.
Warped - The Haunting Cake 2oz
Uneventful
While I am a fan of cigar leaf blends and I do like Warped Cloud Hopper flake, this one is uneventful and plain for my tastes. Predominantly cigar leaf with a red va back drop. It burns well. Overall flavor is almost muddy. If they lowered the cigar leaf portion and amped up the bright va, it would hit the spot for me but it fall flat to my tastes. My tin was gifted to me from a co worker who felt the same about it.
Low Country - Edisto 2oz
Better than Carolina Red Flake IMO
Bread, nuts, orange citrus, sugar, spice, and zest. While I did like Carolina Red and Anthology 2023, they didn't wow me. Especially for the rarity. Honestly, thought this was going to be like C&D Interlude but I find this more flavorful.
A&C Petersen - Escudo Navy Deluxe 50g
I agree with Oliver V.
I remember when this stuff use be be relatively affordable to buy. Of course it's not anyone except STG's fault for why it cost so much now. If you want something that tastes just as good if not better, I recommend C&D Yorktown. Then add around 10 to 15% perique. Or just buy C&D Poplar Camp as it's Yorktown with 20% perique and a touch of dry black cavendish. They are both in the same ball park but with way more flavor. I'm not paying $19 for a 50 gram tin for something that I can't be moved by. It's ridiculous. Update 5-28-25 Picked up a tin due to the sale. It has been a few years since the last time I've had Escudo. Tin note is figs, plums, dates. Pretty typical tin note. I'm certain it's a extract added to the casing or flavoring. Flavor wise this blend is bready, slightly earthy, and middle of the road sweet with a little spice but it mellows out the further down the bowl I go. The light earthiness from the perique is more notable towards the end. Burns cool and clean.Blend wise I get it a 3 as it's good but not great. Price wise I give it a 2. It's not worth the $19 price tag. This stuff use to be pretty cheap in the past much like Orlik Golden Slice use to be. STG is to blame for the high prices. STG online retailers sell their produces cheaper because they control their own market. Gawith doesn't even cost this much (with the exception of Cabbies Mixture) and imo are better products. As I've stated before, Cornell and Diehls Yorktown is way better option vs Escudo. Add some perique to it ( I recommend starting off with 10%) and smoke away. With the exception of the flavoring, it tastes nearly identical. Imo, it's better. Way better. Still has all the same escudo traits, but with more of a cinnamon roll bready vibe to it. And it's way way way cheaper. Don't get me wrong though. If you like Escudo or want to try it then by all means feel free. For me personally I just don't think it's worth it.
Lane Limited - BL/WB
More like a brown cavendish.
This is more of a sweetened burley based brown cavendish than a regular burley blend. No bite to it but it sure did make my cob burn hot. It tastes like a burley that wants to be a virginia. It's very sweet and slightly nutty. I get top notes of coco, licorice, vanilla, and something that is almost like coconut, but the coconut could be just something that is a result of the mixed flavorings. I'll play with this one some more, but I see it more as a blender than a straight smoke.
Rivertown Tobacco Works - Oak & Ember
Very nice Burley blend
Deep, rich, spicy, chocolately, and nutty dark burley throughout, but the red va is right along beside it with its sweetness and black tea notes. Has a creamy textured finish to every puff. It's a little rough around the edges, but that's to be expected of a dark burley. There is some ready rubbed mixed in. This blend goes hand in hand with a cup of coffee.
Rivertown Tobacco Works - Crimson Shadow
Winchester
Almost 100% certain this is just rebadged C&D Winchester at a better price point. Tastes exactly the same to me.
Cornell & Diehl - Bijou 2oz
Smooth and Delicate
If you read the article in the Daily Reader section of this site, you can find an article about after the end of McClelland. Bijou is listed as an alternative to some of the McClelland blends. They also discript how it is processed. The 2003 Red VA and Bright VA go through a steaming process before being blend with the Katerini. That steaming process helps add to the honey with a dark caramelized sugariness along with the natural flavors and aroma of Katerini. Without the steaming process, you will have a blend that will be on the harsh side of the spectrum. With steaming, any unwanted harshness is removed and the dark sweetness is amped up. This is why I say Bijou is smooth and delicate. Occasionally, a spiciness will come through. I don't get any of the overbearing oriental "wang" or "funk" and brightness that I highly associate with Izmir. If Katerini was more available than it is, I would enjoy oriental tobacco more than I do currently. Bijou is a very nice smooth and delicate blend. The honey really helps to bind in the flavors of the steamed virginias and Katerini. I prefer Bijou with less than 5 years of age as I find it mellows out too much for my tastes. If you haven't tried it, I'd highly suggest getting a tin. This is one if not the very first one of Jeremy's blends with C&D and it made a high impression for me.
Cornell & Diehl - Winchester
Good all day blend
It's nice to find something that is plain but in a good way. Kind of like eating a bowl of Corn Flakes. Sometimes you just want something comforting and not complex, smokey, zesty, overly sweet, spicy, etc. Winchester has no goop, no flavorings, no exotic complex components. It's just a straight up enjoyable comfort blend.
Lane Limited - BCA
An aromatic you can taste
Since the whole deal with STG closing out everybody, I stopped buying their products. But since I have a history with Lane Ltd and specifically Captain Black Original, I thought I'd finally give BCA a try. The bag note smells like real vanilla extract. It reminds me of Vanilla Coke. Has a decent amount of body, doesn't burn hot, and you can actually taste the vanilla. It's a nice addition to a virginia and a good base for a English aromatic. I'm currently having a bowl straight and enjoying it. It seems to have more going on than Captain Black original and it's about the same as Captain Black Dark. I guess STG will keep me as a customer for now.
Gawith Hoggarth & Co. - Coffee Caramel
Aromatic you can actually taste.
Relatively neutral black cavendish flavor with a good amount of body, a nice caramel with light coffee undertones, and not ultra gooey. So far this has worked well as a blender.
Gawith Hoggarth & Co. - Black Cavendish
Don't be fooled
Don't be fooled by the name. This is NOT goopy PG soaked black cavendish. This is what Mac Baren called their Orginal Cavendish which is dark fired leaf that has been put through the cavendish process. It's has all the dark fired profile but mellowed and lightly sweetened. It's good quality cavendish.
Gawith Hoggarth & Co. - North Star
Nice no thrills everyday blend
For starters, it's good to see these hard to get blends from Gawith finally coming over to the states. Since the announcement of STG and their crap, everyone else has a big market to fill and it's nice to see a small company like Gawith taking advantage. North Star caught my attention because of the mention of a licorice flavoring. Licorice is a note I use to get with some of McClelland Virginia's and I really enjoyed it. This is a nice middle of the road, balanced virginia/burley with a light licorice flavor. The virginias are upfront while the burley add a little bit of body and nuttiness. The licorice accents the virginias natural flavors. While it's not one to blow your socks off, North Star is very comforting.
Cornell & Diehl - Black Gold Maple
Better as a blender.
By itself, you get the maple for sure, but no tobacco flavor other than a slight cardboard from the black cavendish. As a blender, it adds a nice maple background.
G. L. Pease - Union Square 2oz
As close to raw tobacco leaf as possible
When Greg states on the tin no casings or flavorings, he is not lying. Union Square is 100% true tobacco flavor. I've dealt with raw virginia leaf many times and Union Square is what raw leaf tastes like. It's good but it's not for everyone. Union Square has a jagged edge that has to be aged away over a few years. It's a whole different taste spectrum youre working with. With a lot of tobacco on the market, when you are tasting obvious notes of for example citrus, chocolate, honey, molasses, etc. Alot of the time it's actually a casing that you are tasting along with the tobacco. You're tasting sugars and flavorings in the casing that help steer certain natural flavors of raw leaf that aren't as apparent without the casing. Here with Union Square, you are getting tobacco in its raw form. Flavor wise I get is a light honey sweetness, a faint citrus and dark fruit note here and there, and a BIG red pepper spice and harshness which comes from the fact that the leaf is not cased with anything. Harshness also comes from nicotine that is in the leaf. You don't have any sugars to mask it so it's more apparent in the flavor than in the strength. This is why I say it takes years of tin aging to mellow Union Square out. If you want true, unadulterated tobacco flavor, Union Square is how to get it. Just beware though, this ain't Orlik Golden Slice.
Ashton - Gold Rush 50g
WTH man?
I've spent all these years putting Gold Rush on the back burner just to find out ive been missing out? This stuff is great. The topping works so well with the virginias while still tasting like tobacco. Sweet, creamy, spicy, and citrus. Medium bodied. Burns cool and clean. No grassy hay crap. This rings a alot of those McClelland bells for me while still retaining its own uniqueness. I'm highly impressed.
Sutliff - Per G. Jensen Virginia
Very pleasant
I'm 100% convinced this is not actually produced by Sutliff but produced by Mac Baren for Sutliff. This will he a good all day smoke and a good blending base as it was intended to be. Predominantly Red Virginia flavor profile with the Bright Virginia adding a little bit of sweetness. Not too spicy, not to sweet, and no harshness to speak of. A very pleasant Virginia for sure. Hopefully it sticks around for a long time. Update 12-25-2024 HA! That didn't last no time....Goodbye Sutliff and Mac Baren.
Cornell & Diehl - Exclusive
I'll admit
I use to hate this stuff! It turned me off of perique blends for a while, but after a few years I decided to buy it again. It's still a strong overwhelming perique bomb, but it blends so well with tamer straight VA's. I use it as my red Virginia/ perique base then blend it to my likings.
Sutliff - 707 Sweet Virginia
Good for the price
Pretty much Mac Baren Virginia no1 at a better price point.
Cornell & Diehl - Granulated Perique
Mixes very well
Nice bag note. Dark fruits with chocolate cocoa notes. From my understanding, the perique that is offered now is the single farm perique that Jeremy was talking about, and you can tell a difference versus what was used before. Its more fruity, chocolatey, and earthy then spicy. The prior version was pretty spicy. The granulated mixes very well to were you can't see it in a blend. Personally, I like the long cut better so I can cut it to the size I want. But what they are offering now IMO is much better then the prior version.
Padron - Natural Londres
Another nice Padron
If you haven't seen it, check out my review for the maduro version for comparison. As the same for the maduro, it's good value for the money. I got a 1 hr and 15 minute burn time from this at a normal smoking pace. This stick has more flavor punch to it then the maduro. Full flavored from beginning to end. A sugary sweetness with a nice nuttiness, lots of black pepper, cocoa, coffee, and leather. Earthy from time to time. The strength hits harder in this one. I could feel it in the back of my throat. Overall a nice cigar. Not something I would want a lot but could have on certain occasions.
Padron - Maduro Londres
A nice Padron
Sorry to inform, but while I buy all of my pipe tobacco exclusively from SP, I did not buy this cigar but actually tried at a local b&m before commiting to it. I have test run the maduro and the natural to compare the two. It's a good cigar for the money for sure. I got 1 hour and 15 mins burn time at a normal smoking pace. It's a dark flavor profile of Carmel sweetness, black pepper, coffee, cocoa, and some nice leather notes. Towards the end the coffee ramps up to a strong espresso flavor. Has some kick to it but nothing over bearing but it did start to get bitter towards the end. Over all a nice cigar. Personally I prefer the natural over the maduro which is surprising because I usually go for a maduro profile over habano wrappers. I have a review posted for the natural also for comparison.
Cornell & Diehl - Virginia Flake
Hope it comes back soon
An excellent Virginia Flake. It's almost bone dry when you receive it but the steam towel trick rehydrates it perfectly. No review description needed as the flavor profiles are perfectly described in the blend description. The only down fall is I haven't been able to buy this in bulk from Smokingpipes.com since June or July of 2020. Really hope it comes back soon because I'm completely out.
Cornell & Diehl - Red Virginia Ribbon
Red Virginia heaven
Yeah I know, it's not Mcclelland 5100, but it's a damn fine smoke. I have a little over 2 lbs of this stuff. Mostly for blending experiments, I pressed 1 lbs, jarred 1 lbs and added my own casing to a small sample. But it's just really good by itself. Its nutty, sweet, creamy, spicy and unlike alot of Va's, its bold. Sure, it can have a few rough edges but nothing a little added moisture and some age cant take care of. I've been reaching for it over and over. And ya'll can shoot me, but I like it more then Carolina Red Flake. Just get you some and give it a try. At 28 a lb. It's well worth it.
Fribourg & Treyer - Blackjack 50g
A hidden gem
This is a finely broken flake. The tin note is similar to burnt sugar so I'm almost pretty sure it is stoved at some point during production. The flavor is sweet, zesty, and slightly creamy. Just your typical Virginia flavor profile but it does seem to have an extra added flavor. It's almost similar to a cinnamon type of spice. Everyone talks about Sutliffs 515 as a Mcclelland 5100 replacement but I find Blackjack much closer. The only down side is it's on the mild side of the spectrum. Very nice blend.
Cornell & Diehl - Sansepolcro 2oz
C&D Euphoria
My favorite of the entire C&D camp. Its tangy, sweet, creamy, with a mid tone smoky herb and spice thing going on. Higher end of medium for body. No negative effects at all. The only unfortunate part is the yearly availability. One of my favorites.
Peterson - Elizabethan Mixture 50g
One of my favorites
For years I hunted through virginias for that special one. While i do enjoy lots of different choices out there, Elizabethan Mixture really hits the spot. Its sweet, bready, earthy, spicy, dark, and has a nice dose of nicotine to keep me happy. It never gets dull, it never bites, it never turns harsh. It's just satisfying overall. It also has very good potential for aging. When I cant decide what I want in my rotation for the time, or just burned out for wanting anything else, or just want to smoke away and not have to think about it, I chose Elizabethan. Let's face it, a lot of Virginias other there arent very user friendly. But you cant go wrong with this one for sure.
Samuel Gawith - Best Brown Flake 50g
Not what it use to be
This use to be a full length flake with a deep semi sweet, nutty characteristic in taste and a nice nicotine punch. Now it's a broken flake with and sour sharpness that bites me. I think the samuel gawith / gawith hoggarth merger has ruined this blend. It was one of my favorites but now has been replaced as one of my top picks. I'm sadly disappointed.
McConnell - Shakespeare 50g
Nothing to write home about
I've never had Dunhill Ye Ole Signe, the blend that this is suppose to mimic, but I highly doubt this is anything close to it. It has a stewed fruit tin note but I can tell it's an obvious topping like plum. It starts of okay with a mild virginia sweetness but quickly fades out into nothing but air. You can't hot box it or it will bite you. The moisture is pretty wet. Even with drying time it's pretty flavorless. K and K generally produce good blends but honestly this one doesnt show their best capabilities
Cornell & Diehl - Dark Burley
Great for cigar smokers
This is the first straight burley I've had. It compares well with a good quality cigar. Dark burley is cured and fermented like cigar leaf. It's earthy, slightly sweet and creamy, nutty, spicy like black pepper, dark and very bold. I enjoy it straight. The nicotine is there. But to experience it with all its glory, it needs to be smoked slowly or it will turn harsh. A little hydration would help. Being a pipe and cigar guy, this definitely fits the bill.
Cornell & Diehl - Briar Fox 2oz
So far so good
I've just smoked 1 bowl but it's worth writing a review. I was expecting more burley but I'm pretty content with it being mostly Virginia. The burley adds more body to the blend. The Virginia is grass like and spicy. No bite and the flavor stays consistent all the way down. Smoked in a cob pretty well. So far so good.
Favorite Products
Blog's Commented on
Behind Cornell & Diehl's Cellar Series
- ► The comparison of Bijou to Rattrays is spot on. Bijou is very similar to Rattrays Marlin Flake in the Virginia department. I much prefer Bijou over Marlin Flake as Bijou is more natural in flavor where Marlin definitely has added sweetness that is sticky sweet and bitey to my tastes.
Introducing Rivertown Tobacco: Value Tobacco, Bold Flavor
- ► Ordered a sample of Oak & Ember along with Crimson Shadow. Was never a fan of Sutliff except maybe a couple of things they produced, but it left a huge whole in our corner of the world. I am glad to see companies working to pick up on the void in the market.