By Bob Tate
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The pouch aroma of this blend is quite tangy and tickles the nose a little and induces a little mouth watering effect. There is also a very light sweetness to the aroma that sits far in the background. The moisture content of the tobacco is perfect for smoking right away, as most of C&D blend are. The tobacco is what I would call a coarse cut, because it is quite chunky. I left it chunky and did not rub it out at all.
I filled the pipe using a two step packing method. I packed it a little on the loose side and proceeded to the charring light. On the charring light, I picked up a little sweetness in the aroma but none in the taste. The taste was a straight forward tobacco taste. I settled in for the smoke.
For the first half of the bowl, there was nothing that really stood out for me. It was a straight forward tobacco taste. There was no sweetness from the Virginias and I did not detect anything from the Perique. At the mid point of the bowl, I started tasting a little bit of sweetness and a little bit of peppery/spiciness. These tastes maintained through the rest of the bowl. This blend uses good quality tobacco but is not complex at all. This blend smoked cool and did not bite at all.
I would call this a decent blend, but there is nothing special about it. I prefer my VA/PERs to pack a little bit of a punch and some oomph. I find this blend lacking in that and is on the lighter side of VA/PER blends. I think that the Burley in this blend takes something away from it. There are a lot of other VA/PER blends made by C&D that I would much rather smoke before this blend. It is a decent and smokable blend and I will finish what I have left. I will not purchase this blend again based on the fact that C&D makes other VA/PER blends which better suit my tastes.
But if you like your VA/PER blends on the lighter side, I Recommend that you give this blend a try.
(Note: I know that this blend contains Burley and is not technically a VA/PER blend. But I refer to it that way in my review just to shorten the description.)

Brand: Cornell & Diehl
Blend: #972 Three Friars
Description: A combination of Virginia ribbon, Brown Virginia Burley and Perique.
Country: US
Cure: Air Cured
Cut: Coarse Cut
Tobaccos: Virginia, Burley, Perique
Strength: Medium
Taste: Straight Tobacco, Very Light Sweetness, Little Peppery/Spicy
Room Note: Pleasant to Tolerable

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mate said:
I think I’ll give this one a pass………
Not because of the review.
Its the name that frightens me “Three Friars”
Just a personal hang-up as I spent 5 years in a Maximum Security Institution (Catholic Boarding School / Monastery)
I almost stopped drinking Cappuccino when I discovered the origins of its name
“The name Cappuccino comes from the Capuchin friars, who traditionally wore habits of similar colours.”
August 27th, 2009 at 6:42 AM
Kevin said:
C&D makes a ton of different blends and has several very good ones. I haven’t tried this one, but I agree that the burley is probably what is mellowing it out too much and making it too bland for your tastes.
August 27th, 2009 at 6:50 AM
python said:
Yes, C&D has a large assortment of blends. They have something to fit the taste of every piper.
I am kind of glad that this blend didn’t suit my tastes because I have loved almost every other C&D blend that I have tried (read my reviews) and it is getting pretty hard to narrow it down to a manageable amount of blends to keep on hand, lol.
August 27th, 2009 at 2:42 PM
Kevin said:
I just smoked this one that you gifted me and now I know what you mean.
It is sort of Plain Jane. Not bad, but nothing to write home about. C&D Three Friars reminds me of Prince Albert or Sir Walter Raleigh - very basic mild tobacco taste.
October 8th, 2009 at 6:43 PM