C & D Dark Fired Kentucky vs. HH Old Dark Fired

[robwoodall]

HH Old Dark Fired has been one of my two "go to" tobaccos for a while now, but I foolishly let myself run out. When I re-ordered, there was a sale on, so I bought C&D Dark Fired Kentucky instead.
I really like it, but I can't do a direct comparison, since I ran out of the other.
Not that it matters, since both are wonderful, but I found myself wondering if any of our other dark fired fans had a particular preference.
Do any of you guys prefer one over the other? Can anyone recommend a Dark Fired that would be even better than these two?
Thanks in advance!

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I have both the C&D version and Peter Stokkebye versions of Dark Fired Kentucky blending leaf. I cannot tell a difference. I use them to add 3 to 1 to some blends to give them umph.

I have smoked them straight, but they lack a little sweetness or something to give them interest, IMO. Monochromatic. ODF is a blend of Kentucky and red Virginias. So, the two don't match up exactly as interchangeable, but you could probably add some straight Virginia to it for something close.

 

[kanse]

Peterson's Irish Flake, C&D Sansepolcro, Pease Jackknife Plug.

Those three are best I've had along with ODF.

You might want to look into Blackhouse and Commodore Flake, which are Latakia blends with Kentucky mixed in.
Gawith Dark Bird's eye and Mac Baren Bold Kentucky are also worth mentioning. Although the previous three blends did better job for me, those two are quite outstanding in their own right.
The closest you'll get to CD Dark Kentucky is probably Gawith Kendal Kentucky, which is straight Kentucky with no virginia.
Some people will suggest Solani Silver Flake, which I have no doubt is outstanding but have not gotten my hands on that one to know for sure.

 

[robwoodall]

Cosmic,
Yeah, I think I'm missing the sweetness of ODF. I'll order more of that and compare them side by side.
Kanse,
Thanks! That's a lot of recommendations. Of all of them, Blackhouse is the only one I've smoked, but I liked it a lot. I'll try some of the others.

 

[deathmetal]

I have smoked them straight, but they lack a little sweetness or something to give them interest, IMO.

I like to mix Kentucky Dark Fired Burley with a bit of a Virginia mixture, usually Bright/Yellow and dark/brown, and then drop that into a mixture of ribbon-cut regular Burley and Dark Burley. By itself, it is (like Latakia) too "smokey," but with the Virginias it forms a complement, and the Burley simply amplifies and smoothes that out.

 

[mawnansmiff]

I personally found Old Dark Fired to be somewhat bland, as though it was missing something. It was an ok smoke but one I rarely reached for so I buried the remainder of the 50g tin in about 150g of Bold Kentucky, the result was very close to perfection.
As for Solani's Silver Flake I struggled to taste the Kentucky in that one :roll:
Regards,
Jay.

 

[cobguy]

Do any of you guys prefer one over the other? Can anyone recommend a Dark Fired that would be even better than these two?

The two can't really be compared side by side since one has Virginia and one is straight DFK.
If you want a good mixer for your DFK, try some McClelland #5100 Red Cake.
As for other suggestions, GLP JKP and Triple Play are both really good, SG Brown #4 Kendal Twist is awesome.