Smokeybears Tobacco Journal Entry and Review: Cornell & Diehl - Briar Fox

[smokeybear]

Cornell & Diehl - Briar Fox
First Off, Thank you Timely for the generous sample of this blend.
Tin Note: The Sample bag smelt like a smokey dark chocolate almost as if it were a dark cocoa powder the smokey part though wasn't that appealing when mixed with cocoa. 2 out of 4
Initial Light: Took 4 charring lights to get this pipe going however once it lit it was burning really well.The taste at the beginning went from harsh to extremely dull in flavor.Burn was consistent though and that is what i am looking for in the beginning of any smoke. 3 out of 4
Mid-Smoke: The Tobacco is maintaining a slow and even burn down the chamber and leaves a nice thick ash behind. The Nic Hit was heavy, at one point i almost got hiccups and there was a bubble in my chest. Sadly the flavor had not changed much it was still a harsh smoke at this point. 1 out of 4
Bottom of the Bowl: Dumped out the Ash to try and relight the pipe as it had gone out twice on me and i suspect the thick ash that was being left behind was snuffing out the flame. The ash coated the sides of the bowl extremely well. After removing the smoked tobacco the smoke began to take form in the sense of flavor. The Virginia was peeking through but only just a little. The taste reminded me of a cold worn leather jacket that still has the faintest smell of your favorite cologne, of course meaning the Virginia that's there but not there just a slight presence. 2 out of 4
Room Note: My wife surprisingly gave my a legitimate answer i guess me asking here all these times has giving her the sense of being a connoisseur, Her words "This blend gives the smell of black licorice...no no Anise say Anise it sounds better" haha i am a proud husband... That hates licorice. 2 out of 4
Dottle: The ash was thick and fell into dust when touched the burn was slow but it was very consistent but left behind traces of goop near the draft hole and clogged the pipe.
Smoking Duration: 35min
Overall: After a month of trying different Va/burs it has become apparent that i am not much into this type of blend. That being said there are a few that i did enjoy just this not being one of them. Good things i can say about this blend is that it burns really good and will build an excellent cake in your pipe. But i like smoking a pipe not to just build a cake i would also like to enjoy what I'm smoking. Flavor and/or complexity wasn't there for me in Briar Fox. 10 out of 20.

 

[winton]

Great pictures and description. I won a tin of Briar Fox in the last caption contest. I have not tried it yet. Your description of the nic-hit concerns me, since I am a lightweight in this department. Thanks for your review.
Winton

 

[zitotczito]

Thanks for the nice and pics. Have not tried my sample yet but will this weekend, we shall see.

 

[smokeybear]

Let me know what you guys think after smoking it the only thing I'm unsure of is the tin note because it was in a box with other blends however I think It had enough time out of that box to smell like itself.

 

[inteus]

Great write up! I have this on my "want to try" list, but now that I know this is nic-heavy, I might not try it. I'm still new to the hobby and want to take it easy on the nic.

 

[smokeybear]

The Nic hit only lasted for the beginning of the mid bowl and it wasn't anywhere near as strong as JKP which by the way did give me serious hiccups.

 

[drrock]

Thanks for the nice review. I've tried Briar Fox both in the past & most recently when I received a sample with an order from smoking pipes.com (no affiliation). I'm not very good at reviewing pipe tobaccos. I'm taste-bud challenged and don't pick up various nuances others with a more sophisticated palate may discern. My way to judge a pipe tobacco - I either like it or I don't, for multiple various reasons.

Briar Fox fits into the "I like it" category. A simple but quality Virginia pipe tobacco. Break the plug into little pieces, spend a bit of patient time getting it sparked up, and sip the smoldering result. Basic. Simple. Good. My own humble review.

 

[sidious]

Thanks for the review smokeybear. Tell your wife her input is much appreciated.

 

[smokeybear]

drrock your right bud lots of people enjoy this blend and i did enjoy the way it smoked however being my palate is far from refined i need something far more potent in flavor to peak my interest. so this blend wasn't for me.
Sidious ill be sure to let her know lol

 

[rcstan]

I like it enough when it has some age on it and/or rather air dried to a crisp ( challenging here in Coastal NC ). It's a simple VA/Bur, sort of reminiscent of G&H BB#2 without the florals and with American Burley rather than the African stuff ( read "rougher around the edges" ).

 

[inteus]

I think I'll ask for a sample on my next TAD.

 

[smokeybear]

Inteus let us know what you think of it.

 

[pitchfork]

smokey, I wonder if it's the burley that's not agreeing with you on this one. It definitely has that typical C&D burley element to it -- described as "harsh" above. But you're absolutely right about the VAs peeking through - the burley does a nice job of cutting the sweetness. I really like burley, especially Cornell and Diehl burley, so this is a nice, nutty smoke for me, but it's also unlike most straight VA blends in that respect. I'm smoking it right now and I definitely get the chalky/dirty mouthfeel that burley often has.

 

[smokeybear]

Pitchfork Your right a Burley Heavy blend tends not to agree with me however a little amount does cut back the sweetness and i have smoked blends that do that perfectly for me.

 

[pitchfork]

Great review, by the way. I always enjoy reading yours and was happy to find one for Briar Fox.
I'm curious if you detect any unflavored cavendish in this blend, or is it stoved VA? There's something very dark in there that I can't identify. It also, to my palate, has a slight sweetness that is almost vanilla/caramel-like. NOT in the aromatic sense, but just a slight vanilla-like note to it.

 

[smokeybear]

As I mentioned burley doesn't compute well with my taste buds but I can say that when the virginia was poking through it was like a leather taste but you know when you are out and it's cold the smell from your cologne just faintly hits you and you can almost taste it in your mouth to the point you salivate a little? . Well it was a vanilla like taste delivered as such.