Winding down for the night, instead of Haunted Bookshop I decided to try a new blend I had never smoked before! Cornell & Diehl Winchester, in a Rattray's Blower's Daughter. This one was so good I decided to give it a little mini review!
Every now and then, on rare occasion, you find a blend that you know you're going to like from the moment you smell it. After getting a couple ounces of Winchester in the mail I stashed it away in a Ball jar, let it sit and build it's aroma for a week and a half, then cracked open the jar and gave it a sniff. Dry dusty prairie grass, gunpowder, and horse. That's what Winchester smells like, and I think it was quite appropriately named!
It comes a bit wetter than any non-aromatic C&D blend I've tried before, but takes the flame easily and burns quite well with no dry time required. In terms of flavor it's a very mellow and mild blend (especially by C&D standards), with the dark, earthy red Virginias and unsweetened canvendished burley in harmonious balance. A little soil, a little leaf litter, a subtle nuttiness, and an occasional ephemeral hint of cocoa. It reminds me a lot of G.L. Pease Union Square, but much smoother on account of the cavendished burley softening the rough throat irritating edges of the red Virginias and with a gentle burley flavor as the background note instead of grassy bright Virginia. There's still a sharp zing on the retrohale though, letting you know that you're most definitely smoking a red Virginia blend.
Speaking of notes, the room note is very old time'y! I'm not sure how else to describe it other than that it reminds me of an old west saloon. Dusty and woody with cedar spice, and a roasty quality like a woodfire hearth. It's very pleasant and makes you think of times long gone by.
As I get towards the end of the pipe the nicotine content feels just a tiny bit below medium to me, and it seems like something most folks could smoke all day if they wanted with little breaks in-between. All in all it's a really pleasant, mild tasting, dark and earthy blend that seems like a good Virginia blend for burley fans, or a gateway into burleys for Virginia smokers. If you like Union Square then Winchester will be right up your alley. It's also the most "old west" smelling blend of anything I've ever smoked when it comes to both the tin note and room note, so if you're looking for something that feels like what frontiersman might have smoked in the 1700 or 1800s then absolutely give Cornell & Diehl's Winchester a try!
It's a keeper in my book, and easily my favorite red Virginia blend I've ever tried right from the first smoke.
