Welcome to another episode of Tasting Notes. Today I'm revisiting an old friend, Cornell & Diehl's We Three Kings, available now. It's one of three Cornell & Diehl holiday blends meant to commemorate the holiday season, and actually We Three Kings has long been my favorite out of all of those.

A Crossover Aromatic/Virginia Blend

We do classify We Three Kings as an Aromatic. It does have a noticeable flavoring, but it is so subtle and so well incorporated into the blend and into the tobaccos that form the base of the blend that I consider this really more of a crossover blend.

This is something that you can absolutely get away with smoking in a Virginia pipe or a Burley pipe, and not really risk much ghosting of any flavor, but it still has such a nice, warm, inviting, and pleasant fragrance to those around you that you can probably also get away with smoking it in mixed company over the holidays.

We Three Kings Components

We Three Kings combines Black Cavendish, equal measures of Red and Bright Virginia, and a little bit of specially sourced Katerini Turkish leaf. To that, a proprietary top dressing that comprises vanilla, cinnamon, allspice, and similar flavorings. Mostly you're getting this really lovely vanilla and warming spices that are evocative of the holidays, like cookies and maybe a little bit of mulled wine. The tin note is really nice.

I love the cut of this too. You have some chunkier pieces of pressed Virginia leaf and some chunkier pieces of Cavendish, and then we have some really delicate, Bright ribbon, and what I assume is also the Turkish in here. Lots of different colors going on. A bit of a wild cut in the sense that there's different ribbon sizes and some compressed tobacco. I find that it loads really well into a variety of pipes. This one also burns nice, smooth, and slow.

We Three Kings Tin Note & First Light

As for the tin note, you do have some bready Virginia and maybe some earthy and floral notes from the Turkish leaf. Mostly it's just a really nice, mild sweetness, vanilla definitely there, maybe even a little bit of barrel character, similar to your favorite American spirits. You have something that's aged in a barrel and it picks up that char and that vanilla, and maybe even a touch of that chocolatey kind of a note. Definitely some warming spices and baked goods as well.

It is super inviting out of the tin and definitely not overpowering. I think that, going into this blind, one would guess that there is a flavoring, but whether it was like a slight casing or a top note, it's really kind of hard to tell. Like I said, everything here is so well integrated and balanced that it doesn't slap you in the face with aroma. The natural tobacco really comes through both in the tin note and the smoke.

Even from the first light, there's big amounts of flavor. It's putting off a ton of smoke, it's coating the palate, and it's got a nice, creamy density to it. The vanilla comes through, but like I said, most of what I get, even off of the first light and as the bowl progresses as well, is the natural tobacco flavors.

Complex Flavors of Natural Tobacco

This is definitely a crossover blend, in my mind. It's Virginia forward. I do get a tiny bit of the Turkish influence, particularly as the bowl progresses, but to me this smokes like a straight Virginia with a mild flavoring, so mild that as the bowl progresses and the flavoring melds even more with the natural-tobacco flavors, I begin to question whether or not I actually consider this an Aromatic.

Again, I'm getting the baked goods. The perfect amount of sweetness, just enough to remind you that it's there without being cloying. There's a malty and bready character from the Virginias that really comes through, which is very complimentary to the vanilla, and also to the warming spices.

I also think that for those of us who tend to smoke Virginias or English mixtures, Oriental mixtures, and Burleys, and are occasional Aromatic smokers, one thing that We Three Kings has to offer is a surprising amount of complexity. Again, it's not really coming from the flavoring, it's coming from the base tobaccos, and all of them are chosen so well that they complement the warming spices and the vanilla very well. That's the experience you get throughout the whole bowl.

There's a tiny bit of spice on the retrohale and definitely some of that vanilla as a supporting player there. I feel like this just deserves to be smoked, so don't worry about the classification of whether it's an Aromatic, or what pipe you're gonna smoke it in. This is so versatile and so forgiving, I think, of packing technique and chamber size. It's really easy to just have a good smoke with We Three Kings in any of your typical briars.

Varying Levels of Sweetness & Base Tobacco Flavors

I've chosen a Cornell & Diehl Durham Don to smoke We Three Kings today. I haven't gotten a new cob in a while and I wanted something else that I could dedicate to Aromatics, just because, in my mind, there's always been this association that cobs, especially a high-quality one with a good stem, really serves that purpose well. I don't really have to worry too much about babying the pipe or whatever. I can just lock, load, and smoke, and I appreciate that about cobs in general.

I would encourage you to try this in clay, Meerschaum, briar, or whatever pipe medium you normally prefer. You're gonna get varying levels of sweetness, a little bit more of that vanilla coming through, and varying levels of the base tobaccos as the main player, which I think is the theme throughout the smoke with We Three Kings. It's those Red and Bright Virginias and that Katerini Turkish leaf that shine most of the way through.

Whether you're an Aromatic smoker that's looking for something that's gonna fit a number of occasions throughout your day and probably be an all-day smoke for you, or you're like me and you normally smoke Virginias, Virginia/Periques, and the occasional English mixture, and you really want something that can be enjoyed in mixed company throughout the holidays, We Three Kings is a great option.

I believe We Three Kings will cellar very well because of the base tobaccos and the minimal amount of flavoring, so you can go deep on this one and save it for future holiday seasons. But really, fresh right out of the tin might be the pinnacle for this. I really love how it is smoking right away and there's plenty of time right now to stock up before the holidays. Do your loved ones a favor, get some We Three Kings, and grab a pipe and enjoy it over the holiday season.