Welcome to another episode of Tasting Notes. I am continuing my journey through Cornell & Diehl's new Summit series, inspired by national parks. Today I am smoking Watchman's Reach.

Watchman's Reach is another blend that seems tailor made for me on paper. It is a pure Virginia plug composed of two different grades of Bright and Lemon Virginias. One of those grades is from 2019 and one is from 2023, and they are pressed into this very interesting and somewhat rare plug format.

Plug Format

Like I said in the other Summit series Tasting Notes videos, the plug format is particularly interesting because you, the smoker, have control over the cut. You can make it thinner, wider, cube cut, or rubbed out to whatever degree that you see fit. It definitely changes how you interact with the blend and how you tailor it to either the occasion or the pipe you happen to be smoking. Also, plugs will age a little bit differently than a loose-cut, ribbon, ready rubbed, or even a flake mixture because there's less surface area.

The moisture content holds a little bit longer over time. Since there's less surface area for the oxygen and the tin to interact with the tobaccos, it will age a little bit more slowly and gracefully into the long term.

These Virginia-based plugs in the Summit series do have long legs, for sure. It's gonna be really interesting to see how they develop in the short term, like in the first five years or so, and then way beyond that, maybe into decades.

Inviting Virginia Tin Note

Immediately, I am getting lemon zest, graham cracker, unsweetened iced tea, and maybe a faint hint of something a little earthy, hay-like. and that grassy quality that I associate with brighter Virginias. What I get from this the most, though, is in the unsweetened iced tea and graham cracker kind of a territory. It's very inviting, especially if you're a Virginia smoker. Let's see how the flavor matches that tin note.

Excellent Moisture Content & A Forgiving Smoke

I feel a bit like a broken record these days, but with all C&D's tobaccos, particularly their Virginias, I do not give them very much drying time at all. I think the moisture content straight out of the tin is pretty perfect. Given that this is a plug and it is in that really condensed format prior to smoking and slicing, I do give this one a good bit of aeration before I pack the bowl, but I try not to let that take too much time because I really don't want to lose any moisture content.

Again, because of the experimentation that you can do with a plug, you will have a wide variety of experiences, even with one tin of tobacco across a number of different pipes, or smoking them with the same pipe. Cutting it at different widths and your packing method will all affect the experience.

I don't think you can miss with Watchman's Reach. I think it is very forgiving, very easy to smoke, and, whether you are slicing a little bit on the thicker side or a little bit on the thinner side, that is gonna have more effect on the burn rate overall and maybe the initial burst of flavor. In my opinion, the thinner you slice it, the more flavor you're gonna get upfront due to more surface area.

A Solid Bright Virginia Blend

I have really enjoyed every bowl of Watchman's Reach that I've put through this same pipe here. I think it's just a really solid Bright Virginia that has the added benefit of the pressure, much like a flake would, that amplifies what I consider the mature flavors of the tobacco.

As the tobacco matures, both pre- and post-production, you get a little more richness, sweetness, and less harshness around the edges. It's a little more well-rounded, and given that this is the only pure Bright Virginia in Cornell & Diehl's Summit series, I'm really surprised, even fresh off the shelf, how much this is smoking like something that does have a lot of age.

Right off the bat, I get the toasted, baked goods, zesty, and grassy flavors that I associate with Bright Virginias. I'm not a hundred percent sure, but I do believe that the 2023 grade of Bright in here is from Canada and it's that high-sugar content Canadian Bright leaf that Jeremy has been playing with a lot in the last couple of years. That natural sweetness is apparent. You can feel it on the palate, and even through the retrohale you get hints of those sweeter baked goods.

I would say this one is lemon zest, tea, and sweetness more than anything else. Then you do have a little bit of complexity in there and spice through the retrohale. I could be picking up that spice the same way that I'm picking up a zesty citrus character, but it's a little bit of a tingle.

Darker Notes Deeper into the Bowl

The further into the bowl, and even when I increase my puffing cadence, I do tend to get a little more of the darker notes here. The darker notes are more like graham crackers than they are like dark fruit or anything. Again, it's very forgiving. I think that the range of flavors here is not perhaps as broad as some of the other Summit series blends.

If you're a Virginia smoker, this is gonna be very familiar and very comforting for you. It's approachable, easy to enjoy, and I think that it is an excellent first smoke of the day. If you're used to Virginias, especially brighter Virginias, it's gonna stick with you all-day long. There's enough body and enough strength here that it will keep your attention, but it is just a straightforward Virginia flavor, and I really love that about this mixture. There aren't too many strictly Bright Virginias on the market. There's a lot of Virginias that blend different grades or also feature Perique, but if you really want a good idea of what a straight Bright Virginia can offer, this is an excellent choice.

If you're a fan of Cornell & Diehl's Carolina Red Flake, and you want to know what that would taste like with Bright grades of Virginia instead of Red grades, Watchman's Reach is an excellent snapshot of that.

All-Bright Virginia Plug for All-Day Enjoyment

Today I'm smoking Cornell & Diehl's Summit series Watchman's Reach in a little sandblasted Eltang Basic, one of my favorite Virginia pipes. I've been trying to keep the pipe consistent as I try all of these blends, or at least the pure Virginia ones.

Watchman's Reach is a really excellent all-Bright Virginia plug. If you're a Virginia smoker, especially if you lean toward the brighter grades, this is an excellent option right out of the gate.

Excellent Aging Potential

It has the benefit of that extra pressure, the format of the plug, and being condensed, it is a little more mature in its flavor right off the shelf than it otherwise would be, and I think the aging potential for this one might be the most surprising out of all of the Summit series.

I have been finding recently that these lighter Virginia flakes end up really blooming over a long period of years. The sweetness is going to be ramped up so much as will the richness, with some of those graham cracker notes, caramelized sugar, and a little bit of that lemon zest. It sounds like a great baked good, right? I really enjoy it and it's easy to smoke all-day long.

Another winner from Jeremy Reeves and Cornell & Diehl.