Appropriate for the advent of a new calendar year, Firebird Flake is ready for its introduction to the world. The Firebird of legend symbolizes beauty, rebirth, and renewal. It is a magical being with luminescent or fiery wings whose capture may be rewarded with wishes or good fortune.

Legends of the Firebird span the globe but originated in Slavic mythology, later evolving in more modern Russian folklore, emphasizing the creatures' powers of magic, challenge, adventure, and transformation. Its fiery character helps to describe and epitomize the nature of Cornell & Diehl's Firebird Flake.

"We were trying to think of names that would evoke the two components that are the focal point of the blend," says Jeremy Reeves, Head Blender for Cornell & Diehl. "Firebird Flake is all about finding a balance between fire-cured tobacco and sun-cured tobacco. We landed on Firebird Flake because the imagery is cool and references the curing method of fire-cured tobacco."

Jeremy says that the challenge of this new blend was primarily in the balancing of two primary components that are so dramatically different in style. "Dark-fired is big, bold, brash, and spicy, and a little bit goes a long way; it's very overt in flavor, very flavor-forward, and it can easily overpower other components."

Orientals and Dark-Fired

It takes very little Dark-Fired to make an impression. "On the other hand," says Jeremy, "Oriental can easily fly under the radar. Most of the time, when people are smoking Oriental tobaccos, they're smoking it in congruence with Latakia and maybe some darker Red Virginias, and the Oriental flavor often bleeds right into the flavor of Latakia. Latakia is an Oriental, but it's been heavily fire-cured. Other Orientals are subtle but complex and very flavorful. But all of the sumptuousness of Oriental flavor profiles is subtle and transient; so much of the flavor of Oriental really is just olfactory, with an effervescent quality, and many of the flavors are transitory, providing just a whiff or hint. And then it's gone."

That inherent quality of Orientals made developing Firebird Flake especially demanding because the subtle Orientals needed to balance in flavor with the much more dominating Dark-Fired.

"Firebird Flake is all about finding a balance between fire-cured tobacco and sun-cured tobacco"

"Whereas Latakia is dark-fired and bold and brash in terms of its flavor, it is an Oriental at heart, and it doesn't have a whole lot of strength. That's the other thing that fire-cured has in abundance: nicotine. So I thought it was an interesting experiment to balance fire-cured tobacco and Oriental in such a way that they project equally prominent voices."

It took considerable experimentation, but Jeremy finally devised a formulation that balanced the two components. For the blend to taste like they were equally balanced, it required 43.75% Oriental with 4.93% Dark-Fired.

The combination of Oriental and Dark-Fired isn't common in blending. "Maybe some of our readers may know of others, but I am not aware of any other example of a blend that pairs these two leaf styles."

Jeremy typically tries at least three or four unique configurations when experimenting with a new blend, then makes minor changes within those versions. "I end up with versions one, two, and three, and then explore other changes, so I have version 1.2, 1.3, or version 4.3 and 4.4. For Firebird Flake, we finally decided on version 3.4."

"I thought it was an interesting experiment to balance fire-cured tobacco and Oriental in such a way that they project equally prominent voices."

He also had to balance the Orientals, taking into consideration the way that younger Orientals work with older Orientals. "Younger Orientals are more overt in flavor. They're a little more assertive, even though they're still very subtle, and very mild and very complex. They're a little more prominent with the Oriental aromatic character, the effervescence, and spice-house melange that they can provide. Older Orientals are really interesting in that they are more like dried flowers; they've mellowed and grown more complex in interesting ways." Jeremy had to consider a dizzying number of factors to achieve his goal.

Firebird Flake contains Izmir grown in Thailand from crop year 2019, another Izmir grown in Turkey in 2005, and Macedonian Samsun from 2005. The Thai Izmir is younger and has a punchier aroma and melange, with fuller lemon and honeyed notes.

"The Turkish-grown Izmir is from 2005 and very mellow and mildly perfumey. It has some deeper nutty notes that are interesting and the kind of aroma that you might expect from something like matcha tea or a very fine green tea. That's the reason for using two different Izmirs. The combination of the two growing regions and different ages worked very well with the other components."

As you have no doubt ascertained, Firebird Flake is entirely dependent on exacting balance.

"Older Orientals are really interesting in that they are more like dried flowers; they've mellowed and grown more complex in interesting ways"

"It took a few tries and a lot of variation. We also needed the right balance of Virginia components that would be able to bolster the sweetness needed for this blend, because Dark-Fired has a little bit of sweetness, but it's more strong and smoky than it is sweet. Orientals have a little bit of sweetness, but there's also sort of a sour and funky quality to them. So we needed some sugars in the background. But that's where they needed to stay: in the background. So it was a matter of finding the right balance of Virginias that would not work their way into a prominent foreground but remain as a base in the blend. What I settled on was born of minute changes along the way to all four of these versions and then finding the one that most perfectly balanced the Oriental and Dark-Fired."

Once he found that mixture, he started thinking about where the Red Virginias, and later, Orange Virginias, could nestle into the blend without overpowering the flavor. "I wanted them to do little more than oohing gently in the background of the choir."

Virginias

"The two orange Virginias are from 2021 but are very different from each other. They're from the same crop year but different crops on different farms, with different sugar and nicotine content, and they balance against each other favorably. The mahogany Virginia, used in small quantities, is from crop year 2013. So again, we have a lot of age and mellowness in that mahogany leaf. If that same style of leaf was from 2023, it would have been too forceful in its flavor to keep the balance right, but I needed a dark Virginia in here. The sweetness needed a dark point and a lighter point, but I needed all of it to be mellow enough that it would remain in the background."

Firebird Flake is technically a three-component blend: Virginia, Dark-Fired, and Oriental. But it's much more complex than that short list implies, with three different Virginias, two different grades of Dark-Fired, and three Orientals, all from different crop years and all with unique individual characteristics. "You've got tobacco from Thailand, you've got tobacco from Macedonia, you've got tobacco from Turkey, you've got tobacco from Kentucky and Tennessee, you've got tobacco from Virginia, and you've got tobacco from North Carolina. It's from 2005, 2013, 2019, and 2021, so there's a lot going on here, but it would be very easy to just describe this as being a blend of Virginia, Oriental, and Dark Fired, and that would be true."

With the balancing act required of Firebird Flake, all of those different varietals are necessary. "The purpose of all this, at every stage, is for the smoker to perceive equal input from the Dark-Fired and the Oriental. The only way to do that is to have the right mix of Dark-Fired grades and the right mix of Oriental grades so they fit well together in a sort of yin and yang relationship that allows individual component types as well as all of the individual components in each type to have a discernible voice."

Flavor Characteristics

When Jeremy develops a blend, he lives with it for a long time, learning all of its personality traits, and afterward, he tends to leave it be for a while, but that wasn't the case with Firebird Flake. "It just didn't stop intriguing me, even though it was all I was working on or thinking about for months."

Jeremy often thinks of flavors in terms of color. "Lots of flavors give me the impression of colors, and you'll hear other people describe flavors in terms of color, too, like very green flavors. These things have a connotation that's biological and innate. A word that comes to mind whenever I smoke Firebird is 'golden.' It's like the flavor of a deep golden ochre kind of color. That's what I picture in my head. If this taste could have an appearance, it would be a deep, warm, vintage gold.

Firebird Flake is more complex than expected, with three different Virginias, two different grades of Dark-Fired, and three Orientals, all from different crop years

"Beyond that, I think that the flavors meld together in a truly sublime manner. It is altogether subtle and mellow, full of complexity, full of points of interest. But it is an easy smoking blend that one could certainly just pack into their pipe and light up and have a totally pleasant night."

Jeremy believes that most smokers will first notice the lighter tones, then the more floral notes of the Oriental with a subtle, smoky edge to it. As the bowl progresses, the flavors build in a chorus of funk, spice, and light citrus. "There's also a barbecue note — some of the hardwood notes that Dark-Fired can offer. But one of the coolest things is that, when I've given people samples, they haven't been sure just what they were smoking. They were surprised that they were smoking Dark-Fired of Oriental." The balance disguises them.

A colleague in our Customer Service Department, for example, is well known for his hatred of Dark-Fired leaf. He won't smoke anything with Dark-Fired in it. Yet after trying multiple bowls of Firebird Flake, without knowing its ingredients, he said, "If I were to ask you to blend the perfect all-day smoke for me, this would be it. What's in it?"

When Jeremy told him that it was mostly Oriental and Dark-Fired, he was stunned. He had a hard time believing it. "I blended Firebird Flake with the full knowledge that Dark-Fired can be polarizing and with the full intention of making a blend featuring Dark-Fired for people who might not like Dark-Fired." So Firebird Flake will appeal to many people who, knowing the components used, wouldn't think it was in their comfort zone.

The savory aroma and flavor, the room note, and the touch of pungent smokiness work together for an unexpected combination.

"If this taste could have an appearance, it would be a deep, warm, vintage gold"

"You'll probably like Firebird Flake," says Jeremy, "if you're a fan of Virginia/Orientals or Dark-Fired. If you like Toscano cigars, you'll probably like this. Virginia smokers who love the salty character that Virginia provides will probably like this. New smokers who want to understand the flavor profile of Oriental will be interested."

Over the past few years, pipe smokers have shown a marked increase in interest in Oriental leaf, its subtlety and sweetness gaining popularity. "More people are discovering that this is an overlooked component and realizing that in blends they enjoy Oriental is sometimes an ingredient. Each type is wildly different; there's a lot of nuance and character, and it has an impressive range with a lot of different kinds of flavor that can be achieved."

There are no casings or flavorings on Firebird Flake. The range of flavors is produced naturally. It's an unusual and delightfully surprising experience, unlike what most people would imagine. And it's all achieved by meticulously choosing and balancing the components.

Small Batch: Firebird Flake is available January 14 at 6 p.m. EST