Cornell & Diehl Seersucker

(3.73)
A lightweight, puckered, all-cotton fabric, seersucker became a staple of the Southern gentleman's wardrobe after Joseph Haspel fashioned the first suit from the material in 1909, as a way of stylishly combating the blazing New Orleans summer heat. A spicy blend of cigar leaf and other choice tobaccos, Cornell & Diehl created this Cellar Series blend in hopes that it will line your cellar much as its namesake fabric once did the streets of New Orleans. Estimated peak: 7-10 years.
Notes: First introduced in July, 2016.

Details

Brand Cornell & Diehl
Series Cellar Series
Blended By Jeremy Reeves
Manufactured By Cornell & Diehl
Blend Type Cigar Leaf Based
Contents Black Cavendish, Burley, Cigar Leaf, Kentucky, Oriental/Turkish, Virginia
Flavoring Other / Misc
Cut Plug
Packaging 2 ounce tin
Country United States
Production Currently available

Profile

Strength
Medium to Strong
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Extremely Mild -> Overwhelming
Flavoring
None Detected
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
None Detected -> Extra Strong
Room Note
Pleasant to Tolerable
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Unnoticeable -> Overwhelming
Taste
Medium to Full
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Extremely Mild (Flat) -> Overwhelming

Average Rating

3.73 / 4
8

3

0

0

Reviews

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Displaying 1 - 10 of 11 Reviews
Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Feb 25, 2017 Medium to Strong None Detected Medium to Full Pleasant to Tolerable
The two varietals of cigar are the dominant components, and offers a little smokiness, some floralness, a bit of wood and earth with a little spicy sweetness along with a bare essence of creaminess. Dominican Corojo is the major cigar leaf, and I’m not sure what the other cigar tobacco is, but it sort of reminds me of Connecticut shade. The earthy, toasty, nutty and dry burley is a supporting player as is the lightly sweet, mostly sour, floral, woody Turkish. The Virginias are almost background ingredients with some grass and earth, light citrus, and tart and tangy dark fruit. The nutty, woody, lightly spicy dark fired Kentucky is a little more obvious than the Virginia. Underscoring the experience is the smoothing brown sugar feature of black cavendish. The nic-hit is a little closer to medium than it is to mild. No chance of bite or harshness, but here and there sports a rough note. The strength level starts out just below medium, and gains a little power as you go along, mostly settling in as a step or two above medium. The taste threshold at its peak barely crosses medium. The moist plug is easy to prepare to suit your preference, and may need a light dry time, though I saw no need to do so. Burns cool, clean and slow. As this complex blend has a number of nuances that waft in and out as you go along, there is a little inconsistency in flavor. Leaves very little dampness in the bowl, and requires some relights. Has a floral, woody, lightly sour/sweet after taste that lingers a little. The room note is pleasant to tolerable. Can be an all day smoke for veteran smokers.

-JimInks
25 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Apr 11, 2017 Medium Extremely Mild Medium to Full Pleasant to Tolerable
This blend has an interesting evolution that sees the various components phase themselves in one by one. By just past half bowl they are all evident giving a very pleasant tasting smoke. It starts with the sweet and toasty Black Cav and the spicy Cigar Leaf. A little ways in they are joined by the sour wood of the Orientals. A little further the Virginias show with sweet hay. Shortly, the earthy Burley chimes in and last, but not least, comes the mildly smoky Kentucky. I really like the way it does that. It's a cool burn and a smooth smoke that has plenty of strength and flavor. 4 stars to my taste buds.

Medium in body. Medium to full in taste. No added flavorings, but there may be a touch of added sweetness which I'll rate at extremely mild. Burns very well.
Pipe Used: MM Little Devil Cutty, Little Devil Acorn, Marcus
PurchasedFrom: smokingpipes.com
Age When Smoked: fresh
14 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Feb 04, 2018 Medium None Detected Medium Pleasant to Tolerable
I really enjoyed C&D's use of Pennsylvania Broadleaf in previous cigar leaf blends but they have created some magic with this Dominican tobacco as well. The musty and earthy notes of Dominican cigars are present here. The cigar leaf mixes wonderfully with the nutty burley. The spicy/toasty Kentucky shines early on then subsides. I get a slight floral/sour addition from the orientals. Both the Virginias and black cavendish are in the background but form a necessary base to the blend and provide some sweetness. Every component is married pretty well and chocolate, marzipan, and cinnamon notes pop up here and there. Seersucker is a bit too rich for an all day smoke but is a great change of pace in any smoking rotation. I'll definitely get another tin to age.
12 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jul 30, 2020 Medium to Strong None Detected Full Tolerable
Seersucker is an extremely difficult yet rewarding smoke.. Despite its challenges ,(moisture, preparation, harsh and bitter notes) by the time I reach the bottom of the bowl I really don't want it to end.. Somehow the flavors all merge together in the end creating a delicious and spicy and lightly sweet complexly floral and woody smoke.. And it produces a lot of smoke.. This is an earth bomb you may just have to be in the mood for.. There are many ingredients in this smoke.. it often swings back and forth at times smoking like a burley but most of the time focusing on the cigar components with background floral and character from the supporting Kentucky and Turkish.. the only thing they left out was latakia and perique.. I'm glad they did leave those out because there is so much more clarity this way and definitely enough spice.. I really pick up the cinnamon flavor described by another reviewer.. I would highly recommend this smoke and would suggest sticking with it if you aren't enjoying it at first.. it is one that takes some time to wrap your head around.. This is now my second favorite cigar leaf blend.. key largo being number 1.. this is like completely opposite to that blend.. key largo is smooth and easy to smoke.. this one is kinda bumpy and requires a seatbelt.. but that could be part of its charm..
6 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Sep 24, 2018 Medium None Detected Medium to Full Tolerable
I've decided to review to cellar series blends from C&D upon purchase (or thereabout) and after the recommended amount of aging to see the changes. I intend to update the review after that period of time has elapsed.

Now:

The tin note is sweet, and also a bit sour. It is reminiscent of a walk in humidor containing cigars heavy sweetness and sour taste. I'm not sure of the degree to which cigars can get those flavors the way pipes can, but if they could, that's how it smells.

This tends to begin crumbling while slicing so trying to cut into flakes feels futile, but it's going to be broken up anyway so this is not a problem.

If I had to describe this in one word, it would be evolution. It starts out like a mild cigar with a sweet taste. Sourness works its way in, followed shortly by a woody flavor. The sweetness resurges later, but it's not a new flavor, rather the initial sweetness changing a bit and making itself known, then giving way to earthy and smoky flavors.

That's about the end of things coming in. These flavors remain a medley for the rest of the bowl, ceding prevalence to each other as it goes. It remains interesting throughout and while varied, is consistent. Once all the flavors are in, a retrohale enhances the flavor more than usual.

I can't wait to try this one again after cellaring. This blend is a home run, particularly for those who also enjoy cigars, whether regularly or an occasional dalliance.

My video review of this blend unaged can be found here:

https://youtu.be/W8jMuOsygWo

Aged:

Stay tuned.
Pipe Used: SMS Meerschaum Skater
PurchasedFrom: Smoking Pipes
Age When Smoked: 13 Months
6 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jul 04, 2017 Mild to Medium None Detected Mild to Medium Pleasant to Tolerable
A unique blend that is light and smooth.. and fluffy in a way. It almost has this cotton like fabric quality much like its namesake. It's mildly sweet from the cavendish with some almost creamy woodsiness from the cigar leaf (Dominican criollo, and Italian). I pick up some white burley as well. And the Virginias provide a slight fruity tang. It's very well blended and becomes its own thing not just the components. If there is Kentucky in here it is very very little. A lot of cavendish and Virginias turkish Izmir, and then cigar leaf with a pinch of Kentucky.
6 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jul 22, 2020 Medium to Strong Extremely Mild Full Tolerable to Strong
Seersucker is another great cigar blend from C&D, also another one that eschews Latakia. It presents as a leafy plug, with tobaccos ranging from golden tan, to red brown, to very dark brown and black. Tin note is fabulous, like a musty/loam-y, fruity, floral, chocolate-y cigar, and this from a tin just 8 months old (sorry, I couldn’t wait…). A slice off the plug is easy to crumble and stuff, and it lights and burns down like a champ, even in its rather moist original state. Glad to say that the scents and tastes follow the deep tin note, with the cigar leaf leading the charge, fragrant and delicious, as described, dark fruit from red VAs and Middle Eastern bakery spices from the Orientals, bitter nuts and smoky, buttery tannins from the KY, and adding green pepper corns. There’s lots and lots of smoke, and the profile holds top to bottom. Very nice scents and tastes, and great mouth feel, too. Strength is midway between medium and strong, with the nicotine trailing. Tastes are very smooth but still full the way I smoke it. Room note is just barely tolerable (I think…). Aftertaste is a lengthy trailing off of the best of the smoke.

Run, don’t walk to grab some of this before they change or discontinue it. 4 stars young, and no doubt in my mind it will age beautifully.
Pipe Used: dedicated cigar briars
PurchasedFrom: smokingpipes.com
Age When Smoked: 8 months
3 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Mar 07, 2019 Medium None Detected Medium Tolerable to Strong
2022-04-08 Pulled it out of the deep cellar and now this has really begun to shine. I understand why they blended this one to be put away for several years before opening. Now a couple of years in the jar and the cigar leaf works well with the blend to provide a delicious smoke!

2019-08-06 Pulled the jar out after a few months of aging. Still very very moist. Let it dry 30 minutes but still had a heck of time getting it to stay lit, requiring numerous relights through the bowl. The flavor still seems spicy, but a little more subtle than when the tin was popped. Will check back in 6 months.

2019-03-07 The other tins are going into the cellar to "age" to closer to their recommended 7 to 10 years but I decided to pop one to give it a try "Fresh". The tin was from 1/19 so it is just a couple of months old.

The tobacco is a C&D style brownie. I did not get a particular tin-note just more of a general "tobacco". The brownie was very moist compared to other ones I've tried in the cellar series so far. I peeled some off of the top of the block and let it air dry a couple of hours after crumbling it up. It's really a hodgepodge in look with lots of different tobacco mixed up in the cake.

Once a little drier, it was easy to load into the bowl. It packed easily and took a charring light with some good swelling. The true light got it going good even though it felt a little more moist than I usually prefer.

The bowl started with some spice which I'm guessing is the cigar leaf. As it worked through the bowl, the taste kept changing as it went through the variety of leaves in the mix. The only really consistent taste was that cigar leaf.

I'll really be interested to see how this one ages in the sealed tins and if the flavors marry together over time.

As I open more tins, I'll come back and review again.
Pipe Used: Morgan Blackjack
PurchasedFrom: Smokingpipes.com
Age When Smoked: 4 years
2 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Dec 04, 2018 Medium to Strong None Detected Medium to Full Unnoticeable
This is a plug that I tried at my weekly pipe club meeting. I peeled off a layer and packed it into my pipe. This smokes spicy, stout and definitely has a very nice cigarish taste to it. It is recommended to age around 7-10 years for it to reach its best. If I was younger, I would buy some but do not have the time or patience to wait that long. Really good out of the tin I might add.
2 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Apr 05, 2017 Medium to Strong None Detected Medium to Full Tolerable to Strong
A full, good tobacco flavor. Like C&D's Speakeasy, it has a big nicotine hit for me, making it hard to smoke while working (writing). Try it and see if it has that effect on you. My first cigar-leaf blend. I do love the taste.
Pipe Used: corn cob, briar
PurchasedFrom: Smoking Pipes
Age When Smoked: Days
2 people found this review helpful.
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