Cornell & Diehl Guilford Courthouse

(2.25)
C&D pays tribute to our heritage with Guilford Courthouse, a new Virginias blend named for the closing battle of the Southern Campaign during the American Revolution. Fought in our home state of North Carolina, we find it fitting to honor this battle that took place in part of what would become known as the tobacco "Old Belt" with a blend of the finest Red and Bright Virginias grown in the Old Belt region. And, just like the Revolutionary War soldiers adding a pinch of salt to their stew, we've added a pinch of extraordinary Izmir Oriental leaf for spice and to enhance the sweetness of the Virginias. We trust you'll enjoy this new blend from C&D.

Details

Brand Cornell & Diehl
Blended By Keith Toney
Manufactured By Cornell & Diehl
Blend Type Virginia Based
Contents Oriental/Turkish, Virginia
Flavoring
Cut Ribbon
Packaging tin, bulk
Country United States
Production Currently available

Profile

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

Average Rating

2.25 / 4
1

6

5

4

Reviews

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Displaying 1 - 10 of 16 Reviews
Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Mar 02, 2011 Mild to Medium None Detected Mild Tolerable
I don't much care for this. Believe you me, I gave it a fair try. I had a great deal of the stuff lying around and I smoked it in all manner of pipes under all manner of conditions. It just plain does not taste good.

It doesn't burn the mouth or tongue but still leaves them feeling irritated. It isn't a particularly strong tobacco, but always left me feeling queasy and deflated.

The Izmir Oriental leaf only serves to make it taste dirty and sooty. The Virginia is sour and flat as percolated coffee at a basement AA meeting.

I will never, ever smoke this again.
5 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Nov 14, 2009 Mild to Medium None Detected Mild to Medium Pleasant to Tolerable
This is a very confounding tobacco. At least to my memory, it's the only tobacco of its cut (very fine) that performed best dried to almost powder. Straight out of the tin, it was very moist and that not only made lighting difficult, it seemed to dumb down the flavor. It got better as I dried it out but reached its peak (such as it is) when it became extremely dry. Only then did the orientals make a statement.

At its best, this is a fairly non-descript tobacco. It had an "odd" sweetness, and try as I might, odd is the best way I can describe it. The Izmir no doubt has a hand in that, and it tasted like no Izmir blend I've ever smoked. Perhaps the dryness changed the turkish beyond recognition but only dry could I discern that there was any turkish in the blend. The virginias seemed undercooked and bland. As I said, confounding.

The best thing to happen to this blend was nothing C&D did but what I did. As the previous poster mentioned, 5% perique added helped but it was only when I added 20% burley to that mess that the concoction elevated itself beyond "somewhat smokable". If you have a tin of this and don't like it but don't want to throw it out, try this recipe.
4 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Aug 20, 2012 Medium None Detected Mild to Medium Pleasant to Tolerable
To my tastes, not a bad blend at all. The Izmir provides a forward spice and some bitterness as well a woodsy flavor that is a bit piney on the finish. The Virginia flavor is distinctly Cornell and Diehl, earthy, with a malty, toasted grain note to its flavor.

There's a fleeting sugariness that appears here and there but never seems to provide much of a foundation, nor does it present itself as a major aspect of the overall flavor profile. The smoke is very light, fairly creamy and very fragrant. The room note is pleasantly sweet with a slight baking spice note. Guilford is fairly bitter and renders sort of a brisk tea soft palate sensation.

GC has a tremendous upside DGT'd. DGT brings forth a more pronounced sweetness as well as a fuller mouth feel and strangely enough a black tea flavor. I think with some trial and error and with finding the right pipe for it, this blend could be one of those B-side sleeper mixtures.

If you're looking for an affordable Va/Turk mixture, this one might fit the bill nicely.
3 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jan 28, 2017 Medium None Detected Medium Pleasant
t has been a couple of years since I've posted any C&D blend reviews and I have smoked nearly 100 tins of their various offerings in that time. So, it may be awhile before I get to all of them.

The Bright added grassy notes, the Red added sweet notes and the Izmir (one of the most spice laden of all the Orientals on the market), lent strength and spice to the presentation. I ejoyed this one a lot, and perhaps even enough to get more tins, which is what I should have done in the first place!
2 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jul 23, 2010 Mild None Detected Mild to Medium Tolerable
I was always surprised about the lower ratings for this blend. I find this to be a nice play between sweet Virginia and sweet-ish/spicy Oriental/Turkish.

I right away cellared and am at the 3 year mark on some, and will retry with the age and keep you posted. Recommended to Va fans.
2 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Mar 23, 2010 Medium None Detected Medium Tolerable
Well, it's ok...but nothing special here. The red virginia lacks sweetness and is the polar opposite of many McClelland VAs. The Izmir does not seem to add much character, even though I do detect its presence.

This is not a horrid blend; it is just not memorable. I am not really sure what this blend is trying to achieve. Many other C&D blends are far better.

Govern Yourself Accordingly.
2 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Sep 11, 2009 Mild to Medium Extremely Mild Mild to Medium Pleasant to Tolerable
This is only the second C and D Blend that I find I don't like but this one just did not satisfy. It has a very perfume taste that I don't like and as I am sure it is the Turkish tobacco in it that I am tasting and smelling, I am learning that that is not my taste in blends. What a waste of good VA tobaccos. It is a very dark brown blend in a rough flake and has a pouch aroma with a somewhat peaty semi sweet pouch aroma. It was on the dry side which I tend to like anyway and it loaded very easily into my pipe and lit very easily on first light. It has a nice sweet VA flavor with the perfume taste and aroma of the Ismir tobacco wafting in and out. I enjoyed this one just the same but not enough to want to keep any around. It just left me wanting at the end of the bowl. it did burn very well to the bottom of the pipe with a grey ash and no dottle or moisture left in my pipe. This might be enjoyable to Turkish lovers but as I just did not enjoy it and I can find good in most tobaccos, I just can't recommend it. To many good tobaccos with Turkish leaf out there to settle for this one.
2 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jun 15, 2008 Medium None Detected Medium Tolerable
I found this to be a disappointment, largely because I'm learning that I just don't appreciate Izmir in many blends. I don't really know if this has a large quantity of that leaf relative to the Vas, but the effect to my tastebuds was a bitter mess that left me dumping out most of the tin. I'm giving this 2 stars instead of 1 because I think the quality of the leaf is good; it's just not my thing.
2 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
May 19, 2008 Strong None Detected Medium to Full Pleasant
I can't help talking about this one. Either I don't get out enough, or there aren't that many blends that showcase old belt virginias. I have an dusty tin of W.O. Larsens "Old Belt Ready Rubbed" in my collection. It's harsh and boring, appearing to be singular in its ingredients. Nevertheless, I had to have it. On that same note, I had to have this one, yet it was anything but boring! Similar to the OBRR, the #927 mix has a faint floral smell. Not like an english soapy floral, its more like an expensive rose from the cooler. A pity it couldn't smell that way on fire, eh ladies? Perhaps if the rose garden grew too close to the fire pit...hmmm. Smells nice, actually. To me, anyway. Regardless of that, if your'e a collector of tobaccos, this is a must have. Sounds simple and straightforward enough by description (like so many), but what it doesn't mention is that stoved or flue-cured old belt tobaccos are potent enough to be considered condimental, or at least I think so. Do you like wasabi? Have some habaneros with spices and a couple shots of moonshine? Put your mouth through boot camp before getting your pallet in the ring with this wild child. All things are affected by the pipesters smoking habits, of course. An older, more experienced leather-toungue might sail through this fog unaffected. This concoction is probably intended for slow nursing. No steamboats or locomotives. With all that said, go ahead! Go to town on that initial light-up and roll the smoke through your nasal passages. A snuff-like burn, that fills your head with an almost overwhelming piquancy. Don't be ashamed if you get a little misty-eyed. It's normal for some guys to fall in love with something hot and sweet but potentially wicked. Isn't it? I like it in my Peterson 304 system pipe. All things in moderation. You've been warned. Like a woman, you gotta have some in your life for the sake of experience, if nothing else. If you get burned like I do, you only have yourself to blame. I must add that the turkish gives the blend a special flavor, and it stands out in a very different way than the turkish in other blends from the family. It might not be an everyday blend for the novice, but very good for training ones self to puff slowly and pause more often. I know I'm going to venture this stuff again and again and again. It's the only courthouse I'm not afraid to get into...but respect is definitely due! UPDATE: I smoked some Briar Fox out of the 304, then went back to "court" again. #927 was noticeably mellowed...somehow. It could be the pipe is improving the flavor as it continues to develop a cake. Perhaps the Fox was a better foundation tobacco. This got milder as it slowly dissapeared into nothing but ash. I am learning that it is better to start the break-in process with the mildest blend in the category of choice. It helps to have a vast collection...that's why it takes so long to learn when you're making peanuts for a living!
2 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jun 03, 2007 Mild to Medium None Detected Mild Pleasant
I am very fond of many C&D blends, but this one I found rather disappointing. Part of the reason is that it is very moist and therefore rather difficult to keep lit, this being particularly unfortunate as the blend is quite mild and each bowl needs some time for the smoker to be able to appreciate its nuances. Constant interruptions for a re-light distract one's attention from the flavour.

Protracted periods of drying out the tobacco before loading are an unfortunate necessity in my experience. Even then the tobacco is, for me at least, a little dull. The addition of 5% Périque makes a difference and adds interest.

Overall however, I find tobaccos such as Briar Fox much more interesting and satisfying.
2 people found this review helpful.
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