Cornell & Diehl Plantation Evening

(3.13)
A smooth, reasonably light blend of aged Virginias, Latakia, Perique and a little Turkish. An outstanding, middle of the road English blend with a delightful flavor.

Details

Brand Cornell & Diehl
Blended By Craig Tarler
Manufactured By Cornell & Diehl
Blend Type English
Contents Latakia, Oriental/Turkish, Perique, Virginia
Flavoring
Cut Ribbon
Packaging 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

3.13 / 4
15

24

7

1

Reviews

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Displaying 1 - 10 of 47 Reviews
Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Dec 29, 2016 Medium None Detected Medium Tolerable
It's is a pretty mild to medium tobacco. And "Middle of the Road English" is in my opinion not the right characterisation of this blend. On the other Hand it's hard to characterise. Plantation Evening has big parts of typical C&D Virginia Flake, Perique, Oriental and just a hint of Latakia. The first pipe i have smoked i was irritated by the lack of Latakia taste. The second pipe I've smoked i "understood" the tobacco a little bit more. All different tobacco- parts a so perfectly combined that no part sticks out. It is melting together in a spicy, little smoky very harmonious blend. It reminds me very much G.L.Pease Chelsea Morning, where Latakia is also so well embedded. Not shure for which type of pipesmokers it is made- it's nevertheless a excellent C&D Blend. But a straight english smoker could miss a bit Latakia, and a VaPer smoker could be irritated by smoky background notes. However, it burns very well, and after you have finished your bowl I'm sure you reach out for another one. I recommend it to every Pipesmoker that likes natural Tobaccos. No matter if beginner or experienced. You MUST give it a try!
Pipe Used: Several Briars. Dunhills, Winslows, Savinellis...
PurchasedFrom: Smokingpipes.com
Age When Smoked: Fresh
12 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Sep 24, 2004 Mild to Medium None Detected Medium Tolerable
I tried to like this tobacco because the cut, humidity level and aroma in the tin all said, "Yes." Once lit, however, my palate said, "no."

I could find little variation in the flavor which was mundane and quite one dimensional. The Virginia component was particularly weak. There are many fine Latakia laden blends on the market today. I just don't think this is one of them.
10 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Mar 10, 2014 Medium None Detected Medium Pleasant to Tolerable
Several descriptors come to mind while smoking this blend. Typical, basic, traditional, average, among others. When I think of English blends this one fits the mold exactly. The flavor profile is exactly what I would expect. It's very good, but not outstanding. There's nothing here that makes it stand out in a very crowded field. It's just a rock solid example of the genre. If this were the only English blend on planet Earth I would be satisfied with it. 3+
Pipe Used: MM General, MM Country Gentleman
PurchasedFrom: smokingpipes.com
Age When Smoked: fresh bulk
9 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jul 19, 2014 Mild to Medium None Detected Mild to Medium Tolerable
The Cyprian Latakia is a light addition that provides a little smoke, earth and woody sweetness. The perique adds a slight spice, raisins and figs and mainly lurks in the background. The woody, earthy, herbal, vegetative, dry, slightly buttery sweet and sour, lightly spicy Turkish is a condiment. The aged Virginias are nearly the star flavor: slightly earthy, grassy, with a little tart and tangy citrus and a tangy sweetness from the red Virginia, which is the more prominent Virginia by just a step or two. The strength is just short of the center of mild to medium, while the taste is just past that level. The nic-hit is a step past the mild mark. No chance of bite or harshness. Burns clean and cool at a moderate rate with a very consistent flavor from top to bottom. Requires few relights. Leaves little moisture in the bowl. Has a short lived after taste and stronger room note. As per C&D's description, this is a "middle of the road" blend designed for the novice English smoker, and a decent change of pace for the experienced one. Two and a half stars.

-JimInks
8 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jul 04, 2016 Medium None Detected Medium Tolerable
This is a no nonsense english blend. A straight forward blend with nutty, salty, and sweet flavors sharing the load while on the lower side of medium in nicotine content. This tobacco is described as a "middle of the road" from the blender, so why look for it to be more than it is. Once lit this burns without a fuss to a fine gray ash. This tobacco is a perfect way to be introduced to latakia blends, a perfect early morning soft english and a beautiful all day english. It doesn't require full attention to smoke but the nuances are fun to find if you are to sit and study the tobacco while smoking. I am rating this as how it is described from the blender and the fact that it fits that bill and possibly may even surpass it to a degree.
Pipe Used: claridge pot
PurchasedFrom: Branson Cigar Co
Age When Smoked: fresh bulk
6 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jan 25, 2018 Medium None Detected Medium to Full Tolerable
I was really excited to try this blend and even bought enough to cellar, to try it at different times. The tin note is a deep, woodsy, leather with a incense like quality that peeked my interest. Yet in appearance, there is tons of virginia and oriental, and not as much Latakia as the scent gives off.

On first light I got a very burley like flavor, completely unexpected. It had a cigarette/ashy quality that concerned me quite a bit. Then the perique kicked in. At this point all I could get out of the blend was spice. Half way through the bowl I was about to give up paying attention on account of the spice, but then, when least expected, the bread like flavor of the virginia came waltzing in. Now this blend was starting to shine. I could discern the orientals and virginas within the spice. Still, I couldn't get everything I was hoping for out of the blend. It was a bit to one dimensional for me personally. I want to experiment with it a bit, try some different conditions and a different pipe before I put it away for awhile.

Mechanically, it was very well behaved. One light and it smoked down to a fine white ash. No bite at all.

So it may be a blend for you if you like a spicy English that behaves well, but it is rather plain.

Pipe Used: Stanwell Danish Sovereign Zulu
Age When Smoked: New Bulk
4 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Oct 10, 2015 Medium to Strong None Detected Full Pleasant to Tolerable
Summary: An English blend with some power, "Plantation Evening" delivers a cool and sweet smoking experience in this spicy blend.

As the two ounce sample of this dwindled to nothing, I realized that feeling that every reviewer wants to feel about something that comes across the desk: I will miss this when it is gone. C&D "Plantation Evening" has a place in the life of every smoker who enjoys a good English blend, and while it does not get the press that fancy tins English blends receive, it deserves a second look -- perhaps also by the blender.

The first strike of the match brings a heavy layer of Latakia flavors, complemented by Oriental leaf which makes the spice bittersweet, then the fruity pepper taste of the Perique emboldens both. A mixture of Virginias provides both a harvest season flavor and a sweetness, using C&D "Bright Virginia" ready rubbed to bulk up the mix and soften it, but also creating moments of pure savory sweet flavor within the spicy profile of an English blend.

Since the mixture also has some power, it smokes well slowly which is just as well as the Virginias burn hot. Over time, the sweetness fades and the Perique and Latakia take over again for a smoked plum taste that matures into a rich bond with the darker Virginias. Despite the hot burn of the bright Virginia, "Plantation Evening" burns slowly down to a condensed ember of once-damp leaf. This provides its final flavor, a rich dark woody taste like a campfire after meat has been cooked above it.

What "Plantation Evening" lacks is mostly packaging. It has an old style but unexciting name, it does not come in a tin with fancy graphic art, and there is no backstory to this that is compelling. It is just a solid English blend with Perique, like Dunhill "Nightcap" done to less intensity. It could be improved -- in my view -- by shredding all of the leaf to the same form factor, so that the Latakia and bright Virginia were in normal size ribbon cut and did not suddenly dominate the taste profile for several puffs because a large chunk caught fire. Drying this overnight and rubbing it between two palms somewhat equalized the size of the pieces, and led to a more balanced and "mature" smoke like the Dunhill. Regardless, this is a fine blend that can only improve.
4 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
May 10, 2017 Mild to Medium None Detected Mild to Medium Pleasant to Tolerable
First time reviewer here, newish to pipe smoking, so bear that in mind!

So, Plantation Evening. I got 2 oz. of this in a recent order from Pipes & Cigars, one of 8 different tobaccos I wanted to sample, all mild-to-medium English blends. An employee at a local tobacco shop suggested that I try Dunhill Nightcap recently. I'd never had an English blend before. I enjoyed it but for my newbie tastes it was very Latakia-heavy, so I wanted to try some things that were a little more subdued. So that was the idea when I ordered this.

Note out of the bag was quite smoky, reminiscent of the Nightcap. I'm thinking this may be a pretty Latakia-forward blend at this point. On the light, I notice the incense-like aroma that I get from the Nightcap too, but not quite as strongly. But once I get it lit and it settles in, I find this to be quite a bit different! The Latakia settles into the back row, noticeable but in a complimentary way, it isn't the star player here. What I really notice now is a natural sweetness, which I'd gather is from the Virginia. It impresses me as someone who came into pipe smoking by way of aromatics, which of course have a pleasant sweetness but (depending on the blend, of course) have an artificial quality to them. The smokiness from the Latakia compliments it in a very nice way. I guess it's pleasant in the same way a sweet and smoky barbecue sauce is pleasant, though I wouldn't say this is like smoking barbecue sauce, the flavor is more subdued than that.

The tobacco arrived slightly dry compared to other blends I've been smoking recently. Don't know if that's from the storage or the shipping, or if it's just supposed to be that way. It still packs well in the pipe. But between the dryness and the Virginia content I'd say it burns a bit hot and fast. No bite though. The smoke also has good body, certainly not like a full-bodied cigar by any means, but it's not too thin.

In summary, I'd say one of the primary items in my quest for great tobacco is to find a bulk blend at a value price that's a good everyday smoke. At least to my tastes this fits the bill. A possible all-day smoke, it's not complex but it's pleasant.
Pipe Used: A cheap briar I got at the tobacco shop
PurchasedFrom: Pipes and Cigars
Age When Smoked: Fresh out of the box
2 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jan 26, 2017 Mild to Medium None Detected Mild to Medium Pleasant to Tolerable
This is a nice evening blend in the fall or spring. I find the latakia a bit weak for the winter months, not a knock on this blend but simply my own personal preference. The smoke is woody, a bit of spice from the perique or orientals I am guessing-this becomes more potent as I get into the second half of the bowl. This one doesn't really bite even if smoked faster than it should. I have found it to smoke best in a larger bowl, when I used a medium sized pipe the flavors seemed "hotter" and not nearly as rich. My own opinion is that this one does much better in a briar than a cob. I initially ordered a 2 oz bag just to try, realized when I ran out that I missed it so the next month I ordered up 8 oz to pop into a mason jar
Pipe Used: M/T briar, various cobs
PurchasedFrom: pipes and cigars
Age When Smoked: new from bulk
2 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
May 02, 2016 Medium None Detected Medium Tolerable
I don't know why it's taken me so long to write a review on this stuff, when I have been smoking it about once a week for a year or more. Plantation Evening is a very flavorful light to medium English that's worth every penny that I paid for it. The Virginias used are, from what I can tell, mostly of the Red variety, as there is little in the sweet, high range in this blend. However, the Reds are used masterfully and well-proportioned with the Turkish and the Perique. There is Latakia in this blend of course, but it is used condimentally. I prefer when Latakia is used as in this way, personally.

Plantation Evening isn't a flavor explosion and it is definitely not a Lat Bomb. It is, however, an excellent medium English with all of the players recognizable, but working together in harmony. It hasn't won any awards, but it is definitely the English blend that I have smoked the most of and re-ordered the most frequently. On many occasions, I've found it more worthy than Samarra (which is a tobacco that I absolutely love). I've definitely enjoyed it every time that I smoke it.
2 people found this review helpful.
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