Cornell & Diehl Tuggle Hall

(3.10)
A deft blend of Cyprian latakia, white burley, and the perfect soupcon of perique (for spice), many find C&D's Tuggle Hall to be quite reminiscent of old-style English blends.
Notes: Tuggle Hall was introduced in August 1996.

Details

Brand Cornell & Diehl
Blended By  
Manufactured By Cornell & Diehl
Blend Type American
Contents Burley, Latakia, Perique
Flavoring
Cut Ribbon
Packaging Bulk, 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

3.10 / 4
9

5

7

0

Reviews

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Displaying 1 - 10 of 21 Reviews
Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
May 02, 2013 Medium None Detected Medium to Full Pleasant
I picked up four ounces on spec from reading the reviews here. Ok, so I picked up four ounces on spec from reading the reviews I liked. Pouch aroma was as classic an English aroma as it gets, leathery Latakia, peppery light notes of perique. I realize it's missing a few traditional components; still, the pouch aroma is exactly what I smell for in a classic English blend. I did something I rarely do and loaded a pipe straight from a new pouch, typically I either age the pouch for a while or at least leave a pipe load out to dry for fifteen minutes to an hour. There are a few reasons I didn't this time. 1) I'm putting a new pipe through its paces, a Radice aerobillard, treating it badly and 2) I wrote a premature review of this, a political statement of sorts, that, rightfully so, was removed. So I feel obligated to properly review this for y'all and for Luca of neat pipes and Luigi of Radice. Briefly, as this is a tobacco review, the pipe reveals every nuance of every tobacco I've smoked through it. It's hard to believe there aren't aged and naturally sweet Virginians or spicy Orientals in this blend. Mid bowl there is sweetness, a mellowing of the thick leathery latakia and the hint of perique becomes more a preponderance of evidence. I'm not a stranger to English blends, my palate is moody, salivating sometimes for va/pers, sometimes straight Virginian, sometimes English/Balkan blends. Tuggle Hall smokes like as pure and elegant and stoic an English blend as I've ever smoked, and I've smoked the old 965, Old Ironsides, Penzance, etc. Which was a bit of the stump I was politicking from; I'll be brief. The industry is in danger. I think perhaps enjoying the new, the blends set before us is a way to praise the hobby, and mourning the loss of old blends, the old 965, Bengal slices, Germains special Latakia flake (or is it only me that quietly mourns that one?) is almost like writing an eulogy. I smoke a pipe for serenity, for good company, for elegance and sophistication --- that's all still alive and well and the folks at Cornell and Diehl deserve respect for carrying on in a tradition and innovating in an industry under fire. This is a great blend. It's sweeter than the older 965 blend was, that will either appeal to you or not, next time I'm getting more than just four ounces. For what it's worth if your cruising this site for blends to try either for nostalgia or novelty or curiosity and you've read this rambling review, my recommendation is that you beg, borrow, steal, or, you know, buy this blend. I also think someone weaning themselves off aromatics into English blends will find this a smooth transition. To be fair I might have a different opinion using a different pipe, but I'm not taking a star away without good cause.

Oh, almost forgot, as far as room note goes, I am surrounded by non smokers that apparently love the smell of burning tobacco; my aging folks (I have moved to MI to be a full time caretaker for them) My girlfriend, my daughter. A good english should have one banished to the garage, be accused of smoking old sweat socks. I'm just saying, room note as pleasant might be a very subjective review, I can't ever smell what my pipe does to a room, just to my own own taste buds.
14 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Apr 05, 2015 Mild to Medium None Detected Medium Pleasant to Tolerable
A couple of days ago I was rummaging through my stash C&D tobaccos and ran across Tuggle Hall, circa 1996 - so, I guess my tin is from the first-year production. Very smooth and quite good. Loaded with unflavored Black Cavendish for lots of structure and the Latakia was also very smooth. I did not really detect the Perique except in short wisps from time to time. I smoked a few bowls again yesterday and the flavor never got old. I'm sure the age and almost 20 years of fermenting and melding made this tin so special. Did it remind me of Dunhill 965? No, not really. Two entirely different smoking experiences for me.

Pipestud
13 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Dec 12, 2009 Medium to Strong None Detected Medium to Full Pleasant to Tolerable
This is a two part review of C&D's 965-Tuggle Hall for reasons I'll explain later.

Part I: I began my seven day test of Tuggle Hall 9 days ago as I was finishing up my test run of 973 - Cordial. While I found Cordial to be a grand slam home run, with Tuggle Hall I had some initial trouble. It and Cordial, smoked on same day, were not good complements of each other. My palate was too biased by each not to taint the other. By the third day however of testing Tuggle Hall alone my reaction to this turned decidedly positive. I had been unsure that I could take it as an all day smoke due to my lousy idea of smoking a sibling blend at the same time as I began this one. But Tuggle Hall has proved it can be a wonderful all day companion. Upon opening the 8 oz tin of TH one is struck with the definite classic English note. It is described as broken flake; I'd say more of a ribbon/broken flake. Upon lighting the easily packed mixture one is immediately greeted by a taste explosion of Latakia and Perique well knitted together by a creamy "Cavendish". What kind of cavendish? I've no idea. But this blend works despite the seeming simplicity of its formula. (Unlike my favorite Engine 99 which is as complex as any blend ever made in my experience). The overall taste is crisp and bold...and says "English" in a manner all English fans from the old Dunhill days will recognize. This is a tasty English to be sure, even with the perique. It has already replaced Frogmorton in my "rotation" as it has a similar Latakia kick w/o the one dimensional facet of the frog - Tuggle Hall is more rounded and its sweetness is not as edgy, but creamy, mellow instead. /An aside is due here/: Back in the mid 1970's Dunhill marketed in the USA a blend called "Dunhill American Mixture" (not listed or reviewed on TR). I bought a large dark red tin back then, beautifully appointed with fife, drums, colonial standards, 13 starred US flag, etc. It too was a lookalike for 965 but was a nicotine bomb of which I never could finish a single bowl - ever. I gave the tin away and retreated back to 965. Tuggle Hall if overly stoked can give a similar nicotine hit, but not quite as strongly. - Thank goodness. Where the similar-to-965 American Mixture caused almost instant violent hiccup spasms, Tuggle Hall only threatens to do so if pushed too hard. /Aside over/ Two mornings ago I stepped out into my sun porch with a cup of tepid tea to have my first pipe of the day. After lighting my Tuggle Hall and smoking for 5 minutes or so, I decided a hot cup of fresh brewed coffee would be a better idea and left my pipe out while I went in to brew some java. Upon returning to the porch I experienced something a smoker rarely does, the room note of his own pipe without the taste on the tongue (or,in other words, the aroma as others experience it). INSTANTLY, by magic, I was teleported back in time to 1982...

Review Part II: ...and I was entering my smoke filled office thick with the lingering aroma from my still smoldering Dr Plumb billiard loaded with my Dunhill My Mixture #965. Unmistakably, 965 -Tuggle Hall is a dead ringer for Dunhill MM965 in aroma; and from here the smoke alike comparison proceeds. Not a 100% clone in taste, Tuggle Hall shares a blending tradition with the classic Dunhill to a degree that they smell, to me, exactly the same. Since my teleportation, as I light each bowl of Tuggle I make note of the aroma as the smoke lightly waffles into my nostrils as the match first hits the tobacco. Yes, I'm home. Not six months ago I turned down purchasing 3 tins AND a pound of bulk of MM965 at my B&M eschewing the Orlik version as I have ever since they took over production for BATCO. I am not so brand conscious as to be mesmerized by a mystique in name only. Furthermore, I am convinced that back in 1966 upon my first tin of MM965 if I had found 965-Tuggle Hall in the tin instead, it would be the standard today by which I judge blends, including Dunhill's itself. C&D makes no claim of a deliberate recreation attempt here. I do believe Tuggle Hall to be a coincidental smoke-alike to MM965, and in my opinion, the superior blend nevertheless and one which deserves review on its own merits. 965- Tuggle Hall relates to (old) Dunhill My Mixture 965 in the same manner that, in the cigar world, Macanudo Robust series relates to the original Macanudo Cafe series - a recognizable family relationship, but more flavorful. For those who might insist on the most exacting "965-ness" among the C&D product line, consider #061 Stratfordshire which to me is almost exactly MM965 but with Cyprian rather than Syrian Latakia.

4 Stars for 965-Tuggle Hall
12 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Feb 18, 2014 Medium to Strong None Detected Medium to Full Pleasant to Tolerable
Another good Latakia/Burley blend. Latakia dominates the first third. The Cavendish (obviously Burley) dominates the middle third. Latakia dominates the last third. The Perique is applied lightly and provides a moderate amount of spice throughout the bowl. There's just enough sweetness to make this palatable. Without it I wouldn't be able to take this. As it is, I like this blend. I don't think it would benefit from cellaring, but I'll keep some around. 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
Nov 03, 2011 Overwhelming None Detected Full Pleasant to Tolerable
OMG!!!!! I can smoke 5 Brothers in a cob and I like what it does to me. Tuggle Hall made me see the White Buffalo, like Richard Harris' character in "A Man Called Horse". I was driving and had to pull over 1/2 way thru the bowl. I almost puked. It was great, but Gees, gimme some warning! This stuff is better than marijuana. Smoke a bowl and watch the Tele-Tubbies. Highly recommended.
7 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Feb 19, 2012 Medium to Strong None Detected Medium to Full Strong
A granulated cut of deep caramel to black in color. Smells nasty but faint in the tin, latakia dominating.

This is reminiscent to Dunhill 965??? Well... maybe the very old stuff that was actually made by Dunhill, which I have not smoked. Having smoked over 100 tins of the Murrays and maybe 10 of the Orliks, I'm not making anything close to that connection with this stuff. Where 965 is sharp and clear, this one is cloudy and confused. Instead of the oily, pungent latakia in 965, this is just kind of dirty tasting. There is good flavor among the dust and it does rear its head at times... the flavor of the usual leather, wood and spices. Nice campfire aroma that becomes overpowering in the room fairly quickly. Overall, I have to go back to my first thought, which was "cloudy". If this tastes like old Dunhill 965, then Murrays improved the mixture when they took it over. This also gets very perique-y towards the end, in both taste and aroma - a definite alteration of the old formula with which I'm familiar.

This was best when I mixed some McClellands Red Cake with it. It took on a good bit of sweetness then (something it decidedly lacked without it) and became a bit more reminiscent of 965, although not much. It did improve the blend, however. What this proves to me - as has been proven many, many times with other blends - is that if you want the taste of 965, buy 965.
5 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jan 07, 2010 Medium to Strong Extremely Mild Medium Tolerable
I am not terribly familiar with 965, having smoked a bit more than a half tin of the Orlik version just shortly before it was discontinued. From memory, the 965 was definitely a bit sweeter. Not sweet, just a bit sweeter. It also did not become quite as "ashy" towards the bottom of the bowl.

This is a relatively dry (not sweet) very lightly flavored English with a whole ton of burley, to my taste. As a result, it works pretty well for me in the first third of the bowl, tends to have a bit of a nicotine wallop in the middle third, and the last third is a dark ashy thing that I don't particularly enjoy.

If the entire pipe full could be as good as the first third, this would easily be 3.5 stars. As it stands, I have to give it 2 stars, as there are a lot of other blends I prefer.

(I do very much like burley blends, especially from C&D, but this combination just doesn't work for me.)

Great cut, it's kind of chunky bits of leaf, similar to many other C&D blends, I just generally really like this cut, it behaves itself outside (where I do most of my smoking) and works well indoors too. Can require a bit of grooming, tearing up some of the larger hunks of latakia leaf.

UPDATE February 2010 After smoking this a bit more, it's growing on me. It's very important to agitate the blend before packing, as otherwise you can get a bowl with a lot of perique, or a bowl with a lot of latakia, or a bowl with a lot of burley. As you might imagine, each of those is less pleasant than a well blended bowl. This blend has a LOT of flavor, burns really well, and I like it a lot. It is a bit "dry" in flavor, not at all sweet, and I don't sense much of an Oriental presence, if any. It's a really hearty American English blend, kind of like Epiphany on steroids.

UPDATE June 2011 I've found that shredding the blend further makes it a lot more consistent in the pipe. I don't think it is as multi dimensional as Epiphany, and it's not at all sweet like 965 is.
5 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jun 07, 2008 Medium None Detected Medium to Full Pleasant to Tolerable
I have been on a 3+ year journey searching for a replacement for my beloved Dunhill 965, and someone suggested I try this blend. So far I can only say that Tuggle Hall resembles 965 due to the similar characteristics. It misses on the creaminess and smoothness of the Dunhill weed. I believe Perique adds some underlying sweetness, but while Tuggle manages to have a sweetness, it simply can't replace whatever was used in 965 Still, I enjoy this full flavor English, and in part because one does not get an oriental overload that dominates so many of today's English blends. One can puff away all day on this one without tongue bite or having to pace oneself. I should add here that this might be a good blender for someone wishing to tame another English blend.

UPDATE: I had Craig press some of my last order of this blend and I stashed away a pound for a couple of years. This made a nice improvement, but still I can't say this is really all that comparable to Murray's 965 blend. A nice smoke none the less.

UPDATE2: I have been smoking more of this lately and I think there is a subtle change as it tastes better to me, perhaps my tastes have changed, but regardless I am rating this a 3 1/2 blend, and nearly a 4 star.
4 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jan 26, 2018 Medium None Detected Medium to Full Pleasant to Tolerable
This blend was a great smoke. I really didn't have high expectations for it at first, but then was blown away.

The tin note was very different from most English/American blends. It's a raisin and incense like smell. I would attribute it to the cavendish in the blend. Now, I know the description above says burley, latakia, and perique, but pipesandcigars.com says that it is cavendish not burley in this blend. I seem to detect burley in the blend, but I also do get some sweetness of the cavendish. So what's exactly in this blend? I don't know.

Upon first light the smokey latakia comes out with a bit of sour behind it. Once it settles in, the perique kicks up and some unflavored cavendish balances it with a little bit of sweetness. Everything is well balanced for a great smoke. Nothing is overpowering in this blend it all works together through the whole bowl. Then, right at the very end it finishes off with a sweet cavendish note. Definitely could be an all day blend for me.

Pipe Used: Handmade Billard
PurchasedFrom: pipesandcigars.com
Age When Smoked: New Bulk
3 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jan 01, 2018 Medium to Strong Extremely Mild Medium Tolerable to Strong
Cornell & Diehl - Tuggle Hall.

The blend's coarse and more like a mixture than a straight ribbon. This one's not been starved of air in the loose pouch so is of a great hydration to smoke right away. The ribbons are about an equal divide between medium and dark browns.

The Perique gives only a dash of flavour, the Cavendish and Latakia are responsible for the majority. After about half of a bowl I start to get a slight honey sweetness appearing. I like it from this point, but to be honest for the first part the smoke seems too arid and empty for me. Tongue bite doesn't happen but I find the temperature too much.

The room-note's a bit full and the nicotine's medium to strong.

To tell the truth I'm a little disappointed in this. I wouldn't go as far as to only give it one star but neither would I give it any more than two.

Somewhat recommended.
Pipe Used: Various
PurchasedFrom: 4noggins and Smokingpipes.com
Age When Smoked: New
3 people found this review helpful.
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