Cornell & Diehl Red Stag

(2.37)
Red and Golden Virginias provide a pleasant base for this medium-strength English. Latakia and Turkish Orientals offer their own addition to the blend giving it a pungent smoky and earthy flavors and hints of pepper. An excellent all round medium English, Red Stag is a nicely balanced and very well rounded blend.
Notes: Reminiscent of old original Rattray's Red Rapparee.

Details

Brand Cornell & Diehl
Blended By Craig Tarler
Manufactured By Cornell & Diehl
Blend Type English
Contents Latakia, Oriental/Turkish, Virginia
Flavoring
Cut Ribbon
Packaging 50g Tin
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

2.37 / 4
4

5

4

6

Reviews

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Displaying 1 - 10 of 19 Reviews
Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Dec 12, 2013 Medium None Detected Medium Pleasant
Interesting choppy cut, sort of typical of a lot of C&D blends. Nice latakia tin aroma with an undercurrent of spice. I'm not sure which version of Red Rapparee is the "original" but I've smoked it for about 30 years and this is not much like the RRR I'm used to. It looks different, smells different and tastes different. So perhaps the blender is talking about an earlier version. Not that it matters. This isn't the classic that RRR is but it's still a pretty decent, if somewhat confounding blend.

Where RRR is oriental forward, this one starts out with the taste of latakia. It isn't overly strong in this character, but latakia is what I noticed first and foremost. This does change a bit somewhere around the halfway mark of the bowl, where the oriental becomes more apparent. The virginia and other condiments are well to the rear. The taste is smoky and kind of minty, the way some blends merge latakia and various orientals to form a sort of menthol flavor and mouthfeel. The confounding thing about this blend is that I'll get about a dozen or so puffs of this most incredible sweetness and then it'll disappear. Later some nice spicy puffs will come forward and disappear just as quickly. I'd take a full bowlful of either one, but I'm lucky to get a quarter bowl of both, sum total. The rest of the time the blend provides a smoky flavor that is nice but hardly revelatory. Perhaps a little more cavendish or oriental and a tad less latakia? Hard to say... I'm an amateur blender with a strong emphasis on amateur, but it might be fun to play with this one a bit to see if I can make it hum like it does when those fantastic sweet or spicy notes come out. Wish they'd stay longer. Still, this is a worthy blend and a good one to try if you like a nice medium latakia-style blend.
Pipe Used: Meerschaum... always
Age When Smoked: 1 year
6 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jan 24, 2003 Medium None Detected Medium to Full Tolerable to Strong
My tin was 2 years old. So, the short answer to lustra's question posed above is: not much better.

I found the Virginia leaf to be harsh, the Latakia lacked something and the Orientals added only sweetness, not flavor. In fact, like lustra's impressions, this stuff turned bitey and sour near the lower third of the bowl. It was quite hot for a blend with Latakia leaf too. Next time deer season rolls around, I say lets put Red Stag out of its misery.
6 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jul 21, 2018 Medium None Detected Medium Pleasant
Cornell & Diehl - Red Stag.

Sure, tobaccos get a subjective reaction, but I can't figure why Red Stag has had so many poor recommendations? One person's trash is another's treasure!

This was in a selection of blends my wife bought me at Christmas, so I knew it had at least 7 months of age on it. But, upon opening it I noticed the sticker denoting the age read 11/15/16. So, it has more than 7 months on it.

From the freshly opened tin the ribbons were a little underhydrated, not 'dry', but I'd rather them have been moister. The cut's a little coarser than a standard ribbon, there's some small, broken flakes in the tin, too. The pieces are medium and light brown with just a few darker ones. The tin smells 100% natural.

To me the only perceptible negative is caused by the slight dehydration, it burns a bit quick. But other than that I can't find anything wrong with it. When the ingredients list Latakia it always instils the 'will it be a bomb' possibility. A Lat bomb this isn't. The sharp-spiciness from the Oriental leaf gives far more flavour than the Lat-smokiness. The citrus from the Virginias makes this a sprightly morning smoke; zesty and lively. I've been smoking it incessantly today, all without a bite.

Nicotine: only above medium at a push. Room-note: alright.

Red Stag? Not quite a four star blend but definitely worth three:

Recommended.
Pipe Used: Ramazan Baglan Lee Van Cleef Rep'
PurchasedFrom: Gift. I believe Smokingpipes.com was where she purchesed it.
Age When Smoked: 11/15/16
5 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Aug 18, 2011 Mild to Medium None Detected Mild to Medium Pleasant to Tolerable
Red Stag is a short cut tobacco that arrived with the right moisture level for me (a little dry) and had a nice fig/plum tin note. It's a little bit sweet and a little bit sour, but in a good way. My first tin has some age on it and that added to the sweetness. However, for me, this is one of those blends that my enjoyment decreased with each bowl until my last tin was left unfinished. Red Stag just wasn't as complex and interesting as similar blends in its class although I am a bit of a "puffer" so slow smokers may have a better experience. Also, having smoked the original Red Rapparee, I don't find the blends similar at all. Somewhat recommended, and cool tin art.
5 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Dec 26, 2020 Medium None Detected Mild to Medium Tolerable
This is a very Oriental-forward blend. Moisture was perfect straight out of the tin. The tin note is primarily sour Orientals, with Latakia a strong background note. I suspect those who have objected to the tin note might be objecting to the Oriental components. This blend is driven by these Orientals, however. From tin note to taste to room note, Red Stag is always Oriental first. In fact it is, in my opinion, an unbalanced blend in favour of the Orientals. Those who have not preferred Red Stag are perhaps objecting to this. That is a fair assessment. I do prefer Red Stag. I find it interesting and exotic and constantly evolving. As I smoke through a bowl, I find the different Orientals coming forward and then receding, one after the other, with the Latakia in the background always there, all based on a firm bed of Virginias. Red Stag has shot to the top of my list, sharing space with KBV’s Goblin Mixture and Plateau of Leng.
Pipe Used: Nording Ocasio
PurchasedFrom: Smoking Pipes
Age When Smoked: 4 months
4 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Oct 12, 2013 Medium None Detected Medium Tolerable
It IS reminiscent of the old Rattray blend. Red Virginia, toasted cavendish, latakia and/or oriental. Similar components to the originals and the cut is the same as well, if my memory serves me right. A little sweet, good medium body mouth feel, with a light oriental fragrance and light smokiness. And, it smokes softly and without heat. I compared the tin aroma to a recent Rattray's blend and the most obvious thing was that Red Stag was natural like the original blends were. That is, there was no aromatic casing which was obvious in the EU made Rattrays.

This is from an 8 ounce tin of 13 months age. I also smoked a fresh 2 ounce tin, and the results were the same. Excellent.
3 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jan 02, 2006 Medium None Detected Medium to Full Strong
Revised 01-02-06 I recently opened my last tin that was in my "cellar" and have come to the conclusion that this blend is NOT FOR ME! I just do not like it. It has a similar leaf as found in Pease's Cairo, blegh! Maybe some you will enjoy it, have at it...

Original review: First, let me state that I am of fan of C&D and have praise for many of their blends, but this one did not work for me. The tin I tested was aged for 8 mo's before opening. Upon opening, you are greeted by mostly medium brown leaf with an occassional speck of green, black, and gold in the usual medium, broad ribbon cut. The tin aroma is, I'm afraid, very off-putting (to me, anyway). I work by the beach quite often and every now and then I work by secluded coves where in the fall and winter you get a nasty whiff of sea-swamp (nasty, indeed!). This is the tin aroma that this blend reminded me of. Well, I loaded my pipe anyway and as usual, packing, moisture, and lighting were a breeze. Initial flavor is very minerally with the turkish in the forefront. Mid-bowl you begin to taste the latakia and virginia, but only as support. I generally like turkish leaf, but the leaf in this blend tasted too bitter for my taste. Last third of the bowl is the worst. This mineral flavor turns sour and I had a difficult time finishing the bowl. I tried this blend in several pipes with similar results. I can not put this blend in the "English" category, but rather seems to be a very poor "Balkan". I can not recommend this blend at this time "Here I stand I can do no other" Rating 1 out of 5 points. Sorry...
3 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jul 18, 2008 Mild None Detected Mild to Medium Pleasant
In the same genre, but not a copy or "me too" attempt at duplicating Dunhill Durbar or Rattray's Red Rapparee. This has that signature Tarler Twist. Perfect moisture for tin to tinder treatment. Short cut, as C. Rattray endorsed in his treatise. To me, a hint of Red Virginia Cavendish, but in no way sweet in the "cavendish" tobacco of Danish origin.

Relaxed, friendly and reliable. Like a good buddy, great with a cold beer...make that a properly chilled ale...not too cold.

I thoroughly enjoy the subdued role the Latakia plays in this mixture. Masterful treatment of top shelf raw materials, allowing the Virginias and Orientals to perform their dance without any interference from the choreographer.

Nice!!
2 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Oct 19, 2007 Medium None Detected Medium Pleasant
The reviews so far have been mostly unflattering, I suspect they may be out of date. I tried this a few years ago and do not remember much about it. The can I am currently smoking is dated 7-30-07. The color is reds and browns with bits of black. It is mostly a thinner ribbon cut with some broken pieces of flake. It is dry, as with most C&D blends, but about the dryness I prefer for smoking. It takes a little to get it going but once the tobacco is toasted it burns well. It requires slow methodical puffing, to keep from heating up and nipping. When smoked slowly it exhibits a nice moderate sweetness complimented by toasty notes. The oriental lends a nice faint acridity they goes well with the toasty sweetness. The moderate quantity of latakia marries well with the other flavors. The aroma is of toasted virginia with a wafting of latakia/orientals. I find it an excellent blend. Like the best Americans it is relatively straight-forward with enough depth and sublety to be interesting.
2 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Dec 31, 2013 Mild to Medium None Detected Mild to Medium Tolerable
I bought this tobacco because I liked the art and Mike had it on sale. I like to try different C&D blends and have had a splendid time doing it. Well, I have to say the first 1/3 of the bowl in each case smelled and tasted okay, then something went sour. It got really unpleasant and it was hot and didn't taste good at all. I am pretty hard headed so I tried it in two or three other pipes and the case could not be made to save it.
Pipe Used: Dunhill, Digby, meerschaum
PurchasedFrom: Mars Pipes and Cigars
Age When Smoked: 1 year
1 person found this review helpful.
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