Cornell & Diehl Morning Drive

(3.25)
The mixture of red and bright Virginias come together in perfect harmony with just the right mixture of burley, Turkish, perique and latakia. Savor the start!

Details

Brand Cornell & Diehl
Series Working Man Series
Blended By Chris Tarler and Keith T.
Manufactured By Cornell & Diehl
Blend Type English
Contents Burley, Latakia, Oriental/Turkish, Perique, Virginia
Flavoring
Cut Ribbon
Packaging 2 ounce tin weight
Country Unknown
Production Currently available

Profile

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

Average Rating

3.25 / 4
6

8

2

0

Reviews

Please login to post a review.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 16 Reviews
Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Feb 19, 2015 Mild to Medium None Detected Mild to Medium Pleasant to Tolerable
The tangy ripe dark fruity, earthy, grassy, bready, woody, tart and tangy citrusy red and bright Virginias take a little of the lead. The burleys are nutty, woody and molasses sweet with a little toasty earthiness as an important supporting player. The Cyprian Latakia is smoky, woodsy, earthy,and lightly musty sweet. Its flavor is more mellow than I expected even though the blend only has a moderate amount of it. The woody, earthy, dry, herbal, vegetative, lightly floral and sour, barely spicy Turkish is almost a condiment. The earthy perique is more plum, raisin and fig-like than it is spicy, and is a minor component. A well balanced blend that allows you to always notice every nuance in virtually every puff. The strength is a couple of steps past the center of mild to medium. The taste is a slot past that mark. The nic-hit is in the center of mild to medium. Has a few small rough edges. Won't bite. No harsh or dull spots to be found, it burns cool, clean and dry with mostly consistent, sweet and savory campfire flavor at a reasonable pace. Leaves little moisture in the bowl, and requires an average number of relights. It's just over the threshold of being an all day smoke, but it's certainly repeatable through the day, and leaves a pleasing, lightly lingering after taste. The room note is a tad stronger. Three and a half stars, but not quite four.

-JimInks
22 people found this review helpful.
Please login to upvote this review.
Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Mar 01, 2014 Mild to Medium None Detected Medium to Full Very Pleasant
I almost always smoke English blends like Dunhill MM965 and GL Pease Chelsea Morning but I wanted another, lighter tobacco to rotate in - preferably with a pleasant room note to appease The Blond Tyrant. You can't easily find Morning Drive Time (MDT) in the UK, but the very little online coverage of this tobacco intrigued and encouraged me, so I ordered some online and waited impatiently for the delivery from the US. This is my first 'proper' tobacco tasting, but I confess that I am wowed by this blend.

In the tin - I've never smelt anything like this before in a tin, and it's wonderful! Dark fruits - prunes and raisins - so full that I had to check the label to confirm that it's not an aromatic. The closest I can come is the aroma of a deep, heavy Jerez sherry I used to drink with friends in a small Spanish restaurant in Waterloo; it was incredibly good and was became known as 'alcoholic prune juice'. Rich and full with an incredible allure, but definitely for adults only. The loose ribbon cut tobacco is attractive; not moist, but not too dry.

In the pipe - MDT is supple and springy, which means that it packs well (even for this ham-fist) and it was easy to get a compact bowl. The false light was sweet on the tongue and the nose, while the true light gave me sweet, fruit, and a hint of alcohol-fresh at the back of the mouth.

Opening - As the pipe developed, the dark fruit lingered over a creamy base. It was actually tasty, with the promise of more to come. The smoke itself was light and the room note very pleasant - The Tyrant even commented on how much she liked it!

Middle - The tobacco continued to burn well and the tastes just kept on coming. The English characters came out to play, with a constant, smooth cream Burley supporting dark fruit and burnt caramel from the Latakia and occasional bursts of spice and ginger from the Perique that tingled the edge of my palette. I drank coffee with this pipe and it worked brilliantly, with MDT allowing the drink to clean my mouth rather than fighting and competing for dominance.

Close - I really didn't want this smoke to end but the Finale was superb. The base element got stronger, with a real biscuit taste. Meanwhile, the pockets of sweet, fruit, and spice blended to introduce what can only be described as Christmas cake. However, at no point did the smoke become heavy or overpowering; the whole bowl was clean, dry, and cool. There was no bite and the nic kick at the end was recognisable but discreet. As I cleaned the pipe, my mouth felt fresh and ready for more.

Technicals - The whole smoke lasted 50 minutes in a Dunhill Group 4, with minimal tamping and only 2 relights. The ash was iron-grey with pale/white flecks and the dottle was minimal. A key point to add here; the pipe I used for this always smokes hot and a little wet, but not with this tobacco. The bowl and the smoke remained cool throughout and there was no need to use the cleaner I had ready to swab out the airways.

I genuinely didn't know what to expect from Morning Drive TIme. I'd never tried Cornell & Diehls' products before and had limited knowledge of this blend. I have no doubt that other palettes will find gaps in this offering, but for me the balance, the tastes, the whole experience with MDT was sensational. I cannot recommend it highly enough.
Pipe Used: Dunhill 4103 Bruyere Billiard
PurchasedFrom: Smokingpipes.com
Age When Smoked: Less than 1 year
13 people found this review helpful.
Please login to upvote this review.
Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Apr 24, 2015 Medium None Detected Medium to Full Pleasant
This is about the strongest (boldest?) blend of pipe tobacco that I really DO like. It pairs well with a thick cup of coffee in the morning. Its a Wake-up-and-GO smoke for me and it regularly sits as my morning smoke. That's significant because no other blend holds a timeslot like that for me.

The nose exhale (I do that alot) is easy though I don't do it as much as I do other blends. There is just a little "roughness" to the exhale that would prevent me from doing that all the time, but I do enjoy it with this. Others will describe the percentages of this and that tobacco and the nuances of flavors. To me, this is like a Pfeffer-steak with mushroom gravy (sorry Vegans). Every bite (puff) is bold, flavorful and you KNOW you have eaten when you are done. I tend to overpuff on pipes, especially in the morning as I rush to get to work, and this blend is VERY forgiving of that. No bite, no gurgle (at least for me). I feel that it sweetens up as the bowl gets lower but that may just be me getting used to it all over again.

She-who-is-terrific HATES this, and any bold blend, so it could never occupy the evening time-slot for smokes. Since I smoke it in the morning, it is off my clothes and out of my mustache by the time we are back together. This is truly my Morning Drive Time smoke. Excellent!
Pipe Used: various
Age When Smoked: fresh
9 people found this review helpful.
Please login to upvote this review.
Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jun 19, 2013 Mild to Medium None Detected Medium to Full Unnoticeable
Well what can i say, i got a sample of the from Iain Walker of Northern Briars who picked it up for the Nottingham (UK) Pipe Club. had 3-4 bowls and its simply divine stuff. All of the flavours are there and well balanced. The Burley is tasted on the exhale/finish, the Latakia/English taste is wonderful and the hint of spice from the Perique just finishes it off.

A great way to start the day and i cant help but call this the Early Morning Drive Time (Done in a very poor morning radio presenters voice)

If you love a good mellow English then this is a must for you. As others have stated, this is one of the best C&D blends i have tried (around 30 of the 260 odd they produce)
7 people found this review helpful.
Please login to upvote this review.
Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Mar 12, 2014 Mild to Medium Mild Mild to Medium Pleasant
As I have said in other reviews this Working Man's Series has changed my life. On a good day this is my mid-morning pipe tobacco. It has a gentle flavor and I really enjoy the taste and aroma in the mid-morning time. The good news is that when your run out of time and finish the pipe in the afternoon it has enough flavor to make the afternoon complete. Definitely try this tobacco a time or two. It is just pleasant with that nutty Burley and the other components just make it pleasant.
Pipe Used: Classic Digby Pot, BBB Yacht
PurchasedFrom: Mars
Age When Smoked: 6 months
6 people found this review helpful.
Please login to upvote this review.
Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Apr 16, 2018 Medium None Detected Mild to Medium Tolerable
Cornell & Diehl - Morning Drive (Working Man Series).

A very well rubbed ribbon that's mostly brown pieces, there's only a few specks of black in there. Mine was too dry, causing it to burn fast.

Although it's not the best mechanically it tastes quite nice. To me it seems a milder tasting English. The smoke isn't awash with smoky Latakia. Throughout a bowl I find the Perique the lesser of the ingredients, I get more of the rugged Burley and woody Latakia.The nicotine seems to just hit medium, but I find myself quite sensitive to N so it's probably less. The room-note? Not exactly nice! As I mentioned, it burns quickly but I bet that's just this tin because of the dryness.

Although it arrived dry the flavour makes it worth three stars:

Recommended.

Pipe Used: Peterson Waterford XL11
PurchasedFrom: Smokingpipes.com
Age When Smoked: Stamped 09/13/17
5 people found this review helpful.
Please login to upvote this review.
Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Dec 12, 2016 Mild to Medium None Detected Mild to Medium Tolerable
Morning Drive took a little while to grow on me but it has become an enjoyable blend to add into my smoking rotation. This site claims this is a mixture of Burley, Latakia, & Perique though C&D's website and the tin description claim there is red & bright Virginia and Izmir as well. I certainly taste the VA/Turkish leaf though they seem to be used as condiments.

The smoke is a complex combo of sweet/smoky Latakia, nutty Burley, and some very peppery Perique. The Latakia is always notable but not overpowering. In the background the Izmir is sour and woody. I taste some minor sweetness and hay which has to come from red & bright Virginia. If you are looking for a complex untopped American English blend this should be on your radar!
5 people found this review helpful.
Please login to upvote this review.
Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
May 25, 2013 Mild to Medium None Detected Medium to Full Very Pleasant
I dont know what the folks over at C&D do to set themselves so far above the bar with their blends, but I just hope that they keep doing it. I received a generous sample of this from pipe maker & repairer MARK STEWART over at www.pipecraft.org. 1st, visually this is a stunning looking tobacco. It looks like it tastes. It smells like it tastes and it tastes like heaven in a bowl! I'll steal this quote from MARK STEWART, but I don't think he will mind: "I have just had the pleasure of smoking 2 of C&D's new "Working Mans Series blends" and cannot overstate how terrific they are. Morning Drive Time is the perfect morning smoke with that initial cup of Coffee or Tea. Lunchtime blues is, without question, a great mid-day pick me up and is the perfect all day smoke. Although I am a great fan of their tobacco, they have really out performed themselves with these 2 blends. Morning Drive for breakfast, Lunchtime Blues for lunch and Crooked Lane for dinner. This is now my daily routine of smoking perfection."

WELL SAID MARK, AND ADVICE WE ALL NEED TO FOLLOW.
4 people found this review helpful.
Please login to upvote this review.
Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
May 10, 2017 Mild to Medium Very Mild Mild to Medium Tolerable
Newish pipe smoker here, posting a review of the second of 8 blends I got in a recent order to try.

I guess I'll tackle this review by comparison with a couple of other blends. Mind you, there's a lot of blends out there and what I've tried so far is pretty limited, so if you think my comparisons are out of whack, well they probably are.

My first review was C&D Plantation Evening, which was sweet and subdued, with the Latakia just sort of lurking in the background. I guess I expected this to be pretty similar, just from reading reviews. The tin note was similar as well, with a nice Latakia smokiness, though Morning Drive had a bit more fruitiness and sourness to it, I'd guess it has more Perique.

On the light, I pick up sweetness and a grassy or hay-like note. So it starts off pretty similar to the Plantation Evening as well. Once it's lit and settled in though, the Latakia starts to come through more, with a smoky and incense-like quality. Not Dunhill Nightcap by any means, but it's definitely more forward in this blend than the Plantation Evening. I start to think, Plantation Evening may not be the best comparison here. It's more reminiscent to me of Dunhill Early Morning Pipe. Latakia incense with some fruity notes are what I get from this blend. It still has a natural sweetness to it, more than Early Morning Pipe has, but not to the level of Plantation Evening.

All in all, this falls somewhere in between the two blends I've mentioned, but much closer to Early Morning Pipe. This wouldn't be an all-day smoke for me, or even an everyday smoke, but it will be nice to have around as a change of pace.
Pipe Used: A cheap briar I got at the tobacco shop
PurchasedFrom: Pipes and Cigars
Age When Smoked: Fresh out of the tin
3 people found this review helpful.
Please login to upvote this review.
Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jan 10, 2016 Medium Extremely Mild Medium Tolerable
Very good morning blend as stated. Kind of a Va/Per but with a light English flavor as well. Enjoyable with coffee and in a nice cob.
Pipe Used: Yes
3 people found this review helpful.
Please login to upvote this review.

target="_blank"