This tobacco comes closer than any other that I have tried though. I will give it credit for that. My quesion is, Why do all aromatics have to be made of whimpy tobacco with little character? Surely some master blender out there can manage to find tobaccos of character and strength to match to a complimentary additional flavor without overwhelming the weed contained within the tin. I just don't get it.

There is some va strength here and some tobacco flavor, but the maple used is over the top and klls most of the enjoyment. There are no nuances here at all.

I will stick to my vapers, english, and burley blends for now. But, I'm sure that sometime soon I will be hearing the siren song of another aromatic and I will give it another go.

As some of the other reviews have said I found this to taste like cigarette smoke with a maple casing. I have not experienced a tobacco like this ever before. Could it be possible that the tin is much better than buying it in bulk? I ordered 1 oz in bulk just to sample the blend, and don't think I will even finish that. The blend does light easily, smoke well with minimal tongue bite, and leaves no goop in the pipe.

Go ahead and try it for yourself as the maple casing may be something you like, but don't have too high of expectations or you may be let down.

One day I was enjoying a bowlful in my private library when a non-smoking colleague (who loves the smell of most aromatic pipe tobaccos) peeked inside and asked in an alarming tone, "Have you started smoking cigarettes again?" Autumn Evening has been the only aromatic tobacco to have ever triggered this reaction - and I have smoked dozens of different aromatics.

My experience leaves me with no choice but to agree with another reviewer that the room note is of pancakes and stale cigarette smoke. The concept reminds me of covering up pre-existing body odour with strong deodorant. It makes distinguished noses reel.

Interestingly, many smokers and ex-smokers find the room note pleasant. I suspect they are not sensitive to the smell of cigarette type smoke and observe mainly the strong maple aroma. I have had no such luck with non-smokers.

The cloying casing and vulgar room note push me in the direction of a one star rating but I'll add another star for the good quality tobacco leaf used.

This somewhat harsh review is not meant to put fellow pipers off this popular blend. I have merely attempted to succinctly describe my personal experience. By all means try Autumn Evening for yourself, if you haven't already. Your mileage may vary.

Opening the tin reminded me of first opening a bottle of vintage Canadian maple syrup I got as a gift; the aroma that greeted me was very much alike -- and much unlike the maybe most famous maple-flavoured blend in the world.

The leaf is somewhat dry compared to what I am used to, but that is OK, it fills and lights easily with a single char and then keeps burning gently down to the very end. The cut is rather thin and short, so this 'baccy works well even in small bowls; I have been smoking it in corn cobs a lot, and it works great with those.

Not having the strength I am used to from the other C&D offerings I have had the pleasure to try thus far, this still is is top notch leaf; the flavour lasts throughout the bowl, the room note is beautiful, and once again the only detracting factor is the high price of this beauty in Europe.

Recommended for the aromatics afficionados and those seeking something different; highly recommended to all those who still think Rum&Maple is tobacco so they can actually taste some. And I find that for once, C&D have captured the feeling of the tobacco experience in its name.

Right away I noticed the sweet syrup flavor and to my surprise it was not overpowering. This blend burned in the manner one would expect from quality tobacco. Throughout the bowl the maple flavor would rise ever so slightly and then disappear again. This was a pleasant change from most aromatics which tend to be constant and become a bore.

Autumn Evening took to the flame nicely. It almost didnt need a charring light and relight, but I provided one out of habit. I did notice a slight uneven burn which I attribute that to the windy conditions on my back patio as this has happened on many occasions with various blends. The only time I needed to relight was due to my own mistake. About half way through the bowl, I decided to remove some of the ash to get a better draw. Well, I removed the cherry as well. Yes, rookie mistake, but these things happen. No more lighting problems after this. I would recommend using a match on this blend. I used a butane pipe lighter and could actually taste the fuel, which is not a normal thing for me.

This is by no means a complex blend and seems like a good early morning or desert smoke. Overall, I enjoyed the experience and would not turn it away if offered.

If you like aromatics, give this a try!

UPDATE: 09/11/2009 I find this to also be a wonderful Mixer. For example, I use the following formula on a regular basis: 3 parts Two Friends Heritage, 2 parts Riverboat Gambler and 1 part Autumn Evening. It is a superb smoke and I call it Pot O' Gold.

I read a few reviews where some said that it got bitter, that the maple casing overwhelmed the VA taste and all, but I just don't understand those remarks. Personally, I disagree with them.

I did what I never thought I would, and that is to buy 1-1/2 pounds of Autumn Evening to cellar. Here's why: while the room note will be enjoyed by likely most everyone, I like it! It smells like being in a Cracker Barrel during winter with a fire burning. And, for my two cents, the base of Red Cav shows a pedigree of wonderful VA's, and the maple flavoring in no way diminishes this. You can taste the maple, but only as a complement to the beautiful VA's.

So, for what to me is a delightful change of pace, I really recommend this. I can't give it four stars (although to me, it is for an aromatic) but it is a mid-three.

I did age some of this for a while, and it didn't do well. The Virginias tasted great, but the flavoring seemed to have broken down and had an ill taste to it.

All of this (or at least some of it) is why I'm so happy to have met C&D's Autumn Evening this very autumn evening. Composed of nothing more than cavendish-treated red Virginias and a thoroughly enjoyable maple essence, this is an aromatic with the smoking qualities of a non-aromatic. On opening the tin, which is dated from just a few months back, I actually found the top tobaccy to be a little on the dry side. Heck, it would take Captain Black six months in front of a dehumidifier to reach that very smokeable level of moisture.

I'm not sure that the soldiers of the aromatic brigade (like the fellow I met at Iwan Ries a couple of years back who said, "I only smoke that Cherry Cavendish") would find much to like in this blend. The maple flavor, at least when compared to some of the more intense aromatics, might seem just a little too muted. But for those gentle souls who have always viewed dipping into an aromatic as a gateway to full-blown, dungeon-dwelling masochism, well...this might be a good place to start.

The quest for a good aromatic continues -- I still haven't found anything to beat Pipeworks & Wilke. Autumn Evening is perfectly good tobacco, no nasty PG or anything like that, and it's smooth as butter. But I found it nauseating. There's a certain indefinable unpleasantness to it, deriving perhaps from the slightly cloying sweetness plus the Log Cabin flavoring (I love maple syrup and maple sugar candy, having grown up in New England, but this taste is more reminiscent of maple- flavored breakfast cereal). Two stars for the basic quality of the leaf, but think twice about buying this stuff if, like me, you're an English/Balkan guy looking for something you can smoke around the house.

Again, make sure that you dry it thoroughly as it makes a ton of difference when it comes to taste and room note. To me, after drying this the maple taste and room note seems to last a lot longer. Extremely smooth and light. Great for an evening smoke right before bed.

Another solid blend from C & D.

------- updated 11-09-07 Opened a tin four & half years old... the old style C&D tins with the label as a sticker lid. The tin appeared puffed up, and surely enough, opening it up presented a whaft of fermentation, with very, very moist contents. However, no signs of rot, and within moments, a heady maple aroma appeared once the volatiles faded (would this tin have exploded from gas in a few more years?). A bit of drying is recommended (this is perfectly normal for many tobaccos, unlike what some folks here believe when they open a tin and then complain about moisture content). The blend, though dark, was certainly not a dark as the batch I tried from 2006. Of course, it is reasonable to expect batch to batch, year to year variations. I found this older tin's aroma did not translate as clearly into a maple flavour as the newer 2006 batch did. Room note from this aged tin is agreeable but not clearly maple, just sort of sweet. The blend smokes a tad hot if coaxed, naturally, being virginia, but this is a good thing for this smoker because that is also known by some as "spiciness". Most definitely a satisfying smoke. My head was swimming after at least one recent bowlful when I smoked to the very heel of the pipe. One doesn't get that from black cavendish blends, usually. Can't say this aged tin is the pinnacle of aromatics, but this stuff smokes with one light (pocket hole packing method), and really satisfies. Conclusions: My recommended rating stands. Fits the bill as an any day smoke The extra star would be earned if the taste was more obviously maple as declared on the label Not a bad choice to cellar tins for the long haul.

This will be the third Autumn in a row that I will smoke a tin.(2007)

After smoking a full tin of this I like it even more will change to a highly recommended

I like this a bit more than Wilke's Vermont Maple.

I still have an unopened bag of Townsman Blue to try before deciding which maple to keep on hand, but AE is a very nice aromatic.

* * *

It is a rather monotone smoke that remains constant throughout the bowl. Some folks may find this boring or monotonous.

After the first two thirds of the bowl, I am ready for a change. However, it is a mild and tasty smoke. I will certainly always keep some on hand to have now and again.

While the pouch aroma is so strong you think you will have instant diabetes from the sweetness, the actual smoke is not too over-cased. The maple flavor is certainly there though, and carries through to the room note nicely.

You may even be allowed to smoke this one in other areas of the house, (outside of your man-cave.)

C&D created a masterpiece with this blend and the name says it all. I can imagine sitting on the porch on a cool autumn evening and smoking this blend. It's a perfect creation for aromatic smokers.

I have found that the blend is not always consistant and can sometimes be overly cased. When that is the case, it is not at all good. However, mixed 50/50 with some BCA the result is a good maple blend.

Since much has been said already, I'll just note that I found the initial bowls to be delicious (and I am only rarely an aromatic smoker). But it is a constant, unwavering experience from beginning to end. While I can't hold that against it, it ended up boring me before I'd finished the 2oz. sample.

If you love the first bowlful -- and the maple, with vanilla undertones, can be very appealing -- just be aware that every subsequent bowl will deliver the exact same experience. Personally, I like more development through the course of a smoke.

Sorry, in my fist review i meant to give this blend 3 stars.

So to make a long story short I called C&D and one of nicest ladies answered the phone who seemed extremely knowledgable about tobacco (turned out it was Patty Tarler) and offered to send me a free sample of their Black Cherry. Since I hadn't called with the intention of getting anything free, I quickly began to check out several of their many other blends while we were chatting. I had her add a tin of tobacco called Autumn Evening which from the description looked much more like a tobacco I might like.

Well, 2 days later the tobacco arrived and I still haven't found that elusive cherry blend, but the Autumn Evening was a very pleasant surprise. The aroma from the tin was of maple, but also of Virginia. It was far too moist to smoke, so I set out enough for several bowls to dry for a while. I think most of us have found that few tobaccos taste anything like they smell in the bag or tin, but when I fired up a bowl in a Dunhill Cumberland, the taste was not only of the maple which seemed to be more in the background, but also of some very good Virginia leaf. Being a Virginia, it will bite, so if you tend to be a fast puffer, take this one slow and enjoy. The only difference I noticed from the top layer of tobacco from that lower in the bowl, was that the maple flavor came through a little stronger in the first half of the bowl.

It didn't burn quite all the way to the bottom of the bowl, but that was probably the result me not letting it dry out further. However, there was no trace of goop in the bottom of the bowl. I don't know if I would call this a full blown aromatic, simply because the flavoring added is not sufficient to mask the taste of the Virginia leaf. So for lack of a better term, I'll just call it a very tasty and enjoyable blend. So if you're a Virginia/Perique smoker such as myself, you might find this one an interesting change of pace.

The Black Cherry? Well I'll smoke a few more bowls, but it seems it may be the case that I was simply predestined never to like cherry flavor tobacco. I may review it later.

F. Prefect

I very much like this blend.

Without a doubt, this is a full-fledged aromatic, and not a crossover blend. For those who love the really heavy, syrupy aromatics, or for those who resolutely refuse to smoke aromatics at all, this blend isn't for you. For an occasional change-of-pace, or for those who want to give aromatics a try, this tobacco is a great addition to your cellar.

UPDATE 8-14-06....Updating to 4 stars, this is one of the best aromatics available, in my humble opinion. It just gets better and better as I smoke it! I am stocking up on this and it will go in the "Favorite Aromatics" section of my humidor!! Highly Recommended!!

With all that said, I was given a sample of Autumn Evening by the C&D folks at the March 06 NYC Pipe Show. After smoking several bowls, I still do not like aromatics, and never will again, I fear ... but I do recognize the quality of the tobaccos employed and what C&D is trying to do; raise the level of quality and production on a traditional aromatic blend.

I imagine an aromatic lover will really enjoy this blend - as for me, I give it one star for flavor and an additional star for quality.

To me it seemed heavily cased and a little wet, which seems to be at odds with most reviewers. I have Consolidated's Maple aromatic, and it seems very similar, though less wet and more "natural" which probably means more VAs and less Black Cavendish and burly.

My impression is not, "C&D has created a whole new class of aromatics" as I heard some say, and more like, "C&D has a maple."

Three and a half of five stars.

This is a quality aeromatic for the times a sweet tooth rears its head but best serves as a smoke for an early Fall day when its cool outside and the leaves on the trees are turning colors.

Appearance and tin aroma: Dark reddish and brown ribbons and smells like maple.

Packing and Lighting: Easy, 2-3 lights max.

Initial Flavor: Surprise! no green cavendish flavor here. Nice red cavendish and maple flavor.

Mid-Bowl: Aaahhh! good flavor from the leaf and casing. Everyone around me loves the room note!

Bottom of bowl: A suprising build up of strength and all that is left is mottled grey ash, very minimal moistness at heel. No bitterness here either.

Overall: In my quest for the perfect aromatic, this one has fit the bill. Hurray for C&D!!! I usually smoke Balkan's, English's and VA's, but for those times where I can't smoke the others, this does quite well. In fact, I was suprised at the nicotine content a few times with this blend. I found that this blend smoked particularly well in a big Meerschaum.

From there I moved "up" to Frog Morton and Deep Hollow and in the long run found both to be equally disappointing while initially enchanting. I fell out of love with the C+D burley based maple, vanilla, and fruit based aromatics while slowly getting deeper and deeper into the "hard stuff". Now I scoff at those who revile Irish Oak and Durbar. I smoke three pipes of Haddo's and Night Cap at once while Hailing Satan! I now live on the tobacco edge. So what would possess me to try Autumn Evening? Nostalgia? Masochism?

After loading up the wood burning stove and settling in on the chilliest night yet in "rural" north western New Jersey, I decided to finally sample "A.E." as I had labeled the Mason Jar in which this sample has been aging for six months. Dreamy and warm tin aroma (yes, pancakes). Quick and easy light. A clean burn issuing out clouds of blue-white smoke loaded up with maple flavor and incense. I found the flavor of both the casing and the tobacco to play here - with the Maple distinctly dominating but NOT becoming cloying or goopy. Consistent flavors through out the bowl. Not a hint of sting or bite. In a word - fantastic. Or at least exactly the "aromatic moment" I have been looking for.

I give it 4 stars as I think this blend has achieved where most other aromatics falter. Will I smoke it nightly? Likely not. It isn't Three Friars, London Mixture, Raven's Wing or any of the other blends which have become a staple for me. Will I reach for this blend when I want an aromatic? Sure thing.

Tiger

This blend is composed of 100% red virginia that is topped with maple. The red virginia is not overly sweet nor is the maple additive.

The creators of this blend advertise this as an aromatic; it smokes like a very good aromatic, so leave it at that. This is good stuff, very smokeable and leaves no regrets. Will this be my all day smoke? No. But then again it was never intended to be one as far as I can tell.

Autumn Evening is mottled dark brown with the advertised coarse cut. Pouch aroma is primarily that of the mid-strength maple casing. Moisture content was about perfect, though drier than expected for an aromatic. Surprisingly, AE lit pretty thoroughly on a single match and burned very evenly throughout the bowl.

The room note is completely dominated by the maple flavoring. References to pancakes are completely appropriate and all those around when I smoked AE were uniformly pleased. Despite the robust room note, the flavor is mild; the flavoring agent apparently burning off in the combustion process. The only knock on the taste is that there isn't much tobacco flavor coming through during most of the bowl.

The biggest surprise was the voluminous amount of smoke this blend generates; by far the most of any blend I have smoked. I was glad to be on the porch for my taste tests as the sheer amount of smoke would not quickly dissipate in the home environment.

AE burns down to a salt-and-pepper ash and the last third of the bowl is, to my mind, the best. The smoke volume finally subsides and some taste of tobacco finally surfaces.

Overall, this is a nice, albeit mild, aromatic tobacco that would offer a pleasant change of pace for the fall. I see myself smoking a large bowl of this as I take the little ones out on Halloween.

As background, I love full English blends and love Latakia.

Then I found Barbary Coast, Pennington Gap, and MacBaren Burley London blend. I fell in love with their natural tobacco flavor, unadultered (mostly) by too much condimental leaf. I swore off Latakia.

I then received a sample of Autumn Evening. It is great! Don't get me wrong, this tobacco is lightly cased with maple so it is an aromatic. However, it is primarily a red VA cavendish and has alot of body and natural sweetness. Not a hint of additive. No black cavendish. Just lots of red VA with a light maple top coat (more maple aroma than taste). A good hit of nicotine. Comes fairly dry and burns that way to the bottom of the bowl.

This should go over well with those of you who like natural aromatics but still crave full flavored tobacco. Not for the Captain Black crowd at all. This tobacco is far closer to a natural aromatic (like Barbary Coast), than a typical cased/heat treated tobacco.

A real hit in my book.

This would be a great tobacco for someone who is starting to become a Pipe Smoker or one who wants to switch over to an aromatic. As for myself this aromatic was a little too smooth.