Cornell & Diehl - Pennington Gap pipe tobacco reviews

Review

Please log in to add or edit a review. If you do not have an account yet, you can sign up for one here.

Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
Showing reviews 1 through 20 of 54 reviews of this tobacco NEXT >
doc'spipe	05/30/2010	Mild	Extremely Mild	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Pleasant to Tolerable
A friend gifted me a tin of this just today. It is my first C&D blend. The tin was dated 4-14-09, so just a little over a year old. Upon opening the metal lid to the tin, I took a whiff of the tobacco and it smelled just like alcohol-soaked bananas - and VERY over the top. It also reminded me of very sweet bubble gum. "Oh, oh, where's the tobacco," I thought. It was also quite moist for the tobacco to have been 13 months old. You couldn't tell it was really cube cut Burley by the feel as all of the tobacco was very spongy. I loaded up a meer-lined briar and smoked a bowl. I have to say I was not impressed. Surprisingly, the strong tin note did not translate into the taste. As a matter of fact, there was no taste of it whatsoever. All I tasted was a spiciness that I attributed to the Perique, disagreeable at best, and thankfully, not all of the time. Not like what I am used to with Perique or Kentucky leaf. It actually made me a bit nauseous. Mostly, the experience was of smoking hot air - very boring and not enjoyable. Now in all fairness, I will leave the lid off for a week at least to dry this some. I want the tin note to vanish as much as possible (hopefully all of it) in the hopes of bringing out some real tobacco flavor next time I smoke it. Until I dare try it again, only 2 stars. Not a good introduction for me to the C&D line. I almost wonder if I got a bad batch considering the many 3 and 4 star reviews for this tobacco.
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
SirLoirn	05/27/2010	Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
Bulk: Being packed in a bag, it was quite dry with no really strong aroma. Dark brown. Taste & Aroma: Nice woodsy sour quality. Nicotine: Mild-medium Overall: The sour aspect is something to experience in this burley-perique blend, but Bayou Morning Flake is considerably stronger, although BMF is a VAPER. 3.0 stars.
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
Ol'BlueSmoke	09/01/2009	Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Pleasant
This is a nice blend that definitely needs to be dried out so to enjoy its qualities most fully. A very nice sweetish aroma mixed in with some nuttiness. It burns well after drying and produces a moderate volume of smoke. I found a chunk of stem which looked look a piece of mulch in my 2oz tin...C&D has some quality control problems as others have noted before. The perique hangs in the background but raises its head from time to time, not overpowering. All in all a nice bourbon cased burley but with little depth.
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
Big Nick	01/05/2009	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
It took a while for me to figure out how to smoke this stuff. There were a couple of issues to contend with. As to not bore you I will just give my conclution. 1)This stuff must be dried out almost to the point of being crunchy or you'll just end up with a goopy blob. 2) Due to the cube cut it must not be firmly packed into the bowl but rather loaded loosly to the top and then slightly tamped. If you tamp it down too hard during loading or smoking it will blob up and not draw well. Using these methods, this is a tasty, quality smoke, semi sweet with some complexity. Geared more to the Burley lover rather than aromatic IMHO, it does have the qualities of both. The Perique is an evident and nice addition. The Bourbon does add to a nice tin fragrance but not much to the taste. It does turn a little sour towards the bottom of the bowl, but don't we all LOL.
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
DoctorThoss	12/04/2008	Medium to Strong	Medium	Medium to Full	Strong
Now THIS is a classic tobacco, albeit a decidedly weird one... It belongs in a bizarre, perique-drenched category all its own. At times, Pennington Gap fairly reeks of humid nights spent in a haunted bayou, savoring a glass of chilled bourbon while listening to the wildlife as it frolicks under a full moon. Alternately, it evokes images of sitting in the backyard under a blazing summer sin with a glass of iced tea in one hand and a good book in the other .... Either way, it's a seriously good time. Pennington Gap is reminiscent in appearance and concept to G.L. Pease's Barbary Coast, only this blend is easy to light and burns smoothly all the way to the bottom of the bowl. It burns cool, doesn't bite at all, tastes naturally sweet, and it sings in pretty much any type of pipe I care to smoke it in. As the tin description indicates, the flavor seems to go back and forth between the burlies and perique, which is an interesting effect if you're smoking this at a time when you can really concentrate on the tobacco. The perique deserves special attention here, as for some reason this mixture really brings out that condimental leaf's fruity character and would serve as an ideal introduction to its charms. The bourbon topping is heavily applied yet seems to actually cool the smoke, producing a flavor and texture akin to a chilled banana pudding. As a rule, though, I prefer to let the tin air out a few days. The flavoring seems to evaporate quickly, leaving behind a more natural taste that retains some of the cool mouthfeel. As good as this stuff is, however, I think of it exclusively as a summer blend -- I just can't seem to imagine smoking it much once the weather turns cold. After years of smoking this, I'm still not sure whether to call Pennington Gap an "aromatic" or not. On the one hand, it's heavily sauced and has a noticeable amount of unsweetened cavendish. On the other hand, it doesn't behave like an aromatic at all. This is an exceptionally full blend, high in both nicotine and tobacco flavor (did I mention the PERIQUE?), which is hardly characteristic of aromatics. Also, the room note is unlikely to win you many friends -- it's pleasant enough, but pungent and quite strong. Highly recommended to anyone who likes, or thinks they like, perique.
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
Markos	02/23/2008	Mild to Medium	Medium to Strong	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable
First off, I noticed the tin was not well filled. There should have been more tobacco. Upon smelling this blend, I find it smells like bubble gum. It's not bad, it's just somewhat overwhelming. This certainly smokes better than how it smells in the can, but it won't be something I'll try again. I prefer the G.L. Pease Barbary Coast blend to this. UPDATE: After some aging, i like this much more than I initially did. It dried out a little and that sweet bubble gum smell subsided. This now gets a third star from me.
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
Big bad Jon	02/09/2008	Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Tolerable
This is a decent blend that definitely differs from typical aromatics. There is a slight taste of Bourbon and a bit of woodiness but what you really taste is the Perique and burly. The blend has a good balance and lights as well as any tobacco I have ever tried. The casing does not foul up a pipe, and is very light. There is a bit of a kick from the Perique but it is most evident in the tin note, which is almost of rotting fruit.
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
zulujerk	02/06/2008	Medium	Medium	Full	Tolerable
Early in my smoking career I bought a tin of Pennington Gap. It was contained in one of those earlier tins with the medal lid. When I broke the thing open it was dried to a crisp. I promptly rehydrated the contents and consumed the tobacco with few complaints. A few years down the road, I decided to resample Pennington Gap. Things were a little different this time around. The first thing I noticed when opening the tin was the overwhelming scent of booze. This stuff was dripping in it. The tobacco was wet, very wet. I looked to the date on the bottom of the tin, noticing it was a fresh batch, just two weeks old. I didn't bother to dry my first bowl out before smoking. I loaded up a small Grabow and fiddled with the light. It burned hot and uneven, which immediately indicated that I was too hasty in my desire to smoke the stuff. The Burley predominates the entire smoke. I couldn't detect the Perique at all, and that goes the same for the Bourbon topping. Pennington Gap is a fairly heavy smoke. It won't kill you, but you will likely enjoy a nice nicotine hit. No real surprises here. If you like Burley blends, like Edgeworth or Prince Albert, you'll feel right at home. I'll make sure to air out subsequent bowls before smoking. Three of Four.
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
PfeifenRaucher	01/18/2008	Medium	Medium	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
UPDATE: Time in the tin has mellowed this blend for me and made it more palatable. The sourness seems to have been minimized (perhaps this is due to the bourbon casing wearing off?) and the perique does not seem as overwhelming. As a result, I am upgrading this by one star. It is still not my favorite aromatic and definitely not my "go-to" blend, but it deserves a try. Original review below. I have to dissent on this one. On the positive note, it DOES actually smell like whiskey out of the tin (unlike most so-called whiskey-flavored tobaccos) and it has a nice medium strength and very good room note. However, the bourbon flavoring is nearly undetectable upon smoking it and all I got, time after time, was a strong sour/spicy taste. It does not taste that sweet at all. Not that this is totally unpleasant tasting, but nor is it something I crave. On another note: The tin is only half-full (as some others have noted), which might be due to the fact it is sopping wet (with whiskey?), resulting in a very dense leaf. Amazingly, it actually stays reasonably lit without drying in this state. So, I don't see a lot of value per ounce here. Pennington Gap might be a good one to try out for those you who normally hate aromatics but need something that won't offend others since it's little bit of sweetness seems to come mostly from the tobaccos rather than casings. For me the burley is too sour and the Perique is too much (it makes my nose sting) and the taste is just "ok". I would not buy it again.
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
Ranger	01/08/2008	Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant
This blend was a nice change of pace for me. It burned well with very little drying out, the flavor of tobacco and the backdrop of bourbon consistently called me back for another bowl, and the aroma was very pleasant. I tend to drink ale or bourbon with my smokes, so this worked well. Also matches well with a dark coffee. I liked it slightly above Barbary Coast, but not by much.
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
SApipe	06/08/2007	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
Upon opening the tin, you really get the smell of bourbon....much different from their Blockade Runner which does not smell like rum at all. The tobacco is rather moist, so it needs to be aired out somewhat to prevent gurgling. It is mostly black in color with a few brownish bits mixed in. Puts off a lot of smoke, very nice room aroma and flavor ....not of bourbon, but of caramel. About halfway thru the bowl, the bourbon burns off and you can begin to taste the burley. It burns cool with no tongue bite at all. A unique biphasic flavor experience....I think it deserves 3, if not 4 stars.
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
Patriot	04/16/2007	Medium	Medium	Full	Pleasant
Because of the reviews that compared Pennington Gap to Barbary Coast (my current fave), I decided to try this blend. Thanks, fellow reviewers! This is a great blend, fuller than BC, but a bit more "touched" by the bourbon casing than BC's brandy. For me, the difference is the same as whether I'm in the mood for brandy or bourbon. Generally I prefer the brandy, but bourbon is nice for a change of pace. I'll have to get more of this!
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
Isaiah 53:3	04/13/2007	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild	Pleasant
This stuff smelled awesome upon opening the tin. I believe the actual smoking experience gets better with age. The first smoke was hard to get lit and tasted somewhat flat. After letting it sit several months, I tried it again and was quite pleased with the flavor. It did taste somewhat more like it smelled after some aging. This would be a good occasional smoke, but I would not consider it an "all-day" smoke.
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
tbone	03/28/2007	Mild	Mild to Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant
I really like this. Smells great in the tin and in the rooms. Fairly consistent burn but it does tend to smoke a bit wet for me. I have taken to smoking it in a smallish Savinelli with the balsa filter and that's helped with the moisture. I stopped just short of "highly recommended" because I tend to cotton mouth when I smoke it. I thought it might go away after a while but I've burned through a couple of ounces and it still gets me unless I smoke it real slow (something I'm not good at). I'll definately buy more of this.
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
Zone Smoke	03/18/2007	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
This blend basically tastes like every other blend of whiskey flavored burley, the only exception being that this one doesn't bite. It whiskey flavored tobacco is your thing, you'll probably enjoy it. It's rather dry and rough cut and causes no dottle in the heal of your pipe.
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
Lytton	02/24/2007	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant
C&D best mixture I tried till now. More complex then "regular" aromatics. This is the 1st tobacco I tried that gives aroma while smoking better then when smelled in the tin. Not strong, mild, doesn't bite. One annoying thing though: a little itchy in the throat, I gave it evantually 3 stars because of that irritation.
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
Puff Daddy	02/03/2007	Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
This is a pretty interesting blend. Sir Craig has done this well. On opening, the tin aroma is amazing, and when you pinch a bunch of the cubed cut, it almost feels wet. I lay it out on a piece of waxed paper, and an hour later, it hasn't seemed to dry out much at all! I s'pose the lesson here is that this just isn't cased, it's drenched! And yet, it lights fairly well, and stays lit a lot better than I'd have thought. This is one of those occasional aromatics for those who don't usually favor them. Not at all an all-day blend for me, but it's a nice change of pace every so often. Not a bad biter for an aromatic either. It's just a neat, sweet-ish blend that isn't at all cloying. I'm surprised by some of you guys on your descriptions of the room note. I think it's outstanding. Just enough perique to pique your interest, and the black cav mellows out the burley. This is pretty neat stuff. Three stars.
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
emmbee	02/02/2007	Mild to Medium	Medium	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant
Just as KFC claims to do chicken right, C & D knows how to mix bourbon whiskey in its pipe blend without overpowering. I generally hate booze and tobacco blends, as I?ve stated in other reviews. They?re exotic gimmicks, and you can?t taste the tobacco or the booze because they both tend to compete with rather than compliment each other. PG gets it right, and quite perfectly. This is a classic American cube cut burley without any bite and a grand whiskey, almost maple flavor. The Perique is evident though not overwhelming. It reminds me a little of the style of Canal Boat, though PG is much more interesting. Unlike Wilke?s Nut Brown Burley, which hurts my tongue, I never have this problem with PG. It?s a long smoke, perfect after dinner; cool, even burning and delightful. Even if you don?t like aromatics, you?d have difficulty not enjoying this one. More great quality from C & D right down to the tin art. Four of five stars ------------------- update 2006 ------------------- Still great, though give it a few days to dry out. The pebble cut makes it sticky and wet, and the true tastes will not be fully revealed to you. At first shot, I thought Tarler was putting in that same crap he uses to poison the newly revised Strathspey. However, after a few days it got good again, and this is one I'll want to try several more tins before reaching a definitive consensus. Four and a quarter of five stars ---------------------------------- Update 2007 ---------------------------------- Unlike Strathspey and other C & Ds, PG actually improved tremendously. Sometimes Craig Tarler decides to add rather than subtract from his blends. As other reviewers here have observed, C & D is not consistent in their blending style or quality control. In this case, Craig must've been hittin' the moonshine a little heavier one night and actually introduced a more generous dram of Kentucky bourbon into the mix. The result is a heavenly hash of flavors and genuinely earthy aromas. This is currently my favorite burley/perique blend; stuff to smoke all day. Please Mr. Tarler, don't change perfection, you've already achieved it. Five of five stars
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
traveler	11/19/2006	Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable
Very similar to Barbary Coast but fuller, with greater body. Pennington Gap has a "stewed fruit" quality, a little less nuttiness and, I think, a little less of Perique's tang. The difference is essentially a matter of style-- both are among the best Burley's around. If you like one, you simply have to try the other. Pennington Gap is my personal favorite... by a nose.
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
The Unknown Piper	07/23/2006	Medium	Medium	Medium	Tolerable

Showing reviews 1 through 20 of 54 reviews of this tobacco NEXT >