Cornell & Diehl - Red Carpet pipe tobacco reviews

Review

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Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
Showing reviews 1 through 14 of 14 reviews of this tobacco
Ugo	08/16/2010	Medium	Very Mild	Medium to Full	Tolerable
I see it as a sweet virginia blend. Not tongue biting, but still a bit tickling into the mouth. Perique and Izmir look contribute to taste, but the blend does not get spicy, just sweet and quite pleasant.
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Demetri	07/30/2010	Medium	None detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable
Coincidentally I am smoking my first tins of both Sunday Picnic and Red Carpet at the same time. Hence I get to closely contrast these two sibling members of C&D's Simply Elegant series and make some other comparisons as well. My tin of Red Carpet confused me at first. I expected a flake but found what appeared at first to be a ribbon cut. Closer inspection did reveal a lightly pressed product that had been sliced and had fallen back into ribbon. Only slightly moist, these easily packed and readily took fire. The burn cleanly persisted as long as I kept the top clear of ash. I have smoked this in just about every style pipe I own from little MM cobs to large billiards, squat pots, wide mouthed Custombilts and it performed similarly in all. At first one is struck with a surprisingly sweet smoke, with the spicy components quickly coming on thereafter. The Kadota fig aroma of the tin renders into a slightly fruity taste (not quite to the degree that McClellands Blakeneys Best Arcadian Ribbon does, but close). The Izmir seems to be a condiment in this blend (it seems more pronounced in Sunday Picnic). The spicy tones of the perique may be boosted by the Izmir as well. This is delicious stuff. It reminded me also of C&D's excellent bulk English 973-Cordial with the Latakia and black cavendish removed. Both effected lip-licking for me just to taste all the juices (wife commented that I looked like one our dogs savoring a tidbit). I have smoked bowl after bowl of Red Carpet over the last three/four weeks trying to place its sweet taste and finally have decided it evokes a fine port wine. Strength is medium but to the heavy side of medium. Excellent VaPer variant and slightly my favorite over Sunday Picnic (a golden Va blend rater than red VA), but only by a very slight edge. I can handle and enjoy several bowls of Red Carpet a day, leisurely puffed, while I can't say that of Sunday Picnic without qualification. (Unrelated Note: as most here, or at least myself, read only new reviews, I will be revising my old review of C&D Plantation Evening, embarrassingly so.)
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Claudius Stradivarius	07/25/2010	Medium to Strong	None detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable to Strong
Cornell & Diehl, as well as Gl Pease blends, share the same problem: the tobaccos they put in a tin is not quite ready for immediate consumption. Red Carpet was too moist. It took a while to let it dry out. The tin aroma was absolutely bizarre and uninviting. The dark flakes proved to be rather strong but the Izmir brought a very interesting side to the smoking experience. I think that once aged for a couple years, this should reveal itself as a good tobacco.
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ProdigalWeb	05/08/2010	Medium	None detected	Medium	Pleasant
Now this is good stuff IMHO. Kind of a cross between Embarcadero and Fillmore. I'm going to buy a couple of pounds of this tobacco for aging because I think that with a year or more in the can, this tobacco will be even sweeter and approach Medium to Full in the strength department. As I start smoking a bowl of this tobacco, I am struck with the sweetness of the Virginias. In the nose warmers I smoke these days, I also get an aroma from the bowl that is very close to the tin aroma. As the bowl progresses, I notice more of the Perique and Izmir. This is just a very tasty tobacco for me.
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Darwin	02/01/2009	Medium	None detected	Medium	Tolerable
I'm halfway through my first tin of Red Carpet. It's from the first tinning; I bought it at the Chicago Show in '07. With a solid year and a half of age, I believe I'm getting a sense of this blend. The flakes are primarily dark brown with some bright leaf and a red hue. The flakes are first-class. C&D has come a long way in their flake production. The flakes came just a tad on the moist side, but dried very quickly. The burn is outstanding, with flavors leaning toward the sweeter side, but with something extra I'm attributing to the Izmir. The perique must be in short supply. I get a tingly feeling on my tongue and the back of my throat that I haven't experienced before. Is it the Izmir? I am a Va/perique fan, and I thought I'd tasted every possible variation, but this one's different folks. Definitely worth a try. Update: 6/4/10 After finishing this tin of Red Carpet I have to upgrade my recommendation. I have enjoyed this blend more with every bowl I've smoked. It's absolutely delicious and has outstanding smoking qualities. Too bad I only have one more tin in my cellar; I should have bought more back in '07. I'll stock up as soon as I can afford to.
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zakellen	11/08/2008	Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable
I don't go into specific detail with my reviews due to my lack of knowledge/experience with pipe tobacco. But I can say if I like or dislike a blend (or something between). The only time I looked forward to smoking this blend was with the first 3-4 bowls. After that, my interest waned quickly. I liked the spice of the Perique but it wasn't always there. I had a hard time with this one's bite. I tried it straight out of the tin to bone dry but didn't really buy into what any moisture level had to offer. Maybe it's just a little too complex for me. I had a good amount left by the time I was ready to pitch it but held onto it for experiment purpose. The two stars that I gave this blend(moved up from 1) came from its blending properties. I mixed 2 part of this tobacco with 5 parts of Ben Hartwell's Signature blend and had a nice smoke. -Z
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Big bad Jon	09/20/2008	Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Tolerable
This tobacco was a sample tin at my local tobacco shop, thus I can not attest to the moisture level of a new tin. What I sampled was of perfect moisture level. I prefer a VaPer blend to be a bit drier so that it will not require as much drawing, thus less bite. I noticed a bit of sweetness in the tin, but none in the smoke. I upon match was a bit concerned that the Oriental addition was a bit too much, but the earthiness subdued after a few puffs. The VA tobacco was more tangy than sweet, and the Perique was more hit and miss than a constant. The blend seemed well balanced and rather refined, but it did leave me wondering what a bit more Perique would do. The bottom of the bowl was a bit more like the top with the Izmir letting its self be known. I would try this blend again but think that a bit of cellaring might make a good blend an excellent one.
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Packer	08/12/2008	Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
I have tried probaly 40 Virginia blends in the last 6 months. Most I have liked....some I LOVE. I have sampled the best blenders from England, Ireland, Germany, Denmark, and America. IMHO the Tarlers at C&D hold thier on with the very best. Out of the 8-10 C&D blends that I have tried they have each recieved a 3 or 4 star rating. Red Carpet is 'bout as good as a VAPER gets. After drying, and rubbing out this blend packs, lights, burns great. The Va. have the lead, supported by the Perique/Izmar. Mildly sweet, peppery taste with no bight when sipped. This is not my favorite from the "Simply Elegant" series....but it's close.....good enough that I have orderd a couple of pounds to consume/cellar. Rate * * *
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NEWMAN	08/01/2008	Medium to Strong	None detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable
Once again. C&D offers nicely prepared, high quality flakes of dark VA/Per ~ 1/16" thick. I felt that the initial moisture content was too high from the tin resulting in difficult intial lighting and numerous relights but solved by further drying. I don't rub out my flakes. However, I left the tin open on my desk for this process and received several compliments on the tin aroma even from non smokers. Just a great tobacco smell. I missed the sweeter taste of my preferred golden VAs but this blend offers a nice change with the addition of the Turkish. However, if you don't enjoy a healthy Perique influence, go elsewhere.
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BriarChef	07/23/2008	Mild to Medium	None detected	Medium	Pleasant
"Rosebud" One look at the one pound tin's attention to detail clearly demonstrates C&D's love of ingredients and pride in craft. The two tissue wrapped bundles of joy show the superior care that elevates a mere blender into maestro status. Bravo! The contents are very good too. Youth is wasted on the young, but in this case it became the center of attention. This tadpole needs some aging. But its youthful exuberance is so much fun to tangle with. Bright, Sassy and full of promise. As an infant, it smokes with brassy high notes from the Orientals and the tang of Virginia. The Perique aroma in the tin doesn't translate into the flavor of the smoke...it merely plays peek-a-boo. The deeper flavors of red virginia don't come into their own until mid-bowl, but are delicious. My nickname for this tobacco, and Citizen Kane's final word on his deathbed. I hope I utter the same word while puffing on this wonderful weed on my deathbed..... In about forty years. I want to go quietly like my great-grandfather did. Not screaming and wailing like all his passengers.
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Max1a	06/16/2008	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant
While it is typical of all C&D tobaccos that in that some aging is necessary for this blend to reach its full potential, it shows great promise. Perfect flakes rub out nicely, the initial light is quite sharp from the orientals. The second light gives a very good representation of the fine blending of red Virginia and Oriental Izmir. This is another tobacco that should be sipped for it can bite. I recommend that everyone that cellars should put a few of these away for a year or two.
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dallaspipehead	05/11/2008	Mild to Medium	None detected	Medium	Pleasant
I found this blend to be as good as could be expected, after having tried other similar C&D products. That is, after I found the right pipe for it. Let me just throw this in- after trying the best that England, Denmark and Germany had to offer, then bringing it back home to put these guys up against McClellands...aside from the Grand Orientals, C&D wins my vote as best blenders IN THE WORLD. First I tried RC in my Peterson Barrel because I love to smoke Sunday Picnic out of it. Seeing as how the blends are siblings from the same series, and different only in the type of virginia used, I thought it would be close. Oddly enough, these siblings don't get along in the same pipe. At this time, I only have so many Petersons and clays that I will smoke, so I try to keep similar blends labeled for specific pipes.(This is probably not uncommon.) Eventually, I'd like to have one for each, but for now this blend works very well in my Peterson 150, which is dedicated to Fillmore, Kajun Kake and Bayou Morning Flake. I'm trying to keep the training wheels on my new pipes a while, so I'm only packing half a pipe for the sake of the cake building process. So far, it's been fantastic. I'm just as pleased as I was with Sunday Picnic from the "Simply Elegant" series, when I christened the Barrel with it. It starts off just mildly sweet in the VA department, with a gentle perique presence. Halfway through the half-packed bowl, the turkish spoke up a bit and the gingery spice of perique moved aside. For a moment, the turkish brought forth a slight curry-like sensation that merely presented itself and drifted back as though it were part of a good bluegrass trio. A little nicotine tingle, (less than Fillmore) but nothing to go running downstairs for a glass of milk to coat my stomach over. I really can't say say a bad thing about it, other than 2oz will not be enough now. Great change up for the die hard VaPer fans. And before you know it, the show is over. No fuss, easy lighting, no glop and a nice powdery ash. If I have something I don't like at first, I try again later. That happens to me and my pallet...what's bad today seems good tomorrow. Who knows, the sinuses and condition of your tastebuds can drastically change the way you experience something. Sometimes some C&D blends seem a little off at first, but the more I smoke them, the more I like them. Find the right pipe, and I bet they're all winners. Petersons Rule! (especially with C&D blends in them!)
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DoctorThoss	10/06/2007	Medium	None detected	Mild to Medium	Tolerable
This one struck me as being relatively unflavorful when compared to many other Va. I was barely able to taste the Oriental or Perique, and I've now opted to use the rest of this tin for blending. I think that many others, however, might really enjoy this well-presented Va., so I'm giving this two stars instead of one. The quality really seems to be top-notch.
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UncleBob	09/01/2007	Medium to Strong	None detected	Full	Tolerable to Strong
The flake is dark with some lighter mottling, moist, and easily shreds. Although a moist flake, I have had no difficulty is lighting and it smokes completely to a light gray ash. I should note that I do not "rub out" flakes when I pack them. I am having difficulty is describing the flavor. It smells sweet out of the tin and yet there is no real trace of sweetness in the smoke. The first half of the bowl displays an expresso aftertaste and I get a slight pepper on the tip of my tongue. I get a distinct cirtrus as the bowl finishes. This is a contemplative smoke that is best enjoyed in quiet reflection. The flavors are complex and vary during the smoke. Be careful on the pack, however. It gets hot and bland if packed a little too tight.
Showing reviews 1 through 14 of 14 reviews of this tobacco