Cornell & Diehl - Blockade Runner pipe tobacco reviews

Review

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Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
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Croaker	08/03/2008	Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Tolerable
Blockade Runner comes as pressed blocks of tobacco. One...well... crumbles a portion of the crumble cake before stuffing and lighting. This tobacco required too much attention to stay lit. And I?ve never been able to get it reduced to white ash. While it never bit my tongue, Blockade Runner never really developed either. The room note and the nicotine were neither strong nor weak. The rum flavor is subtle and only hints at combining flavors with the Virginian throughout the bowl. The Virginian?s flavor is not very robust. I like most C&D blends and I wanted to like Blockade Runner. While this is not a terrible tobacco, even with my prejudice I can?t recommend Blockade Runner.
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zulujerk	08/03/2008	Medium	Medium	Medium	Tolerable
I've been struggling with this blend now for a couple of weeks, and despite at least half a dozen bowls, I just can't get it to work. I managed to come across a decently aged sample, dated to 2002, thinking this would be heaven. Unfortunately, I've had nothing but trouble. Many reviewers have noted that their cakes have come rather dry in the tin, which is normal with C&D blends. Despite six years of age, my tobacco was soaking wet, a bit understandable considering the tobacco was doused in rum. I tried foolishly to smoke several bowls, in pure agony as my tongue blistered in pain. Then I got smart and decided to break apart the cakes, rub them out completely, and leave the tin open for as long as necessary to crisp the tobacco. This took a couple of days. I was ready to enjoy my stoved Virginia goodness. I'm left with more burns and little to show for it. Blockade Runner just never materialized for me. The two stars are offered in respect for C&D's commitment to quality work. They certainly didn't cheap out on the ingredients, which is more than evident. In my book, Blockade Runner is a rare miss from the folks at Morganton. Happy smoking... Two of Four
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DoctorThoss	03/16/2008	Medium to Strong	Medium	Mild to Medium	Strong
I really like crumble cakes, and from an aesthetic perspective this is one of the nicest I've ever seen. It crumbles easily into your pipe, lights effortlessly and burns steadily while never growing hot. The Vas used are clearly top-notch, and I was pleased with the nicotine hit. But ... The flavoring used on this blend was literally nauseating to me, so much so that I tossed out the tin after four bowls. Others apparently like the taste and aroma, however,so I'm going to recommend this one for those smokers who want to try this style. I have no intention of ever smoking it again, but it's a home run insofar as burning characteristics, presentation, etc. are concerned.
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jmrtsus	03/01/2008	Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
I really like this tobacco but it has some faults, as other reviewers have stated it arrives bone dry. Smoked like this it can burn hot and quick. I found that a few days in the humidor at 70% RH makes this a different smoke. Slower and cooler smoking and not as potent to my throat. Still has a wonderful Rum taste like a good Navy blend and typical C&D quality. I'm sure that arriving dry gives us more tobacco as opposed to the SG and MacB offerings that are too wet. I urge everone to buy a humidor, at the cost of 5-6 tins of tobacco they keep your tobacco at, in my opinion, the proper moisture level. I have one for my more aromatic blends and one for my "English blends" to keep them from mixing. Off of that soapbox and back to the tobacco, I like the rich tobacco flavor and as I am a Rum drinker I have found my match for a late night drink and smoke, Blockade Runner, 8 year old Rum and a Wessex bent.....Ahhhh, life is good.
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SirLoirn	12/07/2007	Strong	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
Tin: Two pressed cakes wrapped in paper. Rather than repeat previous descriptions, imagine the appearance of a plug of chewing tobacco such as Days o Work, which is reviewed on this site. Of course, BR is not sticky or gummy like chew. It seemed to be at just the correct moisture level; mine had been shelved for nine months. BR has a sweet rum smell, sans the ethanol, which if I hadn't known it has rum, I would have likened it to a very sweet, fruit aroma, or sweetened dough. Packing & Lighting: 1/8" layers were pealed off the top and crumbled into medium-sized pieces. This process was as easy or easier than with any other cake. Lit easily with one match. Top: smoked outdoors, nondescript VA taste, the bowl itself a refreshingly sweet cream aroma. Middle: same, but with gurgle Bottom: one relight, the bottom being very sweet; a nicotine rush kicking in. A sweet fruit and cream taste, with a spicy effect. The bowl did not get hot at all. Moisture was left in the shank. Nicotine: strong Room Aroma: smoky fruit Overall: The bowl had a quite sweet cream smell, as was the taste at the bottom 1/3 of the smoke. Rather strong nicotine effect; almost could not finish the bowl due to the nicotine rush. The biggest detractor was that the bowl was left very dirty with a coating of char inside the bowl and took a lot of effort to clean my meerschaum. I am not aware of others experiencing this, so, maybe it's me. I have found subsequent bowls to be disappointing. The sweetness that developed, as the bowl progressed, just wasn't there. The strong nicotine effect remained. Perhaps the rum gunked up my meerschaum, but I've seen this char with subsequent C&D's. After a fews bowls, I am back to a sweet tobacco experience, and it remains heady in nicotine. 4 stars for the first bowl, maybe 2.9 thereafter.
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SMOKETSES	11/28/2007	Medium	Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant
Very nice, intense and clear smell from the rum, when you open the box. As long as you smoke, this smell declines. It causes a pleasant burn in your throat, similar to the BBQ sauce. Flake with very nice red, brown and black color, it smashes very easily and you can smoke him immediately without drying up. It is not heavy and makes a cool smoking. At the end of the bowl, there is no unpleasant, bitter flavor, as it happens with other tobaccos. It has a very nice perfume in the room. The first Navy Flake I have ever smoked. Date of packaging: 29/01/2007. Negative comment: He is more humid than I expected, in the end of the bowl and that is why, I will not give him 4 stars.
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jeepmedic1	07/26/2007	Medium to Strong	Medium to Strong	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable
An intriguing tobacco, the strong scent of rich rum burst from the tin on opening. I, too, found the two wrapped blocks, which were slightly oily to touch, and crumbled with a little effort. My initial sample was smoked in a clay churchwarden, mimicking the methods that those sailors would have used in days past. the reward was a full-bodied robust flavor, heady with rum notes and walnut taste. After a few days, the tobac was drier, the rum notes more muted, but the flavor as intense. An excellent late night smoke with a flagon of ale or stout, good in briar, but finishes wet at the end.
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SApipe	06/03/2007	Strong	Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
The tobacco presentation is very attractive; two pressed bricks. Upon opening, the aroma was overpowering! It does not smell like rum to me....more of a musty aroma. It did not have any mold as previous reviewers encountered. I had to let this stuff air out x 2 days, after rubbing it all out, before I could smoke it (I tried a bowl fresh from the can and could not finish it). Once it had aired out, the topping (rum?) was much more bearable. Mine was stoved to almost black in color. I have to smoke it slowly and in small bowls due to the nicotine content. It lights easily and really billows the white smoke, but it just does not smell nor taste like rum. I cannot taste the virginia either. This tobacco tastes just like Samuel Gawith's 1792 flake (another heavily stoved to blackness tobacco) which is flavored with tonquin. Definitely not an all day smoke, but for a mid-day pick me up it will certainly do the trick. I'll give it 3-stars for the presentation of the bricks,the nicotine strength, & billowing smoke, but I was dissappointed that it lacked the sweet taste of rum &/or virginia. Update: 6/3/2007 I will have to downgrade this stuff to 2 stars only. I tried to smoke this a couple of more times and could not enjoy it....maybe I got a bad batch.
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Camus	11/23/2006	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant
Inside the can are two little bricks of tobacco, the smell is a little musty and faintly rum-like but not at all in a cased aromatic way, just like you poured real rum over your tobacco - not "rum essence." Grab the cutlass and slice off a few bits - go from the top and you are in for hard work, slice "with the grain" and you get, well, very "flakey" flakes. Looks like it's going to be damp but, no, it's just right. Here's where I went wrong. Put some in a smaller "flake pipe" fairly unrubbed. Smoked nicely but really "becalmed" - this just doesn't steam along like I wanted. Left in the dock for a while and forgotten about. Late one night I spy it from afar, slice it and rub it out fully. Fill a big freehand with walls thick enough to withstand any broadside. Ahhh clouds of sweet fragrant smoke, loads of sweetness and flavour, faint rum aroma. This is more like it - a fantastic change from both English and VA blends. Tends to be ashy at the last so beware of those final puffs. Great, of course, with a dram of your favourite rum.
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sasha	05/14/2006	Mild	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant
This blend is beautiful in the tin, but my expectations about it were greater. It crumbles and burns easily, but the taste left me puzzled: the rum taste is not so strong, and this can be good, but the Virginias are raw, toasted, almost bitter...In my opinion, this type of blend requires more refinement and sweetness. As always, however, here you can smoke a good quality leaf but it isn't one of my favourites.
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kilted1	01/14/2006	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
Thank you Craig and company for giving us one of the very few true Navy blends left on Earth. This has become a favorite of mine over the past several years and I've decided to review it at last. Appearance: A very attractive presentation awaits in a nice little cat food can. Pop the top and along with the satisfying ?whoosh? noise is a distinct blast of ripe Virginias and Rum. After a pause to get my eye patch, bandanna, parrot, wooden leg and other things ?Navy? I remove the little card tin insert, gently part the tissue paper and behold sometimes 2, sometimes 3 little loaves of tobacco. They are dense little ?crumble cakes? of delightful tobacco, very dry to the touch and aching to be crumbled into a waiting bowl. Mostly dark brown with a slight mottling of tans and reds. Tin aroma: The first thing that is apparent when opening a tin of Blockade Runner is mature Virginias and Rum. Tangy and rich, almost like what happens when one smells a good BBQ sauce, but neither tasting or smelling anything LIKE BBQ. It just gets you in that ?spot? in the throat, and starts your mouth watering in anticipation. If anything, this tobacco arrives dry, although when flame is applied it rapidly re-hydrates to a perfect moisture content. As peeling flakes off for insertion is next to impossible, I just tear off little chunks and rub them out roughly and pack my bowl using the 3 layered method, once like a baby, once like a lady and finally like a gentleman. For this review, I?ve chosen a Peterson POTY 2002 Rhodesian which is used for flavored tobacco mixtures. I've pre-smoked several bowls over the course of a week on Blockade Runner in this pipe in preparation for this review. A one match light is brings billows of rich white smoke, followed with a brief visit of the tamper. The Rum is immediately there and while a bit tangy at first becomes a nice compliment to the fine quality leaf underneath. Flavors Rum and Red Virginia are dominant throughout, the Golden VA's rounding out the edges and corners so to speak. Mid Bowl: Approaching mid-bowl, the fullness tends to build and while I wouldn?t call this mixture particularly complex, the Rum gradually fades completely into the background but never leave the scene. The Virginias build in depth and character there is also a very subtle sweetness just in the back ground. A nice slightly spicy stewed fruit maturity of Red Virginias is the main statement and is persistent throughout. There seems to be a high sugar content to this blend, but it does not come off candy sweet as so many others do. One should bear this in mind while smoking, as it can become hot if puffed to rapidly and tend toward tongue bite, though that's never been an issue for me. I find myself relaxing ever more deeply into my stuffed chair, smiles widening across my face. Home Stretch: As end of the bowl approaches, I find that it becomes more intense though never overpoweringly so. The palate is not very complex, it is however very rich and satisfying. The tangy quartet of Red and Golden VA's presented in a true Navy Cavendish style complimented by Dark Rum is fascinating and a strictly adult taste sensation. Unlike most ?Navy? blends these days, this one delivers the goods in grand style. One day, I'm going to have to smoke this blend over salt water, I've smoked it on boats over fresh water, but I'm assuming the briny air will complete the adventure. Not that I've served on a 1700's or 1800's American Navy vessel (that I'm aware of) this homespun product is exactly what I call to mind when reading what those men smoked. Supplemental Notes: This is a regular part of my rotation as something reached for when mature adult pleasures are craved. **** 4 full stars
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CaptnDan	01/06/2006	Mild to Medium	Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
Since Blockade Runner arrives nice and dry like all C&D blends, I smoked the first bowl immediately after opening the tin. Subsequent bowls had less of the rum flavor, which was good, because the rum overpowered the Va's at first. I had a couple of bowls then closed the tin up and let it sit for a week or so. After a week, the rum was toned down and much more pleasant because it let the Va's shine though. I didn't finish the tin then either. I put it away for a while. A couple of months later, I remembered it. Wow, what a difference. The Va's are out in front now, and the rum is considerably more subdued. That prompted me to increase by rating from 2 stars to 3 stars. Though I haven't ordered more (yet), I find myself missing Blockade Runner. But for future tins, I will break the seal and let it sit (closed) for a while.
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emmbee	12/07/2005	Mild	Medium	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
This is eye candy. I could look at these chunky little bars of krumble kake all day. They're beautifully packed & crumble nicely into the bowl. Tin aroma is swell. Too bad the taste didn't match the anticipation. The whole thing leaves me flat. I might like this better if it were dark stoved sans the rum. The same goes with C & D's Black Frigate. It would be better without the soused Jamaican in the background. Actually, they do have such a blend, and it's called Pirate Kake. If they could do the same with this one, I might enjoy it more. A bit too one dimensional for me, but I appreciate the effort. Two and a half of five stars
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thedstnguishdgntlmn	11/28/2005	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant
The reason I gave this 4 stars partially has to do with the fact that it is what it says it is.This is a wonderful Krumble Kake mixture flavored with rum. It delivers exactly just that in flavor and consistency. I am strictly a burley man and actually do not care for most Virginia flakes or mixtures.This however, is excellent! It is the coolest and I mean absolutely no bite Virginia blend on the market.This is in the same league as Stonehaven, or Gawith's Chocolate flake.It is a very natural tasting tobacco with a heavenly room note.This is truly toasty and nutty. Actually, I think the reason I liked it so much was the fact it reminded me more of a burley type flake. The RUM serves as an enhancement to this blend.It is not in any way typical of most "Booze" blends.The rum here is neither sharp or biting. It gives the Va. a wonderful mellow outdoorsy flavor.You "experience" the rum in this blend. If you can imagine Black Frigate without he Turkish and Latakia,you have Blockade Runner.I would recommend this highly to burley lovers and guardedly to Va afficianados. With that being said. This gets 4 of 4 natural tobbacco tasting stars.
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ajaj	05/08/2005	Medium to Strong	Medium	Medium to Full	Tolerable
I like Blockade Runner from C&D. Yes, this is one of the few liquor-flavored tobaccos where one can actualy smell the rum when the tin is first opened. Other whiskey or rum flavored tobaccos have a medicinal-type aroma, but with BR, one can easily identify the rum. My favorite C&D tobaccos are Briar Fox and Bayou Morning Flake, so BR fits in with these two very well. The flavor is dry and clean to the palate but, a little DGT does this tobacco wonders. Occasionally one can pick up on the fruity tang of the red virginias which I love so much. I recommend sipping this tobacco slowly; not because of any bite, which it doesn't, but the subtle flavors are fantastic. When smoked hot, BR can become boring.
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Mr. Dottle	03/18/2005	Medium to Strong	Medium	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
BR is a krumble kake with a rum aroma. Tried as I might, I could not finish the tin. The bowls were monochromatic from beginning to end and I found the sometimes bitter taste unappealing. This tobacco also tickled my nasal passages. A cigarette is to be smoked. A cigar is to be enjoyed. A pipe is to be savored. I rate this tobacco 4.5 out of 10.
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Noorrmm	12/01/2004	Medium	Medium	Medium	Pleasant
A friend sent me an opened tin to sample. In apperance, a small brick of medium colored tobacco. When torn apart, it falls into a short cut, almost granulated. This is typical of C & D pressed tobaccos, as is the quite dry stateiin which it arrived. The aroma was predominantly RUM, with undertones of RUM. I couldn't smell the tobacco. Packing and lighting were fairly easy, no surprises here. The initial flavor was still mostly the rum, with some hint of Virginia leaf. Way too much rum for me. Deja Vu all over again, I had the same reaction to Pennington Gap. The blend did not show much development through the middle of the bowl, only gaining in tobacco flavor toward the end.It was fairly cool (when puffed slowly) and smoked dry, leaving a nice gray ash. In summary, I have to consider it an aromatic. Quite high in quality, but still an aromatic. Now for the bad news: it showed a remarkable tendency to grow mold. This must be due to the rum, as I have not noticed this in other pressed blend from C & D.
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badsneaker	03/12/2004	Strong	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
A good pipe smoking friend gave me an opened tin of this rum-soaked crumble cake. Like a fool, I smoked a bowl late one night before turning in. I must admit it was good but it didn't floor me. I lay in bed staring at the digital clock: one, one-thirty, two, two-twenty-nine, two-thirty...good God, will this stuff ever give up?! I arrived at work the next day hung over and mumbling. My rec: smoke this early in the evening or better yet the late in the afternoon.
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Briarabbit	11/28/2003	Very Mild	Mild	Mild	Very Pleasant
Ahhh the old Navy Flake tobacco of old when I sailed the seven seas and...well we didn't get to rape and pillage, but we did shoot the Mighty Mo's sixteen inch guns quite a bit. This tobacco is fantastic.The tin arrived in the new C&D tin with plastic sealing lid. It was rather moist and needed some drying out. The tobacco is HARD pressed (crumble cake) into three neat rectangular cakes. The tin aroma was of Rum and I do mean R U M, real one hundred percent Appleton Estate type Rum. The tobacco consists of Red Virginia and Golden Virginia that has had some stoving and then soaked in RUM for seven days. One might think that this tobacco would produce hellfire on the tounge and a wet pipe. Not so, oh brother of the briar. Packing is nice as the flakes are crumbly. Lighting is an ease, and the initial taste is just right. A dry sweet Rum, sweet Virginia, cool taste.In all I'd say it's a fair navy cavendish. (This was the second tin, as I had to send the other back because it was covered in mold).
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WxGuy	09/24/2003	Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
I would have to agree with others that Blockade Runner is nothing like MacBaren's Navy Flake (whis is largely burley) and not that similar to McClelland's Navy Cavendish either. For one thing, C&D's Krumble Kakes are dry, and once rubbed out, are quite a different smoking experience. Plus, I find the tastes quite different. Makes one wonder in these days of market-niche awareness, "just what is a 'Navy Cavendish' anyway?" Va+rum, I guess. The color is fairly dark for "red and golden virginias", indicating a significant stoving has taken place. The tin aroma is somewhat off-putting IMO. To me it has little of what one might call a signature virginia nose. Not what I note as a classic rum odor either. Rather, the melange smells like... well... burnt rubber. Not real strong, but not real pleasant either IMO. Fortunately, the flavor does NOT resemble the tin aroma. While this may be an aromatic, it is not noticably sweetened beyond the natural sugars the virginias provide. C&D often does a good job on "dry" (vs. sweet) aromatics. Initially (first third of bowl), I have a hard time identifying the rum in the flavor. Early on, the taste is kind of a dryed-out virginia flavor, nothing prize-winning. There is a bit of a slightly bitter bite, which may be due to the rum topping volatilizing as the tobacco heats. As the bowl progresses, the flavor increases considerably. Still not sure that I taste rum, though the sweetness is much more evident. The flavors are in the low range- no tanginess of virginias here. The pulverized nature of the rubbed-out kake makes for a potentially very hot smoke, so a bit of care is in order. Even though I use a cadence that would keep a partially rubbed-out flake smoldering- my preferred virginia technique- BR still burns like a house-a-fire towards the second half of the bowl, producing billows of smoke. However, though the pipe warms right up, I have not experienced the expected bite.Yay! Because of the rapid combustion rate, a bowl of BR burns pretty rapidly. The nicotine is noticible as well, probably accentuated by the rapid burn, but not over the top. The finish comes rapidly without any nasty ashy, bitter flavor. I am often surprised that it is over already. I classify this as an atypical virginia offering, but certainly enjoyable on an occasional basis when I am looking for a change of pace.
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