Cornell & Diehl Bijou
(3.22)
Choice 2003 vintage, Eastern North Carolina red Virginias crown this jewel.
Accented by sweet bright leaf and rounded by small-leafed Katerini, Bijou is married with a hint of honey before being pressed and sliced into delicate flakes. This gem requires no adornment. Just time.
Estimated peak: 10-15 years.
Notes: Pre-released at CPCC 2016; retail launch date Friday, May 13, 2016.
Details
| Brand | Cornell & Diehl |
| Series | Cellar Series |
| Blended By | Jeremy Reeves |
| Manufactured By | Cornell & Diehl |
| Blend Type | Virginia Based |
| Contents | Oriental/Turkish, Virginia |
| Flavoring | Honey |
| Cut | Flake |
| Packaging | 2 ounce tin |
| Country | United States |
| Production | Currently available |
Profile
Strength
Mild to Medium
Extremely Mild -> Overwhelming
Flavoring
Very Mild
None Detected -> Extra Strong
Room Note
Pleasant
Unnoticeable -> Overwhelming
Taste
Medium
Extremely Mild (Flat) -> Overwhelming
Average Rating
|
3.22 / 4
|
Reviews
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Displaying 11 - 19 of 19 Reviews
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 15, 2020 | Medium | Very Mild | Medium | Tolerable |
This is my first foray into Virginia-Oriental blends and as a regular Virginia and VaPer smoker this is very satisfying.
The tobacco comes in a 2oz tin and when opened, smells grassy, fruity, and has a slightly sweet aroma from the honey topping. The tobacco comes in a broken flake typical of C&D's line. I find it is smokable out of the tin, but as the description says it is meant to be cellared. I have not allowed mine to age, but I can only imagine the differences that aging can bring to a blend like this.
It packs well and I have a habit of putting this blend into a deep bowl. No problems lighting with either a match or a lighter. I find it takes the average amount of relights.
Now to taste. I know some people recoil at the sound of the word "topping" and this blend is topped with honey. I find it is noticable but as jimlinks points out it doesn't sublimate the tobaccos in this blend. There is a woody, grassy, and slightly sweet taste. I detect a slight floral note in the background.
I find lady N to be medium in this blend. This is repeatable and for me an all day smoke.
Try this if you are looking for something different and you won't be disappointed.
The tobacco comes in a 2oz tin and when opened, smells grassy, fruity, and has a slightly sweet aroma from the honey topping. The tobacco comes in a broken flake typical of C&D's line. I find it is smokable out of the tin, but as the description says it is meant to be cellared. I have not allowed mine to age, but I can only imagine the differences that aging can bring to a blend like this.
It packs well and I have a habit of putting this blend into a deep bowl. No problems lighting with either a match or a lighter. I find it takes the average amount of relights.
Now to taste. I know some people recoil at the sound of the word "topping" and this blend is topped with honey. I find it is noticable but as jimlinks points out it doesn't sublimate the tobaccos in this blend. There is a woody, grassy, and slightly sweet taste. I detect a slight floral note in the background.
I find lady N to be medium in this blend. This is repeatable and for me an all day smoke.
Try this if you are looking for something different and you won't be disappointed.
Pipe Used:
Kaywoodie Birkshire Large Billiard
PurchasedFrom:
Smokingpipes.com
Age When Smoked:
New
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 05, 2018 | Medium | Mild to Medium | Medium to Full | Pleasant |
I'm new to this tobacco and I'm not a fan of aromatic blends at all. This is not what I would consider an areo by any means. This tobacco has had some light honey added in the process. But it is a sidekick to the VA / Turkish. I'm a big fan of VA blends and sweater English like mcclelland and GL Pease.
In this blend at first its honey and fig from the aged 2003 VA. And then after the first 1/4th the honey is super faint and the oriental starts to really shine. Very sweet and spicy type thing.
Before I found this blend I was smoking a Va/Per in the am and a English in the evening. But now I've been smoking this in place of the morning VA/Per. I will say that the 15 ur old VA tobacco in this blend is somthing different. I enjoy the fact that the main component of this tobacco is already aged that far. It's a great blend
In this blend at first its honey and fig from the aged 2003 VA. And then after the first 1/4th the honey is super faint and the oriental starts to really shine. Very sweet and spicy type thing.
Before I found this blend I was smoking a Va/Per in the am and a English in the evening. But now I've been smoking this in place of the morning VA/Per. I will say that the 15 ur old VA tobacco in this blend is somthing different. I enjoy the fact that the main component of this tobacco is already aged that far. It's a great blend
Pipe Used:
Dr grabow starfire poker, kaywoodie small pot
PurchasedFrom:
Blacksburg pipe and tobacco
Age When Smoked:
Canned 8-15-17 smoked April 2 2018
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| May 24, 2016 | Mild to Medium | Very Mild | Mild to Medium | Pleasant |
Just sat down with some Bijou in a Peterson deluxe 1s.
Mechanics: Excellent tin note, Flakes were soft, broke easily, packed easily, took 2-3 charring and tampling cycles to have a continued pleasant paced smoke with minimal relights.
Taste: I think I've found it! I found myself not completely satisfied by VaPers and too indulged by heavy English blends and the mild ones (EMP) too boring... Hence the frustration and insatiety. Along came bijou... Wonderful Virginias, flavorful but not too dark. The Turkish is the secret here adding spice and a deeper flavor profile to the Virginias. Excellent combination. Very nice clean aftertaste. Overall very impressed... And satisfied. Gonna age a bunch of tins, I will always have one open in the rotation. Nice work C&D.
Mechanics: Excellent tin note, Flakes were soft, broke easily, packed easily, took 2-3 charring and tampling cycles to have a continued pleasant paced smoke with minimal relights.
Taste: I think I've found it! I found myself not completely satisfied by VaPers and too indulged by heavy English blends and the mild ones (EMP) too boring... Hence the frustration and insatiety. Along came bijou... Wonderful Virginias, flavorful but not too dark. The Turkish is the secret here adding spice and a deeper flavor profile to the Virginias. Excellent combination. Very nice clean aftertaste. Overall very impressed... And satisfied. Gonna age a bunch of tins, I will always have one open in the rotation. Nice work C&D.
Pipe Used:
Peterson deluxe 1s
Age When Smoked:
New
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Jan 19, 2023 | Mild to Medium | Mild to Medium | Medium | Pleasant |
Comes out of the tin as a broken flake. The honey topping won't do much for you as far as flavor goes, but it does wonders for the room note.
Classic Virginia flavors of tang and hay. The Katerini adds a dimension of tea-like herbality.
Easily an all-day smoke that benefits from also being a crowd-pleaser. One of my favorites to take to the bar.
Classic Virginia flavors of tang and hay. The Katerini adds a dimension of tea-like herbality.
Easily an all-day smoke that benefits from also being a crowd-pleaser. One of my favorites to take to the bar.
Pipe Used:
Mayfair Bulldog & Rossi Vittoria
PurchasedFrom:
Local B&M
Age When Smoked:
6 months
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 03, 2022 | Medium | Mild | Medium | Pleasant to Tolerable |
Having a bowl of '17 vintage right now, and I can confirm that Bijou improves quite a bit with age. When I first popped the tin a few years ago it was a good, slightly sweet and creamy smoke with a strange curry note and a few rough edges. Now, this stuff is already sublime after having been aged 5 years. The taste is much sweeter and deeper, and the Orientals are dancing with the Virginias in a way that did not happen 4 years ago. Halfway through the bowl this stuff really sings. If you like VA/or tobacco, I highly recommend buying a few tins and forgetting about them for half a decade. You'll thank me later.
Pipe Used:
Castello bent dublin
PurchasedFrom:
Smokingpipes.com
Age When Smoked:
5 yrs
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Jun 16, 2021 | Mild to Medium | Mild to Medium | Mild to Medium | Pleasant |
Maybe my favorite C&D offering. When I first opened the tin, the honey note had me second-guessing whether I would like it. I was concerned it might be too sweet. Not at all. Three days after the tin was opened most of the honey had faded to the background and all that was left was a distant sweetness added to a wonderful blend of VA and ORIs. Love it.
Pipe Used:
Meers
PurchasedFrom:
SmokingPipes.com
Age When Smoked:
1 yr
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Apr 02, 2021 | Medium | Very Mild | Medium to Full | Pleasant |
Jeremy Reeves has been an infusion of talent and expertise for C&D. I generally approach a new blend with some trepidation, but from the first light, Bijou has been wonderful. Delicious sweet red Virginia makes a fine foundation, but the Oriental leaf, Katerini- with which I was hitherto unfamiliar, comes forward in a distinct but unobtrusive way giving a soft unctious depth that I find delish! The blender indicates a honey topping, which is very delicately done, so that sweetness is appreciated, but doesn't smoke like a "flavored" tobacco. I have smoked a tin with not much age on it. I imagine it will be fantastic when put away for a while.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Aug 20, 2018 | Mild | Mild to Medium | Mild | Pleasant to Tolerable |
Taste balancing between mild sweet and interesting sourness. Floral notes. Recurrent salty accents. Subtitle tones of black pepper and aneth at the end of the bowl. I like it very much.
Pipe Used:
Stanwell POTY 2015
PurchasedFrom:
Local seller (Trois-Rivieres, QC, Canada)
Age When Smoked:
Can 6 month old after buying it
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 13, 2024 | Mild | Extremely Mild | Mild to Medium | Pleasant |
I would describe Bijou as a Straight Virginia "Plus". That's how it feels, that's how it smokes. It's exactly the kind of Oriental that I like (Katerini) added to already delightful Virginias. Light, citrussy, sweet, floral, herbal. Perfect summer blend.
Bijou is the blend that I pack in my deepest bowls because you can just enjoy it for a long time without you or your palate getting tired of it. Some complexity to keep you engaged but not too much that it would feel like a sacrilege smoking it while doing other things.Â
There's only one thing with it: Smoking it I often find myself "searching" for some Perique. It's hard to describe but somewhere far in the background, my tastebuds seem to be missing something. And I think a small doze of Perique or Kentucky would satisfy that itch.
If you like straight Virginias, you'll definitely find Bijou a very pleasant change and addition. 3.5 stars.
Bijou is the blend that I pack in my deepest bowls because you can just enjoy it for a long time without you or your palate getting tired of it. Some complexity to keep you engaged but not too much that it would feel like a sacrilege smoking it while doing other things.Â
There's only one thing with it: Smoking it I often find myself "searching" for some Perique. It's hard to describe but somewhere far in the background, my tastebuds seem to be missing something. And I think a small doze of Perique or Kentucky would satisfy that itch.
If you like straight Virginias, you'll definitely find Bijou a very pleasant change and addition. 3.5 stars.
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