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 1 - 10 of 24 Reviews
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 08, 2016 | Mild to Medium | Extremely Mild | Mild to Medium | Pleasant |
The first thing that hits you as you light up is the Turkish Katerini, quickly followed by the moderately tangy dark fruit sweet 2003 Eastern North Carolina red Virginias. The red Virginias also have some earth, wood, a little bread and sugar along with a very minor spice note. The lightly smokey, fairly woody, earthy, herbal, floral, vegetative sweet and mildly sour Katerini also offers a gentle spice. After a few moments, the Katerini recedes into the background as an important secondary player that underscores every single puff. There’s a touch of bright Virginia leaf that chips in a dab of tart and tangy citrus, tart lemon and grass. The honey topping is very mildly applied, adding a slight smooth sweetness that rounds out the blend without sublimating the tobaccos. It’s not always noticeable, and weakens a little after the half way point. The nic-hit is in the center of mild to medium, though I observe it a tad more toward the finish. The strength is a couple of steps past that center, while the taste is a slot or two short of medium. The flakes are a bit on the thin side, mildly moist and very easily manipulated to suit your packing preference. I saw no need to dry it, and recommend you smoke it as it is. Burns very cool, clean with a consistently smooth, woody, floral sweetness at a slow to modest pace. Requires a few relights, and has no dull or harsh spots. Won’t bite even if you push it. Leaves a slight bit of moisture in the bowl.
It will burn to ash, but in a big bowl, you may have to stir up the last quarter just a little. Also, the tanginess from the red Virginia seems to speak out just a little more in a smaller bowl, so I will recommend a small to medium size pipe for this blend. The after taste is very pleasant, and doesn’t linger too long. The room note is like temperately sweet campfire smoke. An all day, subtly complex blend that wears well during the day. Three and a half stars out of four.
-JimInks
It will burn to ash, but in a big bowl, you may have to stir up the last quarter just a little. Also, the tanginess from the red Virginia seems to speak out just a little more in a smaller bowl, so I will recommend a small to medium size pipe for this blend. The after taste is very pleasant, and doesn’t linger too long. The room note is like temperately sweet campfire smoke. An all day, subtly complex blend that wears well during the day. Three and a half stars out of four.
-JimInks
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 19, 2016 | Mild to Medium | Very Mild | Mild to Medium | Pleasant |
The tobacco is a "soft" flake. It rubs out easily or can be crumbled. Moisture level is good, and I have been smoking it "as is." Pouch note is slightly agricultural. The first smoke was in a GBD pot, and it seemed like a good combo, so I dedicated that pipe to Bijou while smoking up the sample.
This is a very good Virginia-forward blend with condimental+ orientals. The Katerini provide a fairly consistent spice and a hint of an herbal note from time to time. The Virginias are slightly heavy and sweet with a little citrus. I can believe it has a honey topping, but if it were not in the description, I don't think I would have found it and might have just thought it was part of the Virginia flavor profile. It all makes for a great smoke.
Smoking characteristics were good. It was easy to pack and smoke. I did not have a bunch of relights and flavor was good throughout the bowl. It was a little more earthy at the end, and I found that puffing brought out a more tart red Virginia and spice. Sipping brought out the citrus and herbal. There is a lot of subtle flavor to enjoy here.
I understand this Cellar Series is intended to be packed away and savored later. I find it to be quite good now and it is easy to recommend. I should say I am predisposed to like blends with orientals, and I found that component to be very well done for my palate.
This is a very good Virginia-forward blend with condimental+ orientals. The Katerini provide a fairly consistent spice and a hint of an herbal note from time to time. The Virginias are slightly heavy and sweet with a little citrus. I can believe it has a honey topping, but if it were not in the description, I don't think I would have found it and might have just thought it was part of the Virginia flavor profile. It all makes for a great smoke.
Smoking characteristics were good. It was easy to pack and smoke. I did not have a bunch of relights and flavor was good throughout the bowl. It was a little more earthy at the end, and I found that puffing brought out a more tart red Virginia and spice. Sipping brought out the citrus and herbal. There is a lot of subtle flavor to enjoy here.
I understand this Cellar Series is intended to be packed away and savored later. I find it to be quite good now and it is easy to recommend. I should say I am predisposed to like blends with orientals, and I found that component to be very well done for my palate.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 09, 2016 | Mild to Medium | Extremely Mild | Medium | Pleasant |
Others have detailed the finer nuances of the tobaccos used here and they did a fine job of it. I'm going to speak in more general terms.
To me this blend boils down to sweet vs sour. A little more specifically, sweet and fruity vs sour and woody. The balance struck is just slightly to the sweet side. I would prefer a stronger lean in that direction and it may very well get there with aging. It's a stark contrast in the first half of the bowl. The Virginias get more earthy in the second half and the sourness seems to recede just a bit and that's more to my liking. I look forward to smoking this with some years behind it. From a fresh tin I give it a 2.5, but I'm optimistic that it will improve so 3 stars it is. I think it has the potential to make the 4th one day.
Mild to medium in body. Medium in taste. Flavoring is extremely mild. Burns very well after drying. I haven't tried it otherwise.
To me this blend boils down to sweet vs sour. A little more specifically, sweet and fruity vs sour and woody. The balance struck is just slightly to the sweet side. I would prefer a stronger lean in that direction and it may very well get there with aging. It's a stark contrast in the first half of the bowl. The Virginias get more earthy in the second half and the sourness seems to recede just a bit and that's more to my liking. I look forward to smoking this with some years behind it. From a fresh tin I give it a 2.5, but I'm optimistic that it will improve so 3 stars it is. I think it has the potential to make the 4th one day.
Mild to medium in body. Medium in taste. Flavoring is extremely mild. Burns very well after drying. I haven't tried it otherwise.
Pipe Used:
MM Little Devil Cutty, Little Devil Acorn, Marcus
PurchasedFrom:
smokingpipes.com
Age When Smoked:
fresh
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 26, 2017 | Mild to Medium | Very Mild | Medium | Pleasant to Tolerable |
An elegant tasting flake with a very distinct, almost floral flavor to it. I have tasted something similar to this before in a few blends and I think the floral note comes from the honey more than it does the Oriental leaf, but I could be wrong. The Virginias are very good and lend plenty of semi-sweet, toasty flavor. Bijou is well balanced and smokes smooth with a hint of spice from the Katerini which asserts its own unique flavor from time to time, and has what I can only describe as a light phenolic, adhesive bandage like aroma.
Down the bowl the flavor intensifies and I taste more of the Grecian leaf here which is quite good, and at times it’s fairly spicy. I have been enjoying Bijou even more now that the weather is cold, as the overall flavor leans more toward the darker side of the spectrum. This is a solid blend from C&D and an interesting take on the often under-appreciated Virginia/Oriental combo.
I am always on the look out for blends that contain or highlight a distinct Oriental leaf without Latakia. That said, I have enjoyed smoking through most of this tin & I have squirreled away a few more for future enjoyment.
Down the bowl the flavor intensifies and I taste more of the Grecian leaf here which is quite good, and at times it’s fairly spicy. I have been enjoying Bijou even more now that the weather is cold, as the overall flavor leans more toward the darker side of the spectrum. This is a solid blend from C&D and an interesting take on the often under-appreciated Virginia/Oriental combo.
I am always on the look out for blends that contain or highlight a distinct Oriental leaf without Latakia. That said, I have enjoyed smoking through most of this tin & I have squirreled away a few more for future enjoyment.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 08, 2017 | Medium | Very Mild | Mild to Medium | Very Pleasant |
Cornell & Diehl - Bijou.
The flakes are quite well broken, the same build as the Castello Fiammata I posted a week or so ago: long, very thick, ribbons. They're dark brown and have great hydration. Filling a bowl is simple, they crumble to perfection as they're stuffed in.
Bijou lights easily, giving a good burn. The tobaccos give a good flavour, to me they seem well balanced. The Oriental/Turkish's are easily detected, with the Virginia giving an equal proportion of flavour. The Virginia has more of a rustic taste, than a fresh one, if that makes sense? This quality works impeccably alongside the zesty Orientals. I get quite a sweet honey flavour, just enough to liven, yet not dishevel the smoke. Bijou doesn't bite, and the smoke's relatively cool.
The room-note's nice, and the nicotine's medium.
I think Bijou is nice enough, but it falls short of four stars.
Recommended.
The flakes are quite well broken, the same build as the Castello Fiammata I posted a week or so ago: long, very thick, ribbons. They're dark brown and have great hydration. Filling a bowl is simple, they crumble to perfection as they're stuffed in.
Bijou lights easily, giving a good burn. The tobaccos give a good flavour, to me they seem well balanced. The Oriental/Turkish's are easily detected, with the Virginia giving an equal proportion of flavour. The Virginia has more of a rustic taste, than a fresh one, if that makes sense? This quality works impeccably alongside the zesty Orientals. I get quite a sweet honey flavour, just enough to liven, yet not dishevel the smoke. Bijou doesn't bite, and the smoke's relatively cool.
The room-note's nice, and the nicotine's medium.
I think Bijou is nice enough, but it falls short of four stars.
Recommended.
Pipe Used:
Davorin Denovic Morta
PurchasedFrom:
Smokingpipes.com
Age When Smoked:
6 months
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 06, 2017 | Mild to Medium | Mild | Medium | Pleasant |
This is a really good blend, and no doubt it will get better with age, as intended. The red virginias are in the foreground throughout, and are terrific and rich, with that nice bottom note of spice (for lack of a better adjective) one gets with red virginia presented in flake form. Its a broken flake but it smokes as flakes smoke. The Katerini is present but never overshadows the Virginia. The Oriental Katerini is sour and pungent, but stays in the background. The honey is subtle but you are aware of it. It tastes the way rum often tastes in fact, and its a welcome mitigating factor to the Virginia. It is part of the reason this is such a nice cool smoke. Now the way the FDA is going, its possible nobody will be smoking pipes in the recommended 15 years of cellaring. But I am pretty sure this will age beautifully. As is its a 3 star blend, and maybe 3 and a half. Check with me in fifteen years to see its a four star. I bet it is.
It is philosophically in the same basket as Exhausted Rooster or Pease's sixpence.
It is philosophically in the same basket as Exhausted Rooster or Pease's sixpence.
PurchasedFrom:
4noggins
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 09, 2016 | Strong | None Detected | Full | Tolerable |
Cornell & Diehl says this tobacco will peak in 10-15 years, so maybe we should wait to review it. But who is going to do that? So, lets say in 2026 you can still buy tobacco without a doctor's prescription, you see a positive review of Bijou, and buy some. Do you set it aside until 2036? I just am on my second bowl of Bijou, and I think that many people will like it, because it is different in the way it tastes that is different from most anything I have tried. It is, to my view, strong, and the tingling that is described, I do not find pleasant, nor is anything that I am looking for in pipe tobacco. I want smooth, and easy going tobacco, without describing fig flavors, or citrus, or whatever. But that is just me, and you ought to try it for yourself, because it might be what you like. It burns nicely, it covers the tongue and palate with the tingly, but not bite taste, that lingers in the mouth. I wish I could describe it more delicately, but to me, it is like rolling a piece of charcoal briquet in the mouth. Initially, it starts out very pleasant and interesting, and then it starts to hit with this not very pleasant taste to me. I also get a slight dizziness from this tobacco, that makes me unsure about whether I should try to stand up or not. I will try to keep smoking this, to see if I am missing out, but meanwhile, I am glad for my supply of Butternut Burley, Uhle's Black Stoker, and Erinmore Flake. For me, it gets one star, but I will give it three stars, because I sense that others may come to like it very much. It is simply not for me.
Pipe Used:
L'Anatra
PurchasedFrom:
Smokingpipes.com
Age When Smoked:
One month
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 26, 2019 | Mild to Medium | Very Mild | Medium | Unnoticeable |
A recent purchase a few days ago. This is one of the cellar series that recommends 10-15 years of aging. The tin is dated 12/15/18 which gives it a year already but sorry time is a luxury I can ill afford to spare and I popped this tin as soon as I bought it. This blend is a nice medium dark flake but not flake squares like chewing gum more like ragged flakes. It is also slightly moist, after reading about a mold issue this blend had some years ago, around 2016 and 2017 I am wondering if this would even be a good candidate to age? Who wants to wait 10-15 years and find you have a living mold creature in your tin? I looked mine over and all was well. I always wondered what would happen if you accidently smoked some moldy leaf. Would it just taste bad? It seems the mold would burn up with the tobacco, not sure I even really want to know. I crumbled some up into about ¼ inch pieces and loaded my pipe. Upon lighting up, the first few puffs have a nice sweet taste to it, a little further down I get some slight spiciness and toward the end a little bland but nothing to complain about. This has 2003-year-old leaf and Katerini tobacco from the Katerini region of Greece and is a small leaf used for flavoring. All in all, not a bad blend, that I am rating 3 stars but with the issues in the past not sure if it is one to invest buying multiple tins for aging. It is a crap shoot, I guess.
Pipe Used:
Meerschaum
Age When Smoked:
1 year
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 10, 2018 | Medium to Strong | None Detected | Medium | Tolerable |
Mostly I agree with "Gentleman Zombie": "To me, this blend boils down to sweet vs sour. A little more specifically, sweet and fruity vs. sour and woody. The balance struck is just slightly to the sweet side."
But I found the balance struck is slight to the sour and woody side rather than the sweet side.
It is sour, woody, earthy, a little bit sweet, a little bit tangy and grassy, barely fruity or citrus. And I never found the honey topping from some reviewers perhaps because the tin aged in the mason jar nearly for one year.
Very sharp and crisp blend with a little bit rough edge even though there is no bite. A little bit too sour for me; its sweetness is not come from the natural Virginias but from somethings like artificial even though I know all are natural.
So this blend neither emphasis on dark side nor sweet/fruity side. It is unique, if not weird. I don't hate it, but I can‘t say I like it. I just don't know what the point is? "Choice 2003 vintage, Eastern North Carolina red Virginias crown this jewel"? That makes it better? NO. That is not building Bijou deeper or more complex.
If you wanna better things in this category, you must try McClelland: Ashton Revival: Pebblecut
Two and a half stars.
But I found the balance struck is slight to the sour and woody side rather than the sweet side.
It is sour, woody, earthy, a little bit sweet, a little bit tangy and grassy, barely fruity or citrus. And I never found the honey topping from some reviewers perhaps because the tin aged in the mason jar nearly for one year.
Very sharp and crisp blend with a little bit rough edge even though there is no bite. A little bit too sour for me; its sweetness is not come from the natural Virginias but from somethings like artificial even though I know all are natural.
So this blend neither emphasis on dark side nor sweet/fruity side. It is unique, if not weird. I don't hate it, but I can‘t say I like it. I just don't know what the point is? "Choice 2003 vintage, Eastern North Carolina red Virginias crown this jewel"? That makes it better? NO. That is not building Bijou deeper or more complex.
If you wanna better things in this category, you must try McClelland: Ashton Revival: Pebblecut
Two and a half stars.
Pipe Used:
churchwarden
PurchasedFrom:
pipesandcigars
Age When Smoked:
nearly one year
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 07, 2022 | Medium to Strong | Mild | Medium to Full | Pleasant to Tolerable |
Smoking now:
Tin note is woody vegetative tangy fruit. Broken flakes that pack just fine.
Grassy and beady Virginias with some slight hay and fermentation. Sour woody vegetative orientals are a nice compliment and are very much present. The honey is hardly noticeable but it does have a fair amount of sweetness to it.
Vegetative, earthy, woody, hay, grassy tart. It’s nice. The retrohale is surprisingly sweet and easy. The nic hit snuck up on me and it was noticeable at the half way point of the bowl however that’s when the flavors really took off.
Smoking it fresh and it’s a 3.5 star blend but I suspect letting it sit in a jar for some time will really make this blend special as it was intended to be cellared. The Virginia, orientals, and honey is a great combo and I do enjoy it. Going to get another tin and forget about it. Can’t wait to check back in a few years.
If you like Sun Bear this is very similar and always around.
Tin note is woody vegetative tangy fruit. Broken flakes that pack just fine.
Grassy and beady Virginias with some slight hay and fermentation. Sour woody vegetative orientals are a nice compliment and are very much present. The honey is hardly noticeable but it does have a fair amount of sweetness to it.
Vegetative, earthy, woody, hay, grassy tart. It’s nice. The retrohale is surprisingly sweet and easy. The nic hit snuck up on me and it was noticeable at the half way point of the bowl however that’s when the flavors really took off.
Smoking it fresh and it’s a 3.5 star blend but I suspect letting it sit in a jar for some time will really make this blend special as it was intended to be cellared. The Virginia, orientals, and honey is a great combo and I do enjoy it. Going to get another tin and forget about it. Can’t wait to check back in a few years.
If you like Sun Bear this is very similar and always around.
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