Cornell & Diehl Christmas Blend 2016 (Corn Cob Pipe and A Button Nose)

Two caveats: I don't normally smoke aromatics and I don't run after holiday blends (RIP Christmas Cheer) on a regular basis.
Found a tin of this at my local brick and mortar and thought I'd give it a shot. Wow! Pleasantly surprised.
Tin note immediately gave me a whiff of the hot cocoa I enjoyed sitting with my grandmother after school. Just a gentle reminder of an enjoyable warm chocolate.
The tobacco itself was a little on the drier side (much to my liking). The initial lighting was easy and then with a gentle tamp I was off and puffing on the 2nd light.
Room note was very enticing and brings to mind the aromatics that guests around the Christmas hearth will all love. Warm chocolate and vanilla with puffs of smoke from the burleys create a wonderful smoking experience.
Flavor of smoke was mild. I could distinguish the virginias on the tongue on a slow draw and upon exhale tasted the toastier notes of the burleys.
If you can find a tin, add this to a holiday smoke.

I bought some tins of this blend when it first hit the market to put back. The unfortunate part is that I didn't open one right away. Had I done so, I would have enjoyed the wonderful and cocoa flavored smoke that early reviewers gush about. Five years downstream from the tinning date has worked some negative chemistry on the flavoring agent(s). I feel about the early stages of Corn Cob Pipe smoking as does reviewer Gr8tefuldawg 2020-03-18; the flavoring was off, was weird and very artificial. There was nothing of chocolate, cocoa nor vanilla in my tin; only a strange aroma of stale fruit(?). Annoying and unnecessary, this stale aroma plagued the top half of each of my early bowls. The bottom halves, on the other hand, were a joy to smoke. Once the annoying aroma was burned off, I enjoyed an above average and quite solid Burley dominated mixture that I had no trouble going back to again and again. I was also impressed with the unusual cut that other reviewers have mentioned; a kind of mini cube cut that I have not seen before and was very reminiscent of pouring Prince Albert into a pipe bowl circa 1960. Beginning with my third bowl, I allowed long air out times and this evaporated the majority of the topping. This lengthened the good part of the smoke. I liked this blend and, annoying topping not withstanding, I can easily recommend it to the reader at three stars. In reality it is a three and 1/2 star blend.

I really enjoy it it taste mild to me and would recommend it to everyone. It smells amazing and my wife enjoys the smell of it

Not my favorite. Have trouble keeping this lit. Despite gravity filling and light tamping I continually have to relight this. The flavor itself is pleasant enough, I get a bit of chocolate and this constituent tobaccos come through, but it always seems that it is missing something. Room note is ok, but it is surpassed by many other aromatics. I'll finish what I have but probably won't be back. Mildly recommended.

Edit:. Well, call it magic of age. Either on me or on it. With a greater appreciation for burley that I've found and the nearly 2 years of age it has gathered, as well as improvement to my smoking technique this has improved greatly. 3 and a half stars easily now. Flavor is much, much better than before. Still a touch of trouble keeping it lit but nothing like before. Very enjoyable.

Edit 2:. 2021. This stuff only improves the longer it's in the jar. It burns incredibly well now, it's flavor is now so well integrated and mellowed, I love it. Bumped to 4 stars. I hope they make another batch one day so I can get some more aging!

*Great when fresh from tin but do not cellar the rest of the tin. This blend will not hold up once opened.* When fresh, this aromatic is a cube-cut burley that burns great and turns to a fine white ash. It delivers superior flavor and is quite unique. After cellaring the remainder of the tin from 2016, all flavor and aroma from the tobacco was long gone. I threw the cellared portion in the trash and will not cellar any Cornell & Diehl aromatics at all in the future.

This blend, along with C&D’s 2012 Christmas release is a true favorite among C&D’s Christmas offerings. Cube cut Burley whose flavor reminds me a great deal of Safe Harbor Flake. Very pleasant, easy to pack, mild and slow burning. There isn’t much not to enjoy about this blend.

For me was a pleasant evening smoke, but by the end of the bowl I had to go in and lay down. I seem to get nicotine headaches quite easily. I was hoping more for a Christmas spice but this one was more towards the hay and some cocoa flavor. Not really what I enjoy.

I found this to be good for an aromatic, but there are others I like better. It was pretty steady throughout the bowl, grassy with subtle notes of marshmallow, hot cocoa, and nutmeg. Overall a creamy, but haylike smoke.

Tin note: A mug of cocoa with lab-created marshmallows bobbing on the surface. And some figgy pudding.

Taste: This blend tastes almost exactly how it smells in the tin. I'd say the leading note of this is a fantastic burley, laying down the base of cocoa and nutty goodness. Then I pick up the cavendish adding that vanilla marshmallow highlight. And finally (and most welcomed), the virginias. They linger in the background and add a light sprinkling of figs that have been soaked overnight in a dark liqueur. They're somewhat fleeting in this blend for me, but when they hit, they hit beautifully.

Smokability: One of the easiest blends out there to smoke. Perfect moisture out of the tin and the cube cut packs beautifully. I just drop a few pinches in, tamp lightly, and light up. And for the worried, non-aros out there, this is not a goopy blend. It packs and smokes just like a regular burley blend.

This is a fantastic holiday release. Is it a one-note aromatic? Pretty much. But that note is a toasty mug of cocoa to fill your pipe on a cold winter night. My only gripe is that I start losing the secondary flavors half-way through and by the end feel like I'm smoking a bowl of Carter Hall (which isn't the worst thing). So my solution has been to pack smaller bowls and smoke it on shorter sessions.

Overall, a richly flavored, easy smoking holiday aromatic that tastes just how it smells.