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

This is a delightful little aromatic with an unusual, pebble-cut texture that I'd almost describe as "sand cut," because the grains are so fine. I just pour the mixture right into my pipe, give it a gentle tamp, and I'm off to the races. I will tamp a bit more firmly as I progress through the bowl. Doing so, I find, coaxes the most flavorful smoke from this tobacco.

And what an interesting tobacco it is. I get just a little bit of hay and sweetness from the Virginias, but I mostly taste the burley. It's nutty and sweet and creamy. The cocoa note is very present on the nose and also on the palate, supported by a backbone of molasses and a deep fruity note.

The burn is relatively steady, slow, and even, and there is no bite unless you really try to push it.

This is one of those rare aromatics that tastes exactly as it smells. I'm a big fan and will be stocking up for the holiday season.

Three and a half stars.

Corn Cob Pipe (and a button nose) presents as medium brown cube cut, bordering on overly fine. The tin note is predominantly of eggnog and marshmallow, with some light cocoa, vanilla, and caramel.

Takes a match well and burns surprisingly dry for an aromatic. The burley adds a bit of wood and a hint of nuttiness with the flavor profile otherwise reflecting the tin note, albeit with the light chocolate more towards the forefront. In the first third of the bowl, the Virginias are overwhelmed by the flavored Cavendish and burley base, but let's face it: you're not buying this for the Virginia, right? Yet by mid-bowl there's a touch of white sugar on the tongue, suggestive of the portion of quality Virginias that set this series of blends aside from more mundane aromatics. In the final third the Virginias disappear again as the flavored Cavendish reasserts. The final third can get a touch sour with aggressive puffing, so try to take it easy on the cadence here - a challenge given the wonderful Christmas favors.

Overall this is an excellent aromatic, and one that doesn't become a goopy mess by the final third of the bowl. Smokability is far better than the very fine cube cut would suggest. Smokes a bit hot in the pipe, but that heat doesn't translate to the tongue. Leaves surprisingly little moisture in the bowl. This blend pairs exceptionally well with a sweet liqueur, and I look forward to smoking this from Thanksgiving to Christmas with family and guests that always appreciate a nice room note.

*Interestingly, this does seem to come alive in a cob. The power of marketing, or a purpose-built blend? You decide.

Corn Cob Pipe and A Button Nose is a delightful smoke. The tin note is pleasant and the combined aroma reminds me of hazelnut. As others have noted, the fine cube cut makes it easy to pack and gives the blend an impeccable burn with no bite. The Virginia gives balance to the leading, cocoa sweet, nutty burley, which is well complimented by a deftly applied vanilla and chocolate topping that is never overbearing. The strength and nic approach medium past mid bowl, which is satisfying. Surprisingly, this blend truly does come alive in a cob. A very nice holiday season smoke.

Cornell & Dielh's Corn Cob Pipe and a Button Nose is a festive aromatic that is like sipping on your favorite hot chocolate. The cut is a very small cube cut, perhaps the smallest I have ever seen, with a few ribbon strands if you look close enough. The aroma from popping the tin was overwhelmingly strong: Hot Chocolate and Whipped Cream. The topping was sweet smelling and I could actually pick out the chocolate and whipped cream separately. I almost get a liquor or a rum note too, but I have not seen any site mention this. There was a touch of cocoa from the Burley, but it was fairly masked by the topping. This moisture level was perfect from the tin, it packed easy and took to flame well.

This blend smokes just like it smells, cocoa and whipped cream. I also taste a fair amount of chocolate, which is a little different then the cocoa I taste. The topping is strong and doesn't die down much as the bowl progresses. It is very sweet, but in a rich way, much like chocolate pie is rich. I get notes of cinnamon as well, and the rum I smelled from the tin sneaks into the flavor profile of the smoke. Again, I have not seen rum listed as a topping anywhere, but that is what I could smell and taste. The burley ads of touch of natural cocoa and molasses, the VAs have a touch of grass if you look for it, and there is a brown sugar note that shows up every so often that I am sure comes from the Cavendish. There is a honey note I pick up on, but I am not if that is from the toppings or one of the tobacco components.

All in all, Corn Cob Pipe and a Button Nose taste like it smells, stays consistent throughout the bowl, and is a simple and unsophisticated blend. It would be a perfect blend to enjoy on a snowy walk with your loved one, and I plan on doing just that. It taste nice and I'll be surprised if anyone finds the aroma unpleasant. A little bit of this goes along way do to the richness, but this a perfect desert smoke to keep on hand.

This is highly aromatic. The hot coco with marshmallow flavor comes through both in the tin note, as well as during the smoke. There is a slight tangy fruit flavor I'm thinking from the virginia tobacco. It does burn hot, so smoke it slowly. The biggest knock on this for me is the cut of the tobacco; it's cut so fine that it's like tiny bits of confetti, and can easily come through into your mouth as you puff. Still, overall a great Christmas blend for aromatic fans, and good one to smoke around others with it's pleasant room note.

Pretty unoffensive burley blend. I enjoy codger blends quite a lot, and burley is one of my favorite tobaccos so it's no surprise that I enjoy this. I haven't had Prince Albert yet, but by the description, this is how I imagine it tastes, for what little that's worth. Depending on the day, the burley spice tingle can be more noticeable than others, drying seems to tone that down a bit. Also, fresh out the tin the standard C&D red-VAs are more pronounced, which makes it faintly reminiscent of something like Autumn Evening. The flavored cav comes through here and there with hints of marshmallow. I think the cocoa must be very light or coming from the uncased burley. When I first opened the tin, I didn't like it as much because I was expecting a more traditional aromatic, with perhaps a bit heavier topping, but it's really grown on me. I also like the cut which makes it super easy to pack and light and smokes like a charm, just don't puff too much as this does seem to get noticeably warm pretty quick if you aren't paying attention. If it smoked just a touch cooler this might would be a 4/4 star blend.

Well.. my tin only arrived today, christmas seems far, far gone already, yet the it's still uncomfortably cold outside here in Germany... .. but it's still cozy and warm with a pipe lit in your home! So here we go, testin' this christmas/winter blend:

Love the tin note! Somehow I think of coffee with marshmallows, rathers than hot chocolate w/ marshmallows..definetly some dark chocolate notes in there as well. Maybe a coffee-shot-infused-hot-chocolate iced with some marshmallos 😀 Anyways.. it's delish!

Only slightly moist and very fine in cut this one's condition just perfectly for my gusto. Nice brown colour with few brighter and darker specks I couldn't help but a reach for a cob and set light to this button-nose boy.

The taste instantly is very cozy and warm tobacco to my palate, with a soothing sweetness that really does remind of marshmallows. You can sense the toastiness and aromatic qualities of the (brown) Cavendish, which sits comfortly on a rustic-wooden chair of burley and Virginia. Not only for the tin-note, but also for the flavouring - which is rather mild and unobtrusive, yet has an important and comforting impact on the blend's taste - I'd go with "Coffee-Shot-infused-Hot-(Dark-)Chocolate, topped with ever so comforting marshmallows just as mama never used to put them into my cup o' cocoa... ha... I guess this is an american thing?

But it works exceptionally well, I've tried it for the first time whilst christmas time and really loved it.. in fact, I must've aten half that pack of marshmallow with that tiny cup o' hot chocolate 😀

... and indeed.. this blend gives me very similar vibes as a real cup of hot chocolate! A very fine smoke to me, nothing for my regular rotation, as I'm by no means an aromatic-guy, but if I crave for an aromatic, I typically reach for one made by W.O. Larsen (namely Old Fashioned, Maple Mixture (No.50), their Curly Cut (No.32) or recently the 155th Craftsman Edition), and I'd consider this right up that alley. I just love chocolatey tobaccos!

To put it in Adrian Belew's words:

I LIKE IT!!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7Zosej0Vr0

Tin note first impressions was very much of nuts with a hint of cocoa. More nuts than cocoa to my mind. It actually reminded me of a slightly less hazelnut version of Nutty Irishman.

At first, I couldn't really detect much of either flavour in the bowl, but as it progressed down to the latter half, I could definitely get more of a sense of a slightly nutty, slightly chocolatey flavour and I enjoyed the second half more than the first -- a rarity as I find it usually goes the other way.

Would be interesting to pair this with a hot chocolate actually and see how it works out.

Wouldn't be a regular go to, but not a bad option as an occasional dessert tobacco.

One thing I should note, as you get about halfway through the bowl, you will notice the nic-kick; not so much as a strong blend like Nightcap or Royal Yacht, but it is clearly there.

That said, if I had Lane I Q and / or Nutty Irishman around, I'd probably get my adequate fill of an aro. that way, but it could be good for a change or if you just want the psychosomatic aspect given by the winter/Christmas marketing.

I first tried this under less than ideal conditions, in 80-degree temperatures while riding a lawn tractor. Nonetheless, Corn Cob Pipe turned out to be an extremely pleasant smoke. This was the most finely cut tobacco I have ever seen and I had some concerns that it would actually clog the pipe, but that was not a problem. It was a very easy tobacco to smoke -- I simply gravity filled my pipe, gave the tobacco a light tamp, lit up and started smoking. The tobacco required no relights and smoked cool and dry to the end of the bowl. The chocolate/cocoa/marshmallow taste predominated for the first half of the pipe and that was enjoyable, although it definitely seems more suited to a relaxing smoke in front of a fire on a cold Winter day. The flavor was fairly strong, but it wasn't overwhelming or cloying. The hot chocolate taste was much less noticeable during the second half of the bowl and the grassy taste of the Virginias seemed to predominate with the burley more in the background. That was also quite pleasant and seemed more suited to my lawn mowing. I tried my second bowl of this a couple of days later inside my house and this experience matched the earlier one, except that I was able to appreciate the fantastic room note, which my wife quite enjoyed, as well. All in all, a quality aromatic and a decent smoke. However, I am going to set it aside until the weather turns cool again.