Cornell & Diehl Speakeasy

Speakeasy was among some new blends introduced to Morley's PC several months ago. Its flakes were delectable looking in the tin, and the aroma of this fresh blend was enticing with little of the rum in evidence. The colors of the fresh blend were mostly medium brown, with a few spots of tan. At first light it started off with a sense of brown and maybe red Virginias, requiring a couple of char lights and tamping from puffing up, before settling down into a moderately fulsome smoke. with a considerable Kokumi (mouthfeel in the food flavor business).

The Perique was initially muted, basically contributing a sense of age to this very fresh batch. Within a few minutes, the Kentucky kicked in, providing bass notes to the flavor profile. There were no citrus, grassy or hay notes that I find in bright Virginias. Sweet tones from the rum and/or Virginias came into play as the bowl progressed, lending a rich complexity with the Kentucky supporting the Virginias base.

The cut of the blend made for a long smoke, and it was easy to nurture a slow burn, leading to a smooth ride. There was no bite, but if I pushed things by fast puffing, the deepening change in flavor let me know to back off.

The flavor gets stouter as the bowl progresses and, being a nicwimp, I don't know if I would enjoy this in a stack. The complex flavor presents differently in chambers of different sizes, but it remains multidimensional and robust.

Maybe JimInks would consider this an all-dayer.

This is designed to age, but it already tastes like a blend with several years on it. It will be interesting to see what this will be like given 5 or 10 years. Drawing on my winetasting experience, my guess is that it will smooth out even more and earn another star.

Upon lighting the first thing I noticed was a slight leathery, smoky sharp tang from the small amount of Dark Fired used in this blend. Usually, I am not a fan of Dark Fired, but the very light use in this blend gives just a taste in the background through out the bowl. A short way into a bowl and I start to taste and feel a bit of pepper from the Perique on my tongue. Soon after, even though I an neither snorking nor inhaling, I start to notice peppery tingling in my nose from the Perique. Between the Dark Fired and the Perique, I do not notice the rum topping. There is a very good red Virginia as the base of this blend. Smoking this from a young tin, I can taste the stereotypical red Virginia richness along with a wee bit of citrus sweetness. I see great potential in this blend for aging. Once the flavors meld more and the Va ferments, I think this is blend is going to become even better.

Right now, I am giving this blend 3 stars but with a few years of aging, I think that this blend has the potential to become 4 stars.

This reminds me a bit, philosophically speaking, of Exhausted Rooster (which technically has no rum but i believe has a tad of casing). And in a sense Pease's Navigator. They are sort of doing the same thing. Strong full bodied blends of Kentucky and Virginia and Perique with alcohol added. And Speakeasy is very good. I think i prefer ER but its close and i have to live with Speakeasy for a bit more. But the rum is a nice bottom and you notice it without it taking over the tobacco flavors. The kentucky is smooth but the nic hit is not insignificant. Comes as a broken flake (like many C&D blends) and ready to smoke right from the tin. i have put away a couple tins and will see if the ageing really helps or not. It likely does. But even as is, this is a fine very high quality blend. And sort of addictive ...it posseses its own unique sort of taste and the rum does give it additional layers ...as rum and brandy blends ...the good ones...tend to.

I find this blend to be everything I want in a Virginia Blend without the tongue bite. This is simply no harshness to this blend whatsoever. There is a slight molasses/rum-like flavor to it that gives it a nice touch to the apricot and hay flavor. Overall C&D did a really nice job on this one.

Cornell & Diehl - Speakeasy.

A lot of the blend is a broken flake, it's medium brown, and has an aroma where the rum's easy to identify. The moisture's good.

This was my 'wake-up' smoke today, and the nicotine amount makes it only suitable for that slot, for me, it's quite potent! The rum isn't particularly strong in the smoke, but definitely present. Of the tobaccos the Kentucky races ahead, but doesn't mask the others. The Perique and Virginia are about equal in weight, giving the Kentucky a support of fruit, spice, grass, and hay. The burn from Speakeasy's exemplary, and the smoke doesn't bite.

Nicotine: quite strong. Room-note: tolerable.

To me, this isn't an all day smoke, mornings only! But, I'll still recommend it:

Three stars.

I like American spirits. I use the word American very loosely, as I think of lots of beautiful drinks from both North and South America. I am particularly fond of fine Tequila like I had when I visited the interior of Mexico, but Caribbean rum is just as delightful and has a similarly complex tradition of distilling styles and taste. I love flake tobaccos in general and Navy Flakes in particular. The addition of rum can make an average blend soar, at least in my opinion.

Speakeasy comes in an attractive yet simple tin, that says: estimated peak: 10-15 years. I don't know about you but I couldn't wait that long. When you open the tin, there is a nicely packed, mostly dark brown broken flake. The tin note smells of raisins, rum, fermented Red Virginia, and bread. It comes at a decent moisture level for lighting and enjoying. And it packs well and lights well.

When lit a delightful bready matured Red Virginia comes up front, soft and smooth. Next I taste a very raisiny, plummy, and mildly spicy Perique, followed closely by a barbecue, herbal, nutty Dark Fired Kentucky. The topping doesn't cover the other tobaccos, but smooths them down and rounds them out. The rum adds molasses, sweetness and spice. Even though this is quite smooth, it's complex.

The taste I give a medium. Even with the complexity this blend doesn't overwhelm your senses. The strength is a medium, and Lady N is here for a medium affair but nothing wild. The room note is interesting, and it may be so to some non-smokers as well. Even though I opened this right after I bought it, I've let it sit for a month now just to see if I could notice a difference in age. I can. It was a bit more rough around the edges when I first bought the tin so I can only imagine what it would be like to open in a few years.

I've decided to review to cellar series blends from C&D upon purchase (or thereabout) and after the recommended amount of aging to see the changes. I intend to update the review after that period of time has elapsed.

Now:

Smell is like a VaPer, a bit more sweet, there's a note similar to strawberry.

I do not taste the rum, at all. I suspect it is the influence in the tin note that was sweeter than usual for a VaPer, but not really there in the taste. Perhaps it will come through more with age. Unaged, this tastes like a VaPer, sweet Virginias and spicy Perique, with a strong dark fired sense. It's prevalent the whole time and makes for an interesting VaPer experience as it differs from the norm for that style.

You can view my video review of the unaged blend here:

https://youtu.be/Aqd8GdF6b4o

Aged:

Stay tuned.

This is a nice broken flake with a light rum topping. I found the underlying tobaccos well-balanced Kentucky and VA, with the Perique a soft, integrating presence between the main tobaccos and the rum. Those who like their rum blends light on the rum and not sweet should consider this a pleasant alternative to most of the mild rum Navy Flakes, as the Kentucky gives it a bit more body.

Rich, tasty, and mouth-watering. The one drawback for me is the nicotine hit. It's not one I can smoke while working. Otherwise it is quite gooood!