Cornell & Diehl Mad Fiddler Flake

I'm not sure I agree with all the reviews of this tobacco. This is a good tobacco. It is interesting and different. But a lot of the reviews on here talk about the same old raisiny, plummy, woodsy, grassy etc etc, descriptive notes that we usually give to rich Virginia blends. Let me just say this is not like any of those rich Virginia blends. This tobacco is mellow and does not burn you, however should you accidentally inhale it you will know immediately that it has a very strong component lying underneath. It has a noticeable nick hit, more so than most. The body of it does remind you of a cigar, a little bit. My son thought it smelled a little bit like cigarettes. Not unpleasant though. 5 to 10 minutes into the bowl it starts to meld together into a very nice smooth and satisfying collection of flavors, which are either very simple or too complex to differentiate. But it works. This is a satisfying smoke with a tasty, almost savory flavor at its sweet spot. But there is some definite strength in there, that you notice when you retrohale or accidentally inhale the smoke coming off the bowl. I believe this is the cavendish. Not the traditional American Cavendish. But a more pure form from Europe. And I think you really get to taste the spectrum of the Cavendish, it's somewhat concentrated. There is a few unique flavors in there, probably from the secret ingredient. It has only the smallest amount of incensiness, that is also noticeable in the tin note. It produces a decent amount of moisture, this is especially noticeable in a falcon pipe. This is not a playful blend, but a more mature blend. The flavor is interesting and one I'm not familiar with. I can think of no other blend to compare this to. It seems a lot like an age-old custom blend that was produced for a mysterious man who knew what he liked. I like it a lot. I think as I smoke more of it I'm going to notice more nuance. I will update my review accordingly.

Disgusting crap, heavily cased, confusing blending, tongue bite and harsh aftertaste. It is so disappointed that every is just blind to the flavor. Please keep away from this blend.

The note from the tin is a cinnamon, fruity, floral scent. More of ready rubbed than broken flake. I have jarred mine for six months and the flakes have broken apart under their own weight making prep pretty quick. Quite moist from the tin the time in the jar hasn't changed that yet it seems more like an oily texture to the touch rather than just moist tobacco. A small amount of drying time required however.

Packing is simple enough and the flavour of the Kasturi is forward from the charring light. I would say this is better described as an "Exotic VaPer" than a "Cigar Leaf Based" as the Perique and Kasturi compliment each other very well as there is a spicy maduro quality in the latter and the cinnamon note compliments the fruity richness of the Virginias and Perique perfectly. There's a herbal almost cedar tone throughout like a good oriental that prevents this blend being one dimensional in terms of overall profile adding the depth.

I don't think I have smoked anything quite this unique and I doubt that I will unless something pretty off the wall comes out in the next decade or so. This is a bold blend and is executed incredibly well. A full flavoured versatile smoke that goes well with a morning coffee or at the end of the day.

This was an interesting one for me. I found myself experiencing several shifts in impression over time. This was a generally quite highly rated, so, I’m a bit of an outlier.

I found the tin note unsettling and unpleasant when freshly opened - a cloying combination of spicy, musty and spoiled fruit aromas. I kept coming back to the tin for another smell to see if my senses were off when I first cracked the tin . No, same experience for about a week - off putting and cloying. After a few more days, I was close to giving the tin away when I noticed it smelled considerably better...a milder blend of apple, cinnamon, clove, with a heavy musty cigar element. Complete improvement after letting it settle a few days past a week’s time. It’s definitely topped with something, but not a full aromatic blend by any means. This is a robust, medium/full smoke. It’s very spicy and a rather rough at times, especially if rushed. It’s definitely got the whole earthy/musty drug store cigar-type flavor profile as the dominant theme, over which the other tobaccos add embellishment. It’s not true cigar flavor, but cigar-like. The fruity topping (which I assume is a topping due to the reduced tin note with time to off gas after opening ) is noticeable but subtle in the actual smoke - mostly apple and cinnamon. The broken flakes are easy to prepare and it takes a light without need for significant dry time. The first half of the bowl was the most the most tolerable part of the experience for me, as the harshness/spice increased beyond my preferred zone as I progressed . It might be a good blend for someone who likes a somewhat rugged, rough, fuller flavored tobacco sans Latakia. I lean more towards a medium to full English if looking to scratch the itch for something heartier. I love dark birds eye and the other heavy hitting gawith and hoggarth shag cuts, so I’m no stranger to stronger, darker blends. This one is better suited for autumn or winter as it’s a bit oppressive (to me at least) in the heat of the summer. I’ll revisit it in a year and see if my tastes have grown. I give it 2.5 stars, rounding up from 2.0, as I think it is fairly unique and accomplished what it was probably intending . I’m just not a the intended audience, no fault of the blender.

Edit 12/26/20

Still not feeling this one, and I like a variety of full flavored cigars and pipe tobaccos. Unfortunately, the overall flavor experience me reminds me of a long lost flavor variant of those budget Al Capone cigarillos . I used to impulsively buy Capones too often (no comment ) from various party stores in my youth. Mad Fiddler just seems overbearing, rough, and cheap tasting to me, like a budget cigarillo topped with spiced apple brandy. I guess I just don’t like kasturi. Sadly, two stars for this one. I’ll stick to the gawith and Hogarth dark offerings as well as my preferred Latakia blends when I want something robust.