Cornell & Diehl Mad Fiddler Flake

The eerie sounds of Erich Zann's Viola da Gamba call to my ears from the vast Abyss of time, in this room drifts the smoky notes of The Mad Fiddler's grand design. Bready Virginia's wrap themselves around notes of spicy plummy perique. The Katsuri offers a dry cinnamon spice, perhaps a bit of clove. The katsuri also gives the smoke some body, like the cigar leaf does in C&D's Purple Cow. The Black Cavendish adds just the right amount of brown sugar sweetness. The tin note is delicious, Apricots and Cinnamon. It's got a topping but it doesn't really come through in the smoke. May add a bit to the sweetness to this wonderful broken flake. Mad Fiddler Flake is a complex all day smoke, finding itself in my "Smoking Exclusively" category. This is another fine example of Cornell & Diehl tobaccos and how they offer something out there for everybody's taste.

Touting Kasturi for pipe tobacco seems a little like touting Cheese Whiz for steak sandwiches, meaning, neither of these options would be my own first thought. None the less, I decided to try some Mad Fiddler Flake, based on TR opinions and the notion that – somehow - Kasturi was really “cigar leaf”, and given my fairly recent penchant for cigar-type pipe tobacco blends. The tin of Mad Fiddler Flake I popped was dated 04-28-2018. First thing noticed: it’s not flake, at all; rather it’s moist, short ribbons ranging from medium red brown, to dark brown, to black. Initial tin note was brown bread with faint whiffs of prune, baking spices and vinegar, with a trace of tonquin coming up after a couple of hours. As usual, my first bowl went straight from the tin to a pipe, and because of the cut and the moisture I packed it loosely in a large bowl. I’ve since learned that MFF varies pipe to pipe, and according to how it’s smoked. It lights OK when fresh and moist, but it’s better when dried some, IMO, if only because it’s then easier to smoke down. Lit, it starts out gentle and smooth, a rich, sweet, deep, fragrant Cavendish leading with brown sugar, molasses, and floral overtones. I like to take it slow, savoring the rich, sweet clouds of smoke, and at 1/4 the Perique and the Kasturi/cigar-ish filler leaf come up, with prunes and increasing spiciness that includes very faint clove and slightly musty, earthy, cigar spices. At this point the Cavendish fades but still adds body and ensures there’s plenty of smoke. Just as the spices start to assert themselves apart, the VAs kick in. They seem to be sweet, earthy, air-cured browns and some deep and piquant, stoved red. As the VA sugars rise they are met by bitter tannins from the Kasturi that keep my attention, along with souring from the Perique. Now MFF “turns” again, re-balancing itself just as its component varietals increase in intensity, continuing a smooth if not seamless transition from mild to more than medium in both strength and tastes. The entire time all this is happening the scents remain a delightful mix of brown bread, exotic spices, cigar, and meadow flowers, and all of this is decidedly of the tobacco ilk, and very much so for the last ½ of a bowl. For better or for worse, the “myriad” effects I’ve described seem to diminish with rest time; but the overall profile, etc. hold true. Strength is just over medium. Tastes build from just over mild to just over medium. Although some of the side streams are quite pleasant, the Kasturi kicks the room note up a notch to “tolerable”. Be aware, as well, before approaching significant others, that MF not only ghosts a pipe but it stinks up one’s hair and clothing, too. It’s probably best smoked at the tobacconist’s or outside for this reason. For all that, I quite enjoy the aftertaste, which is a lingering fade out of the best of the end of the smoke.

Of course, the best way to be really good and wrong is to assert oneself with great confidence. Still, on the strength of my experience, I am betting that Mad Fiddler Flake is a prime candidate for cellaring. I happen to like it a lot when it’s young; but I expect it will yet mature into something even better. 4 stars, as is.

Update, 12-07-2018: I just smoked some jar-aged MFF in a WWII era Comoy’s that I use for “cigar blends”. Oddly enough, it was not cigar that I got but a well-melded blend of savory, semi-exotic spices underpinned by something along the lines of Semois, with a perfect balance of red and brown VAs for body. Just glorious! I should have 5 tins of this iteration in reserve, for the inevitable time when this blend is altered or discontinued! Another case of hindsight as bitch! Here’s another one for my Favorites list, anyway!

Upon opening the tin, the smoker is greeted with the heavenly aroma of dried prunes with a hint of something spicy like cinnamon. The rich, moist, mottled broken-flake promises a heady smoke. The perique in this blend is at the perfect level, present but not overpowering, and the mature Virginia gives this blend a solid foundation, allowing the more delicate spice-like Indonesian Kasturi cigar leaf a stage upon which to shine. This masterwork is not to be missed.

Tin note is like nothing I have run across before. Notes of a craft store during the Christmas season with hints of spices, wood, and fig. Tin note is not off putting in any way, just different, and aromatic in a most intoxicating way. Cut is rubbed out flake resembling many dutch style cavendishes like Amphora. The smoke is fantastic with the cigar leaf never being too overbearing, and the virginias always taking a slight lead. Nic hit is medium to me, and I find MFF to be an excellent smoke in the morning with a cup of coffee. Unlike most C&D blends, this needs some dry time but will reward the smoker with a very pleasant medium bodied smoke. Burns to fine ash with very little dottle and has a wife approved room note. An excellent blend that i have been enjoying all summer and will make a fantastic fall blend as well.

The tin note is different from any other tobacco I've tried so far. Imagine opening up a Fig Newton and sticking your nose into the filling. Figgy, plummy, reasiny goodness. Almost impossible to believe that this is not an aromatic tobacco. The Virginia, the molasses-like smell of the black Cavendish, the spice from the Perique and the unique spicy smell of the Kasturi blend into something that smells like it's meant to be eaten.

As soon as you light it, you can tell this is indeed not an aromatic. At first, the cigar leaf and the Perique add a bit of a rough edge to the flavor, but not an unpleasant one. Soon, all of the flavors blend together, although at all stages you can still recognize the four components: a deep sweetness from the Cavendish, a fruity, bready sweetness from the Virginia, a black pepper taste from the Perique, and the taste of a wonderfully mellow cigar, all combined.

Imagine a good VaPer, and add a mellow cigar and some black Cavendish to it. That might be the best way to describe the flavor.

After a while, the Virginia develops a bit of extra sweetness and the rough edge disappears.

The room note also combines the constituent parts in a smooth experience.

It is a bit too strong for me to be an all-day smoke, but it should serve well in the evening, after dinner, to round off your day.

The flakes pack nicely, and even though I gave it no drying time before folding and stuffing some flakes into my pipe, it burned nicely, leaving no noticeable moisture at the bottom of my bowl.

Highly recommended.

Well, this is the tobacco I've been looking for. It is pleasant, it is full-bodied, it is spicy. Very spicy, if you normally smoke average strong mixtures. It is on the verge of being uncomfortable, but that is exactly what I wanted. "Innsmouth" is also good, but Mad Fiddler Flake is better. And it is not a real flake, it is ready rubbed. I like that.

So my first review.

I had this tin imported for me by friend who was visiting USA, as C&D blends are almost impossible to get in EU. I saved it for some special occassion, which showed, so I popped the tin with a new pipe.

First the tin aroma - to me? Heavenly. I have to oppose those that say prunes or apricots. What I smell (confirmed by wife, and I did not tell her my impression so it´s 100% her, and she can smell things I can only dream of) is sour cherry liquor pralines - sour cherries, that tangy smell of alcohol, dark chocolate, some spice, the cinnamon sounds about right, but also some more spicy tones.

To me this translated to the taste a bit, which is definitely fine by me. The smoke was nice, had to relight, but well I was impatient - out of the tin,this needed some drying time.

There´s base of virgina notes, with the peculiar taste of ... I´d say the Kasturi - something between cigar, incense, and smell of spice on tongue, assisted by the Perique in the background that adds the amount of pepper and dried fruit taste.

It got a bit rought during the end, but that I assume was the wet tobacco - as stated above, I should have given it more drying time.

Overall, I really like this blend, but be aware. I´m used to tobacco, but this one kicked my arse - sometimes, when not in good condition (hydrated and not empty stomach) I get this, and I was light headed etc. It was pretty strong.

Hmm... A most Eldritch blend. VaPer-ish, but not really. There is pepper, there is stewed fruit and bread, but there is something... Other. Sweet spices, leather, and a sweet woodiness wend in and out. Perhaps that's the Kasturi? Refuses to bite, but the spice can get a tad overwhelming if pushed too fast. The room note is something you will have to try to judge; my wife is not a fan, but many customers at my part-time job (A B&M that sadly doesn't carry this) adore it. Strength is another factor that can be polarizing; this is a stronger Tobacco (though not in the same category as 1792, there are notable similarities in the taste), and one just he sure to fill your belly and a glass of water at hand. I cannot determine if there is in fact a top-note; the tin note is intoxicating, rather like a fine holiday fruitcake. Because of this, there may be some added top note, although it may be the combination of the tobaccos. Regardless, this has become my new favorite of The Old Ones, and is becoming one of my favored blends; enough so to cellar en masse. Much like the manic notes of Erich Zann, it is at the same time alien, unsettling, and deeply fascinating. Update 11/02/21: I still have this constantly on hand, but I will make a disclaimer: it benefits immensely from at least 6 months of age. Fresh off the line, it has an unpleasantly sweaty/cheesy smell that carries into the smoke. Green Perique, I would wager. Just means I need to plan ahead and keep at least 3 tins in reserve at all times.

If you like complex blends that tend to make other people run, this one is for you. The tin note immediately made me think of SG 1782. There is a little.something extra there in the fruits and spices department. It smells and tastes so familiar one one hand, but then you can only come close.to describing which actual fruits you taste. Plum? Maybe. Prune? Closer but not quite so dried. Spices are close to cinnamon, but not really. Whiskey soaked raisins? Maybe. Bready for sure. None of these flavors can be 100% identifiable which is what makes it so enjoyable. There is a background tangy vinegar or yeasty feel like drinking a porter. Earthy and damp like walking in a mossy hardwood forest. Straight from the tin with no dry time it lights right up. Stays lit and has a nice slow and cool burn. Baby soft on the palate, but by no means mushy or goopy. Just very soft and round. The complexity is amazing as throughout the bowl it brings you on a roller coaster of flavors and sensations in your mouth. Whatever you do, I wouldn't dry it very much. It loses something if you do. Have your self a cold beverage on hand and enjoy the journey. Deep narrow bowls are best.