Cornell & Diehl Dreams of Kadath

The tin note smells of a CAO cigar—slightly sweetened. The Katerini first hits my senses leaving some nutmeg spiciness at the tip of the tongue. The burley is very present. The dark fired Kentucky gives off a little smoked oak flavors. The Perique gives a little spiciness but not much. The blend is a quite complex and takes time to decipher. It honestly shocked my senses at first. It definitely reminds me of the clove cigarettes that I smoked in my youth. It is not a blend I could smoke throughout a day, but a nice excursion away from my regular rotation. There is no bite.

"Dreams" and I started off on the wrong foot. When I first opened the tin, I was overwhelmed by the boozy topping that almost slapped me in the face. After opening a tin that had about five months or more in age, I cut the plug into thin flakes and stuck them I my pipe. At first blush, all I could taste was the topping. It settled down a little bit, but was still overwhelmingly present. I tried another bowl the next day and left the top off overnight. The topping was less pungent than before, so I tried it again the following day. The third time was nearly identical to the second. I was at a loss and didn't mess with it for a while after that.

I had nearly given up on it and threw it into a mason jar. Several months later, I saw the jar and decided to give it a whirl. The topping, though still present, was quite subdued and enhanced the tobaccos, rather than obscuring them. I found "Dreams" to be a quite nice Virginia?Oriental plug with some strength and unique flavor. I really like the stuff now and have been smoking a bowl at least once a week for the past couple months. I have another tin sitting in the closet with the rest of my "cellared" tobaccos. It now has close to two years on it, so when I finish the jar of "Dreams" that I am dipping into, I will open it up and start with it not long afterward. I'll see if I have to leave the lid off the tin for at least a night again. All in all, a really interesting and enjoyable tobacco. Just needs some preparation. At least for me, anyway.

Recommended! I don't think I can give this blend more than 3 stars. the preparation required to get it to the point that I enjoy it is a bit much. However, once it's at that point, I find it a rich, satisfying, and enjoyable smoke. It won't replace Temple Bar as one of my top plug Virginia/Oriental blends, however.

The aroma from the tin is delightful, it reminds me of apple cider with sherry notes. Of course it’s an added aroma, but yet it smells very natural. The plug is not very hard and its rather easy to cut, though not in perfect flakes as the plug is quite soft offering little resistance. After that, a little rubbing is needed and the tobacco is ready to let dry a few minutes and then smoke. I find that a little drying is essential to Dreams of Kaddath.

The plug (or rather cake) consists of leafs pressed on upon another which can also be pealed off and then torn apart with the fingers. It’s a wonderful tobacco, real tobacco taste with the added aroma which complements and does not overwhelm though it has some bitter notes. It’s only a once in a while tobacco for me, but I quite enjoy a bowl here and now. Dreams of Kaddath is a blend which will appeal to smokers of plain and flavoured blends alike. Unlike most aromatics it smokes to end very nicely and the ghosting does not last for long.

The tin note was a raisin/dried apricot aroma. It wasn't overpowering, but it was snappy. My immediate reaction: "this is going to smoke like a bowl of apricot jam... yuck!" I was wrong - The cake is more like a plug, albeit moist and reminded me of the old "Days O's Work" plug chaw. It was moist and pulled apart/rubbed easy. Again, the Apricot aroma was up front during these manipulations... I was reluctant to break-in my new Molina Barrasso Unfinished with a sweet aromatic, but I dove in. To complete the experience, I put on Ian Gordon's audible version of HP Lovecraft's The Shunned House. The bowl packed easy but not tight. Charring light needed to be a bit more sustained to get the ruby. Tamping and re-lighting was probably not the best approach, but the pick worked well. I had several re-lights throughout the bowl, but not a problem. It is floral and not overly sweet. The tin note and the apricot faded into the background - gone! Replaced by orientals. This was really a unique smoke. I would give it a week to dry out a bit and it should be improved. It was a cool smoke and not complex. Had some finish notes of English quality like a charcoal fire. I like it and would probably buy it again.

Dreams of Kadath: Pushing the bounds of pipe tobacco blending in the best possible way

With Dreams of Kadath, I was pleasantly surprised by new flavors I had not tasted in pipe tobacco. C&D's use of Katerini is exquisite. It adds a pleasant sourness and a bit of spice. The Virginia varietals provide a tangy, grassy, and slightly sweet foundation. The burley, perique, and dark-fired add to the body of the smoke. The dark-fired leaf adds an oak-fired flavor to the blend and plays well with the tanginess of the red Virginia leaf and the spice of the Katerini. The perique adds a little spice but remains mostly in the background. Together, the tobaccos offer a pleasant earthy, sweet, and interesting smoke that behaves well.

A plug -- not a krumble kake -- was fully expected upon opening this tin dated 08/23/19. The age, the reputation and descriptions, and the fact that it is my first plug, are what forced my hand to give this a try: I was honestly excited to use my Gerber folding knife to slice off some fine flakes.

One of the first things to note is, of course, the powerful tin note: a plummy, boozy fragrance that reminded me at once of C&D's Black Frigate. But from the first light and initial puffs, I knew this would be a very different smoke from BF.

The aroma of that smoke! That's what I'll remember most, seeing that the taste was so complex and ever changing (but never in a disjointed way) that it is hard for me to put a finger on it. I could taste the Virginias and Kentuckys at times, and the Perique, of course, though not so much the BC (which no doubt added to the rich creaminess of smoke). The Katerini, however, was likely adding some mysterious and spicy elements that I couldn't quite grasp. Perhaps if I could taste it in isolation, I'd have a better sense of what was going on.

I think I will have to come back to this one for better notes, but it is a very full flavor experience, and even stronger effect in the vitamin N department: I was glad I stuck with my smaller bowled "taster" meer for this. And I am glad I waited nearly two years to open the tin. Though I would have liked to try it a couple years down the road. I could always jar up half the cake and forget about it. Hmm, tempting ...

I'm putting this at 3.5 stars, but rounded down, noting that it is probably best for the experienced smokers, so tread lightly!

I purchased this tobacco because the description said it was mysterious. Which usually means it has a mystery ingredient that they never admit to. But I'm always hoping to find a mysterious tobacco that leads to some type of otherworldly smoking experience. Well it is neither of those. It is a fairly straightforward American type non-aromatic tobacco that has a little more fruitiness this than most. It may be a topping or dressing, or may be the unique kitterini tobacco used in it. But it is definitely fruitier than Royal yacht. It doesn't have the same punch as Royal yacht either. But that's fine. This tobacco is less monochromatic. First off it comes in a very tight plug, which means you will need a sharp knife to slice through all of the layers and get a nice mixture in your bowl. It rubs out easily enough but you will end up with large pieces of tobacco mixed with small pieces. This often affects the flavor and burn rate. It lights easily enough, and it burns for quite a while. Took me about 45 minutes in a medium size corn cob pipe. There were a few lights, nothing wrong with that. In the first 5 minutes of smoking it you could detect a great number of components. Little spiciness, quite a bit of raisiny fruit, definite plum flavor, fresh cut hay. But 5 minutes later everything came together perfectly. The Sweet spot lasted a long time and it was a very satisfying smoke. Rich, full, and good. I suppose I'll be smoking more of it today and throughout the summer. But my initial impression was very positive. I like this tobacco, I like its thick smoke, and it's sweetness. And it even satisfies a little bit. I was sitting with my son and he said it smelled like the tobacco I used to smoke at Christmas when he was little. That would be Gawith and Hogarth rum flake.