Cornell & Diehl Jolly Old Saint Nicholas 2018

Cornell & Diehl - Jolly Old Saint Nicholas.

Since Christmas blends are the 'go to' for reviews this time of year I thought I'd jump on the bandwagon!

Appearance: it contains a higher proportion of Virginia compared to black Cavendish but the Cavendish has been cut coarser. The Virginias are simple ribbons, but there's a few chunkier pieces of black Cavendish. The tin-note makes certain that this is an orange, ginger, aromatic. My tin's moisture was good.

The orange liqueur and ginger collaborate to form quite a sharp, redolent, zesty, top note. The orange liqueur outweighs the ginger, easily. Especially for the final quarter. Of the tobaccos I get the most flavour from the Virginias, with the black Cavendish taking the role of 2nd place. The Perique sits right in the back row at first, but becomes more noticeable after a third of a bowl; from here on the flavour becomes heavier, and a little richer. It burns well, necessitating only minimal maintenance.

Nicotine: not as mild as many Christmas aromatics. Room-note: nice.

Jolly Old Saint Nicholas? A nice smoke, but not the best Christmas blend I've piped. Ergo, it falls short of four stars and can only have three:

Recommended.

I started smoking pipes about three months ago and this will be my first review.

Prior to smoking this blend I had a standard soup/sandwich lunch followed by a pint of an excellent Coffee Stout. I was ready for something sweet but did not want to reach for any snacks. Instead I headed to my local shop where I sampled and bought this blend.

The tin I tried had been open for a few days in the sample shelf of my local B&M. Even with a dozen noses a day opening and shutting the tin, the aromas in the tin were still present. The tin gives you the separate scents: Orange, ginger, holiday spices and a bucket full of sweetness. I knew this was exactly what I was in the mood for.

After lighting it and taking my first butane-free puffs, it was like solving a simple riddle. The flavors of orange and ginger were present, and the familiar Christmas baked goods sweetness and spices were accounted for. Nothing else to find. Pretty much exactly what they say is there. After a few puffs, the ginger mellowed out and the Perique worked its way out of the blend. After several more sips, I exhaled a tingly puff of spicy ginger through my nose and was immediately sold on this blend. Be aware that the orange and ginger smoke evenly for about two thirds of the bowl, then the perique takes over and you have to work a little harder to find the sweet flavors.

Good blend if you are in the mood for something sweet. I enjoy a variety of blends from English to aromatics and this has its place in my small collection of blends.

3 stars because I would like for the orange and ginger flavors to continue throughout the entire bowl.

A Nice Malty Bed of Golden Virginias, Black Cavemdish, and a dash of perique. The Orange Liqueur topping offers wonderful nuances of orange/cognac/mulled wine, with a spiced sweet ginger lingering throughout the tobacco. The cavendish initially turned me off, but I began to noticed a toasted pecan note that I determined must be the cavendish. The perique gives the smoke some balls. I don’t believe this one will ghost a briar beyond a good busting, with something like Haunted Bookshop in you arsenal. A pipe needs to be dedicated to this blend to get the full smoking pleasure. I’ve gone from sitting on the fence to loving Old St Nick. Maybe not something for everyone, but with the tin art and the aroma, Jolly Old St. Nicolas is a wonderful addition to the Holiday smoking rotation.

Jolly Old Saint Nicholas tastes mostly of black cavendish and orange oil, with a ginger ale aftertaste. The cavendish gives the blend a sugary sweetness that is pleasant in a holiday blend. The orange flavor is a darker/stronger orange oil flavor, not candy sweet orange and the ginger hit me on the exhale with a slight ginger bite on the tongue and lips. I wouldn’t nessarily want this blend very often, but it would be a nice treat for the holidays.

The Orange Liqueur comes through fairly well and is enhanced with a Whiskey & 7. I found the Perique to be fairly faint and the Virginias to be almost overpowering. I failed to catch any hint of ginger. The room notes are far less tolerable than a lot of custom blends I've smoked, though I've noticed that my wife's eyes water less with St. Nicholas than they do with Bill's Blend (a custom blend) from Rich's Tobacco. However, she prefers the scent of Bill's Blend significantly (Vanilla and Black Cav). The flavor of St. Nicholas is good for a break during daily activities, but I don't know that I'd want it for a deep bowl/slow-burn/all-day-smoke. I get an after taste similar to smoking a cigarette, though this could be from my pipes. I thoroughly clean them, but I can not discount them in this. Oddly, the after taste changes to a bright orange, almost like sucking on an orange flavored candy, with a sip of whiskey. I would definitely recommend this to any pipe smoker. It is clearly a complex blend.

Very interesting tin note and I picked up immediately the Orange and Ginger in the tin.

Ribbon cut, easy to pack, easy to light. Moisture from tin seems just right.

I picked up the orange at the beginning more then more ginger in the middle. A friend of mine I gave a bowl too was almost "overwhelmed" by the ginger at his light but got more orange as he smoked.

This is not a goopy aromatic and the ginger portion of it reminded me of Valle Crucis out of the Two Friends collection.

I jarred the tin and will enjoy through the holidays and winter as a nice change of pace from my usual blends.

Preface: I'm not a typical aro smoker. That said, this is pretty good. I am smoking the 2018 blend in Dec. 2022. It has dried out quit a bit...not at all bone dry though. Frankly its perfect, moisture wise, at this point. It, for an aro, has aged well. The flavoring/topping is still there and pleasant and the tobaccos have a little age on them and have improved, not that they were bad fresh out of the tin. But, a lot of c&d leaf is pretty green when opened right after purchase as you all know.

So, out of the tin, there is light brown ribbon and small chunks of dark leaf. Smelling the tin is pretty typical for an aromatic. But, if i were to try to discern what im smelling of the flavoring, probably more of the ginger than orange but the sharp orange peel is there if you put your mind to it. But, more ginger.

Smoking, at this point there is no tongue bite. Very smooth. The orange flavor is more present and the virginias are the main player on the tobacco end which is very nice. The perique is adding to the fruit notes, dark fruit, raisin plum notes are def there when sought out.

The room note must be pleasant, my nose is toast due to retro. But, its going to be very pleasant to a none smoker, no doubt. I'm enjoying what I can for sure. I'm almost to the bottom of the bowl which is not typical for an aro for me. The only other aromatics I'll smoke to the bottom is Petersons sunset breeze and cult blood red moon.

All in all...next time they sell this(probably a few years) I'll be sure to get another tin. Worth the buy and worth a little age on it surprisingly.