Cornell & Diehl Warped: The Red Hunt

(3.45)
A vibrant, invigorating combination of red, mahogany, and bright Virginias, alongside aged Basma and Izmir Turkish varietals and finely fermented perique, and offers a full and commanding complexity. One of the few Warped blends not to showcase cigar leaf, The Red Hunt is perfect for those who desire quality, natural components but don't prefer cigar leaf. Plus, the aging potential of this blend is remarkable. The hunt is over, but the journey has just begun. Virginias, perique and aged Orientals - blended by the aficionados Kyle Gellis & Jeremy Reeves.

Details

Brand Cornell & Diehl
Blended By Jeremy Reeves & Kyle Gellis
Manufactured By Cornell & Diehl
Blend Type Other
Contents Oriental/Turkish, Perique, Virginia
Flavoring
Cut Broken Flake
Packaging 2 ounce tin
Country United States
Production Currently available

Profile

Strength
Medium
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Extremely Mild -> Overwhelming
Flavoring
None Detected
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
None Detected -> Extra Strong
Room Note
Pleasant to Tolerable
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Unnoticeable -> Overwhelming
Taste
Medium
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Extremely Mild (Flat) -> Overwhelming

Average Rating

3.45 / 4
6

4

1

0

Reviews

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Displaying 1 - 10 of 11 Reviews
Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jun 23, 2020 Medium None Detected Medium Pleasant to Tolerable
The fragrant Basma and Izmir supplies earth, wood, herbs, vegetation, spice, a lot of floralness, light incense, mild buttery sweetness, and some dry, sour bitterness as the lead components. The red and mahogany Virginias provide a burst of tangy ripe dark fruit, earth, wood, bread, vegetation, sugar, light tart and tangy citrus, a few blades of grass, a couple pinches of spice, and a slight floralness. They take the second slot in the proceedings. The fermented, earthy, woody, mildly spicy perique offers sugary stewed raisins, dates, figs, and plums in a secondary role. The grassy, tart and tangy citrusy, acidic, lightly floral and honey-ish, slightly spicy, toasty, sugary bright Virginia is a condiment in terms of its effect. I don’t notice a topping. The strength, nicotine and taste levels are medium. There’s no chance of bite or harshness, but it does sport some rough edges. The broken flakes are mildly moist, and require no dry time. Well balanced and complex, it burns clean, fairly cool, and a tad slow with a mostly consistent sweet and sour, rugged, floral, spicy, savory, zesty flavor that translates to the pleasantly lingering after taste. The room note is a step stronger. Leaves little moisture in the bowl, and requires a couple more than an average number of relights. It’s not quite an all day smoke, but it certainly is repeatable. Four stars out of four.

-JimInks
19 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Aug 08, 2020 Medium None Detected Medium Pleasant
Cornell & Diehl - Warped: The Red Hunt.

What a delightful blend! I had to stock up on some after a few bowls!

It isn't too broken up. Don't expect a blend reminiscent of ribbons, it's easy to see it was a flake. The tin contains pieces of flake which are chunky, very coarse, but still broken. It has a good amount of moisture, can be smoked right off, and the Perique lends the unlit aroma a slight fruity nuance.

Smoking it? Blissful! Yes, the Orientals account for the prominent flavour, but they don't, by any means, render the other additions redundant. Behind these is a VaPer support which doesn't take, me, much effort to taste the fruity, rich, Perique; delicious. The Virginia, red, increases this fruity calibre, making for a succulent support. I don't want to be too vernacular, although not a basic blend I can't think of, without making things up, anything else to say! Apart from it's a lovely smoke!

Nicotine: medium. Room-note: quite nice.

'The Red Hunt? A great smoke; IMO. Highly recommended:

Four stars.
Pipe Used: Falcon Plymouth bowl
PurchasedFrom: Smokingpipes.com
Age When Smoked: 04/17/20
13 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jun 15, 2020 Medium Mild Medium Pleasant to Tolerable
The reviewed tin of The Red Hunt is dated 05-19-20. Tin popped, one sees well broken flake/“ribbons”, mostly red-ish brown, with scant tan, and medium to dark brown. According to C&D this reflects a range of VAs, red, brown and pale, Turkish/Orientals, and Perique. The initial tin note is swamped by a topping, something like a deep chocolate liqueur that soon settles and allows some bran muffin/brown-bready tobacco and some orange zest to come up. The ribbons are not overly moist, but I dry it a little, and it handles, loads, lights and smokes down like a champ. There seems to be a fair percentage of Turkish/Orientals; in any case, it burns pretty fast. First up at the light is the topping; very floral and fragrant, although not so much chocolate as the tin note, more vanilla, actually, then lightly woody meadow grasses, then fragrant hay and distant brown bread muffin baking, then Middle Eastern baking spices, some dark fruit leather, then fresh figs, and some cayenne at the half mark. This is a complex smoke, sweet, sour, woody, herbal, fragrant and savory, with the parts available if you want, or it’s smooth and well melded enough to carelessly puff away, if you want that. Again, I prefer it dried, and from a pot, which keeps the tobaccos on top of the topping and it also ameliorates the aftertaste from combusted toppings. The toppings and the aftertaste from them come up when I smoke it in a smaller/narrower bowl. The spices are delivered in a higher register of the sort that may make for differing opinions on how strong this blend is. As for strength, I’m not sure I’ve tried a blend like this that did/does not include Cavendish, but the tobaccos in this case are smooth enough to do without it, spicy varietals notwithstanding. Anyway, I’m saying medium strength. Tastes are over medium. Room note is better than tolerable, because of the topping. Aftertaste is a longer-than-expected trailing off of the best of the smoke.

Overall, The Red Hunt is a right nice blend, if you like significant, refined spices along with a medley of well-chosen VAs. It’s worth noting again that there is no Cavendish here to “smooth things out”, so TRH might not be everyone’s idea of smooth. Also note that this blend can be manipulated with one’s choice of pipe, which I happen to like. C&D say it will age well, and I’m betting that will be the case, in the sealed tin and in a jar, too. 4 stars.
Pipe Used: various briars; dedicated pot preferred
PurchasedFrom: smokingpipes.com
Age When Smoked: fresh from young tin, then rested a little
10 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Aug 25, 2020 Mild to Medium None Detected Medium Pleasant
Nice chunky broken flakes, which burn on the slow side (might need some touch-up relights, at least now). The prelight draw is pure red VA heaven; the smoke itself is nicely balanced between the VAs and Orientals, giving the best of each, with a little Perique tang underneath giving it a bit more body. Right now 3+ stars because it's still a little rough, but it will likely improve with age.
Pipe Used: cobs
PurchasedFrom: smoking pipes
Age When Smoked: 4 months
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jan 26, 2023 Medium None Detected Medium to Full Pleasant to Tolerable
I’ve been smoking pipe like a fiend for about 8 years. I’ve never encountered a blend quite like this. The tin note is exceptional…mulled cider and an undercurrent of chocolate erupt from the tin. What appears to be broken flakes fluff up. Perfect moisture. From the false light on, decadence. It’s challenging to differentiate the red/mahogany virginias from the perique. But I taste cider and dark stewed fruit with a trace of cinnamon spice. A chocolate sensation drifts in and out the bowl and the orientals shine on the retroinhale. It’s always amazed me how different blenders take the same component’s and create different flavors. Kyle Gellis & Jeremy Reeves knocked this one way out the park and took some stadium lights with it. This blend is going to cellar like a beast. As the bowl progresses I can only describe it as a stewed fruit champagne chocolate decadent treat. It’s astounding there is no topping. It just goes to show what a couple master blenders can do. Any avid piper needs to try this. The complexity of this blend will be deeply appreciated by serious pipers. Medium in nicotine, and medium-full in taste, the Red Hunt is a blend for the ages and pushes the envelope of creativity in blending. Kudos!
Pipe Used: Missouri Meercshaum Honeypot
PurchasedFrom: Smoking Pipes
Age When Smoked: New Tin
3 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jul 17, 2021 Medium None Detected Medium Pleasant to Tolerable
Getting to the bottom of the list for Warped blends is The Red Hunt. This is the only tin of the lineup that doesn't contain any cigar Leaf components, but it does boast one of my favorite Orientals: Basma. I fell in love with Basma by smoking Petersons Old Dublin. The tin gives me some Game of Thrones vibes, and is very interesting. Opening up, there is a broken flake that is mostly dark browns in color. The tin note smells of dried fruit, plums, hay, tangy Orientals, fermented sweetness almost rum like in character, and a slight breadiness. I think the flakes come at a perfect moisture level to stuff and light, but your mileage may vary.

When I light my pipe, I get some very interesting flavor combinations. The perique seems to be up front like it was for Kings Stride and it offers a lot of fruit, plums, and spice on the retrohale. The amount is definitely less than Kings Stride, but more than a typical VaPer. Next I taste the Orientals, they add herbs, tang, and incense. The Virginias are a mix, and I can taste citrusy and haylike bright Virginias, and the soft bread like Reds. I taste something slightly rummy in character and I'm not sure if that is a topping or just the interplay of leaves in this particular blend, but it is nice and slightly captivating.

The taste is a medium. I don't ever feel overwhelmed smoking this blend and it produces a fair amount of smoke. The strength is a medium. Even with the amount of Perique I think this is a regular affair for Lady N. The room note is typical of a VaPer and I fond it interesting. This blend tends to burn slow and cool. I could easily smoke this all day long.
Pipe Used: Savinelli Oceano 616
PurchasedFrom: Smokingpipes.com
Age When Smoked: New
3 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Apr 15, 2021 Medium Very Mild Full Pleasant to Tolerable
The aroma that comes off when opening the tin is spectacular, similar to the one that comes out of a box of chocolates filled with cherry liqueur, with a touch of orange. Makes you want to eat it ... At first I am skeptical that the flavor can be similar to its aroma, since it is something that does not happen in many of the blends that I have tried with such outstanding aromas. The tobacco comes a bit wet but can be loaded directly from the tin without any problem.

When I light the pipe, I am pleasantly surprised that the initial cold aromas are reproduced exactly after smoking, especially in the first third. It seems that this mixture contains two types of oriental, Basma and Izmir, and yet I have the impression that they have been applied discreetly, just to give some aromatic and spicy nuances typical of these tobaccos. Towards the last third of the pipe an earthy, chocolatey flavor, similar to burley, lingers on, surprising me again, as this blend is not supposed to contain burley. And yet this would explain the presence of those marked chocolate notes.

Coincidentally, a couple of weeks later I opened a Redwood tin -Two Friends-, which has some similarities. The most notable is that aroma of chocolate when smelling it in its tin and that is also reproduced later in the flavor during the smoke. This tobacco that I mention does not have burley either. It is made up of Virginia, Perique, and Black Cavendish. So the only thing that could add that chocolate note would be a slight added topping. Either that, or I don't know anything about tobaccos, or both at the same time ...

Returning to The Red Hunt, I see it highly recommended to try it because I think it is difficult not to be surprised and that already seems important to me as an experience. Of course, in my case it is not a tobacco for every day, since it can get tired.

I give it three stars because it fills my mouth with too much flavor.
Age When Smoked: 6 months
3 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jul 31, 2023 Mild to Medium Mild Mild to Medium Tolerable
I am a big fan of VA/Oriental blends and this one is no exception, even with the addition of Perique. First things first, this is wet, real wet. Normally C&D comes at the perfect smoking moisture in my experience but this one would put Samuel Gawith to shame. Tin note is raisiny sweet, and pretty strong. Notes of honey and vanilla also come with the grassy and slightly sour tobacco aromas. The VA provide the base and the Perique is only noticeable to me on the tingle in the nose. A base of hay and mottled grass are complimented with a woody, dry, toasty dose of Orientals. There is a very sweet note to this blend. Not sure what they put on it but there is definitely some kind of sweet casing on this wet weed. It goes well with the tobacco flavors. The flavors stay consistent but become richer in the final third of the bowl. Smokes well in all pipes, but oddly enough I found this best in a Falcon (this is a first for me), close second in a meer.
Pipe Used: Briar's, meerschaum, clay's, falcon and cob's
Age When Smoked: Fresh from new tin
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Mar 06, 2024 Medium Extremely Mild Medium Pleasant to Tolerable
Too moist right from the tin; without some drying this leads to too many relights; with drying, no bite or condensation; didn't get much from the Perique compared to my normal VA/Pers
Pipe Used: charatan
PurchasedFrom: smoking pipes
Age When Smoked: 3/28/23
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Feb 22, 2024 Mild to Medium None Detected Medium to Full Pleasant
Fantastic VaPerOr blend. Does smell like it has a topping of some sort even though it’s not listed. Could be the orientals that are aged putting of the aroma of a topping. Either way it’s a great blend and one that needs to be tried. Will purchase more since aging will make this blend magically delicious. Definitely leading by the orientals then Virginias with the Perique right beneath the two. Great blend.
Pipe Used: Royal danish
PurchasedFrom: Smoking pipes
Age When Smoked: Fresh
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