Cornell & Diehl Warped: Scarecrow 2021

Cornell & Diehl - Warped: Scarecrow.

Tin 0398 of 2520.

This is the only blend I've smoked since yesterday afternoon. It's reminded me just how enjoyable an aromatic can be when done correctly.

The tin-note sets the precedent of there being more than just a vestige of added flavouring. The aroma's very sweet (caramel), quite fruity (Virginia Cavendish), and SO inviting. Yes, the kake's quite wet, so once crumbled and filled for best results set the pipe to the side to let it air for about an hour, or so, prior to lighting.

''Delicious''..... this is a very pertinent word for the flavour! The caramel's governing where the added flavours are concerned; sweet, sticky, very decadent. The vanilla gives a creaminess, which works nicely with the slightly ''sharp'' touch of cocoa from the chocolate; the chocolate builds in strength, a little, throughout a bowl. I get more of the ''wet'', very sweet, tasting Virginia Cavendish, lots more than the others. The Burleys add some roughness, are slightly bitter, and go well with the light addition of chocolate. The burn from it's top-shelf, giving a cool, thickly built, smoke which I doubt would bite anyone.

Nicotine: medium. Room-note: lovely.

Scarecrow? Four stars, easily:

Highly recommended.

I will confess, I came upon this by accident. It was mistakenly sent to me in lieu of the Rustica I had ordered. SmokingPipes not only sent me the correct tobacco, but let me keep Scarecrow for the trouble. Highly recommended, and I'm glad they did. Had I been shopping for myself, I would not have bought this, as I generally avoid aromatics. I would have missed out on a masterpiece. The tin note is quite assertive; no two ways about it, it's candy corn. Thankfully, I've always had a weakness for this much-maligned candy. Being presented in a crumble cake surprised me; don't often see that with aromatics. In the interest of science, I loaded my ugly "shop pipe" with low expectations. Two puffs in, I uttered an audible apology. This- to me- is the absolute apex of what aromatic tobaccos should aspire to be. Starts off sugary-sweet, but very soon settles into an outstanding VaBur. Despite the strong tin note, the topping compliments the tobaccos, rather than overwhelming them; it reinforces the molasses and nut notes of the Burleys while taking the acidic edge off the Virginias. Remarkably for an aromatic, I could not get it to bite, even while puffing hard. The room note is marvelous; even my candy-corn hating, tobaccophobic wife remarked that it smells great (outside, of course). This easily unseats Autumn Evening as "The" premier smoke for cool, fall nights, not for least reasons the fact that it actually has some respectable strength and pronounced tobacco flavor. My only regret is that it was already sold out when I went to order more. Part of me hopes that Warped will make this a regular production blend, but another part knows that it would seem less magical if it weren't a rarity.

The red Virginia cavendish mix provides a lot of tart and tangy citrus, grass, bread, sugar, some tangy stewed dark fruit, earth, wood, floralness, vegetation, light sour vinegar, and a pinch or two of spice. It is the lead component. The strong year 2014 matured white burley offers a lot of earth, wood, some nuts, cocoa, sour sharp roughness, and a small spice note. It’s a supporting player. The aspects of the air cured 2014 dark burley are earth, wood, nuts, sugar and light molasses. It’s not far behind the white burley in terms of effect. The sugary black cavendish is a condiment at best as it’s not very noticeable. The port wine, light vanilla, caramel and fairly elusive chocolate toppings moderately tone down the tobaccos. The strength is just past the center of medium to strong. The nic-hit is at that center. The taste level is a step past the strength mark. There’s no chance of bite or harshness. The rough edges are mildly obvious. This crumble kake is mildly moist, and I saw no need to dry it. Easily breaks apart to suit your preference. Well balanced, complex and deeply rich, it burns cool, clean, and slow with a very consistent sweet, sour, nutty, boozy flavors. Leaves little moisture in the bowl. Requires some relights. Has a pleasantly long lingering after taste and stronger room note. Not an all day smoke. Four stars.

-JimInks

Presentation: Great crumble cake. Very nice fine and even ribbons condensed. Tin art is awesome and I think one of the few, if not the only, Halloween themed tobaccos in the last years or so. Breaks apart easy and doesn't need any dry time whatsoever. I found that if you let it dry out for more than an hour it loses some of its aromatic qualities.

Palette: Through and through a really great medley of Autumn flavors and scents. As suggested, candy-corn, butterscotch, a hint of vanilla/chocolate and there may be a slight tinge of booze somewhere in there. The flavors stick around for the first 1/3 and quickly die out, only hinting as the bowl progresses. A really great treat to satisfy your sweet tooth for a sugary blend. The Va's/Burleys never compete for eachother and one the topping sits in the back, it becomes a sweet Va/Bur smoke.

Performance: Smokes at a moderate pace. I was was left with a little bit of bite, but I tend to smoke hot. Needs some relights. Mild nicotine and I could smoke two bowls in a row.

Conclusion: . While the flavor is good, I don't think that for me, this would be an all-day smoke. It's just a bit too sweet for me. However it is a nice change of pace and while seldomly smoking aromatics these days, it's a nice thing to see a Halloween themed smoke.

I've smoked nearly 20 bowls of this now in both briars and a corn cob. This is good stuff. The tin note is unabashedly candy corn, caramel, and butterscotch. The smell will straight smack you in the face. Upon lighting, the aromatic flavor will come through in the smoke, but overtime the sweetness dissipates throughout the bowl. Eventually you are left with nearly a straight virginia burley with burley taking the lead.

When you prepare the blend, you can feel that the darker pieces (the cavendish) are what has the topping. They are sticky to the touch and a little moist. I prefer to let this dry a bit, which does soften the aromatic flavor but also helped the blend's tendency to produce a chemical flavor when puffed too hard. Those cavendish bits combined with C&D's burley reminded me of Pegasus, which just gives you a pop of sweetness throughout the smoke.

All in all, this is a good blend. I likey!

I did prefer it in the briar and the aromatic quality did not seem to ghost.

Tin note is sweet cooking spices. The cake cuts and rubs out easily and I found no need for drying time. This starts out a bit strong but smooths out after a few puffs. The smoke is quite cool and has great flavors vanilla, caramel , Very reminiscent of Autumn baking smells. The toppings/ casings are lite enough to still taste the tobacco. The Virginia has a bit of citrus and the burley give some coco. The lead are the casings/toppings but I get no chemical flavors. Great aromatic . Nic hit is mild. Easily an all day smoke