Cornell & Diehl Anthology 1992-2022

First impressions after smoking my first bowl:

The tin note reminds me of Parmesan cheese. It’s a pungent, fermented, yeasty, musty, smell. Some dark fruit and tangy citrus. Pretty moist, in fact I’m not going to jar it but leave it in the tin. Broken soft flakes that break apart with some effort as they are moist.

The flavor… bready, yeast, sourdough, some tangy citrus fruit, some lemon tartness, and plenty of dark fruit. A bit of hay, but no grassy fresh flavor. Fair amount of sweetness. Almost no peppery tingle which is to my liking. Even on the retrohale. The perique C&D uses is phenomenal, it’s more figgy than peppery. This is different enough from CRFwP to be worth while getting. I’m so glad I did. It is slightly one dimensional, but a consistent and nice flavor. Hardly an after taste. Little harshness, or mouth tingle, and no bite. Room note around non pipe smokers drew no complaints. Lots of relights but some dry time will help with that. It smokes slow, nic hit is probably past medium.

Looking forward to this aging as no doubt it’ll be great.

This one is definitely a close relative of red flake with perique.. Although it is considerably softened by the bijou virginia as well as the dose of brights.. while the red tips still come through very distinctly, this is really well blended to deliver a very well rounded and approachable yet complex enough va/per.. Jeremy Reeves has certainly come a long way in recent years.. Cornell and Diehl despite the criticisms it occasionally gets is undoubtedly releasing many of the greatest and most pure tobaccos amongst its perhaps over extended portfolio.. but we are lucky for it.. other than the Mac Baren HH series we have nothing else like this.. at least in the states.. A well done 30th anniversary release.. And this perique is fantastic.

This one really clicked for me. I tend to find other C&D blends lack subtlety, but not this one. The Virginias have both sweetness and depth. There is just enough perique to keep things interesting without dominating, and it presents itself with dried fruit sweetness and mild spice. There's a lot going on here that hits you as the bowl progresses, from fruit, bread, honey, red wine, and a rich chocolate note that becomes more prominent as the bowl progresses.

I actually dreamt about this tobacco the night after my first bowl, and promptly ordered more tins the next day. I had low expectations but this one lived up to the hype, and then some.

This tobacco has some flaws. It burns on the faster side, has a small amount of bite (common with most VaPers), and the aftertaste isn't so great.

However, all of those pale in comparison next to the taste of this tobacco. It is an intoxicating dance between sweetness, earthiness, toastiness, and perique. It floors me every time. If it didn't have the above mentioned drawbacks it might even be in the running for the greatest VaPer out there, but even so it is up there.

I highly recommend this for everyone to try. If you enjoy the aftertaste then you are in for a major treat.

Anthrology review

Tin note was kinda nasty. I was expecting a nice fruity smell but was met with a certain mustiness and a hint of vinegar.

This blend has little to no tangy/citrus/vinegar notes. I get plum & fig fruit notes along with nice bready notes. This blend is slightly sweet and a joy to retrohale. Composed of 12% perique, the perique is not always present but is very welcome when it comes around.

The broken flakes come pretty moist out the tin. I dry mine for 30-60 mine before smoking. There is no bite with this blend, and it is well behaved.

Honestly one of the best VA blends I’ve smoked in a while. I’ve been looking for a darker virginia blend that’s like the polar opposite of Orlik Golden Sliced’s light tangy floral citrusy characters. Anthrology bangs.

I’m gonna say something crazy, but I’m not even mad that I have less than 50 grams of McClelland’s christmas cheer left. I have Anthrology to back me up!

4/4 star rating for me.

https://imgur.com/a/ZWCOqcW

Sweet with hints of tang and spice, raisins and dark chocolate. Probably could have used a bit of drying time but was too anxious to try it…multiple relights. Medium in strength and above medium in flavor. Nic hit is about medium at most. Very enjoyable.

Cornell & Diehl - Anthology 1992-2022.

Although broken, the blend includes a few bigger, nearly whole, flakes. The mix is rather dark in colour, with a few sporadic lighter flecks. Mine is a little moist, not ''wet'', just how I like it.

For the initial smoke I get more spice from the Perique and can identify, easier, the sharp, bright Virginias. The Perique's spice quickly dissipates and it takes on a richer, fruity, flavour, with the opulent red Virginias taking the first place in short time. The marriage of these flavours creates a VaPer which has very little zing, but heaps of lavish, almost fruit cake-like flavours. It feels a ''heavier'' VaPer on the palate, if that makes sense. It burns perfect, the smoke's cool, and after a day smoking it I've had no tongue-bite.

Nicotine: medium. Room-note: quite nice.

Anthology 1992-2022? Definitely worth four stars:

Highly recommended.

There is perique and then there is perique. Well actually there is Acadian perique and St. James perique. Acadian is a blend of some St. James blended with other leaves. Now Cornell and Diehl has the only truly produced in St. James perique. And it’s only theirs. I believe the first blend to use it was the Small Batch Carolina Red Flake w/Perique. The fine print says “genuine St. James perique”. Anthology is the second. Vinegar. An oft used term when describing va/pers. I get none of it. Just a wonderful aroma that keeps me sniffing the tin. Smoking is sublime and will only get better. PS. Not sure if it has 12% perique or 12.5%. I stand corrected on usage. CRF/W perique was the first. It has been used since then in any blend with perique.

Thank you, Jeremy Reeves, for an expertly blended Vaper showcasing some of C&D’s flagship tobaccos. Balanced is the key word here. Nothing overshadows anything else. Wonderful notes of matured hay, sweet and tart citrus, figgy, jammy dark fruits, occasional caramel and honey notes, and a perfect dash of white pepper. Smooth, creamy smoke with no bite. My only regret is not getting more than two tins. It will be challenging to let the 2nd tin get a few years of age, but that should be well rewarded. 4 stars!