Cornell & Diehl The Beast 2023

This production uses St. James perique from 31 Farms. It comprises over half the blend as it provides a wealth of mildly sweet plums, spice, floralness, earth, wood, and a few raisins. The red Virginia cavendish offers a fair amount of tangy dark fruit, earth, wood, bread, mild sugar, vegetation, tart citrus, floralness, and a couple blades of grass. It secures a secondary support role. The dark fired Kentucky produces a little earth, wood, vegetation, nuts, herbs, floralness, sourness, and light barbecue as a condiment. The bready, unsweetened black cavendish is mainly a flavor holder. The effect of the spicy dark rum is a couple of notches over the medium mark though it slightly weakens toward the finish. The strength and nic-hit are strong. The taste is very full. No chance of bite or harshness. Has a few rough edges. I saw no need to dry it as it isn’t overly moist. Burns cool, clean, and slightly slow with a mostly consistent plummy, dark fruity, spicy, rum, floral, slight barbecue, very piquant flavor that extends to the pleasantly lingering after taste. The room note is a bit pungent. Leaves little dampness in the bowl, and requires a couple more than an average number of relights. It’s lightly less potent and sweet than earlier offerings, and is more plummy, and a tad spicier. Designed to provide punch and depth, it’s not an all day smoke. I recommend a slow puffing cadence. Three and a half stars rounded up to four.

-JimInks