Cornell & Diehl Haunted Bookshop

Haunted Bookshop was my first predominandly burley blend. I mostly go for latakia overload or else something vaguely aromatic.

Though also characteristic of a "haunted bookshop" (perhaps more in the lingering mustiness than in the flavor/aroma itself) I also feel this is very much a "country" sort of smoke. I enjoy it outdoors and often times in a corn cob pipe. For someone wanting a straight forward tobacco smoke with a bit of zip to it, it could easily be an all day blend. It very much reminds me (what little I remember)of the straight Burley and drugstore stuff my grandfather smoked in his beloved pipes.

The perique is in just the right amounts for me...a tang and pin-prick, but not enough to make you run for liquids. Though what I enjoy most about this is the light grassiness of the burley/VA compound in both flavor and room note.

It burns well. And bites very little. It leaves a bit of a lingering ghost in the walls and upholstery but not anything that should put off guests (or the S.O.) over the long term.

--UPDATE-- After a few months of maturation, and giving this a go in a cleaner pipe, I've found some additional qualities I both like and dislike. The VA/Perique starts out nice and strong, sweet, fragrant and spicey. The bowls have begun to end up with more of the "stale" and somewhat nasty burley taste that seems to turn so many off to this type of tobacco. I am unfortunately thinking that my Haunted Bookshop has been infested by ghosts of a less benevolent nature.

I received it as a gift but just the name of this tobacco is beautiful and all blends in this tobacco don't have harmony. strong tobacco, honestly I don't like it

I’m not sure what it is… but I think I need a break from trying C&d blends, for few years at least. Nearly every one of them I have tried, smell amazing, have a great cut, great moisture from tin… but all behave the same way… Sour and Ashy. Personally, this tasted more like a burnt/sour gram cracker than it did Tobacco. I really really want to like your brand, but it seems that will be a long journey.

There are tobacco blends that really make the burly appreciable. But in my opinion burly cannot stand alone. I'm not quite sure why some pipe smokers are fascinated by it, or even worse considers strong burly blends their "go to"s. If this was the only tobacco that was available, I would learn to love it. But I think their are other blends that are so much more enjoyable that I doubt I will give any more time to this. I have tried it several times and each time I wished I had smoked something else. The burley is ridiculously prominent. In my opinion barely is not a beautiful streamlined tobacco. And I don't think it is very good at this level of concentration. It puts me in mind of crooner. Which I believe is just a pouch of Burley with something like deer tongue added to it. I don't like it either. Now maybe my palette simply isn't tough enough. Or maybe I'm not old enough to be completely nostalgic about the taste of burly. But I can't get down with it. As pipe smokers and tobacco reviewers, I think it is tempting for us to look for the good even in things that we don't enjoy that much. And some people will give this tobacco a good review even though they did not like it. Which really doesn't make a lot of sense if you think about it. They say something like"I can see the quality, but it's not for me". How about just telling us that you think its awful?

Well if you ask me, just because a product is handled well doesn't mean that it is good. There's not a lot of mystery behind this tobacco. It doesn't really taste like cigarettes, but any decent quality cigar is light years better than haunted bookshop. For the smoker like me who enjoys collecting tobacco. It makes sense to have it because I like the full spectrum. But I'm not going to give it a chance again. Because it's not very good.

Fairly disappointed by Haunted Bookshop. I found the taste was actually a bit inferior to some of the old codger blends like Carter Hall and Sir Walter Raleigh. The perique adds a spiciness on the tongue and nostrils, but not a great deal of flavor. And the nic-hit packs more of a wallop than I want out of burley blend--I get fairly dizzy after smoking a large bowl. If I want to up the ante on "pedestrian" burley, I'd prefer to go with Mac Baren HH Burley Flake.

I hate to come down on a blend that is respected by many (on the other hand, it so happens plenty others don't like this blend either). So far, C&D's burley based blends do not resonate with me. Speaking for myself, when it comes to burley's, it's all about expectations. Burley's, in my book, need to be nutty—this isn't what you're getting here.

This blend was harsh, sharp as all get out, and strong. The tobacco combo's here just don't make it for me. The perique put an unhealthy bite on my palate and the burley's lacked nuttiness. A rather rank, tinny taste in my mouth developed as I was smoking it. Very unpleasant. I didn't find the room note very pleasing, either. I will be giving this one away. It's possible, I suppose, this blend may smooth out over time, but I'd rather not wait around to see. I don't regret trying this blend out, but I'm disappointed with this one (I'll give this one a 1.5 stars. I always round down).

Keep on pipin'

Just sampled a little bit of this, haven't been through a whole bowl yet. This baccy is uniformly medium brown/suede color in the tin, and has a salty note. Someone mentioned the bowl resembling sweaty socks partway down, and the salty tin note makes me believe that. When smoked is is downright rough or raspy. Room note is on a par with boiled cabbage.

I recommend GL Pease 'Barbary Coast', I have had a bit of bad luck with C & D, On a trip to Arkansas I had Bar-B-Q Possum colon, and I gave it 2 stars!