Cornell & Diehl Pegasus

From reading the description I had high hopes that this one would be my All Day Buddy. Except for one significant characteristic of this blend, it would have been.

Flavorful is the word. Burley is IMHO more of an aroma absorber, much as tofu tastes of the food with which it is cooked. Yes, there is sometimes a semi-sweet, nutty or bready taste... and as often with inferior burleys, graphite dust and Marlboro ashes.

Enter Pegasus on hyperbolic wings. Strong as the mythical flying horse...and therein lies the problem: The stuff is too strong to be smoked bowl after bowl all day long.

Friends, I am a nicotine junkie with the tolerance of ten mortal men. I eat Irish Flake like cornflakes for breakfast. (exagerration for effect...), and this delicious, devious mixture impresses me.

I never smoked Bond Street, although I remember the name. The room note of this is classic "cool old guy in the barbershop puffing on his old Kaywoodie" smell, nostalgic, clean, slightly sweet and definitely tobacco-masculine. It nowadays would be found to be offensive to the tender millenial nose.

Moisture and cut are flawless, ensuring a fabulous burn. In my M.M. Country Gentleman Oakwood a loosely packed bowl required only one light after the charring light to burn the tobacco down to soft ash. No relights were required. In a large '70's vintage meer billiard, results were identical. In a group 1 Stonehaven pocket pipe as well. Light tamping and a regular but relaxed puffing cadence were the only other requisites.

Taste to me was a very rounded burley with a surprisingly strong bottom note. The white burley and perhaps, the cubed are more than a bit bitter, and the dark burley softens the bite, yielding a buttery note to the nutty overall profile. The Virginias are used with wise restraint and in good taste, sweetening but also freshening the smoke and giving it further tenor notes. The alto section, unsweetened black cavendish is ridiculously small but softens the more strident sopranos in the burley section.

This is delicious from first puff to last spark, especially if a regulated and soft smoking style is maintained. Yes, this will get ashy and bitter if overworked, but soft smokers will be rewarded by overall continuity of flavor punctuated with subtle variations as the cavendish and Virginia bits are encountered.

Great DGT tobacco, although can taste a bit more ashen and burnt if not ignited with care.

I am certain that I could add something to this to dilute the nicotine a bit and turn it into an all-day smoke, but I wouldn't. This tobacco is a true 4/4 stars blend that is perfect as blended. A reasonable pairing might be with a light ale or pilsner.

This blend is nicely balanced between the Burleys and the Virginias. Can't say that I noticed the Black Cavendish. Nice body, nice flavor, and satisfying. I like it for an occasional treat.

Cornell & Diehl - Pegaus.

Aside from a few chunky bits of black Cavendish the blend's been pretty well broken. There's nothing special about the pouch-note, and the moisture's great.

The flavour depends on how you load: if you want it sweet put more of the few black Cavendish pieces in, or less for a savoury smoke. This is based on my method of just randomly stuffing some in. The initial quarter is mainly Burley, with the others joining in a little later. When they join the pack I'm surprised to get more vanilla from the black Cavendish than the appearance suggested I would.

Now a few negatives: it burns too warm, and also too fast. And then, towards the end of my first bowl I noticed the bite from it.

The nicotine's medium, and the room-note's tolerable at best.

Not the best I've had from C+D:

Somewhat recommended.

The third blend in what I refer to as "Bob Runowski's Holy Trinity." Pegasus is an enjoyable smoke, although after indulging myself with Haunted Bookshop and Old Joe Krantz, I must admit that I miss having a little perique tucked in with my burley. The flavor of Pegasus is most certainly burley driven; it’s nutty, earthy and slightly sour with touch of bitterness. The Virginia does add a delicate natural sweetness to the mix and the Cavendish gracefully softens the edges.

There's an excellent balance of bite free flavor here and just like Haunted Bookshop, the more I smoke this blend, the more I want to smoke it. Pegasus does have a bit of a kick to it, but this is a nice starter mixture for anyone looking for good ol' fashioned sweet tobacco flavor. A perfect blend for a well seasoned cob.

I was prompted to register by seeing this tobacco had only 3.3 stars. Pegasus is my everday go to tobacco. Great burley with just the right amount of sweetness added by the va and cavendish. Its an exceptional smoke new but with a few months of age gets even better. "Hits the spot" for me almost everytime.

This blend from start to finish was a great smoke. It was medium bodied, and I would be very hesitant to call it an aromatic. Don't get me wrong, this blend does smell amazing.

The taste throughout was just a great Burley blend. There was a few hints of Virginia, but not much. The cavendish was unnoticeable, but made it a great full smoke that burned evenly.

Not much else to say, a great blend.

I did not mean to age this blend intentionally. It didn't get on base with the first few pipefuls nor did it strike out. It got 'archived'/bottom of the piled. Every now and then I'll sit on my deck with a handful of pipes and a pile of tobaccos and conduct a tongue-fry festival with a review of blends. This time the Peg pegged it. I like a bit of sweetness, I do not appreciate most true (black cav based) aro's, many straight Va's with high sugar bbq my taste buds. I like burley blends. If this sounds like your profile, you like burley's plus 'something', this will make you a happy camper. I wouldn't recommend puffing on it like a Wagnerian tuba player but shy of that you'll still be able to enunciate clearly with no problem. Highly recommended.

I guess I’m late to the party for Pegasus, having just recently purchased a bulk ounce that filled an 8 oz. jar with fragrant, soft, moist golden and medium brown ribbons, along with some black bits, all ready for smoking. Bag note is mild, delectable, meadow grassy and woody, with very faint molasses, a trace of cocoa, and maybe a breath of anise. It handles, loads, lights and smokes down like a dream, and there’s plenty of smoke. I went with the late blender, Bob Runowski’s written suggestion and smoked it first tamped into a large pot, then I tried it in other pipes I use for similar blends, including other BR blends. And Bob was/is right, it’s better in a larger bowl with not so much in the way of tamping. IMO, Pegasus is another Artful Codger from C&D, and in this case it improves significantly on its cited OTC inspiration, Bond Street. Generally speaking, whatever else is in Pegasus takes a backseat to Burley, and, sure enough, bitterness is a significant factor here. For me, this only improves the blend, overall, although others, especially newbies, might find that this bitterness rises to a fault. Countering this, either the VAs are very sweet, or some of the tobacco is cased, as Pegasus is also sweet (although it’s not sweet enough to cancel the bitters). The smooth, unsweetened black Cavendish is actually a little sour, like some Latakia, without being at all smoky. Back to the combusting scents and tastes, it’s woody like faint burning fruit woods and incense woods, with fresh, dried hay, nutty, sweet, sour and bitter, only very slightly musty/mushroom-y, with just a little of the cocoa common to Burley, and a very faint bit of brown bread. Mouth feel is terrific, and I find it takes literally no effort at all to get a great smoke from Pegasus, which makes it the perfect blend to puff while strolling or just lolling around. I can see where codgers would buy this blend in bulk. Strength ramps up smoothly from soft and mild, through and past medium, with the nicotine being ample but not at all intrusive. Tastes also build from very soft and mild to past medium. The room note smells wonderful to me, but based on experience I would say it’s just tolerable for bystanders, as there is no aromatic artifice to win anyone over. The best-of-the-smoke-but-sweeter aftertaste makes me think immediately of another bowl.

I’d say Pegasus is brilliant, but that might put too fine a point on a blend that IMO perfectly fulfills its mission to please, comfort and satisfy the smoker. If you’re weary, put your feet up, kick back and puff a bowl from your favorite grizzled pot. 4 stars, and RIP, Bob Runowski.

Another great blend from the late Bob Runowski, Pegasus is a solid old-school Burley blend with enough of a nic hit to satisfy. Burley, Virginia, and unflavored black Cavendish meld together in a hearty smoke that I've found that I enjoy quite a bit. A little bitter Burley, a little toasty Cavendish, and a nice sweetness from the Virginias.

This blend is not even close to being complex, but its charm is its simplicity. A great smoke for when you just want to puff away and not preoccupy yourself with the nuances of tobaccos, which I've found is what I seem to prefer in a tobacco. I still like to play detective with my pipe tobaccos sometimes, but mostly I just enjoy the act of puffing away absent mindedly or while doing yard work.

If you like Burleys, this is an excellent tobacco to give a shot. If you're on the fence, the Virginias give it enough sweetness to keep you interested. If you're not one of the former two, why aren't you? 🙂

ADDENDUM: This tobacco has nowhere to go but upwards! I have a couple of pounds in Mason jars and after three years aging it becomes almost magical. The Burleys settle down and the Virginias improve greatly. I cannot overstate how much aging improves this tobacco. Many thanks to Craig Tarler and Bob Runowski. May you both rest in peace and wait for me with my grandfather by the streams of Paradise while we fish for trout and smoke this amazing pipe tobacco