Cornell & Diehl Pegasus

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

I have tried most of the C&D burley blends, but I left this one out until now because I usually do not care for cavendish. This blend, though, is really very nice. It's predominantly a burley taste, but the Virginias are definitely there. The cavendish does just what it is supposed to do and smooths the whole blend together beautifully. There are no rough edges on this one. It's a pleasant smoke from top to bottom, and leaves only a little white ash when it's gone. Highly recommended.

Edited 11 Feb 2010:

Four years later and this blend has only improved in my estimation. The thick, silky mouth feel that the cavendish provides is what sets this blend apart from other C&D burley blends. And, at the same time, it maintains the nutty burley taste that I love and never seem to tire of. This one stays at four stars for me.

I’m not going to go into all the descriptives of this blend as they have already been stated but simply as a blend as a whole. It is the best Burley blend I have ever had in my 52 years of pipe smoking.

**Update:** All-Time-Favorite, this has grown to become MY smoke! More than 90% of the time I smoke Pegasus.. it really just is everything I want in a burley blend, period.

**Preface**

Now I see why it deserves a rather remarkably good ratio between 1/2- and 3/4-star ratings and so many positive and even raving reviews - but at the same time ask myself why it isn't one of C&D most successful Burleys? What else to say about a blend that does offer a wonderful collection of well written reviews, hitting the nail on the head for this blend to my perception! **That's why I'd like to start my review with a quote** by one of the reviews I've read:

*[...]here are a few layers of flavor within pegasus but by and large my palate is stricken with that of a bag of walnuts. Within a bag of walnuts there are many flavors depending on the nut. Some nuts are sweet, some meaty, and some carry the sharp flavor of the shell. Every now and then the VA and Cavendish blend to convey almost a cornmeal or sweet bran like flavor but is not a theme."* Very, very well put... unknown deleted user!

I'd like to add the icing of whipped cream that wriggles through the tobacco beautifully.

**Delving into the a tub of burley goodness..**

The tin note is very mellow and almost "shy", and when first opening the tin it might be a bit sour-ish.. I prefer packing the 2oz of a freshly opened tin in my jar for daily use, which is "semi-airtight" and therefor let's the tobacco "breathe"

No "flavor explosion", just a very comforting and soothing, warm scent of mostly mahogany tobacco leafs. I really have to dip my nose into the tin, to get those notes that remind me of Haunted Bookshop quite a bit - at least in the tin note! A creamy and remarkably smooth nuttiness hits me first, before I pick up those lovely oat-y, bread-y and bran-y qualities so many seem to savour about this blend. Walnuts and oat-bars hit the spot just fine! And what a bag of nuts this is... oh, what a fine flap jack, just as mamma used to never make them for me.. ;-P

Take a sit on the front porch I never had, the sun is setting already, work is done.. time for the finer things in life! Grab a guitar, tickle the strings and let the sound of the strings swinging tickle your ears and soul....

This front porch jam begins with a mild and pleasing sharpness (if you, like me, love this kind of rustic flavors), yet quickly the wonderful toasty and spicy-tart character of this blend steps up.. mhm, delicious! Loads of oat, again mammas flap jacks she never made for me, some dark bread, a richly filled bag of nuts - especially walnuts but also what reminds me of pecan if I let my imagination flow free. Paired with a pleasing spiciness that's "sweet spot" for me and the everpresent slight sharp edge I love about me burleys... oh, and of course loads, loads of cozy-warm earthiness which set the foundation, the tone, the bass for the flavor-profile!

...while at the same time offering an incredible, almost buttery creaminess and smoothness that's always underlying and underscoring to the flavors offered by the burleys. That very creamy quality amazes me and keeps me coming back! Bringin in those sweet licks that make you shiver with goosebumps. Very smooth on the tounge and palate, whilst offering a full-bodied and rather "rustic charme" of natural burley goodness. Only very mild sweetness, but what's there is just enough to bring balance to the force and I suppose it contributes to the lovely room note just as the speckles of creamy and unsweetened cavendish.

**Afterthoughts of a Front Porch Picker and Pegasus Sipper..**

Oh, but.. All-Day-Burley? As close as a C&D Burley Blend get's to "All-Day-ish".... 😉 It is rather stout, also in the nicotine departement.. but for a C&D burley blend, yes it is All-Day....ish! I smoke it 2 times a day in smaller to medium sized cobs, that's sweet spot for me.

Leaves a sensual after taste in your mouth, teasing me to load up bowl after bowl, totally forgetting about any other blend I used to like so much and frequently... Pegasus outruns them all for me! The Cavendish is what gives it it's aromatic-sweet and creamy qualities I suppose, it's a masterpiece!

As for flavoring I'm quite confused many of you rated it as "Very Mild". I feel the Cavendish is unflavored and at max. the burley's got a (exceptionally) mild nutty-ish and creamy-ish casing? So I'll settle for "extremely mild", yet underscore, that - if there's added flavors, they are only to round the tobacco's qualities off to perfection and underscore the rich flavors they offer!

Thanks Bob.. you the man when it comes to Burleys, I appreciate and feel you feel, or sadly felt (RIP) the same passion for this leaf which I've grown to love and savour so much.

I am liking this immensely. Nice and tangy. I've heard it likened to Haunted Bookshop (which I don't love) without the perique. I do like perique, however. At any rate, this is very tasty stuff.

PS: I now like Haunted Bookshop.

A remarkable tobacco. I cannot say enough good things about this blend; however if you pick it up and expect to have a reveletory experience you are likely to be disappointed. My love of this blend grew slowly into the steadfast one i now feel. I like the genre of american style burley. I more often than not like the blending of C&D. So i expected to like this blend. However, i didn't so much, initially.

I mostly smoke burleys from smallish cobs. At the match there is an astringency that i didn't expect. To borrow a phrase from another reviewer, i tasted the hull of walnuts. Tannin heavy and a bit rough. This never entirely disappears, but it does soften and weave in and out of the smoke. And the flavor deepens, always with the rough edge present, to include very slight wisps of sweetness from both va and the cavendish. It is a deep, rough, barely sweet flavor that is remarkably walnut-ey. And that's it. Unpleasant as it initially was to me, i began to desire it throughout the day. I am a smoker who indulges his desires. More and more often i desired the experience and flavor. It does have depth and nuance too, it is just all crammed into a bassy spectrum. When at a smolder in a larger than average bowl, it satisfies something for me that few other blends do. I truly find it exceptional, roughness and all. Has a decent (medium) amount of nicotine. Excellent stuff. Don't be put off by the inclusion of cavendish or the name Pegasus. This is a burly burley for a burly pipe urge itchin.

Wow! This surprised me. I bought an 8oz tin on description alone and really like it as a go to blend at any time of the day. Great aroma, perfect burn, flavor that is nutty with a faint background sweetness. I will be devouring this over the summer and will definitely be stocking some for the future. Great price too for the half pound tin.