Cornell & Diehl Pegasus

Nutty, toasty Burleys take center stage, supported by a bit of earthiness and hay from the Virginias. I don't pick up much sweetness at all from this blend, the Cavendish mostly serving to smooth out this tasty blend. There's a bit of pepper past mid bowl. A tad dry, packs well, and the Nic hit is a good notch or two above medium. Again, very tasty, pure tobacco taste. A great Burley blend. Recommended.

A tour de force of burleys! A fairly sour taste- in a pleasant way- that I crave almost daily. Medium in strength, strong in flavor. A consistent easy burning blend with sourness increasing throughout the bowl. Nutty and sweet as well. Can get ashy at the bottom of a large bowl if ash is not dumped. Perfect in a cob with coffee.

I bought a small 2 ounce sample as I work my way through Runowski C&D blends and I also wished to explore something non-flavored that was not a VaPer or Latakia based. If C&D did not already have a former blend named "Americana" that would have been an appropriate name for Pegasus. For those times when I want something mellow (i.e.; not wishing to wrestle with Old Joe K.) I load a cob of this up. It is pleasantly full flavored - a flavor of TOBACCO. A perfect light and forget smoke. The burleys are well behaved, the Virginias noticeable without being too sweet, and the black cavendish supports both by filling the smoke and keeping the rest in line. I have not even jarred up this small amount but keep it in a rollup pouch with a humi-coin for those times when I am smoking away from home among non-smoking company. My wife says it smells good. She rarely complains but then she rarely comments either way. With Pegasus the response was unsolicited. I just might re-purchase and thereby (by my rating system) kick this to a 4 star blend.

After aging my tin for 3 years my first couple of bowls were surprising in the sense that I felt confident that this would be a favorite. Right off the bat I found Pegasus to be more of an aromatic than a Runowski burley blend. Despite our political differences [I'm a progressive that's left of FDR, more like Elenore ;-)], I love just about everything Morleysson ever blended; don't tell anyone, but through emails and postings on various chat groups I even like Bob personally. 🙂 For reference, Haunted Bookshop is in my top 5 blends; and I consider myself a burleyphile, favoring Solani ABF and Edgworth Sliced over Edgeworth RR and Prince Albert. Bob's blending has turned me on to an era of pipe smoking that I missed.

First of all, Pegasus bit my tongue, something only cheap aromatics do to me. I can smoke McClelland Virginias all day without tongue bite; I'm a pretty slow smoker. While coming in perfect humidification right out of the tin, I let it breathe for 3 months with the plastic lid on. Finally I've transferred it to a Mason jar. Last night I finished the evening with a couple of bowls and this morning I've started my day with a few more bowls of Pegasus. In two of my coolest smoking pipes the bowls got very hot. While not terribly uncomfortable, this third bowl is causing my tongue some sensitivity that could get worse if I'm not careful. The burn is fair. If I pack it with care I can smoke through without a relight, but my pipe's bowl gets hotter than I prefer. Could that be caused by the wide cut of Pegasus? The taste is pretty good, perhaps a little sweeter than I prefer. My beef here is that I think the Cavandish is overpowering the burley's nutty flavor that I love so much. As one of the previous reviewers said Pegasus has a "chewy mouth feel" that I do like and a lovely room-note. Moreover, it's made of terrific leaf.

I will finish this tin and see if Pegasus grows on me. Perhaps I'll even get another tin. I would hate to miss out on the experiences my fellow reviewers have so adoringly described. I really am surprised this isn't more to my liking.

Pegasus will definetly give you the jolt of burley and enough sweetness to satisfy anyone. If you like Old Joe Krantz or Riverboat Gambler, this is a must try blend. Another perfect recipe!

Age really made a difference here. When I opened a tin that was 18 months old, I ended up enjoying a very robust, smooth, and nutty mix of tobaccos. It wasn't spectacular, but it was very nice and I'm looking forward to finishing up the other tins I've got buried in my cellar. One caveat: I don't know why, but this time around Pegasus struck me as being almost a mild aromatic. There was a lot of sweetness and the roomnote reminded me a little bit of vanilla. Even more surprising, it left a pronounced "ghost" in the briar I smoked it in. This was easily eliminated with a few bowls of Prince Albert and Morley's Best, but it was nonetheless a surprise. I wonder if this batch didn't end up with a little more Black Cavendish than the first one had.

Original review (09/15/2007): I was looking forward to this for two reasons. First, I'm a big fan of C&D burley blends. Second, based on the reviews on this site, I figured it would be something I'd really enjoy. But I found this just didn't have enough flavor for me -- it struck me as utterly nondescript and dull, and it also bit me. The quality of the tobaccos seems to be excellent, however, and obviously a lot of people like it, so I might just be the odd man out on this one. I would highly recommend this blend if you like Haunted Bookshop (another blend I find to be too bland), as this strikes me as a sweetened version of it.

Be aware up front in this review that I am an unabashed fan of Bob Runowski blends. Morley's Best was the tobacco that really converted me over to burleys and the following blends (Haunted Bookshop, Old Joe Krantz) only made the bond stronger. Craig Tarler also deserves some credit for this by faithfully reproducing the blends Bob designs.

Now I have a pound of Pegasus, his rendition of the old Bond St. tobacco, of which I never partook. The thing that sets this one apart from its' siblings is the sweetness, which I believe comes from the VAs (although the Cavendish undoubtably has a small part in this, too). It's a delightful contrast to the bitterness of some burley blends. Behind that, though, it's still the toasted nuttiness of burley that runs the show.

Pegasus seems not to be picky about pipe size and lights and burns exceptionally well. For me this is an especially good early morning smoke, when I may not be ready to deal with the heavier notes of something like Morley's.

After significant increases in the price of tobacco, C&D have finally broken the $30/lb. mark on their bulk blends. This was probably inevitable and is not nearly as bad as the rise in (for example) gasoline prices over the last six years.

Scores on Pegasus; flavor- 17 of 20; lighting and burn- 9 of 10; value- 8 of 10. a 34 overall earns Pegasus a **** rating.

Wow what a pleasant smoke. Not overly strong like some Cornell and Diehl burley blends (though I do love me those strong ones too). Burns VERY cool with prodigious amounts of white smoke thanks to the interplay between the burley and the black cavendish. I really find that the unsweetened black cavendish mellows out the burley to give a cool, smooth, satisfying smoke that's not sweet but still mellow and pleasant. I find it has similarities to something like Sir Walter Raleigh without the topping as far as the cool smoke and mild--for a burley--flavor. I've only tried one bowl of it but it's already a favorite. (For reference, Haunted Bookshop is probably my favorite blend overall).

I received this from a friend in the states and reading up on it, it is a very ordinary blend, nothing special smoking wise however it is absolutely sublime. I very well behaved burley forward blend that doesn't over power the addition of unsweetened black Cavendish adds a subtle sweetish flavour that elevates this blend into sublime territory.

Quite flavourful for such a straight forward blend. You have the typical burley cocoa notes and a nice sweetness from the Virginia. Doesn't bite or get hot. Goes beautifully in a country gentleman Cob with a coffee. One of them blends that goes well any time of the day or night with whatever you are drinking or doing. Strength is just short of medium, and leaves quite a pleasant room mote. If you like Carter hall then this is a must try. Even though I like Carter hall for its simplicity this is levels above and is certain to please.

Easily 4 stars earned.