Cornell & Diehl Canal Boat

I was actually quite surprised with how much I like this recent addition to Cornell & Diehl's fine selection of pipe tobaccos. I've recently become more interested in burley based blends and I believe that Craig Tarler is doing some of the finest work out there with Burleys.

From a visual and tactile perspective, this tobacco is distinctly interesting. I love the way cube-cut Burley looks and adore the crumbly feel of the small cubes. Given the size of the cubes and the small cut on the Latakia and Cavendish, this would be a superb tobacco in a smaller pipe (as I review this, I'm smoking it in a smallish La Normandy Dublin). It is difficult ot visually separate the black Cavendish from the Latakia, so it is difficult to determine proportions before smoking the mixture.

The tin aroma is decidedly sweet, with just a hint of Latakia. Even in the tin nose, the origin of the Latakia is immediately obvious (Cyprian Latakia). The combination of the sweetness and the smokiness in the tin aroma makes for a decidedly unusual, and pleasant, smell.

The flavor is much as one would expect given the components and tin nose. However, the Latakia does become more pronounced in the smoking than it was in the tin. Nuttiness bubbles up from the Burleys and slight sweetness comes from the Black Cavendish as well as that overriding smokey, earthy flavor from the Latakia. The Cavendish doesn't seem nearly as pronounced in the smoking as it seemed in the tin. From the tin aroma, I had also assumed that there was a top note of fruit juice or a little bit of sweet liquour, but I can't detect it in the smoking.

On the whole, though it is not really my favorite style of blend, I think this would prove to be a superb mixture for the lover of mild Englishes or mild Aromatics. The crossing over between the two styles has become more common lately and I believe that this is among the better that I have tried. An excellent change of pace for either the smoker of Englishes or the smoker of Aromatics-- of which, I am neither.

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Recently, I had the good fortune of obtaining a generous sample of one of Cornell and Diehl's new blends (available in late June 2001). This blend was humorously introduced at the Chicago show as "The Constipated Cockroach", complete with appropriately scatological graphic, in a limited run of 200 tins. Since the tobacco was rec'd with so much favorable response, the Tarlers decided to release it in the Summer catalogue. Hereafter, it will be known as "Canal Boat".

What can I say about such a subtle pleasing blend? Good pedigree from a reputable blender; conceived and suggested by William Serad,tobacco reviewed and commentator, of note, and Craig Tarler, blender. It is a cube cut burley,latakia and unsweetened black cavendish blend with great pouch aroma. Visually, there are browns and blacks of the components. It would appear that there are equal amounts of each component tobacco. The latakia and cavendish are quite discernible in the aroma but there is an undertone of the warmth and nutty quality of burley. It is a little moister to the touch than the regular C&D blends, but not overly so.

To date, I have had about twenty bowls in six or seven different pipes, and each provided a consistent experience. It lights easily and stays lit. The first taste sensations seem to be the sweeter cavendish but not with the sweetness of a cased blend, which leads to the spicier qualities of the latakia balanced finally by the earthiness of the burleys. After about 1/4 of the bowl, the smoke evens out with a smoothness and an interplay of burleys and cavendish. You know that there is latakia but it never overwhelms the tastes. The smoke is fairly consistent throughout, tamping easily and w/o much moisture. The last 1/4 of the smoke, perhaps less, fades away gradually w/o any bitterness. The dottle was fairly dry and about 1/2 the time almost non existent. It smoked better in a medium pipe than a large bowl, but I will try smoking it in a larger bowl. Canal boat smoked best, I thought, in a large bent meerschaum, a pipe of which I was not particular fond but may have been rescued by this blend.

I have to say that I enjoyed the smoke w/o much qualification, although I did not smoke 3 or 4 bowls in succesion in the same pipe which I will do to judge the "everydayness" of a tobacco. I think that those of you who are aromatically inclined might give this one a try, for its pleasant natural aromas w/o casing.

I am an unapologetic fan of C&D tobaccos. Their venture into burley based blends have done much to restore the credibility of burleys to a new world of smokers. Even so, this new blend is an intriguing venture in balancing the natural aroma of the unsweetened black cavendish with the cube cut burleys. Very tasteful and light on the palate even after smoking bowls in succession.

Let me begin by saying I like C & D’s Canal Boat.

The tin aroma is sweet, and reminds me of apples. And I happen to like apples.

The taste is latakia forward, running in tandem with the apple-like sweetness. And the two make the run together to the bottom of the bowl.

Taste is, of course, very personal. What one person likes, another dislikes.

For Canal Boat, the deciding factor, if you’re going to like this blend or not, is if you like a sweet latakia mixture. It’s as simple as that.

I happen to like the sweet and smokey taste. So for me, Canal Boat is a winner.

Another thing in Canal Boat’s favor is that I don’t get the burley bitterness, which I don’t like. And since burley is a major component in this blend that’s a good thing. I also like the chunky cut, which I prefer over ribbon.

Canal Boat, IMO, is a repeatable, but not an all day smoke. The latakia is too strong for all day smoking. At least for me.

The pipes I used to test drive this blend were a Falcon, Peterson Spigot 406, and a Peterson Killarney 406.

The bottom line? I like Canal Boat and will keep a tin or two around for occasional smoking on those days when I want a sweet and smokey smoke.

Heartily recommended.

It has been a couple of years since I've posted any C&D blend reviews and I have smoked nearly 100 tins of their various offerings in that time. So, it may be awhile before I get to all of them.

William Serad is one of those people with such a large knowledge base that when he puts together a blend you know it is going to be good and Canal Boat has been a C&D favorite of many since it hit the market years ago. The extra large and thick chunks of pure unadulterated Burley combined with some smokey Cyprian Latakia and bits of Black Cavendish (flavor enhanced?), make this a worth compilation for the pipe. Best enjoyed (for me), in the evenings when I had time to sit and actually savor what I'm smoking. Delightful stuff!

I really like these types of blends, American style English blends that are light on the condiments and use them as one would salt or pepper. When you open the tin you are struck with a nutty and musty aroma, blacks and browns abound with a noticeable cube cut burley that just looks so delicious. The problem with cube cute and the reason I cannot give this blend more than two stars is that the little cubes burn like charcoal briquettes. They are never dried enough and smoke so darn hot. (for me) maybe its my technique but I have tried everything in the decade + that I have been smoking a pipe.. I love the flavor, I love the ease of packing (just scoop and tamp) and I love the aroma I just cannot stand the heat so I must leave the kitchen... YMMV and I hope it does but with so many other C&D blends that I like, Canal Boat gets 2 stars...

Smooth and easy, but nothing else. A pleasure in a sunny autumn day. A little sweetness smoked by latakia. The result is nice....but nothing else.

I usually love anything C and D burley as I think Craig makes one heck of a good burley. However, this one fell flat for me. Not a bad blend really but nowhere like the many other fine blends from this blender. I has a very smokey sweet pouch aroma and is a mix of dark and light rough cut tobaccos. It is on the dry side which I like, but it loaded easily into my pipe and was very easy to light and stayed lit well. It has a sweet latakia flavor to start with and the Latakia smokiness continues to build as it is smoke down. It burned well and dry and all the way down with no moisture nor dottle in the bottom of my pipe. Just a dark gray ash. but it was very one dimentional and never developed into anything that gave me pleasure. The black cavendish never added much of anything but sweetness and the burley was kept from adding it's flavor by the Latakia. To sum up, I would not buy again as Craig has too many better blends to smoke.

This review is of the "Constipated Cockroach" version, tin #151 of 200 that I won on Ebay. The tin shows a cartoon cockroach sitting on the head with a pipe stuck in his angry looking face, reading a pipe magazine with fiber puffs, milk of magnesia, ex-lax, etc. lying about his feet. I have had the tin opened for some time now and the tobacco is bone dry but still pleasant to smoke. And pleasant to smoke is how I would describe it. What's in a name, after all? Canal Boat is perhaps a better (though less amusing) name, because smoking this is like a pleasant boat trip on a serene canal. I'm not really a burley guy, but this cubed burley is mild, with 0.000000% bite, and the touch of Latakia and Cavendish are a perfect complement. There is also a slight bitterness to it that I find intriguing. I will have to try some of the newer incarnation (think my tin is 2001?) and see how it compares. I have about eight small bowlfuls of this Craig-signed masterpiece left, and will savor them well when I can bear to crack this unique tin.

This blend is tailor made for days like today. As I am typing this review it is 90 degrees with about the same humidity. The blend is on the light side, and is best suited for a large pipe. Packed lightly it burns slowly and cool. The blend does not bite and doesn't clog up pipes. It has a nutty and sweet taste and adds just enough Latakia to keep things interesting. The ash is very fine and everything seems to burn at about the same rate. That was rather surprising to me. I could never smoke this blend all day, it is not strong enough and could use about double the Latakia. Otherwise on a hot as heck day, it is a great change of pace.