Cornell & Diehl Old Joe Krantz

I have heard about Old Joe Krantz but never have gotten around to trying it. Just too many blends out there for my pocket book to spend. And as luck would have it a fellow friend of mine at the local pipe club that I mention often had some and did not seem to care for it much. This one seems to be popular based on the number of reviews, 168 at the present time and he was nice enough to give me a generous sample to try. This has a nice sweet burley smell with maybe a scent of the Perique coming through but I can’t say for sure. Since this is a burley blend with Virginia and Perique, I got out my Missouri Meerschaum General Corn Cob and loaded this baby up. Smoking it starts out sweet and further down tends to get a little harsh for want of a better word. This is a full tasting smoke and definitely does have some nicotine kick to it. I have built up a tolerance to nicotine whether fortunate or unfortunate I cannot decide but I am not sure if I could make this one an all dayer. It is full tasting and goes well with my afternoon coffee which I have also built up a caffeine tolerance as well. One day I will get an intervention I suppose but not now. Can’t really say too much more about this one other than it is more of a natural tobacco smoke. I guess Burley is noted for its nicotine content and as stated before it is there. I smoked this slower and enjoyed it. Thanks again to my friend at the club.

This is a very interesting blend. The aroma from the pouch is amazing to me. I love the smell of burley and it is what I smell when I open it. I also love Virginia so this is up my alley. The Perique adds the pepper and spiciness to the mix. Do not push this blend hard because the nic hit will kick your butt! It is made to sip and if it is smoked this way it is an exquisite blend. I will have to make fun of myself on this review because as I was loading my pipe I inadvertently grabbed this blend instead of a red Virginia bulk blend that I was going to smoke. Loaded my pipe as I am browsing on the computer and took off with a flash. As my head started to spin I realized I had loaded the bowl with OJK! A great blend with good burning characteristics, just go slow.

A strong, stout tasting, basically Burley smoke. High on the vitamin N department. Not my cup of tea, but a skilfully blended mixture: strong, manly, and assertive. If you like good old Burley and have the strength for it, it must be Amercian heaven.

I really enjoy Burleys. It delivers a full taste but in a completely different way vs. Latakia (which I also love). Burleys deliver a more earthy flavor that get me in touch with the outdoors. This is a very flavorful blend, but not as much punch as Haunted Bookshop. That is OK with me because it makes it more of an all-day type of blend. Packed well. Smokes well. No tongue bite (and I puff like a locomotive). No relighting. Wife found the room note somewhat enjoyable. C&D in my opinion has mastered Burley blends. I don't think you can go wrong with any of them if you like Burleys.

This might be my first 2 star awarded to a C & D blend. I really love their tobaccos, but this one just did not do it for me. Probably pushing this rating is how much I enjoyed Back Porch, the blend made by C & D for the Yahoo Pipe Smokers Club that contains the same constituent tobaccos.

The one thing this has over Back Porch is its availability in bulk. I know that Haunted Bookshop and some other blends containing Va, Bur and Per are available in bulk; I will need to try these out to see if one of them compares to Back Porch, but in a bulk option.

As to this blend specifically, it is strong in Nicotine which is almost to be expected from C & D and is a plus for me. It is also very stout in flavor which can be good at times. The quality of leaf is good and burning properties are fair, but that is where the positives end for me.

As to the negatives, it takes a lot of concentration to get a good smoke out of it and the good taste is fleeting, at least to my tastes. The one ounce I purchased was from the bottom of the bag. I know this because I originally ordered 4 oz, but P&C did not have that much left. To speed my order along I took one ounce and some other tobacco to equal the value, so I received more than an ounce, but the appearance of the same made it obvious that it was from the bottom of the bag. What does this mean? Well, I don't know, but perhaps the mixture at the bottom did not resemble what would have been on top and maybe I got too much perique or something was out of equilibrium. All this means I may try it again, but only after trying the others referenced above.

8/26/14 EDIT

I just finished up another two ounces of this blend and will be adding a star. I found it much more enjoyable and think what I first received may have been crumbs at the bottom containing too much perique.

I found this one really sang in my Dunhill 5103 shell, but had the potential to leave me floored if I had not enough in my stomach. I still would not recommend starting the day with this one, but it is a nice nightcap. So three stars.

Update 12-1-2023

I happened upon an aged tin of this that was 15 years old at the time I opened it. I was excited to try this as the memory of my last bowl had long since faded. Upon popping the tin the smell of aged virginia, that dried fruit smell that I love, overwhelmed me. This had me even more excited.

My excitement essentially ended as I started smoking it. It wasn\'t bad, but the taste did not live up to that smell. That wonderful smelling aged virginia was overwhelmed by the burley and perique. As I said this does not make it bad, but it was a letdown as my nose had so raised my expectations. I do not plan on changing my rating of this tobacco, but thought I would leave my impression as to what a 15 year old tin of this was like.

One thing I have learned about C&D over the years is that consistency is not their hallmark, at least it wasn't the whole time I had been purchasing tobacco. I haven't purchased any new tobacco in four years, so hopefully that ship has been righted. I say this, because it makes it hard to objectively review a blend by C&D from any era as it likely changed and when that change occurred is never known. My suggestion is that if you are looking to try a fresh C&D blend, only read the recent reviews.

I've had a tin of this open for about six months and find it to be a very satisfying and flavorful tobacco. For some reason, I didn't like it very much when I first tried it, but now it seems much better. I detect some kind of topping, as I initially get a flavor that doesn't seem to come directly from the blend components. This is evident in the tin aroma as well. This is no problem, however, as it adds greatly to the flavor in the beginning, then subsides somewhat as I smoke on down the bowl.

The relatively small pieces into which this tobacco is cut allows it to pack and light with no problem and it burns at an average rate - not too quickly but not a "long burner" either. The remnants consist of lots of fine, gray ash.

Though I can tell it's there, I did not detect much in the way of nicotine strength, but I smoke a number of stronger blends as well, so I may be less sensitive to this level of nicotine than some.

Overall, I rate this as a very good smoke and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys burley with a little sweetness from Virginia and just a bit of perique spice.

OJK is a nice burley with a pleasant caramelized-pecan touch added by the VA and the perique. It burns steady, cool and dry right out of the tin, not at all steamy. Being a non-flake, I think it burns too fast. For me, the blend is in balance, tasty and satisfying. OJK easily earns a solid 3 stars.

Ive smoked alot of this over the year and I find it a tastey, satisfying change of pace smoke with enough nicotine. I say change of pace because it does have a big flavor and after a couple back to back bowls, it can be flavor overload. I find similar flavors in C&D's 3 Friars, only in 3F they are lighter and easier to smoke all day. I consider this 3F's big brother and another blend thats not for the kiddos. I like it.

I was given a tin of this by a friend at Christmas. On New Years I decided to try it even though I am not a big fan of Burleys. Wow, not bad at all. I think the Perique blended in is perfect. Funny thing is, I don't like lots of Perique either! The mixture is done just right to compliment each other. I am impressed. I don't feel this has as much nicotine as some others I smoke, but it definately is there. The room note seems great, I didn't get many complaints. I recently finished my tin and will buy more.