Cornell & Diehl Old Joe Krantz

The first time I tried this blend it was not at all to my liking. I found it strong, bitter, acrid and almost unpleasant. I don't know exactly when I turned the corner with it, but I did.

Old Joe still tastes bitter to me, only now I find the bitterness to be enjoyable. It's a similar phenomenon to the long term growth of my preference for strong black coffee and it's surely a testament to my growing palate for tobacco. No sugar, no cream, just pure deep flavor.

Right from charring light, Old Joe Krantz is quite firm and its flavor is an uncompromising amalgamation of spicy Perique and pure straight bold but balanced tobacco flavor. Simple, hearty and unadulterated. I can surely see the appeal here. Altogether this is a potent, flavorful and undeniably stout mixture with no bite, and it burns perfectly from top to bottom.

Please take the time to reference morelysson's review of this mixture. It's quite telling, and it should be. After all, he blended it.

Recommended.

I bought this just recently based on my love of the Night Train from the same C&D.

Like the review below, I found on lighting this there was a harshness that was definitely not there with Night Train.

I also found that if I gave it a couple of "false lights" and then left it for 5 or 10 minutes the harshness mostly disapeared but a slight bitterness persisted throughout the smoke.

I found it a bit stronger than Night Train with which I'm obviously comparing it to as these two tobaccos are my only current experience of the Virginia/Perique/Burley blends, so Night Train is my only reference.

This tobacco is first class and a lovely smoke strengthwise but the remaining harshness and slight bitterness spoil it somewhat.

It may depend how you smoke your pipe but smoking this tobacco gently and "kicking" it back over your soft palette can make it and your throat a bit sore, where Night Train and even stronger tobacos don't.

On this basis I'm giving OJK three stars. Well worth a try but of the two tobacos I've tried in this class, Night Train wins hands down for me.

I've put the strength in as "strong" because I need room for later reviews that are stronger. If I could put "strong to very strong" then I would.

OJK is good solid tobacco and for anyone who likes this type of blend is definitely worth a try but for the moment I'll take the Night Train.

I've spent the day with OJK after receiving my recent order. I do like burley and I really like OJK I went through four bowls and while it does have a good nic hit I didn't find it overwhelming. Nic is important for me, being an ex cig smoker. It stayed lit and gave me the real tobacco flavour I must have. A good honest burley mix.

I've lived with OJK for nearly a month now, smoking it daily. If anything I like it better than when I first received it. This will be in my regular rotation for some time.

There is a strong nic hit and it is very 'full flavoured'. The perique is noticeable but I think it is in perfect proportion to the burley and bit of Virginia also in it. If you love strong burley, this is for you.

I've tried several C&D blends and while not all of them have become favorites they are all of the highest quality. I recently ordered OJK and loaded it in a cob to try out tonight.

Initial Impressions: Mixed cut - some ribbon, some that looked like a rubbed out flake. Aroma from the bag was of burley with the hints of Virginia and the unique aroma that is perique. Loaded easily in the pipe. Charring light was easy and didn't require a touch up. Others have noted that this blend tends to stay lit and I can't argue. I relit once and that was due to talking to a neighbor as they walked by outside.

Flavor: I rated this as medium as it started off like burley, that is to say mild, but then the perique chimed in, a peppery, spicy note. It took until mid-bowl for the Virginia to peek through. The second half of the bowl, with a five minute DGT, showed the great balance of this blend. All the tobaccos provided an excellent end to the smoke.

Conclusions and overall: This burned cool and dry with no effort on my part. There was nothing but fine gray ash to clear from the bowl. I did notice a very strong nicotine rush from this tobacco - not unpleasant but much more so than I normally encounter. If I decided on an all-day smoke this one would be very much in the running. Medium to full body with just great tobacco flavor.

This was the first pipe tobacco I tried since ten years or so ago when I made a half-hearted attempt at pipe smoking. I thought this was the strongest thing made the first time I smoked it. Again, that was the first bowl in 10+ years. I have since that time found much stronger tobaccos, but this remains one of my favorite non plug, rope, flake blends. It is what it sounds like, crotchety and a bit stubborn. It seems stuck it it's ways, but at least it is an honest smoke. No sweetness, no fruitiness, just tobacco. Pretty decent tobacco.

When I first started smoking this blend, I would have given it a 4 star rating. Twenty pounds later, I am still in love with it; yet, as guys that have been married for a long time can relate, ahhh.....luckily Old Joe understands when I smoked 30 or 40 other blends.

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I haven't had an unfavorable blend from Cornell & Diehl yet, except for Mississippi Mud.

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Old Joe is a great bulk blend that comes already on the dry side, no prep needed. It has a very natural taste without any chemicals added that I detect. Burley is in the drivers seat, virginia riding shotgun, but the perique is a very loud back seat driver. If you don't like perique, don't get in the car. But if you like burley and perique........take that ride.

This tobacco reminds me of GP Haddos Delight because the perique is more piquant than spicy. It is a delightful change of pace from standard VaPers and it leaves me wanting to smoke another bowl.

The beginning is a little rough but by the first tamp, the nice nuttiness of the burley comes through. The VAs are subtle and add a hint of sweetness to the burley and the nice soapy flavor of the perique. I had no problems with bite, though this blend lends itself to sitting back and taking your time. It really is a relaxing smoke.

About mid bowl, it reaches it peak. I'm a big fan of the burley. It has such great interplay with the perique. It's just delicious! Exhaling through the nose is wonderful, but a warning to inhalers! I french inhale and perique and smokiness will almost knock you down.

It burned fairly well and I had minimal relights. The moisture in my can was a little on the dry side, but since I smoke a lot of 2015, it was probably the correct moisture content. Not much gurgle and the ash was grey/black. Very limited dottle.

I struggle between highly recommended and just recommended. I'd probably give it 3.4 *s. OJK is a very good blend that could probably use a dedicated pipe (or at least a pipe that smokes the soapier periques). If you're a VaPer fan, you should definitely try it.

Another winner from Cornell & Diehl. I find a taste of a good cigar here though there is no cigar leaf mentioned by C&D. No sweet "girlie man" tobacco here, just a good honest blend. Out of the tin the moisture is perfect, easy to pack, and light. Lots of rich smoke. Burns cool and completly. When I want a "not so sweet" smoke this is it.

If I could give this less than one star I would. Not a big fan of this. It has too much of something in it and I couldn't put my finger on it. Also, it left an extremely bad tasting coating in my mouth and throat which didn't go away for hours.

I know that a lot of people love this blend but it is just not for me.

20Oct2010 UPDATE I think that I was too harsh in my original review of this. I have since come to like Burley blends very much and this one is great! I apologize for my hasty judgment of this blend.