Cornell & Diehl Old Joe Krantz

C&D OJK was a treat. I found the blend to have a pleasant slightly bitter/sour taste that was pretty constant through the bowl. There is more of the bitter to me. The perique is there and I can taste it, but it is just another flavor in the mix and not the main attraction. There is enough of the Virginia to provide a little sweet to go with the bitter/sour. This one had a lot of flavor, and anyone who wants a tobacco that is "not bland" should try this if there is not a burley or perique aversion.

This one has a little more nicotine than most things I smoke, but like the perique presence, it is enough to notice and not so much that I am swimming in it. OJK was very good and a tasty diversion. I will probably buy some of this to keep it around.

This is a solid 3.5...

Edit: I have since smoked up another 4 oz. of this, and I am liking this a lot. The next order will be a pound.

Edit2: I am maybe 5 pounds into the OJK experience. I find this very satisfying and have a few pipes that really perform with OJK. I have found that a half bowl of Haunted Bookshop topped with a half bowl of OJK is a combo that really works well for me.

Edit3 8/31/19: The price of OJK is suddenly higher in bulk compared to Big-n-Burley and the other C&D standards. I had two pounds of it in the last order but took them out and added two pounds to the Big-n-Burley purchase.

Other burley blends are a dingy, Old Joe is a battleship. If Pee Wee Herman is the leading man, Old Joe is Arnold Schwarzenegger. All other Burley blends are a screen door, Old Joe -gates of Iron.

Old Joe Krantz is a strong, strong blend without a hint of sweetness. It may have VA listed among the ingredients but the sweetness is as far as a pig from the moon. I describe Old Joe as Harsh with a deep dryness. It went great with my coffee but I had to add more sweet cream in my mug to balance out the smoke in my pipe. This blend packs a WALLUP in every area. If this is an old school smoke it left me the impression of a tough leather neck marine smoking gun powder and leather. You know how there are different levels of burley for blending? Well this one is the hard nicotine full body version. Now add a good deal of Perique. That's Old Joe Krantz.

Being a former cigarette smoker, I am not afraid of Nicotine, which is good with this blend. I tried various tobaccos when starting my pipe smoking journey a little over 2 years ago but, nothing was scratching the itch for the nic especially in the AM with coffee. Then it was recommended to try OJK. As a fan of the OTC burley blends, this is OTC on steroids. The tin note is strong but pleasant. It has woodsy with fruit/plum and spicy notes. The nuttiness of the burley is there, and the perique is present. The Virginia is also there but in the background to me. Overall I just get a deep earthy smoke with a good amount of flavor. Although very good on its own, the flavors build and change slightly as you smoke down through the bowl. Starts a little strong then mellows out, and towards the end the nic can be felt. I like to mix it with Chantham Manor, Carter Hall, Prince Albert for an added kick. When mixed it can be an all day smoke, however not an all day smoke on its own for me. The blend appears to prefer cobs either on its own or mixed. The room note, I have been told, is just ok but reminds folks of a cigarette smell, but a little better, so I would say fair overall in that area. Alone it can bite if cadence is quick, as a mix I haven't experienced any bite. For me it is a "cellar it" because I use it as a mix primarily. I also noticed that with a little age, say after a year, flavors get deeper yet mellows.

The cold smell is strongly fermented due to the good dose of perique it contains. Although a coarse cut is advertised, what I found on the tin was a typical ribbon, even pulling the thinner side, which caused the tobacco to burn quite quickly. I guess when it does show up in coarse cut it will burn a lot slower. I wish I could contrast this mix with both cuts.

When you light the tobacco, the first thing you notice is the vinegary, fruity and balsamic flavor of the perique, but what seems to me are notes of bitter cocoa from the burley, and a touch of sweetness from the red virginias immediately emerge. This mixture of ingredients appear well combined, providing a very tasty smoke that cannot be left indifferent. It is relatively satiating and with a medium to high nicotine dose, which can be noticed depending on the size of the bowl used.

It so happened that I had recently just smoked Bluegrass, also from Cornell & Diehl, and I got the impression that OJK was made up of the same tobaccos but replacing Kentucky with Burley and increasing the amount of perique.

I give it three stars because it fills my mouth with too much flavor. However, if it happens to you like me, you can try thicker-walled pipes, which attenuate the powerful flavor a bit. This, combined with a few months of repose in a glass jar, works a lot better, in my opinion...

Another of C&D's Winning Burley Blends

Appearance and Tin Aroma: This smells like figs, sweet. There's lots o'perique in this blend! Cubes of burley are readily visible, lots of mohagany leaf (Kentucky?), red Va as well.

Packing and Lighting: This one is a little more moist than the usual C&D offerrings, but still perfect for immediate smoking. 2-3 lights max.

Initial Flavor: Once the match is lit, you are directly confronted with a mellow Burley-Perique symphony. I am allergic to Perique, but this one does not trigger my allergy right away.

Mid-Bowl: This is deliciously warm, round, and sweet in a natural way. Yumm.

Bottom of Bowl: Most Perique blends get very spicy at this point, but this one stayed shy of a peppery assualt. Rather it gave a nice "Tadum" ending to the smoke.

Overall: In spite of my allergy to Perique, I will continue to smoke this blend as an occassional delight. It did cause my lips to swell a little (and I already have big lips!) and a few pimples formed around my lips, but it did not cause a reaction in my throat or tongue. This blend once again showcases what can be done with Burley. Of course, you must like Burley to begin with.This burns to a nice, fine, grey ash with no moisture issues and leaves a fine grey dusting in the bowl as well. Thank you C&D...

OJK is my go to robust unflavored burley based blend. When smoking I’m not looking for nicotine but with OJK nicotine is looking for me. I need to go easy with this. Smoke I small bowls and easy on cadence. Strong burleys in flake form often present issues for me with nicotine as to keep them lit I tend to puff too hard and then I get too much buzz. The C&D burley flakes present that challenge and if it’s strong, cased and moist it’s even more of an issue (I’m looking at you Irish Flake). But OJK is a dry cool burning loose cut that I can sip and enjoy the earthy nutty burley flavor with out being overwhelmed by nicotine if I’m careful. The red Virgina rounds some rough burley edges and the Perique offers a nice spice. I find it strange that I get less plumb fruit raisin notes in OJK than Haunted Bookshop even though I suspect it’s the same ingredient. OJK has a nice cigar like quality that I like whereas Haunted Bookshop gives me more cigarette notes and a rougher less refined experience. I also find Haunted Bookshop can surprisingly run hot for me compared with OJK. It’s also nice the OJK cut allows me to scoop a bowl from a pouch without having to worry about the random flakes in Haunted Bookshop. Not an all day nor every day smoke for me but when I’m in the mood to get punched in the face I reach for OJK.

Sweeter than haunted bookshop, a nice Virginia sweetness (fresh cut green grass) and peppered with the perique but not enough to make it spicy (a good thing in my opinion).

Most reviews of OJK will compare it to haunted bookshop, and vice versa. I for one think this is a step above Haunted Bookshop, it is not as boring. I use HB as a blending agent to give my aromatics more nicotine and smoke, Old Joe Krantz is more enjoyable by itself. Definitely an all day smoke.

I have not really ever enjoyed a C&D blend, so I had to ask myself why pull up a tin of OJK from the basement stash? Answer: I love the Burley/Virginia blend above all others! But, OJK has the hated Perique! No matter, time for another chance to put aside my bias and stretch a bit. For me, that’s quite a stretch!

The flavor is simply wonderful, with no unpalatable aftertaste, just a little white pepper at the back of the throat and a nose tickle on retro-haling. Who can account for earlier aversions to pipe tobacco experiences. I cannot! But, my experience with OJK serves to remind me that tastes change. Maybe they mature and maybe they simply change with some kind of unfathomable taste chemistry. Perhaps I should re-experience all the C&D blends I have shoved aside. That could be fun!

It subsequently occurred to me that single malt whiskies, which I very much enjoy, especially in their higher ABV expressions, will attack the lips and gums much the way the Perique does in OJK! I enjoy that malt flavor experience. I suppose part of my difficulty in similarly enjoying perique could be an “over-emphasis” on smoothness in my flavor/tactile experience.

If I could describe this blend in one word at first impression it would certainly be "HARSH", and "addictive" runs in a close second. This blend is definitely not for the uninitiated or novice or occasional pipe smoker; this is a Grizzly Adams faced, Chuck Norris roundhouse with Wild Turkey 101 proof chaser...with perique. At first light this sneaky b*stard greats you kindly with the taste of quality, sweet Virginia; then quickly introduces you to C&D's iconic stout, earthy Burleys; and once the Perique steps in to join the dance you've got a stout smoke indeed. This blend will be mostly Perique and Burley, with the Perique in this blend giving the impression it is unrefined; mostly pepper with with hints of raisin, but I believe that this is mostly due to the heavy handed application of it. The key to this blend is to puff at a very moderate pace. Personally, I hated at first, but I persisted because I noticed this was a favorite of many pipe smokers, and I'll tell you what: it's definitely worth a try. Overall, a great smoke, but not yet my cup of grog. I'll keep this one on hand to lock and load when I want what it has to offer: a heavy dose of nicotine and some great baccy flavor in the rough. Gonna try aging this one. 3 stars.