Cornell & Diehl Repose

A while ago, a rather clever wag dubbed William Serad's "Serenity Series" the "Thesaurus" Series. Given the range of blends available--or ONCE AVAILABLE--in this range, the synonymous qualities are titular only. Each is different in its own way.

Repose is a most unusual blend; the only thing that compares with it is the REAL London Dock of thirty-five-years-ago or more. The rum is real, the Turkish is excellent, and the Burleys are nutty. If only some Perique had been added, 'twould be a very time machine to an era long-gone. Should one score a tin or two now...do NOT try adding Perique to recapture the soul of London Dock! That doesn't work.

The nose upon opening of the tin will send one into the ethers; the smoke does not quite deliver on the promise--but it is far from disappointing.

The Virginias age well (my tin was sealed in 2002) and would be infinitely more interesting with Perique. The rum holds its own well-enough...but age diminishes Burley. There's no way around it.

Still...if you find a tin of Repose...GRAB IT! Don't lay it aside in hopes that aging will improve the flavor. It will only degrade with time. Smoke it now...and enjoy!

Burley forward blend with nutty and earthy flavors at the fore front. The Virginia does add some grassy sweetness to the mix while Turkish counterbalances the blend with notes of sourness. While rum is listed as the top note I also detect some fruity notes of citrus, may be the Va. but not as forward as this. Packs, lights and burns like a pipe tobacco should. No harsh or rough spots, no hoop or excessive moisture. Flavor profile is consistent throughout the process and the nicotine hit is ample enough to keep me in the game. Repeatable but mot likely not an all day type blend. Will stock more here on the creek.

I was given some of this by a dear friend who also writes on this site,and for that I am grateful. I generally am not fond of the "SERAD SERIES",but this is the exception. I love C&D's Black Frigate which contains a substantial amount of Latakia and rum. This has the rum ,but no Latakia. It is truly a wonderful natural aromatic. If you are a rum lover, you cannot dislike this blend. It burns cool and dry with a stunning natural rum flavor. The Turkish really gives this Burley blend a fascinating dimension. This blend simply works on all levels.I recommend this to those who simply enjoy good tobacco! 3 of 4 stars.

When I first found that William Serad (of P & T Magazine "Trial by Fire" fame) was working with Cornell & Diehl on a series of tobaccos I was intrigued and hoping to try some eventually. When given the opportunity to sample a tin for the purpose of reviewing I was thrilled.

Upon opening the tin I was a little surprised at he green specks evident. My fist thought was, "uh oh - too young". This apprehension soon melted away as I packed my favorite Ben Wade and fired 'er up. First light provided a sweet yet grassy aroma, surely the harbinger of good things to come. Second light came with a little effort, probably due to the size of the "cubes" of burley. Any fears of "green-ness" disappeared as a smooth and nutty/sweet flavor filled my palate.

I kept looking for the rum flavor to come in but this never happened. It became obvious to me that the rum was not intended as a flavoring at all but instead helped to mellow the mixture and remove any sharp edges. The turkish lends its mellowness and the VA's are very present in their sweetness but not over-powering. The burley base gives fullness but doesn't over-power either.

I was also pleased that the blend did not become harsh toward the ends of any of the bowls I smoked, regardless of the pipe I smoked.

I would recommend this as a good all-day smoke, especially if you have a little sweet-tooth. This is not to say that Repose is overwhelmingly sweet. It is not. However, Repose does have a sweetness that comes even in the after-taste.

Upon my initial popping of the tin, I was unimpressed. The tin note was very medicinal - my wife even compared it to Dimetapp. I could pick up bit of VAs and burley... but the Turkish was almost nonexistent.

Once I packed my pipe, though, the experience was very different. The burley took a back seat to the Turkish and VA, and the rum topping was much more pronounced. It was not overwhelming, definitely a dark rum similar to something like Kraken or Capt. Morgan Black. It's definitely the same rum topping used in other C&D blends, as another reviewer pointed out.

The nicotine hit isn't major, but I found it easy to overheat the tobacco and and ruin the taste. This is definitely meant to be sipped and lightly smoked. The room note was also pleasant, according to my wife - not heavy at all.

While it's not something I'd reach for too frequently, I will be smoking the rest of this tin.

I am not sure what to make of this weed yet. I enjoy the taste and the fragrance for certain, and I have experienced only cool dry smokes, however I am suspicious of aeromatics and therefore worry that the strength of the casing could impart itself into my beloved pipes. I was assured by a friend that this would not happen as Repose is a light aeromatic. We shall see. The tin note reminds me a bit of apples? Is that it? I think this is a great tobacco to enjoy and I will continue to buy it when this tin is empty, I may even devote a pipe to it.

Update: I have smoked 10 or so bowls of this blend in many different pipes, I found some cubes or burly mixed in with the ribbon. I usually find it most enjoyable smoking blends of any tobacco leaf on the verge of a slow smolder, and I deffinitly taste apple, be it topping or natural it is present. I also taste the Virginia leaf peeking its headed intonations out occasionally.

This is a great outdoors in the woods smoke for me. My brother lives in Indiana and I am visiting him for the Thanksgiving holliday, today I smoked this all day while following old paths that I ran along with my dogs as a young pup myself. It was there that I found this weeds great strength, and perhaps you can too.

What the heck kind of name IS 'repose' for a tobacco, anyway? I like Cornell and Diehl products, but where DO they get these names?

According to the tin description, Repose is supposedly a "non-sweet" aromatic. I found the "rum" flavoring to be pretty strong- pleasant, but strong none the less- and not rummy, at least not like other rum-flavored blends. (So... if you shy away from spirit-flavored aromatics, don't be put off by this one.) It seemed almost flower-like when I first opened the tin, but lost some of that character after being open a while.

At any rate, this seems sweet to me, which is OK. Must come from the virginias, I guess. The turkish component is a somewhat novel addition to a burley-based aromatic, but it seems to work here.

My tin was at just the right moisture, no modifications necessary. The taste, at least initially, was similar to the tin aroma, but then the turkish/virginia combo kicked in and the taste became more natural tobacco-ish. Still, the topping taste lingers throughout the bowl. I have never found burleys all that nutty as some do, and I did not taste nuttiness here.

I seemed to experience a bit of a bite from this blend on some occasions. Not sure if this was a delayed reaction from another tobacco or not. Doesn't seem like it should bite...

This is an aromatic worth trying. It reminds me a bit of MacBaren Plumcake (which also reputedly has a rum topping) but does NOT have the bite that the MB offering possesses. Repose does not stand out from the crowd for me, but the flavor might be just right for some.

Everything that I had read on ASP about this blend led me to believe that it was similar to Barbary Coast. Upon opening the tin (which looked like a cat food tin, incidentally), I was taken aback because what I had expected -- that nice dark Barbary Coast virginia with chunks of burley was insead green virginia with chunks of green burley. Resisting the temptation to muse about Dr. Suess, I smelled the tin, and it did remind me of Barbary Coast, but only slightly. Instead of the brandy topping that I love so much, this blend is topped with rum.

Lighting this tobacco is similar to other burley blends. Upon initial light, the taste is somewhat harsh, but quickly fades when properly lit. Throughout the entire bowl, a very nice bitter sweet flavor reveals itself very much like raisins and perhaps some citrus.

I finished the entire tin in slightly over one month, and figured that I'd wait before purchasing this one again and try some of the other Serenity Series blends. Needless to say, two days after running out, I purchased more and contemplating a bowl right now.

In conclusion, if you like Barbary Coast, you'll like this one. It is a touch less sweet than Barbary, but flavorful (the turkish gives it a nice touch). It might truly be better after proper cellaring.