Cornell & Diehl Bayou Morning

A little swampy smelling, and very earthy. If you like the peaty end of the spectrum, this may be for you.

The red stoved Virginia and the perique were of high quality and offered a mild and very enjoyable smoke. The tin that I tried had aged about a year half before I broke the seal. I will definitely buy a few more tins and set a few of them back to age for 3 years.

One imagines a Bayou Morning filled with much swatting of varieties of mosquitos so often in fact it would prevent a man from really enjoying the pipe itself. Sadly were it the namesake Bayou Morning that he was smoking as the blend isn't bad at all.

The tin note is not extraordinarily fragrant as many of my favorite VA VA/perique blends are, but the Virginia and perique is unmistakable. The note is light, sweet, organic, and fun.

In the pipe and lit the flavor and balance is modestly balanced and the perique content lends to the sweet VA profile. All and all a pedestrian blend for me that is a decent smoke that doesn't fatigue the palate. I see no fireworks as this is not a complex blend but a fine smoke indeed.

Smoked at 8 months after sealed storage.

There are lots of Virginia Perique blends to choose from including a few bulk blends like this one. Among the choices, Bayou Morning is good but not exceptional. Not much of the classic Virginia sweetness is present and there is a bit more Perique than I like. The aroma has a vinegar smell even when dry but is not noticable in the smoke.

If you prefer a ribbon-cut to a broken flake and like your Virginia zipped up with Perique's tartness and punch rather than in a cased Danish style, this may be one for you since it has a nice even cut and no humectants or obvious casing.

I wanted to step out of my normal latka comfort zone and try something new, different. Bayou Morning fit the bill and then some. I ordered mine direct from our sponsor (golf clap)... Wow! The first impression upon opening the tin was very pleasent on notes of color, texture and scent. I removed a ribbon and aired it a bit while I cleard the harbor mouth and headed out into the channel. Centered in the traffic lane, I loaded up my 98 Nording Beaver and added heat. The first draw was pleasing and oh so very smooth. The second draw felt like I had a ball of velvety smoke in my mouth with an ever so slight nutty taste, ah a pleasure! The third draw hit me, like surfing down the face of a forty footer in a fource 7 gale. I could only hope to steer to the trough without broaching her. I had to set the pipe down. I was firm about picking it up again as soon as my head cleared, which took a full minute. But, alas, too much woman for me lads. Ill have to come back at her again when I return to port.

Salty Sailor

25% Perique. As the can says “not for the faint of heart”, and they are not wrong. This is an experience.

I’m predominantly a vaper smoker and picked this up to better understand what it is exactly that the perique brings to some of my favorite blends. The pepper of the perique dominates.

The idea that kept coming to mind is szechuan peppers, and how they offer more of a physical sensation and less of a flavor. This smoke does not have the same tingling sensation that szechuan peppers do but leaves the smoking experience with more of a feel than a taste, in a similar way.

Smoking it really drives home how connected our mouth is to our nose. Even with zero retrohaling the peppery sensation fills the nostrils. After getting acclimated to the pepper you can pick up some damp forrest notes on the palate.

A very dry and relatively cool smoke.

The tin note is faint. Has a faint dark fruit (raisin, fig, etc) scent that is quickly overtaken by the peppery smell.

I can only assume that is produced with the idea of it being a morning smoke. Maybe if you are the type of person that likes to hit the ground running with a teeth rattling alarm and a cold shower this would be a morning smoke.

It is not bad, it’s just different. Leaves no aftertaste. I can see myself smoking this from time to time but I will probably end up cutting it with a something like OGS most of the times I reach for the can.

I love this tobacco!!! This isn't so much a review of the tobacco but a recommendation for pairing with a beer. Bell's two hearted IPA is a soulmate to this tobacco blend!!

I did a three layer pack in a new inexpensive white clay pipe (Old German Clay Tavern Straight Carved) with a cardinal on one side and a knight on the other in bas relief. The clay pipe was unbearably dry to start, one of the downsides of a new clay pipe. The upside of a clay pipe is the lack of ghosting from other tobacco. Good for testing but I need to research treating a clay pipe for initial smoking. Bayou Morning lights easily, burns evenly and if you want to set a record for long smoking, this may be the tobacco to choose. The smoke is light and wispy and picks up the colors around it well. The flavor develops over time and it is very evenly blended. I bought an ounce of it, from pipesandcigars.com and it smokes like it spent a good while in a cellar maturing. I will be buying more. A small clay pipe doesn't hold all that much tobacco, so it is rather amazing that it lasted as long as it did. It also built up to a solid nicotine hit, surprising me towards the end of the smoke. Unlike what a lot of reviews said, I considered this a very smooth and elegant smoke. There is a good hint of vanilla and a touch of fruit combined with a distant scent of gunpowder and a hint of tea leaf to it. Perique will do that and this is 25% Perique. On that note, this is the reason I am so fond of Cornell and Diehl. They are not stingy with their information. The fruit flavor is more akin to the effect of incorporating a touch of fruit in a sweet bread. The hint of vanilla and the muted cherry and citrus are more like what you would expect in a bread where you are having trouble finding the bits of real baked in fruit but the sweet notes blend into a delightful harmony. The mood of this tobacco is calm and clear with a touch of buoyancy. I will take this with me the next time I go fishing.

Bayou Morning was something I decided to try when I was looking for a ribbon cut VaPer. This one has taken a bit time to form an impression.

Upon arrival it had a very strong smell that was indescribable. Based on this I didn’t think I would really dig it.

After a while of living in a glass jar the initial smell chilled out and I decided to give the old college try.

In the pipe it has a lot of characteristics of a straight Virginia ribbon. After the first few puffs the spicy magic of the Perique come through and builds as the smoke progresses. However, I don’t seem to become overwhelmed by the Perique. It’s just a nice flavour that enriches the smoke.

While I definitely reach for C&D’s Red Virginia Ribbon most days, I’ve found Bayou Morning to be a good second smoke of the day.