Cornell & Diehl Bayou Morning

Since I have taken in love with C&D's Bayou Morning Flake, I thought I'd try the original ribbon cut out to see the difference. I can't say anything about packaging, because I bought this sample in bulk. That being said the tobacco itself comes in an even ribbon that is mostly dark yellows and golden browns. The pouch note is similar to that of BMF. Tangy, bready Red Virginias, spicy, fruity Perique. As someone once told me, it oddly smells of blue cheese. It packs well and lights well. It comes at the right moisture for my liking.

As I light up that bready, bakery Red Virginia is the first thing I taste. The Virginias are more forward than they are in the flake version. The Perique is just as noticeable as it is in the flake, giving off dark fruit and spice. I think the Perique is more spicy here than in the flake, but that makes sense as the process of pressing tobacco naturally mellows and marries the flavors of the smoke.

The taste is a medium. It is about where I want it for a average VaPer. The strength I give a medium too. At 25% Perique I would have thought that this would have a stronger kick but it's more of a middle-of-the-road type blend. The taste is consistent and the room note is typical of a VaPer for what it's worth. I will say that I prefer the Flake to the ribbon cut, but I wouldn't hesitate to pick this up if I was running low and couldn't get a hold of the flake.

Presentation: Plain orange background with text.

Cut: Comes in a ribbon cut.

Tin note: Smells of rich fruit.

Tasting notes: Fruity, bready, grassy, toasty, figgy, smoky, earthy. Maybe a bit citrusy at times. There is a very short bread/earth finish on this tobacco. I think the short finish tends me make me puff faster because I want more—be careful with this though because if you smoke it hot, it nullifies all Virginias and tastes like straight perique, which I don't think even the most zealous perique lover would appreciate.

Mechanics: N/A—A well behaved blend.

Extra Remarks: I've smoked this tobacco many times before this review, although it has never been a "daily smoke" type of tobacco for me. Once I lit the bowl I got about a quarter way through the bowl just zoning out and enjoying it before remembering I had a review to do... this tobacco just takes you away. So I smoked the bowl through before packing another for review. This is a great tobacco if you see it for what it is—robust(in flavor), simple tobacco—for the perique lover. A classic, though underappreciated, VaPer blend. 4 stars.

All day Va/Per. A little rough around the edges but it's hard not to like this blend. Buttery smooth, cool, sweet and spicy; just a delight!

I was gifted a tin of this a few years back, and popped it open in October.

The tin nose is very sour, lots of perique, ticklish in the nostrils, and a bit fermented. The cut is very thin ribbons, mottled brown, mostly. Doesn't smell bad at all. Moisture was good, and no mold (ahem).

In the pipe, this is very perique-forward, as would be expected of a blend that is 1/4 composed of the stuff. Funnily, it's not too strong on the palate or exhaled out the nose. I rate the strength at a solid medium, and the taste is reasonably full. This lands squarely in 'serviceable' va/per territory.

Two caveats: Bayou Morning turns consistently ashy for me after the half-bowl mark, and it burns very quickly, like dry shag quickly. I could get over the speedy combustion, but the dirty taste is a deal killer. There are a multitude of better blends on offer, so I won't be revisiting this one.

Two stars and a shrug.

Perique is the hot sauce of tobacco. I love Perique, and I love hot sauce.

EDIT: Spent some more time with this one, and I’m upgrading a star. After sitting in a jar for a few months, it appears that the Perique wallop has dissipated to a point where I’m now enjoying things much more. Maybe a little extra time to meld was all this blend needed. These days, I’ve enjoyed the smoke, the Virginias are smooth as butter and the perique compliments in a BIG way.

It could also be that my recent love affair with Old Joe Krantz (oh, that sounds weird, eh?) has sensitized me a bit more to perique, I don’t know. What I do know is that Bayou Morning can be a wonderful and unique perique (I need a third word to rhyme) experience and I would recommend it to someone looking for a blend heavy in the Louisiana stuff.

ORIGINAL REVIEW: Continuing that analogy, I find Bayou Morning to be equivalent to a tablespoon of hot sauce on a saltine cracker—the monstrous amount of Perique just overwhelms the bright and red Virginias, masking their flavors and making this blend just a blast of Perique burn, and I found it to be unpleasant and even a bit uncomfortable to smoke at times.

Now, I’m a big fan of strong blends. Gimme lots of flavor, please, and enough nicotine to kill a moose. I’m also a big fan of hot sauce. But I like my hot sauce to add to the flavor, not as a main dish.

Maybe some age will mellow things out a bit, or allow the flavors to meld a bit. I’ll revisit this blend in a few months.

This is one of the few blends that I instanly liked. The perique gives spicyness, adding substancially to the virginia. Lights easily, smokes perfect. Easygoing, but with depth. Tin note very light. Room note not offensive. I highly recommend this tobacco. 4 stars by me

Bulk purchase. My bags have all arrived dry and ready to smoke. The cut is springy so packing needs to be done carefully. Once packed, it lights well and requires very few relights pending it was packed well. Bag aromas of tangy red Virginia and spicy perique. The aromas are great. First flavours detected are the red Virginia tangs and some deep dark fruit from the perique. The perique is very spicy on the retrohale. There are some rough spots as mentioned by other reviews, but they smooth out with some jar time. Vitamin N is noticeable, I would say approaching medium strength. Overall this is one of my top vapers. For some it can be an all day smoke, just go slow as it can bite.

Cornell & Diehl's Bayou Morning is a perique lovers dream tobacco. While it's red and bright Virginias are deliciously sweet and tangy (they remind me of McClelland Red Cake), the high quality perique steals the show. It is rich with raisin and plum flavors and just enough spiciness to keep things interesting. The room note is also quite pleasant.

The cut is something between thick ribbons and cubes, which makes it easy to pack, light and keep lit. Some other reviewers mention harshness or sourness. I detect none of that and suspect that some may be confusing an abundance of flavor with harshness. Be warned, however, that this blend is a nicotine bomb, so smoke on a full stomach with a cup of strong coffee and take it slow. You will be rewarded with one memorable smoke.

Someone else describe it as Nirvana in a pipe. I couldn't agree more.

Over the past several years I have wanted to purchase a poker meerschaum as the poker is my favorite pipe shape but never really saw anything that grabbed me and as I have so many pipes as it is I have not pursued it until last week when I saw one with my name on it. I looked at it for a few days and decided if I did not buy it and it got sold I would be crying like a baby. I ordered it from Altinay. My girlfriend had bought me a small Calabash meerschaum style pipe some ten years ago that is an Altinay and it colors nicely. Four days later it arrived from Eskisehir, Turkey and I decided to smoke Bayou Morning in it. This is really good stuff and definitely is loaded with Perique as over the past week when smoking it I have caught myself coughing at times which rarely happens. The Perique must be tickling my throat and is the dominant player in this blend. Some have alluded this as a rough smoke and I can see their point. Rough yet smooth if that makes sense. I have been on a Perique kick lately and this blend is definitely worth trying. It burns to an ash and produces billows of white clouds as I smoke it.