Cornell & Diehl Bayou Morning

I had a similar experience to SaltySailor, i.e., the first several puffs were great then this blend took a turn south for me. It may have been too much perique and not a heavy ?nic hit.? I gave it a fair chance but the story was the same in several pipes on different days. I found it grew harsh and spicy and it drowned out the pleasurable taste that I experienced in the first several puffs. My palate did not care for what may have been an excess of perique in my sample. If you like perique this is for you, not me.

I rate this tobacco 5.0 out of 10

Presentation: My bulk sample was quite dry. A very good ribbon cut though and it was easy to pick out the different varietals of leaf and colors. I can't compare it to a tin so forgive me there.

Palette: What I expect from a Va/Per is a nice VA smell, sweet and bread-like and the rich, dark fruit from the perique. I got none of that from Bayou Morning. BM smells of, to put it eloquently, hay and silage that was sprinkled with manure and then a heavy rain poured through the roof and soaked the concoction and then left to dry the next scorching summer day with the hot air swooshing in of the open barn doors. It wasn't necessarily repulsive, but unwelcomed. Upon light up, it was quite strong, dry and acrid. The Va's offer a touch of bright, hay-like flavor and some sweetness. The perique was a rough around the edges and offers hardly any plummy,or stewed fruit flavors I expected. A very strong blackpepper hit in the retrohale and even though it lacks flavor, it wasn't unbearable.

Performance: The ribbon cut burns well and it was easy to pack. No points lost there. Where it did lose points is that it was just too strong for my liking, paired with the (lack of) flavor it was just very harsh. Not an all day smoke nor never again. Medium-strong nicotine. Not many relights.

Conclusion: I should have reviewed this first to be chronological with my smoking experience as it's been since last year I've smoked it, but it had such a profound impact on my memory that I can still remember what it was like. Some people love this blend. I don't and I don't want to go near it again. It was just not my cup of tea. The flake version is far superior, but even that said, I don't really care for the flake that much either. Similar profiles, but the flake is softer, sweeter and more refined. I can't recommend this blend at all, but at a price point for bulk it might be worth a try if you are venturing out into the Va/Per world. You may end up liking it.

After McConnel went out of business, I am extremely hesitant to offer any negative view on any pipe tobacco producer, but I literally threw this tin of tobacco in the garbage. This is a far cry from any Va/Per I've ever smoked, and it smokes like cigarette tobacco. I've never been disappointed by a C&D product before, but this particular blend smoked dry and harsh, its flavor was lost due to its stinging effect on the palate, and left notes of dry hay and benzine afterwards.

Well maybe I got a bad batch but, this stuff was an absolute bore! I’m a big VaPer fan and man this was a disappointment. The Virginians were flat and the perique was hardly there. Maybe it was not blended together very well. I got hardly any fruit, tang or pepper and the VAs didn’t show up either. I got mostly hot air. Just the tinniness bit of grassy, cereal notes. Again no plums or raisins.

I expected MUCH more from a blend with 25% perique. The tin note was also lacking in the traditional VaPer notes. BORING. I bought 2 oz of bulk..it was fresh. No issues with moisture or bite.

I guess I’ll just have to see if father time can make it right. Bayou Morning..NOT..perhaps the tin should say Mojave Desert Morning. As of now I can’t recommend this at all. PASS!!!

i love VaPer but did not care for this it all. will try to use it to blend/cut with a cavendish or something else in order to avoid wasting the tobacco but otherwise i would not smoke it.