Cornell & Diehl Bayou Morning

I really like a good VaPer and with so many good reviews of C&D’s Bayou Morning I was looking forward to taking BM for a spin. Sadly, BM was a bit of a disappointment for me. It is a little rough around the edges and not as refined as other VaPers that I prefer. But in the interest of full disclosure, I tend to gravitate toward flakes rather than VaPers made with a ribbon cut, although I do enjoy Telegraph Hill. The dose of Perique in BM is forward and stays that way throughout the smoke. I generally don’t mind a good dose of Perique, but this blend just didn’t work for me. I tend to like a little more sweet with my Perique and that’s where I found BM lacking. I found the Perique overtaking the Virginias. On the plus side, BM does have a nice little kick to it. I am going to age some of this as I think that some time in the cellar may bring Bayou Morning closer to my wheelhouse.

Before I get into this blend,let me explain the issues I've had with a few C&D blends as if late. Mold, that's right mold. It happened with Burley flake #1 and although I couldn't visually see it the odor was there and it ghosted one of my pipes. It took a few good cleanings to get that out of the pipe but eventually it went away. Of course Smoking Pipes stood good for it as they are a top notch company to deal with. Now onto Bayou Morning. After opening the tin it had the same mold smell as the Burley Flake #1 so I let it air for a while. After a day or so it seemed to lessen some so I loaded up after a mild rub out and some dry time. What I mostly got was Perique with little if any Virginia? I again tried in various pipes and bowl sizes but the same results Perique. I like Perique when used as a condiment, but that was all I got ,the spice of the Perique and nothing more? If you like Perique you may love this. I personally have nothing against Cornell & Diehl however, have they gotten so big that they may be rushing things to fill orders? Are they using water as moisturizer to keep their tobacco moist? And since their tins aren't vacuum sealed is it allowing mold to ferment in the tins during storage? I think I'll stick to bulk ordering with them from now on. Just my two cents.

Lager

I am a lover of perique and smoke a lot of vapers. I bought this five years ago when I was trying new vaper blends as it recieved excellent reviews. When I first lit a bowl, I found it to be very green and harsh and not really enjoyable at all. I love strong perique blends, I am a big fan of Frenchy's SunzaBitches. But to me this blend was like lighting up a strong harsh cigar. I thought at the time that I would put it up for a few years and let it age. Hopefully it would age and become more mellow. It is five years later now, and it is still harsh, in your face strong, and like smoking a harsh strong cigar. I like the perique flavor but the va tobaccos here add very little to the blend, none of the sweetness of other vaper blends.

This blend has a nice musty pouch note and the tobacco is a ribbon cut running through the shades of brown from like khaki up to a dark brown. Being a C and D blend, is has a nice drier moisture content, packs easily, and lights up and burns steady all the way down leaving a steely grey ash. I does smoke dry and all the way down with little dottle in the bottom of the bowl. I do enjoy the perique flavor, but it lacks the sweetness of good vaper blends. The room note is tolerable, but will not make friends.

There are many fans of this blend. It is just not for me. It is worth a try but there are in my opinion, much better vaper blends out there.

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.

This is a pretty good bulk blend from C&D. If you like Virginia-Perique mixtures give this a try. I would recommend a little aging as it is a bit timid when new.

I had a tough time understanding this one. The tin note is tangy and funky, a little like hay, a lot more like silage. Not my favorite by any means. Behaves well on the smoke and is definitely quality but it just has a flavor that’s not for me. I always kinda hate when people review styles they don’t like and then say they don’t like it. But I guess that’s what I’m doing here, I like my perique as a whisper in va/pers, even usually prefer straight virginas, so maybe it’s just my fault for not liking perique. Even after a long aging (8+ years) I didn’t care for it. If you love it more power to ya, but it’s a one tin and done for me.

3rdGuy

I would call this a 4-star entry for those new to VaPer's. I found it mild, too mild for my tastes.The other problem is the overall harshness others mention. Just did not taste like a high quality blend. Exclusive offers a bit more perique and just tastes better overall compared to this.

I will try the flake version to see what it offers.

Unless you like your tobacco strong in the morning, I would advise you to pass. The smell in the bag is very nice, musty without any trace of sweetness, the packing and lighting is really easy.

Flavors of peppery mushrooms with some very light prune accents from the first part of the bowl, then a boring slightly bitter almost cigarette like interlude, followed by a more comprehensive flavor where the subpar Virginia is tamed by the Perique.

I had the bulk version only and I have to say that it's not a bad Winter smoke if kept short but there are much better Va/Pers available.

Virginia lover

While I enjoyed this blend, I did not see it distinct enough in a crowded VaPer field. The blend smokes well and has fine flavor. It burns well. It is a "me-too" blend in the VaPer world.