Cornell & Diehl Autumn Evening

C&D produced a quality aromatic with Autumn Evening. As I understand, this is a blend that takes significant time for them to make.

As others have stated, this can be wet out of the tin and can stand drying out. However, if you choose to smoke it right away, do yourself a favor and pack it just a little more loose than you would normally.

If you tend to freight train your smoke, this blend will run hot and bite. If you sip it right on the edge of going out, the flavor pallet is amazing. I can taste the sweetness of the red Virginia cavendish on the initial draw, then the maple blossoms. Not a sticky maple syrup, but a nice buttery maple that leaves a wonderful room note.

All that said, I don't know if maple is what I could smoke all day, but this blend certainly makes for a magnificent digestif.

This blend seems to have it all. A tasty aromatic with rich flavors, yet there remains a complex mature and full tobacco flavor . Notes of citrus, rum, maple, and a number of delights float through this blend.

Even though I am pretty indifferent to maple, I still looked forward to trying this because the red Virginia cavendish in Kajun Kake is so delicious.

What a disappointment! While some of that amazing flavor from the cavendished reds can be drawn from it with some effort and a little more draw than usual towards the last third of the bowl, it is mostly drowned out by the blast of added flavorings. Furthermore, unlike in the Kajun Kake, it tasted ashy, did not burn clean and left a bitter aftertaste.

As for the maple flavor, it is cheap-artifical and strong. Maybe I could put up with that, but what made it disgusting is the artificial margarine flavor that no amount of airing or drying could get rid of. At its best Autumn Evening might taste something like gritty mulitgrain pancakes, covered in cheap margarine, maple syrup, and some preserves. At its worst, which is most of the time, it's a margarine-and-maple-flavored abomination the smell of which permeates clothing, hair, beard, pipe, mouth and environs long after smoking is done. The best I can say for it is that the smell from smoking it on a work break motivated my boss to go out to the local diner and treat me to brunch, but I had to put up with her going on about pancakes, her favorite food growing up, etc.

No nic kick either.

For me, no thanks, good evening, and never again to this one.

Summary: As flavored tobacco blends go, this is one of the better ones. Taste like Maple and butterscotch.

Most of us who dislike aromatic tobacco blends should direct our ire at its actual target, which is flavorings. Flavorings themselves miss the point: the give you a tiny symbol of the experience, without all the supporting actors and background, which creates a disembodied, unfulfilling experience. It's like television commercials or Fleshlights, an obvious substitute for the real thing, and a reflection of our desire to control our world more than what it is. For that reason, just like most people like democracy, watery beer, fast food sugar-burgers and soft drinks, most people like aros. This is one of the better ones with moderate tobacco quality, a good cut, and minimal bite, but it still grosses me out. Sorry.

Boring boring boring...zzzz. I had great hopes for this tobacco. I love a good maple pipe tobacco. This one isn't "bad" but it sure isn't good either. The more I try to remember the experience the less I like it. It was very moist and I had difficulty getting a nice puff of smoke from it. A good Virginia can be nice with low levels of smoke but with this one I kept puffing harder and harder trying to get some flavor. I probably would have cheered if I got tongue bite. I have eliminated most carbs and all sugar and salt from my diet and my taste buds are amazing right now. Strange that I couldn't find any real flavor in this tobacco. I tried it 4 different days in 2 different pipes. I bought 4 ounces of this and don't know what I'll do with the other 3.5oz of it.

I have found this one to be a great tin to have in the collection, partly becauSe I like it and partly because it seems to "keep" much longer than some, and partly because I love the tin art. The description says "........cased with a delicate maple flavor". I'm not sure it is very delicate or subtle but it is definitely a warm and attractive aroma that follows through consistently into the smoke. Very enjoyable!

I'm curious as to the name C&D chose for this. Where I live in the U.S., maple syrup is made in February and March, not autumn- the maple syrup is long gone by then at my house. Autumn around here is when the air smells like latakia from the fireplaces and burning leaves.

I happily accepted a free sample of this, being a big fan of the version made at Pipeworks & Wilke. It rather came as a shock that I didn't much like it all that much, even using my dedicated maple pipe, a clay and a new cob. I've been puffing P&W's so long, I suspect that anything different would be off-putting, so don't take this as a condemnation.

The plastic pouch smell does not strike me as maple so much as brown sugar, and when first received I really disliked it. After a month, the topping calmed down to more approachable levels. It's difficult to comment on moisture levels because mine came from bulk, but it lit right up and seems free of glycol. The taste is mild, as expected, barely tasting of tobacco at all until the second half of the bowl. Nicotine seems non-existent. Neither particularly intensify throughout the bowl; the maple (and rum?) as expected, taper off in the bottom half.

She-who-must-be-considered really likes the aroma. When asked, I think she identified the basis of my dissatisfaction: "it smells like vanilla and a campfire burning maple logs." Aha! Not pancakes. This has more of a woody taste and smell. Although still sweet, it is not so much so in flavor. I can see how people might prefer one over the other. If you tried either one and disliked it, try the other.

A cob seems the best venue for this blend, both for taste and character.

I'll still give it three stars for smokers of aromatics, and of course zero for the latakia-only crowd. Me, I prefer the pancakes version of P&W.

I received a sample of Autumn Evening included in an order. I liked the smell and tried it with no preconceptions. I was stunned. I have a problem with tongue bite from some Virginias, but I get only the mildest tingle from Autumn Evening. I have smoked it a bit wet and need to dry it a bit more, but, even wet, it burns to fine ash. The flavor is mild with just a hint of a spicier note. I was so impressed that I ordered a large container.

It could easily become my go-to tobacco. I look forward to drier smokes and a bit of aging.

Now thats maple, i have smoked maple street by sutllif, latham circle by hearth and home and maple gold by C&D and found all of them to be lacking in maple flavoring. The only other blend i have smoked with similar flavor intensity was rum and maple by sutliff tobacco galleria line and that blend although being decent in price and a bit more mellow, have the tendency to loose its maple beyond half the bowl. Autumn evening however maintain what it have to offer throughout the bowl even if not in the same power. Its a virginia so sip it and enjoy. Moisture is perfect and combustion is excellent, room note is acceptable by many and no tongue bite for me. Its a different aromatic than what the american market usually offer (reminds me of blue note by dan tobacco with a major lean toward the maple/butterscotch taste rather than fruity citrusy profile of blue note). Highly recommended indeed. If you are after an aromatic go for it, if not leave it alone and dont scare the others (my only criticism on this blend is that i wish it has more maple to it, its that much good flavor)