Cornell & Diehl Autumn Evening

It's interesting to read the extremely positive reviews of this blend. It makes me wonder if somehow I managed to end up with a bad tin, as what I received was rather dry, crumbly and somewhat harsh to smoke. Truthfully, the tin note smells like maple syrup slogged onto damp cardboard.

Once lit, I get decent mild tobacco flavor and yes, the room note is nice. No tricks here, the maple comes out as the primary top note flavor. The first portion of the bowl is enjoyable, but further down the flavor becomes papery and has a tendency to bitter.

Altogether Autumn Evening is an okay smoke. I do appreciate the effort that goes into producing it, especially considering the fact that Cornell & Diehl makes the Red Virginia Cavendish in house. However, this blend isn't for me.

Imagine walking into an IHOP at 3 AM and being seated in the smoking section. There's nobody else around, but a heavy odor of stale tobacco lingers in the air as you tuck into a Pancake Platter. If this is your idea of paradise, then Autumn Evening is the blend for you.

The quest for a good aromatic continues -- I still haven't found anything to beat Pipeworks & Wilke. Autumn Evening is perfectly good tobacco, no nasty PG or anything like that, and it's smooth as butter. But I found it nauseating. There's a certain indefinable unpleasantness to it, deriving perhaps from the slightly cloying sweetness plus the Log Cabin flavoring (I love maple syrup and maple sugar candy, having grown up in New England, but this taste is more reminiscent of maple- flavored breakfast cereal). Two stars for the basic quality of the leaf, but think twice about buying this stuff if, like me, you're an English/Balkan guy looking for something you can smoke around the house.

I bought and tried this blend prior to 2010. My tastes have changed since then, but here is what I remember:

Tin note: "My Dear, are you making pancakes for dinner?" Big on the Maple. Zero tobacco essence.

Room note: "Honey? I'm making chicken for dinner. Are you eating pancakes in the living room?" Burning syrup.

Smoking: "yummy! Wow maple!" That was the first half of each bowl I tried. The second: "Dear God, why I am sucking ash up the stem?"

Summary: smells great, tastes great for the first 10-15 puffs, then hot air and disappointment. Unless you are a syrup junkie, give it a pass. 1 1/2 stars. (Will rate 2 just for tin/ room notes.)

I received a 1 ounce sample of this with a recent purchase of a Peterson pipe and some favorite tinned tobaccos from Smokingpipes.com. I have read reviews on this but never had the desire to try some, so this sample was a way for me to do so. The small sample had a very maple/buttery smell from the zip lock bag which was very enticing. Its appearance was mostly a darker brown with some black and came as a riff cut to my eyes. Loading and lighting was easy and the maple flavoring was very nice. I did not, however, find this flavoring to be so over the top as many previous reviewers have noted and complained about. For me it was never that strong and although present, always remained in the background. It did have a tendency to nip at the tongue a bit, even with slow puffing. I found the pronounced taste of PG in the mix - not much, but enough to be off-putting for me. It maintained its flavor profile for the most part, but by the lower third it became ashy. It smoked harsh on the throat for me and it did have a fairly noticeable nic presence. The room note was that of cigarettes and tolerable at best. I appreciated the sample, and although not a bad tobacco, not one suited for my personal tastes which would rate 3 stars; however, my personal rating is 2 stars.

What an unexpected disappointment for me! I found the maple casing extremely cloying - to the point of being nauseating. And that was not the only negative ...

One day I was enjoying a bowlful in my private library when a non-smoking colleague (who loves the smell of most aromatic pipe tobaccos) peeked inside and asked in an alarming tone, "Have you started smoking cigarettes again?" Autumn Evening has been the only aromatic tobacco to have ever triggered this reaction - and I have smoked dozens of different aromatics.

My experience leaves me with no choice but to agree with another reviewer that the room note is of pancakes and stale cigarette smoke. The concept reminds me of covering up pre-existing body odour with strong deodorant. It makes distinguished noses reel.

Interestingly, many smokers and ex-smokers find the room note pleasant. I suspect they are not sensitive to the smell of cigarette type smoke and observe mainly the strong maple aroma. I have had no such luck with non-smokers.

The cloying casing and vulgar room note push me in the direction of a one star rating but I'll add another star for the good quality tobacco leaf used.

This somewhat harsh review is not meant to put fellow pipers off this popular blend. I have merely attempted to succinctly describe my personal experience. By all means try Autumn Evening for yourself, if you haven't already. Your mileage may vary.

This tobacco is of medium flavor and smokes easily with no unpleasant after effects. It undoubtedly has and will provide many more relaxing autumn evenings for smokers. The low star rating is based only on subjective preferences and should not discourage anyone who is so inclined towards the flavors associated with the "hotcakes" served at McD's (or the like) from smoking CD's AE. To its credit the flavor of the smoke is consistent with the pouch aroma which smells overwhelmingly of margarine. Perhaps this is what is advertised and understood to be the vanilla flavor, in which case it is of the artificial variety. Again, the smell and flavor are consistent, so if you have a chance you will want to take a whiff of the tobacco before purchasing. Mine was a free sample as part of a pipe and accessories purchase and it is not a flavor I would have chosen on my own. Very subjective of course, but AE was not too sweet or too much nicotine for me, prefer more of both, the artificial margarine (vanilla?) flavor is what was disagreeable. There are tobaccos that I don't care for but still return to from time to time but this particular CD offering will not receive any future invitations.

Vendor: Smokingpipes.com; Time between purchase and opening: 1 day; Storage: sample ziplock; Pipe: Dr. Plumb bent brandy with 9mm charcoal filter; Environment: Tropical outdoors, hot rainy season - definitely not an evening in the autumn.

The initial smell of the tin is almost intoxicating. The smell of maple syrup overtakes all others, including the tobacco smell. However the aroma doesn't do well to translate into flavor. The tobacco itself has a tendency to burn hot and only slightly uneven. It's great to smoke around others though.

I wanted to like this one so badly. The idea of a tasty Virginia that pleases the crowd is a win/win, right? There are so many positive qualities that I have discovered in this blend, and very few negative ones. The Red Virginia cavendish is the same base for Kajun Kake, but it behaves much differently and is milder in strength here. There are some nice bread like toasty notes that are pleasing. This blend is neither sticky to the touch nor goopy in the heel. It smokes surprisingly dry for the number of toppings applied. Certainly no PG here though. Given that a singular leaf is used, the depth of the tobacco flavor is not there. It is fairly one dimensional. The toppings and casing do not overwhelm the tobacco and is a nice balanced enhancement. Mild nuances of vanilla and maple are evident in the sidestream and room note. At the end of the day this is not for me, but given it’s status as C&Ds number one seller, all should give this a chance. Again, I reiterate, there was nothing objectionable about this tobacco at all, it just won’t find its way into my rotation.

Its very sugary. It smokes fast. Has some potential to bite. The problem, I find, is it's artificial. It's Aunt Jemima's not maple syrup. It has an artificial quality to it, a PG like butteriness. There are lots of brown sugar notes. Not much tobacco taste. The red virginias bring some zing and a bit of depth, but it's still unequivocally in the shallow end of the proverbial pool. There is some body to the smoke. It's very, very sweet and the room note is tops. Probably the best room note there is; nobody is going to complain about the smell. I get why it's popular, but I'm not really impressed by it. The taste is good, but not great. It can bite. I'd wager it'll give you popcorn lung if inhaled and smoked repeatedly. 2.5 stars. Kinda overrated, but if you're an aromatic lover give it a go. Good bulk price. They should change the name from Autumn Evening to Cornell & Diehl Milling Company.