Cornell & Diehl Mississippi Mud

Another one of the new blends that came in at the shop.

This one was a bit more in my wheelhouse. Dark chocolate ribbons with some huge pieces mixed in. Earthy, leather, spice and dark fruity sweetness. It is a good straightforward English blend that is cav based. It packs, lights and smokes well. Has a nice solid nic content to it as well. It comes on strong in the beginning and settles in around the halfway mark in a group 3 pipe. Needs a few relights, but most do. Smokes clean and dry, with a nice sweet after taste.

I’m not sure if it was the change in weather that made this shine, but I don’t think so. It’s a good simple English that I smoked the life out of. I killed a tin in two days and will be buying more for future enjoyment.

"SIIIIIMMMMBAAAAAAH!!!!"

(I have no idea what that means, but that's how it feels).

Another no horsesh*t, straight to the big-boy parlor blend for Mr. Tarler. These full-on dark blends are not for the "keep my $700 freehand polished like a billiard ball, no, don't touch it, don't even look at my pipe!" crowd, nor the "uncomplicated means unsophisticated" group.

Yeah, there's a little of this, and a little of that here, but it's pretty much one big, toasty POW!

That is my word for The Mud, "Toasty". It tastes toasty. The tin note has a lot of wang from the Perique, almost offputting. There are some bitters that cut through in the taste, not sure where from, perhaps from Lord Cavendish? Those bitters are what keeps The Mud from having any rounding to the taste.

The heavy Latakia-bomb blends that I like are all "smokey". The Mud is toasty. The L-bomb blends manage to have a small roundness in places. Not with The Mud - it's just a straight drive to Toasty Town.

Strong tobacco, proceed with caution.

For me, Cap'n Earle's Ten Russians is the dark blend constant. But having The Mud in the rotation, as a reliever, is a nice change of pace. It's exciting.

This blend is one that can only be appreciated by the smoker. The room note is strong enough to scare my kids into doing chores. The blend has a nice tin note of fermented fruit and smoky wood, but that is not the smell that comes out of the pipe. I like the cut, it is very fine and almost coffee ground in consistency. It provides a very cool smoke that lasts and lasts. It would be good cake builder in a new pipe as long as you like large amounts of Latakia and Perique. The black Cavendish is second to none, it is not the usual heavily topped weed, but more a rich undertone that balances the Latakia masterfully. This blend is an experience any lover of Latakia and Perique should try.

Being the end of the year, I decided to open up a tin that I have had since around 2004. 13 years, how time flies. It has a strong earthy smell and is jet black with specks of brown. Upon lighting up I can definitely detect the perique which seems to me to be the strongest taste of the tobacco. Smokes cool and tastes one dimensional which is not a bad thing. I have another tin dated 2009 that I will save for a rainy day.

"Someday, you will smoke latakias." - Benjamin Franklin

"Huh-uh, not this cowboy", I confidently said to myself while puffing some mild Virginias. Well, further down Tobacco Road, here I am, a bald-faced liar, desperately searching for my perfect latakia blend. Mississippi Mud has a lot to admire. Excellent latakia smokiness, sweetness, and the voodoo that perique do so well. Another plus is the tons of smoke it produces. (I lost my children momentarily while my head was encased in a dense fog of latakia and perique heavenlyness;Is that a word?.) It has been a bit of a pain to keep lit, but honestly, I never bother to dry it out. Definitely worth a try!

This mixture is ​​quite unique to me, strange and familiar at the same time.

The opening of the tin is like one of those tricky riddles that make us smile when we realize the deception. Because when you uncover it and keep it at a short distance, the first thing that appears is the smell of ferment from the perique. If you asked me at that time about its composition, I would say that it is a va / per and yet, when introducing the nose in the tin, the smoky of the Latakia becomes very evident and predominant. At this point and to the same question I would answer that it is an English mixture.

After lighting the pipe and taking the first puffs, one discovers with surprise (in case he does not know its composition previously), that it is not one thing or the other, but that it is a different type of mixture. The absence of sweetness as it lacks virginias and orientals is striking, as is the slight salty aftertaste in the background. In general, Latakia smoky predominates, but depending on the puff you can notice more or less the fruity of the perique and often the two in conjunction. Provides a pleasant, relaxing and thoughtful smoke.

The humidity is correct to be able to load the tobacco and smoke it directly with very few re-ignitions and at the same time so that it can be kept well preserved until the tin is finished. However, a downside is that it often leaves more moisture in the pipe than average tobaccos, even when the tin is running out.

In my particular case, I like latakiado more with the addition of virginia and oriental, but this does not mean that I miss them when smoking Mississippi Mud because then it would stop being what it is: a different mixture. For this same reason I would recommend trying it and from there, you may discard it or it may stay with you. That already depends on the tastes of each one.

One tin gone, now review. Going to be quite technical, as all I see in earlier reviews is a lot of blahblah about sun setting, old school years, blues music... whatt? Anyway. Opened a two years tin, and found it a bit too moisty for that age, but C&D knows how to do it. Both Latakia and earthy at the nose, not enough perique to be smelled, nice fluffy cut on the fingers, black and "masculine" (as the label goes) at sight. Super easy to pack and light, will only need one relight in a small danish bowl. After lit, Latakia is over all, but mild and soft, even softer than the softest latakia/virginia blends. Before mid bowl the interplay with cavendish and burley makes its sense: they never really come forward, rather stay in the background for a mellow and round smoke, always creamy and consistent. No bite, good nicotine punch. Evolution comes in after mid bowl, that is when you feel perique, both in the nose and on the tongue. Slowly, latakia disappears and leaves just a hint that will still diminuish towards the end. I must admit that... I can't understand what is perique for in here.... oh well, a nice substitution for the missing virginia zest but.. is it really worth it? Can't go to four stars for this "pineapple on pizza" adjoint (yes I am italian and NO, you don't put pineapple on pizza!). Excellent blend anyway, loveable and manageable. Maybe I need some Louisiana blues to better grasp it...

"Voodoo Magic, Mon."

With the claims of sense altering potency and mysteriously flavorful ingredients, this was a must try for me.

Within the black, finely cut ribbons I found at first - a deceivingly cool, easy and sweet smoke. Then the earthy flavors and strength build. The nicotine, while not overwhelming, seems to augment the strangely sweet and spicey tastes of this blend.

The description claims it is a flavor unlike any other. I concur. A comparision to Nightcap is inevitable. It does not seem to have *quite* the astringency and nuttiness of Nightcap but it also loses that bitterness that Nightcap seems to always produce. It also seems to dull the palate less than Nightcap.

The cavendish and latakia are oddly at home with the perique. Which I have not yet found to become at all unpleasant through out the smoke. A bowl lasted me nearly two hours. Smoke it slow and even; it is rewarding.

This is certainly a special occasion tobacco. It is rich like liquor soaked chocolate. The can I have just sampled is fresh, with only about two weeks "breathing" time. I have two more cans stowed away. I can only imagine the depth and potency will increase with age.

I see dead people. Not normally, mind you, only when I smoke Mississippi Mud. This is sense-altering with questionable legality.

Never having dredged up a handful of sediment from the Mighty Mississippi, Craig Tarler has probably duplicated the experience analogously with his latest tobacco offering. I imagine now what that must be like, especially toward its delta in Perique country.

Opening the standard, round, resealable tin in which Cornell & Diehl packages its premium products, MM looks like Danish Black Cavendish.

The tin aroma says that the similarity ends there, for the short, black course cut is about Latakia. There is not a hint of sweetness.

MM is no glucose fix upon lighting, either. Instead, the Latakia and copious Perique take turns smacking you upside the brow.

Forget the first third, second third and final third tasting notes. MM starts where others end, then going what seems impossibly deeper.

It turned the smallish group 4 billiard used into a Refinery's chimneystack. Forget migration of flavor. This is excavation, down beyond Earth's crust.

MM is much like a dark, Cuban cigar, minus the spiciness such a stogie would profile. Adding a touch of Burley to MM might end the need to smuggle Castro's contraband.

MM barely requires more than a charring light if allowed to dry a bit prior to packing (which is quite easy, too). No re-lights required.

Mega-flavored and plumes a plenty, this is very strong, cool and dry smoking. It burns to a white ash. Try MM in a small pipe before you load your Maxima Maxima.

MM is along the lines of Dunhill's Nightcap, but making NC seem sweet and medium-bodied.

Perhaps try sprinkling MM in an English or Balkan blend needing stouter legs, or possibly spice your favorite Virginia blend.

MM is fine quality and should please many a pipster left with an occluded palate after heavy piping.