Cornell & Diehl Bayou Morning Flake

Bayou Morning Flake arrived in a 2oz tin resplendent in the lively label art that I think of as a C&D trademark. Upon opening the can and removing the paper top cover I was greeted by a nice aroma of yeast and caramel. The flakes are presented in a rather chunky, agreeably homespun fashion, cut wide and somewhat broken.

I enjoy flake tobacco so much partly because of the ritual of preparation I indulge in, taking the time to rub out the tobacco, thus enjoying its texture, composition, and fragrance. I found this process difficult here, because the flakes were so thickly cut. I wound up with a lot of one ply pieces about 1/4 inch square that were hard to pack. I will just break it up in the future, without rubbing.

The tobacco took slowly to the match, but once under way released a satisfying rich caramel scented smoke supported by a cool slow burn rate.

It didn?t take long for the perique to dawn on this peaceful scene, beginning at about the second quarter of the bowl of the 1950s Wilke Dublin that did the initial honors. The perique stands in pretty stark contrast against the velvety dark flavor of the pressed virginia, presenting a sharp tangy effect and negating (sad to say) the once lush burnt sugar flavors and aroma. Yet, by the third quarter of the bowl, the taste of this whimsical tobacco had transformed into a powerhouse combination of pepper and blackstrap molasses, similar to the very end of a Dominican Cohiba. A smoky spicy treat!

This is my first foray into the realm of virginia/perique flake. I have not had the advantage of trying regular Bayou Morning, which is supposedly quite different. I am however, a chronic smoker of virginia flake, and would assert that this is equal to any (better than some) in flavor and smokeability, with the added joy that only perique can bring. I can?t help wondering, though, how the beautiful pressed virginia would be standing on its own.

A delicious and full-tasting VaPer. Lovely thick broken flakes in the tin with a delicious fruity aroma. My children love smelling it!
An enjoyable smoke. Lights very well, and almost never needs a relight. Delicious smoke, with a peppery spicy retrohale experience. Vitamin N is on the strong side, which adds to the fulness of the smoke. Certainly one of my favourite pipe tobaccos. In comparison with the gloopy aromatics that fill the Canadian shelves, this is a top quality blend of top quality tobaccos. Not easy to find anymore on this side of the border.
I highly recommend this delightful blend.

Cornell and Diehl know their tobaccos well. A signature C&D Virginia married with a very high-quality strain of Perique make an exquisitly harmonious blend. It's indeed a perfect morning smoke: crisp, light-bodied and producing pretty thin smoke packed nevertheless with enough invigorating Nicotine and surprisingly rich in subtle but very characterful woodsy flavours. That's what I would call The True "Early Morning Pipe". The Dunhill's offering for the early morning had Latakia in it, bringing to the symphony some sleepy bass notes. This one however is all high-pitched trebles, like the bird dawn chorus. A perfect blend to start you day with, highly recommended.

A stout and smooth very satisfying blend ! Has a darkness about it and a nice oily tobacco that burns slow and cool but full flavored. There is No bite at all ! This one will keep you coming back if u like Virginia and heavier perique !! This might be my new favorite C &D - it has the richness of burley flakes with nicotine levels slightly higher than OJK. Fantastic !! The blend is deep and dark , slight pepper and a fermented darkness you only get from perique. It almost feels like a Latakia blend but there is none here! It’s unique and interesting. Definitely a good after dinner smoke or an evening armchair puff! This is a new favorite for me !

Tin note of fermented fruit, Rasin, and spices. The broken flakes are orangish-brown, dark brown and tan. Moisture is ok, may need a little drying. Rubs out with little effort. Burns slow with a few extra relights. The strength is medium and nic is medium. No flavoring detected. Taste is medium to full and mostly consistent, with notes of very bready, very spicy, very woody, tart dark stewed fruit, sweet grass, earthy, leathery, mild vinegar, mild tangy lemon, and a peppery retro. Virginias are leading with perique supporting. Room note is pleasant to tolerable, and aftertaste is great.

This blend is a perique lovers dream. You get all the flavors from perique. That plum raisin chili pepper profile is upfront and the Virginia’s help mellow it out by adding a natural tobacco sweetness that breaks up the spice. I line this one a lot when I need a strong powerful favor. I don’t need to think as this is not a subtle blend just a lot of flavor.

There are VaPers out there, and lots of good ones. But this ? This is an alien. Telegraph Hill is an excellent VaPer, might even be the best, the « king » as some call it. Bayou Morning Flake pets Telegraph Hill’s head whispering « good boy ». Oh you can disagree … But still : I know.

I think I'm in love.

The tin art on this blend is pretty simple and fun and it's definitely something I would pick up based on design alone. When you open the tin you get a wonderful aroma of hay, baked bread, figgyness, some sort of matured cheese, with a background Virginia sweetness. There is a stack of fairly crumbling flakes in the tin that very easily rub out to your preference. I find no problem with lighting and keeping it lit. It takes an average amount of relights in that respect.

The taste is incredible. After lighting up I taste some beautiful dark fruits and plummyness from the Perique. It's spicy but not in any way overpowering. At 25% I wouldn't expect this kind of smoothness from Perique and maybe the process of making it a flake has something to do with that. The Virginias in this blend are Red, and they offer a lot of baked bread, softness, wood, and sweetness.

The taste is medium, it's not so complex that I can't do anything while smoking, but it's not too simple that I loose interest. The strength has the potential to be strong with the Perique content, but I find it a happy medium. The room note won't win any friends. I think I have found my new all day blend. I even went so far as to buy the 8oz tin of the stuff and I can't foresee that it will last long. I give this blend a solid 4 stars. It has everything I'm looking for in a VaPer: fruit, plum, bread and spice.