Cornell & Diehl Black Dawg

I tried this tobacco without knowing what was in it. I am very surprised to find out that it has Perique in it. I'm not a big fan of blends with Latakia in them but usually like them if they have Perique in them too. I usually like C & D blends too. Not the case with this one. To me it has a very strong Black Liquorice flavor to it and that kills it for me! This would be nice for the person that likes liquorice but if your like me and can't stand it don't try this one.

With this combination of leaf, and my love of this particular blender - I had assumed a home run.

Instead, it is just a trot to second base. My sample is a bit dried out (even for C+D), and I think after some moisture another smoke of this may change my mind - but I simply didn't feel an incredible kinship with this blend.

It is far from bad - in fact it is cool, smokey and just a bit sweet and spicy. All good qualities but also fairly bland at points. The end of the bowl does pick up a bit but still seems fairly quiet. Like a good dawg. I think this is the point of an all day smoke - but I'd rather smoke less and get a bit of an "experience". If you are looking for something that equates to an easy cavendish blend with extra thrown in (dare I say, a less confectionary Frog Morton and a more flavorful 965 sort of blend) - try this one out.

Revised 04-13-2005

This just a straight-forward, middle-of-the-road, latakia blend with the syrian doing the driving and the cavendish providing a good base.It is at perfect moisture out of the tin, dark, packs easily, one re-light and enjoy. The Syrian in this blend was not the delicious smoky version that recently was destroyed, but still different than the Cyprian variety. The perique is definitely way in the background and reminds you it is there like a little child peeping through a doorway, which is okay by me. It builds a little strength down the bowl, leaves a grey mottled ash, no dottle, no toungue-bite, just not a bell ringer for this piper.This blend seems to be the base from which Missippi Mud started.

This blend had struck an iterest in me from the first time that I read it's composition. I was a bit cautious about a blend of tobaccos that are usually used to add extreme depth to lighter tobaccos. I was surprised however to fing that black dawg isn't mean, nor does he bite. The flavors of the smoke are chocolate, figs, and the wonderful smokey essence lent by the Syrian latakia. I prefer syrian latakia when avialable, and it's presence was appreciated.

this tobacco really took me by surprise the first time i lit up. there was an unpleasant creosote-like taste on the first few draws that nearly made me dump the bowl. the only thing that prevented it was the other good reviews i had read and the fact that it came from one of my favorite blenders, craig tarler. it got a little better later on, but seemed to burn hot. i put a humidor pouch button in the can and let it set for a couple of days. then i loaded it in my coolest smoking pipe(a striker). still got a touch of the creosote taste, but a big improvement after that. reminded me of a milder version of my favorite C&D tinned blend "bow-legged bear". flavor stayed consistent and burned down to a very nice fine gray ash in the bottom of the bowl with no wasted dottle. this is not a bad blend, but there are others that i like better, which is why i don't plan to keep any on hand. 2 stars, although a 2 1/2 might be more appropriate.