Cornell & Diehl Blockade Runner

I love rum. Ever since I had 18 year old Cuban Rum in Mexico I can't get enough of it along with well made sipping Tequila. Something about the innate smoothness, the caramel, toffee, and spice that makes me think of fond memories. Mind you. I never set foot on a beach when I was there, but rather sat at the local bars, went on the town, and tried to get a wholesome experience. So the idea of a VA cake that has been pressed with rum sounded right up my alley.

The tin is fun, with a steamboat alluding to all the boats that would anchor off in international waters during the years of prohibition. When you open up the first time the cake has yellow/brownish tinge, but after 2 years that changes to a brown/red. The tin note smells of raisins, oats, citrus and hay with some rummy sweetness as an undercurrent. It's easy to rub out and pack. It has some wetness, but not enough to need serious dry time. It takes to a light pretty well.

Right off the bat, I taste lovely bakery/bread notes. There is a well matured sweetness that hangs on to the citrus notes of the bright Virginias. The hay doesn't come through on taste as much as it does on smell. Plenty of dark fruit and a mild oatiness coming from the Red Virginias. This isn't a blend that will walk up and slap you with RUM. I can barely taste it until I puff very slowly. When I do the spice and sweetness of the rum marries perfectly with the other tobaccos. It doesn't want to dominate.

The taste is a medium. Slow puffing will be rewarded. Lady N wants to take a backseat. I find the strength a mild-medium. This blend on a hot day, with a cold drink is what dreams are made of. I find this really enjoyable, but it's not an everyday sort of blend for me, I typically smoke it when I have time to relax. I give this four stars. It does what it says it will and its really enjoyable.

Cornell & Diehl - Blockade Runner

A mottled virginia crumble cake, more earthy in overall flavor.  Not much treble in the flavor profile, the treble there is is played by some hay, bready in the middle and almost some dark chocolate at the bass end.  And then there's the rum, a darker sort of rum flavor that adds some raisiny and spice, and holds throughout most of the bowl.  The tobacco is generally the more dominant flavor, though sometimes they're neck and neck. It can be a bit rough around the edges, a quality that I enjoy.  No bite, respectable nicotine power. Three and a half stars.

I opened the fresh tin and was greeted with the aroma of rum and the tobacco. A pungent tin note that was not anticipated but not bad.

Appearance is a cake. I just used my fingers to break off enough for a bowl. Packed well. Not dry and not overly moist. It required two relights.

I found this tobacco to be unlike any other tobacco with a rum additive. Excellent flavor. Not overly strong in nicotine but it scratched the itch well.

This one is going into my regular rotation and I highly recommend it if you are a fancier of tobacco with a rum flavor.

Well done, C&D!

Pipestuds review really summarizes mine. This tobacco was in my cellar since 07 and I was expecting something more austere! This blend is not what I imagined it would be. With the imagery on the tin I envisioned a nice full Virginia tobacco with a lot of body and strength. Instead I got a mediocre uneventful VA with hardly any punch and not much to offer flavor wise. It presented well out of the tin. A nice dark cake and a sweet aroma. This tabac rubbed out decent and lit and burned okay but lacked the sophistication and depth I was hoping for. Certainly not a horrible tobacco but not noteworthy. I most likely will not purchase another tin.

Arrived very dry and very crumbly. I broke a corner off and rubbed it out and stuffed it into my MM Great Dane. I should've known by the black dust on my fingers after rubbing it out that something was wrong. It was like smoking something soaked in Tabasco. Just plain nasty. I will try and rehydrate it a bit with some Pussers Navy Rum and see if that helps. It sure as hell couldn't get much worse. First CD offering I have genuinely disliked.

Recently, my B&M had runout of BR and awaited for my tin to arrive. A week or two later, it awaited me on their shelf and promptly took this blend home. Initially, BR was my first "krumble kake" and lay rather moist in it's tin. After a good rub and a short spell drying on my desk, it lay ready for savoring.

BR starts with a heavy kick of the classic aged Virginia aroma similar to McClelland's own Navy Cavendish, yet without the acidic aroma. BR greeted this eager smoker with a heavy alcohol smell, and of dark, muted cavendish. The kake's top had removed a portion of itself (mutiny?) and begged to get rubbed into pieces. As it dries, the smell becomes of the typical Navy blend with less spicy Periques to savor.

Initial lighting yields a nice, smooth cavendish sweetness that tells of mellowed Virginias and a hearty flavor profile. The kick of Vitamin N can dizzy some, but smoke this easy for the Virginia is rather unforgiving in bite. The smell according to girlfriends and passerby as "nice" or "mmm...that's good". Burns slightly hot, but with some care it is definitely sure to please.

i did not like this at all. it tasted like whisky from hell mixed with the worst cavendish i hated it every time i had it. that taste was just putrid and it made me and my dad fell sick and we have never felt this in all of the tobaccos we have smoked. i dint like it but to each its own

I've smoked a couple of tins and have decided that I like this tobacco very much. It's not an all day(or even every day)smoke for me, but I visit it on a regular basis. The rum is evident in the can aroma, but I can't really taste it in the pipe.

I would describe the flavor as full virginia, sweet, dark and concentrated, and high in nicotine. I like fooling with plugs and crumble cakes when i'm at home, but not during the day, so this is a recliner/feet kicked up before I go to bed smoke. I alwasy try to have a little beverage with it so the vitiman n doesn't get me started hickuping. I will always have a can around to smoke when the mood strikes.

Blockade runner, Comes in a crumble cake form. When starting a fresh tin, I do the crumbling outside to minimize the mess. There is some dust, so I smoke this stuff in a filtered cob or a Dr. Grabow (1/2 a filter does the job) Smoking this while active is a waste, this is a recliner smoke to be savored, and what a smoke it is. Burns great, has just the right amount of Nic. and has a flavor profile that leads the pack in its genre. This is no small admission, coming from a guy that prefers burleys. If VA's are your thing, this blend is a must try. 4 stars My personal raing 3/5