Cornell & Diehl Blockade Runner

(2.85)
C&D's true Navy cavendish crumble cake is made with hand stoved red Virginia and golden Virginia, soaked in a premium rum for seven days, then lightly stoved again, pressed and cut. The seven days are the time it took our seagoing forefathers to sail back to New England from the Islands with the tobacco in their casks soaked with rum. The ship on the label is the Advance, the South's most successful blockade runner.

Details

Brand Cornell & Diehl
Blended By Craig Tarler
Manufactured By Cornell & Diehl
Blend Type Straight Virginia
Contents Virginia
Flavoring Rum
Cut Krumble Kake
Packaging 2 ounce tin, 8 ounce tin
Country United States
Production Currently available

Profile

Strength
Medium
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Extremely Mild -> Overwhelming
Flavoring
Medium
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
None Detected -> Extra Strong
Room Note
Pleasant to Tolerable
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Unnoticeable -> Overwhelming
Taste
Medium
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Extremely Mild (Flat) -> Overwhelming

Average Rating

2.85 / 4
16

39

13

7

Reviews

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Displaying 21 - 30 of 75 Reviews
Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Dec 01, 2004 Medium Medium Medium Pleasant
A friend sent me an opened tin to sample.

In apperance, a small brick of medium colored tobacco. When torn apart, it falls into a short cut, almost granulated. This is typical of C & D pressed tobaccos, as is the quite dry stateiin which it arrived.

The aroma was predominantly RUM, with undertones of RUM. I couldn't smell the tobacco.

Packing and lighting were fairly easy, no surprises here.

The initial flavor was still mostly the rum, with some hint of Virginia leaf. Way too much rum for me. Deja Vu all over again, I had the same reaction to Pennington Gap.

The blend did not show much development through the middle of the bowl, only gaining in tobacco flavor toward the end.It was fairly cool (when puffed slowly) and smoked dry, leaving a nice gray ash.

In summary, I have to consider it an aromatic. Quite high in quality, but still an aromatic. Now for the bad news: it showed a remarkable tendency to grow mold. This must be due to the rum, as I have not noticed this in other pressed blend from C & D.
3 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Apr 14, 2021 Mild to Medium Mild Medium Pleasant to Tolerable
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.
Pipe Used: Kaywoodie Birkshire Large Billiard
PurchasedFrom: Smokingpipes.com
Age When Smoked: 2 years
2 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jul 26, 2017 Medium Mild to Medium Medium Tolerable
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.

2 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Mar 19, 2015 Medium Mild to Medium Medium Pleasant to Tolerable
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!
Pipe Used: Rossi
PurchasedFrom: Pipes Ltd.
Age When Smoked: new
2 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Dec 14, 2013 Medium Very Mild Mild Tolerable
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.
Age When Smoked: About 6 years old
2 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Aug 23, 2013 Medium to Strong Medium Overwhelming Very Strong
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.
2 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Dec 01, 2012 Strong Medium Medium to Full Pleasant to Tolerable
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.
2 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Nov 15, 2011 Medium Mild to Medium Medium to Full Pleasant to Tolerable
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
2 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jun 17, 2011 Strong None Detected Full Tolerable to Strong
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.
2 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Dec 10, 2010 Mild to Medium None Detected Medium to Full Pleasant
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
2 people found this review helpful.
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