Cornell & Diehl Blockade Runner

I would have to agree with others that Blockade Runner is nothing like MacBaren's Navy Flake (whis is largely burley) and not that similar to McClelland's Navy Cavendish either. For one thing, C&D's Krumble Kakes are dry, and once rubbed out, are quite a different smoking experience. Plus, I find the tastes quite different. Makes one wonder in these days of market-niche awareness, "just what is a 'Navy Cavendish' anyway?" Va+rum, I guess.

The color is fairly dark for "red and golden virginias", indicating a significant stoving has taken place. The tin aroma is somewhat off-putting IMO. To me it has little of what one might call a signature virginia nose. Not what I note as a classic rum odor either. Rather, the melange smells like... well... burnt rubber. Not real strong, but not real pleasant either IMO.

Fortunately, the flavor does NOT resemble the tin aroma. While this may be an aromatic, it is not noticably sweetened beyond the natural sugars the virginias provide. C&D often does a good job on "dry" (vs. sweet) aromatics. Initially (first third of bowl), I have a hard time identifying the rum in the flavor. Early on, the taste is kind of a dryed-out virginia flavor, nothing prize-winning. There is a bit of a slightly bitter bite, which may be due to the rum topping volatilizing as the tobacco heats. As the bowl progresses, the flavor increases considerably. Still not sure that I taste rum, though the sweetness is much more evident. The flavors are in the low range- no tanginess of virginias here.

The pulverized nature of the rubbed-out kake makes for a potentially very hot smoke, so a bit of care is in order. Even though I use a cadence that would keep a partially rubbed-out flake smoldering- my preferred virginia technique- BR still burns like a house-a-fire towards the second half of the bowl, producing billows of smoke. However, though the pipe warms right up, I have not experienced the expected bite.Yay! Because of the rapid combustion rate, a bowl of BR burns pretty rapidly. The nicotine is noticible as well, probably accentuated by the rapid burn, but not over the top. The finish comes rapidly without any nasty ashy, bitter flavor. I am often surprised that it is over already.

I classify this as an atypical virginia offering, but certainly enjoyable on an occasional basis when I am looking for a change of pace.

The above reviews do this tobacco justice, just a couple of notes for those of you who enjoy Navy Flakes. This tobacco is nothing like MacBaren Navy Flake. Since Macbaren was my first exposure to Navy, I wanted to try some others. Blockade runner is very good, but not the same type of product. I think of it as a good aged Virginia with a little sweetness and no bite. The flavors are deep, not bright. It is a good rainy day smoke. Also, the ash is the finest I have encountered in any blend, which would lend itself to building cake quickly.

Pouch Aroma: Dry and grassy with a light sweetness.

Appearance: 70% medium brown, 20% light yellow-gold, 10% dark brown and black. I like my tobacco on the dry side, but this arrived almost crumbly. It's so finely broken that I fear a hot and dusty smoke unless I take much extra care. It appears to be mostly VA with perhaps a touch of Turkish, all in small broken-up flakes with a considerable amount of dust in the bottom.

Between the cut, the dryness and the pouch aroma, this tobacco just screams "Cornell and Diehl".

Packing and Lighting: I decided to pack this into an old 1967 Dunhill pot - it's the best-caked pipe in my collection and always smokes dry and cool to the bottom of the bowl. The packing went easily enough, and the match raised quite a crown as the bowl lit. The first puffs are very creamy and mild with very little sugary sweetness, and a quick tamp and relight has a coal well-laid and smoldering nicely.

Exposition: Although a bit milder than I prefer first thing in the morning, it's quite a tasty smoke. The smoke is very smooth and creamy on the palate with mildly spicy undertones and a room aroma that reminds me of . . . pancakes. No really, I'm not kidding.

Once I've smoked it down a bit I'm sensing a bit of nicotine kicking in while the flavor is deepening and losing some of its sweetness. It's a bit light for me right now as I've been smoking much heavier tobaccos than usual lately, but that's no fault of either tobacco or blender.

The Story: Approaching the halfway mark, I'm picking up an interesting sourish note which complements the remaining sweetness, and I can feel the tingle of nicotine on my upper palate. The creaminess is still there in force, and the room aroma hasn't changed. This is a nice, no-nonsense tobacco that doesn't smell offensive and smokes well and easily while remaining quite satisfying for such a mild tobacco.

I am finding it a bit difficult to smoke slowly enough to avoid condensation, but there's been not a hint of bite or burn yet. Next time I'll add just a touch of moisture and see what that does to the burning properties. This looks like it's going to be a two-cleaner smoke thus far.

Denouement: A rest and a relight have done nothing but good for the flavor of this tobacco, adding extra fullness and a small amount of sharpness that makes for a nice, spicy finish. This quality stayed until I was down to ash before I realized it.

Pros: Good flavor and burning properties, nice room aroma and it left a very clean smell in my pipe. It smoked surprisingly cool considering its cut and low level of moisture.

Cons: I had a bit of trouble with condensation but I think that was mostly my fault for puffing too fast. I think I was compensating for the lightness of the smoke since this is the first non-Gawith, Hoggarth & Co tobacco I've smoked in two weeks and I got quite used to their body and richness. I doubt I'd buy this again as I have better tobaccos of this type around, but it was a pleasant experience and a nice change for me.

I should note that when I first got this blend, I found it a bit harsh on the nose. After a few months sitting in a canning jar it dramatically changed how the blend smoked and curbed some of the things I didn't like about my initial experience. So this review will focus on how the tobacco tastes now, after it's set a spell instead of how it tasted right out of the tin.

If you would have told me when I first started smoking a pipe that the things I didn't like about boutique blends would be what I found most enjoyable about them I would have called you crazy. When I started, the point of pipe tobacco for me was to have the most comfortable and relaxing smoke possible, which I found in milder codger and OTC blends that generally used a lot of white burley. If you would have handed me Blockade Runner when I was fresh into pipe smoking, I would have probably hated it or at best not gotten it. You could have told me it was using higher quality leaf all day and I still wouldn't have been able to appreciate it simply because my taste for it hadn't been developed yet. Now, I'm tasting that finer leaf and finding it to be extremely pleasant and nuanced, whereas before I would have likely thought it too strong and possibly even found it off-putting.

Smoke this not that! Bellowing clouds of Virginia leaf burn carefully and dry with only a hint of rum that lingers in the tin. Puff gently as you dream of clipper ships sailing from your lounge. Nicely packed cakes await you to sail on..

Somehow I feel Blockade Runner is best described by the picture on its tin. A primordial, vintage Navy crumble VA cake that tastes a bit like it smells from the tin. Strong, spicy and slightly piquant tobaccos are supported by a rum casing, never feeling perfumed or actually flavored. Taste and smell remind me of an old coal oven (not that I ever tasted one), with the slightest of malty sweetness in the background. I find it exceptionally smooth and pleasing in the second half of the bowl, but also a bit too much in very large bowls.

Smokes well when dried out a bit. A unique blend that I like best in a small corn cob with an old b/w movie or book. Not a regular for me, but good and recommended nonetheless, especially if you are into vintage stuff.

I liked this better than I thought I would. A couple of reviewers whom I respect did not seem to like it that much. The cake is a little hard and you dirty your fingers quite a bit packing it. However, it had a nice light rum topping and a decent amount of nicotine. It reminded me of GLP Navigator. Oh, if they had a 5 star rating, it would be three. I struggled between 2 and 3. But the last 3 bowls were so good, I'm going with 3.

I've smoked Blocked Runner off and on for about three years and was initially attracted by its old school qualities of a straight tobacco like what was probably widely available in America during the 19th century. I'm reminded of a civil war historical placard I read in Raymond, Mississippi, near Jackson, that told of a Union soldier's account of seeing one of his officers firing his revolver in the heat of battle until spent, stopping to load not his weapon, but a meerschaum with tobacco, followed by his weapon and then, nonchalantly, resuming fire on the Southerners lining 14 Mile Creek. If he didn't load a latakia blend then I'm sure it was something similar to Blockade Runner. By itself, this can be a bit harsh for my taste, although I recently struck upon a self-made blend that I'm very excited about. I take one disk of Escudo rubbed out fully, one half teaspoon of Prince Albert and one to 1 1/2 tablespoons of Blockade Runner, mix and stuff in a pipe. The blend can be on the sweet side like a good VA with a bit of zip from the Escudo and mellowed with the addition of burley. As I mentioned, Blockade Runner by itself can be harsh, but the best qualities of its old time cavendish nature are brought out by this blend. I love its toned down flavor, old school quality tobacco aroma and the sweetness that seems to compliment the VA/Perique of the Escudo. Lots of folks say they can smell and taste the Rum, but I'm not one of them. I think what they are smelling and tasting is the cavenish process used to make this tobacco which is a good thing in my book. The rum residue may add to the sweetness, but for the life of me, I can't taste a bit of rum and I'm a rum drinker too-- Pussers, thank you very much, so I know what rum tastes like. Give this tobacco a shot and if you don't like it by itself then try my blend or experiment with your own-- it's one of the great things about our hobby.

Update: forget the Prince Albert and use Pipeworks and Wilke Nut Brown Burley instead. A huge step up in burley quality!!

Wowwie that is one powerful smoke! I am not shy with having my daily intake of vitamin N, however I found this blend to be full, strong, and hearty. Surprising for an all virginia blend. After about five bowls I decided I needed to smooth it out and water it down a bit by mixing two parts blockade runner with one part of a cavendish blend from my local tobacconist. I was impressed with the form of the cake when I opened the tin as it was a perfect block. I asked my wife if she wanted to take a bite of the new tobacco brownie I bought; she did not find my humor amusing. Right out of the tin Blockade Runner has a smooth rum smell to it (more Myers Dark than light Bacardi), not acrid and alcohol smelling like some other liquor blends I have had. The taste matches the aroma, smooth and full- not burny and thin. Good moisture, lights just right, and keeps on burning. My only complaint and reason for not wanting to buy this product again is that I found it to be too strong and full for my taste. I have been smoking this blend out on my porch in the evening, and several folks out walking have commented on how nice it smells, so I figure the roomnote is an "A". I will certainly try more cornell diehl products, as I was impressed by the quality of tobacco and that the company actually gave what is promised by the labeling on the tin.