Cornell & Diehl Blockade Runner

This is fun stuff. It comes as a crumble cake, but the rum has bonded the bits of tobacco together in such a way as to not crumble, but peel off in layers so as to create something of a flake. It smells interesting in the tin. Kind of musty, earthy, and faintly of molasses and rum. Mine seemed a bit damp straight from the tin when I broke it up, but it didn't need to sit for more than a few minutes before loading and lighting. Having been smoking a few different "Navy Blends" in the last few weeks I am really enjoying comparing these to each other and getting a better feel for the genre. There are some very similar notes to the VA with rum flavors you get in PS Lux Navy Flake, but the lack of Perique in this blend leaves it a bit more mellow. When compared to McC's Navy Cavendish, it seems darker, fuller, and has a MUCH bigger Nic kick. As for use, I just crumbled some up( go figure), packed it in a pipe which when compared to others in my rack might be considered small, and didn't force the density of the pack. I found that this stuff seems to prefer to be left on the loose side in the bowl, so don't get a crazy with the tamper. Getting it going can take a little work. For me it was light, puff puff, tamp, light, puff puff, light again. After that it was sit back and hold on for the ride. I can't comment on the room note to deeply as I tend to smoke alone, but I found myself thinking of a good double maduro from time to time when I would catch a whiff coming off the bowl. Don't expect it to be rum flavored like an aromatic off the drugstore shelf, but occasionally, there would be something you might discern as rum-like in the back ground. But for the most part it comes across as a melange of virginia leaf. Sometimes sweet, sometimes soft and buttery, and sometimes it fools me into thinking that the tastiest burley in the world is in there.....I don't think there is, but I like the effect. SOme folks have called BR boring , dull, or monochromatic. At the risk of sounding accusatory, I will declare user error! The flavors in this will change drastically depending upon you puffing cadence. I have had a blast through changing my pace and making the tobacco bend to my will. Get it a bit hot and you can snork that warm baking cookie/cupcake that good VAs are known for. Keep it on the cool side and I can find butterscotch or caramel with a hint of hot buttered rum. Somewhere in between I ran into a smooth, soothing note that makes me think of watching the ocean on a damp, gray day. I've been smoking it in two pipes, a Savinelli Milano deLuxe, and WWI era WDC Navajo. Both are smaller straight billiards with moderate bowl thickness and a very light draw. I haven't had any gurgles from BR, and don't have much if any need to swab with pipe cleaners mid smoke on either pipe. Also, this is as bite free a navy blend as I have tried. Just don't let bite free fool you into forgetting the vitamin N content. If you have a low tolerance, have a seat when you smoke this. If you have been wanting to jump into the world of navy smoke, give Blockade Runner a shot, and make sure to buy some other labels as well. Half the fun is in comparing them!

....if there was a 3.75 stars choice, this would get it. I was tempted to go for 4 stars, but I need to delve into more of the Navy genre and possibly rerate in the future.

The above results are mine alone and may not be the same results YOU get.

This review is based on nearly a tin in several different pipes. I found the moisture content to be just about right. I fully rubbed it out and it packs well. I wanted to like this tobacco as I like tobacco's made with rum or cognac. However, it simply tasted very flat to me. Almost boring. I found the rum note to be very subtle. I can see how some folks would enjoy Blockade Runner, but it just isn't for me. I think that there are much better tobacco's out there in this class.

I decided to hold off reviewing this blend until I had smoked more of the tin. Now that almost all of it is gone I feel qualified to give a proper opinon. First off let me say that in the main I really am not a fan of Canvendish tobaccos but this one really opened my eyes to how good cavendish can be. Subtly sweet, mild and flavourful without the mailed fist taste of my preferred english blends. For me this tobacco is a diversion but a welcome one. I found myself taking it along to smoke on a day at the beach and a boat trip I took with friends. It's really a great no-nonsense tobacco that is easy to prepare (if not a little messy), lights well and stays puffing for a good long while. I have a 1923 Frank Tidewater pipe dedicated to this blend and find myself smoking it about 4 times a week. Give it a go and you won't be dissapointed.

Some say it arives too wet, some say it arives too dry. Both are problems that can easily be corrected. Be patient and dry out or humidify. IMHO most aromatics or booz infused blends seem to burn better, taste better, and have minimal tongue bite when smoked on the dryer side, still pliable but not crunchy.

My tin arived with the standard two chunks of crumble cake, perfect moisture and crumbled apart easily. Loaded easily and lit up very easily, in fact it started a little fire on top. I guess some Rum had burned off. Funny thing though, I never got any aromatic scense or flavor of Rum. There was an obvious added flavor of sweetness, but nothing like the tin note implies "soaked in premium Rum for seven days".

All of that being said, This stuff is good ! Nice Virginia flavor with a little something extra. Not overly sweet, very pleasant and approachable. Meaning no tongue bite ! Steady from start to finish and burned nicely to the bottom of the bowl. Not very complex, but tasty from start to finish.

I really like crumble cakes, and from an aesthetic perspective this is one of the nicest I've ever seen. It crumbles easily into your pipe, lights effortlessly and burns steadily while never growing hot. The Vas used are clearly top-notch, and I was pleased with the nicotine hit. But ... The flavoring used on this blend was literally nauseating to me, so much so that I tossed out the tin after four bowls. Others apparently like the taste and aroma, however,so I'm going to recommend this one for those smokers who want to try this style. I have no intention of ever smoking it again, but it's a home run insofar as burning characteristics, presentation, etc. are concerned.

I really like this tobacco but it has some faults, as other reviewers have stated it arrives bone dry. Smoked like this it can burn hot and quick. I found that a few days in the humidor at 70% RH makes this a different smoke. Slower and cooler smoking and not as potent to my throat. Still has a wonderful Rum taste like a good Navy blend and typical C&D quality.

I'm sure that arriving dry gives us more tobacco as opposed to the SG and MacB offerings that are too wet. I urge everone to buy a humidor, at the cost of 5-6 tins of tobacco they keep your tobacco at, in my opinion, the proper moisture level. I have one for my more aromatic blends and one for my "English blends" to keep them from mixing.

Off of that soapbox and back to the tobacco, I like the rich tobacco flavor and as I am a Rum drinker I have found my match for a late night drink and smoke, Blockade Runner, 8 year old Rum and a Wessex bent.....Ahhhh, life is good.

Tin: Two pressed cakes wrapped in paper. Rather than repeat previous descriptions, imagine the appearance of a plug of chewing tobacco such as Days o Work, which is reviewed on this site. Of course, BR is not sticky or gummy like chew. It seemed to be at just the correct moisture level; mine had been shelved for nine months. BR has a sweet rum smell, sans the ethanol, which if I hadn't known it has rum, I would have likened it to a very sweet, fruit aroma, or sweetened dough.

Packing & Lighting: 1/8" layers were pealed off the top and crumbled into medium-sized pieces. This process was as easy or easier than with any other cake. Lit easily with one match.

Top: *smoked outdoors*, nondescript VA taste, the bowl itself a refreshingly sweet cream aroma.

Middle: same, but with gurgle

Bottom: one relight, the bottom being very sweet; a nicotine rush kicking in. A sweet fruit and cream taste, with a spicy effect. The bowl did not get hot at all. Moisture was left in the shank.

Nicotine: strong

Room Aroma: smoky fruit

Overall: The bowl had a quite sweet cream smell, as was the taste at the bottom 1/3 of the smoke. Rather strong nicotine effect; almost could not finish the bowl due to the nicotine rush. The biggest detractor was that the bowl was left very dirty with a coating of char inside the bowl and took a lot of effort to clean my meerschaum. I am not aware of others experiencing this, so, maybe it's me.

I have found subsequent bowls to be disappointing. The sweetness that developed, as the bowl progressed, just wasn't there. The strong nicotine effect remained. Perhaps the rum gunked up my meerschaum, but I've seen this char with subsequent C&D's. After a fews bowls, I am back to a sweet tobacco experience, and it remains heady in nicotine. 4 stars for the first bowl, maybe 2.9 thereafter.

Very nice, intense and clear smell from the rum, when you open the box. As long as you smoke, this smell declines. It causes a pleasant burn in your throat, similar to the BBQ sauce.

Flake with very nice red, brown and black color, it smashes very easily and you can smoke him immediately without drying up. It is not heavy and makes a cool smoking.

At the end of the bowl, there is no unpleasant, bitter flavor, as it happens with other tobaccos. It has a very nice perfume in the room. The first Navy Flake I have ever smoked. Date of packaging: 29/01/2007.

Negative comment: He is more humid than I expected, in the end of the bowl and that is why, I will not give him 4 stars.

Inside the can are two little bricks of tobacco, the smell is a little musty and faintly rum-like but not at all in a cased aromatic way, just like you poured real rum over your tobacco - not "rum essence."

Grab the cutlass and slice off a few bits - go from the top and you are in for hard work, slice "with the grain" and you get, well, very "flakey" flakes. Looks like it's going to be damp but, no, it's just right.

Here's where I went wrong. Put some in a smaller "flake pipe" fairly unrubbed. Smoked nicely but really "becalmed" - this just doesn't steam along like I wanted.

Left in the dock for a while and forgotten about.

Late one night I spy it from afar, slice it and rub it out fully. Fill a big freehand with walls thick enough to withstand any broadside. Ahhh clouds of sweet fragrant smoke, loads of sweetness and flavour, faint rum aroma. This is more like it - a fantastic change from both English and VA blends. Tends to be ashy at the last so beware of those final puffs.

Great, of course, with a dram of your favourite rum.