Cornell & Diehl Bow-Legged Bear

I highly recommend if you are an english and burley lover that you try this blend at least once--I have yet to experience a blend as richly nutty (in every sense of the word--the association of "nutty" and "burley" came through for me here) and unique as The Bear. While other reviewers might warn us of the towering nicotine inferno this blend can deliver, it surprisingly did not knock me to the ground (probably because I am accustomed to smoking stronger blends), but it was stronger than most tobaccos I have smoked. Hmm, I do recollect, however, that when a colleague of mine and I packed The Bear up to the top in our biggest pipes for our first taste. . . one of us didn't make it (but at least we were outside). This was still not enough to keep either of us away, and we both enjoy The Bear's company often (who thankfully has a sense of humor). If you want a unique, full strength, nutty, chocolaty/coffee tasting blend with character and enjoy some blends with a little strength, do buy a tin and sit down with The Bear yourself--he won't bite, I promise.

Bow Legged Bear is a tobacco I have wanted to try for months. After reading the reviews about the legendary strength of this Bear, I wanted to see if I could handle it. I can. The strength makes my skin tingle. I love the Bear. It comes in large plugs, that remind me of plug chewing tobacco. It crumbles easy enough. It packs well, stays lit and burns to a fine ash. A smokey, spicy, and maybe a slight prune flavor. It left the taste on my tongue long after the fire went out. Which is a good thing. You can definitely taste the quality. For me it is not an all day smoke. I would not want to smoke this blend while reading the newspaper or mowing the lawn. It is a great smoke after a good meal. BLB is a good tobacco when you want some quiet reflection. Bow Legged Bear is like a bigger, and stronger brother to SPC's Plum Pudding.

I'm so glad I bought this one. I've been looking for a full flavored, strong tobacco and this is one of those. When I opended the tin and saw the to square plugs I was almost tempted to try taking a bite out of one like my grandads old plugs of Cannonball but I resisted. I love the smell of this stuff and had fun breaking pieces of to stuff into my bowl. Man, it looks like fudge. You almost got to be careful with this one and try not to inhale to much cause this one's got a bear's strength. The Latakia's not overpowering, that's a plus and the Perique helps give it a spicey bite. The Virginas are excellent and the Turkish is a nice added plus. It has an awsome flavor from first light to the finnish and burns great. If you like a smoke with a kick this is the one.

Oh my. From sniffing the open tin, to the end of a bowl, this is delicious.

Yes, it is for Latakia mavens, but the sweet presence of the Virginias and warm undertones of Perique foil a Latakian overthrow of the mixture.

This arrives at a perfect humidity, crumbles into a fine square cut, and packs with ease. Although the first few minutes deliver a monochromatic hot-tar Latakia trip, the sweetness and stewey Perique start to unfold with a measured pace of puffing. The lower level of moisture does wonders for staving off the heat of the Virginia, and a medium-size pipe has always served well for this tobacco.

A tin of BLB is always amongst my order to the tobacconist, and this has served as a "go to" smoke after dinner since I first tried it.

UPDATE March 2005: This is still a fantastic smoke. I am positive that aging in the tin is necessary for the complexity of flavor to develop; and boy does it develop. BB is an English at first, but it unfolds, and unfolds and unfolds. About half way down the bowl, no two puffs taste the same. This is very complex.

My only advice to the detractors is simply: Lay down a tin of this for a few years. You will be rewarded with a very pleasant surprise. Although not as strong as Penzance, it has a complexity not unlike that blend.

I loved it before and I love it more now.

I love krumble cakes, you get to play with the tobacco and try to determine quanities of what types are there. It allows you to savor the rich earthy smell of this blend and the piquant sweetness.

You must like Latakia to smoke this blend, it might help if you love it. However, if you don't, this is a very tantalizing example of how a Latakia dominant blend can be very well-balanced.

This is a great blend, thanks Craig!

If nothing else, the bear on the tin is worth it.

4 out of 5 halos.

I like this blend quite a bit. I find it to be pretty mellow tasting. I definitely can tell the burley and Latakia are in here, but the others I’m sure are there - just don’t single them out as well as the other two. Although, about halfway I do get a little dark fruit thing happening so maybe the perique. Doesn’t happen on every bowl, but it does exist sometimes. Pretty tasty.

This comes pretty dry in the kake, so it’s ready to smoke without dry time. Not sure what drying would do for it. Have no problems lighting or keeping lit. I jar all my open tobacco, and in kake form it was a pain in the arse pulling in and out. So, I just broke it all apart and put in the jar. Now I can just pinch it out with no issue.

I wouldn’t be afraid to give this to a newbie because I think the flavor is medium enough not to scare them off. The nicotine is hit or miss on this blend. Sometimes it talks to me, other times it’s absent. Probably more of a me thing, but maybe a good reason to test out on a newbie and see if their completion changes while smoking.

This is a blend I will definitely have several tins of waiting to smoke. Not every day for me, but definitely several times a week. Get it, smoke it, enjoy it. Definitely 4 stars for me on this one.

This is an awesome tobacco! So many flavors to enjoy in this blend. The Latakia is smoky and sweet but not overwhelming, it prefers to linger in the background while the Perique and burley take turns center stage. It is a full tobacco and could be a bit much for beginners or people with a low nicotine tolerance. Naturally sweet notes, spiciness, nuttiness, smoky deliciousness!

This is a C&D classic blend for a reason. Excellent!!

Love, love, love this. I have to disagree with others. I did not find the latakia heavy at all, and I don't like lat heavy blends. I will say, my tin as aged about a year after I bought it. I thought the perique came through nicely. It also has a great nic hit.

Been out of stock, but finally got my months-old order from P&C today. The can date indicated it is 10 days old. I am sooo glad I ordered the 8 oz tin. 🙂 This is a big strong earthy tobacco. I'm convinced I'm tasting the terroir of the soil. This is a first time I've tasted such in tobacco. Nice N punch. Not as strong as rope, but far tastier. Get some!