Cornell & Diehl Bow-Legged Bear

Bears may seem cute and cuddly from a distance, but they can be mighty dangerous. Starting a fight with one of our smaller east coast bears is not recommended, while the larger bruins such as the Grizzly or the Alaskan Brown can easily decapitate a human with one blow. After reading certain reviews referencing heart palpitations, I tried this blend for the first time in a small pipe. This was wise: I don't think a large bowl of this would be something I could...bear. My sample is a ten year old Ebay tin. The seal was broken, but the plastic bag was still intact. The tobacco is a bit dry, but is bearing up well, though the cakes are falling apart. Unflavored; the tin bears only the pungent smell of the various tobaccos in the blend. I have been a regular pipe smoker for two years, so while I'm not a grizzled old pipester, I'm no cub either when it comes to strong tobaccos. However, when I walked back to the house from my "smoking den," I could see why this bear is called "bow-legged." The nicotine sneaks up on you and could leave one too giddy to bear oneself up, and it is good to bear this in mind. Seems to have a bit of Latakia, but there is so much else going on here that one doesn't notice it as much as in a more traditional English blend. Bow-Legged Bear is dark, heavy, and slightly sweet; heady yet not at all overbearing. I think it is certainly more refined and less rustic than the "Ursus Hillbillicus" on the tin would suggest. Sipped slowly, and taking care not to let it past the palate, this is quite a pleasant and rewarding smoke. Thanks for bearing with me!

I have wanted to review this blend for some time now. At this point, I have smoked over a half pound and feel like I know the blend well enough to comment in a meaningful way without resorting to "one bowl wonder" statements.

My personal preference is for tobacco that is rich, complex and strong enough in the nicotine department to satisfy me. Bow-Legged Bear fits that bill nearly perfectly. It has a wonderful variety of tobaccos that when you first start smoking, don't seem to harmonize all that well. They never get to the level of perfect harmony, there are rough edges, but after a couple of ounces you start to understand and admire the blend for what it is. A powerhouse of flavor and nic. stength that showcases well.

It is deep, dark and not really sweet at all. An evening smoke for the more timid, a morning smoke for me. The latakia is well placed in the middle of the profile with the perique, burley and turkish filling out the bulk. The virginia is only there at the edges, and this blend could probably use just a bit more of the va. that they have chosen. It would take this to a four star level I believe.

The blend can get a bit woody in the middle of the bowl if smoked hot. Again, a little more of the va. could round that out as well. All in all, a very acceptable smoke for the crowd that likes their whiskey straight and their tobacco strong.

UPDATE 1-24-11

I am taking this up to the four star level. It gets even better with age! The strength is still great and the flavor has smoothed out considerably, taking the rough edges referenced in my original review off. I just love this stuff. Although I have moved on to other tobaccos, this is still in the rotation from time to time. 5 pounds sit in my cellar, and they will all be consumed slowly by fire. I will savor every single sip. I can't help but notice that the esteemed reviews of Pipestud are almost without fail opposite of my own, but no matter, I just use this as a reverse guide in finding what I will probably like! Go figure...cheers.

Very pleasant full bodied smoke. Medium to medium high in the nicotine department. First half of the bowl, all of the tobaccos are distinguishable and separate. Nice smoky latakia flavor, sweet and haylike from the Virginia, perique is in the background and slightly spicy, burley is present in the mouthfeel, but not readily apparent as a nutty flavor, but guessing it contributes to a nice dose of nicotine. Last half of the bowl, the flavors seem to meld together into a nice creamy, buttery smoke. Semi-complex, and well balanced... Really pleasant smoke! 3.5 stars!!!

I really enjoy ripping this and crumbling into a bowl's worth of tobac, and then drying it on a wood table or tray. It is a hot-pressed crumble cake that seems to vary between one big chunk, sometimes, two small ones, depending on the tin. It appears dark with flakes of lighter tan leaf. You can see bright and red virginias mixed in with the burley and latakia.

The false light takes quite well after drying 8-10 hours, giving the spicey oriental and perique tingles. I taste some raisin and black olives. The second light I could taste the hay and citrus of the virginias and I little smokey leaf. The latakia comes in but doesn't bully the taste.

The first third of the bowl smokes slow and cool with no bite or harshness (other than the ting in the throat from I am assuming is the perique . I taste a lot oriental leaf in this portion of the bowl with latakia in the background.

The middle part of the bowl the burley gets nutty and the nicotine starts to kick and fuss. The perique gets heftier and eveything starts to shine. Again, the latakia riding along, peeking in and checking that the others are behaving.

Last of the bowl, the nicotine seems to be in control by now. The tobac is heated, a little moist, and is churning in clouds of interesting smoke. It may seem harsh, but if sipped and retrohaled there are some major nuances to be gained here. The flavors are medling at this point.

At the end, there is little dottle and moisture in the bottom of the bowl, enough to get a bit of cake, but not much. There is pure tobacco taste and plenty of nicotine. Though the room note will not draw compliments and non-smokers will shy away from you, I think it is just fine. Not for the faint of heart, but easily rewarding to those that have the skill and patience to appreciate such a blend

This bear, is a not your av-er-age bear. The latakia is smokey, not overwhelming, good quality. The perique is mildly applied, a muddled prune and spice note. Between the latakia, perique and orientals, there's a reminiscence of Nightcap. The virginias provide a citrus/tangerine note that is tasty, very bright. The burleys with some nuttiness. Zero topping so you get a fairly pure taste of the tobaccos. Thing is, there's a lot going on. It's like a teddybear picnic with 5 bears, each bear brings a different pot of honey to the picnic. You're going to smoke each pot of honey, but you don't bear which pot you're going to honey next. Did that make sense? Is there more than honey in this bear's pic-a-nic basket, Boo-Boo? It is fun to just sit back as the flavours of each tobacco, randomly, come and go, fighting for your honey, I mean attention. It doesn't exactly lend itself as a simple smoke, but the tobaccos are quality and worth the extra honey it demands, I mean attention it demands. A cool, dry smoke. Burns really well. No chance of this bear biting. Hey, uh, Boo-Boo, my legs are beginning to bow. 3.5. Highly recommend. And remember, only you can prevent forest fires. Now, back to your regularly scheduled programming.

A pinch of this and a pinch of that makes this blend a mighty tastey smoke for me. Tbe bear is swert yey spicey, mild and strong all in the same mixture. The delivery mode of crumbkle cake is wonderful as well. If you are seeking a full flavor type blend with excellent taste you need to give ole bowlegged bear a try.

I liked this blend. I agree with most of the reviews stated below, at least the parts not contrary to one another. I wound up with this by accident, sort of, I was in an eBay feeding frenzy, you know, one of those days where things work out right. And of course on eBay you can't sell tobacco so the seller insists he/she/it is seller an unopened collectors tin and often goes through the whole legal spiel that looks like it's eBay's policy cut and pasted. For some reason that gets people bidding above retail for a year old can of, say, Dunhill's 965. I could see going crazy if it was Penzance JF germains special latakia flake, something you can't get for love or money. This seller avoided the spiel and just listed it as a sealed collectors tin. Looks like he's giving up English blends. Anyhow I bid a buck or two below retail for a three year old can of this, a five year old can of Caravan and god knows how old a can of Rattrays Accountants Mixture, but with shipping it was all a bit below retail and the rattrays looks old, I mean I haven't seen that particular packaging in a long time. I would have gotten around to Bow legged bear eventually. Yes, it's a different sort of Balkan, a little sweeter, and a little nuttier, opening the tin doesn't blast you with Latakia. Maybe it's just me, but the only thing I don't agree with is the strong nicotine. Granted I have a high tolerance, but still, I know a nicotine buzz when I feel one. Guess I'll keep trying. I'm sure I'll buy a new tin sooner or later, hope it's not something I have to cellar at least three years.

I'm giving it four stars for surprising me, and I'll edit away a star if it becomes boring.

Bow Legged Bear is my first experience with a crumble cake. It requires just a small amount of prep work because it breaks up very easily and has the right amount of moisture to pack right away. It’s pretty easy to pick up the Latakia and Virginias from the tin note.

Brine and bbq smokiness are dominant with a similar flavor in the retrohale. There’s also a noticeable note of earthy pepper as well that comes forward in the second half of the bowl as well as a nice toastiness.

Bow Legged Bear smokes quite nice, lasting well over an hour in a pipe that typically takes me just under an hour to finish and required several relights. Overall, the strength makes this an evening smoke.

Bow-Legged Bear is a complex work of art. It verges on being too complex given all its components but I enjoy it. The burley seems most dominant with savory nutty notes and sweet chocolate hints. Some hay from the Virginia, pepper from perique, woody notes from izmir, and a small amount of smokey latakia all surface throughout the smoke but mostly what I taste is grapenuts. The nicotine content is perfect for me at a solid medium-full strength. I’m excited to see how this ages.