Cornell & Diehl Cross Eyed Cricket

Like smoking a bag of ass mixed with unsweetened Kool-Aid.

First of all, let me say as much positive about this tobacco as I can. The moisture level in the tin is perfect. It packs well and lights with just one match. The smoke remains consistent throughout the bowl. It burns down to a clean white ash. There is no tongue bite. The tobacco is of an obvious high quality. Those are all of the positive things I can think of! Upon lighting, the rum punch flavor rushes out and never looks back. For comparison, let us say that the flavoring added is like stewed prunes. I have never actually tasted that dish, but this must surely be what it is like! The other tobaccos are very nice and the latakia is smooth as silk, but the rum punch runs the show. It never stops running the show. I smoke a lot of aromatics and I can safely say that this stuff is more sour than sweet. The aroma is that of baked prunes. Again, I've never tried them that way, but... The nicotine level is low for me and the pipe is flavored with the above-mentioned rum punch for days and days. I am fortunate that I only sacrificed a couple of cobs to try this stuff. Cornell & Diehl usually put out nothing but quality. And, the tobacco in the tin was certainly quality, but the rum punch drowns them out. I am not sure I will even finish the tin I purchased! And, for what tins are costing these days, that's saying something for me!

When I opened the tin of this "stuff", it reminded me of the cheap generic cough-syrup my mom would give me back in the late 70's. This blend has to be the most distasteful aromatic I have ever tried. I tried two bowlfuls and I could almost hear my pipe cry out in pain that I subjected it to this, whatever you want to call it.In fact,I should have known better because it made me cross-eyed just smelling it in the tin! This is definitely a blend that does not work for me, I cannot see how anyone could enjoy this stuff. What is worse,this blend left a terrible aftertatse in my mouth that ruined my ability to smoke anything else for the rest of the day. Thank God there are other C& D blends to enjoy.

Cornell & Diehl - Cross Eyed Cricket.

I'm looking at this blend as being in a similar vein to the old school classic American smoking mixtures of a couple generations ago (e.g. Revelation, Country Doctor, etc) in that it's basically an English blend of sorts with a topping that gives it something else.  But it's composition is different enough from any of those to put this one in a class by itself.

The rum punch flavoring is noticeable throughout but its fruityness is not always distinguishable.  The base tobaccos beneath are musty and smoky with a bit of spice.  This tobacco base reminds me of a more strongly musty version of C&D's Mississippi Mud.  Occasionally I feel that the mustiness of the base and top flavoring clash a bit, but for the far most part it works and the mixture as a whole smokes very smoothly.  It does take some effort to get lit but rarely needs a relight once it's going good in my experience.  A unique blend that I have to be in just the right mood for, and although I have yet to do this it seems like it would be a very good blend to puff away on while fishing, camping or woodworking.

This is my second english blend and upon opening the tin, the aroma set me back because it smelled so strong. I almost dreaded lighting my pipe, but I did and found the tobacco to actually be quite smooth. I picked up some very light latakia, but the perique is definetly there. Overall the flavoring is very light and will become a break from my usual aromatics.

It is truly almost every genre you can think of put into one tobacco. You would think it would be overwhelming, but it is actually quite balanced and pleasant to smoke. The dominance lies in its english/oriental portion, with hints of tropical aromatic flavor fading in and out.

Cornell + Diehl :Are one of the finest blenders of tobacco(second only to McClelland...in my opinion) There are very"few"modern(within the last 15yrs)tobacco blenders that are NOT Afraid to try new combinations;I have caught myself on more than one occasion reading the Description on C+D blends...going NO-WAY that combo will never work. Always a very pleasant surprise;regardless of C+D's blend. As a matter of fact there are Truly "No Blends"from C+D that i can say that i"dislike";some i prefer more than others....So If you are looking for something truly UNIQUE/C+D...any blend is worth a try! THIS one happens 2b MY FAVORITE !!! :+)

This is my very first review on tobaccoreviews.com. I ordered this tobacco online only because it has an interesting name. My father likes cricket, so I said to myself: why not giving this tobacco a try?

The tin was opened three days ago, I smoked it with my Karl Erik freehand pipe. It may require some lights at the beginning, and once it is lit, it is easily burned through the bowl, giving adequate tamping from time to time of course.

The flavory is excellent. This is so far the first Latakia tobacco I smoked and I like it very much. This will absolutely be on my next purchase list. Highly recommended when you watch a videos and would like to have something to smoke.

=== Updated on 28th Dec. 2008. ===

Ok, I have had some second thoughts about this blend. I have finished most of the tin. But the pleasure that I have had during my first bowl is gone. Now it seems a little more spicy than before. Maybe because the leaves are not well mixed. When I packed my first bowl there were only large leaves but there are littles ones hidden beneath the huge-leaf layers. Perique I assume? It is still good tobacco and is good to enjoy a bowl from time to time, but it definetly will not be my everyday blend any more.

Downgraded to 3 stars.

Just like they say an Engish Aromatic. Very Different!!!!!!! Fruity punch bowl flavor with the zesty english flavoring. Fun smoke with a pleasant aroma. GOOD STUFF Get a Tin now

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