Cornell & Diehl Cross Eyed Cricket

Summer 2003 the hottest I can remember, all those latakia blends did,nt seem right. Routing in the closet I found a tin of crossed eyed cricket been in their for a while. Light rum punch it said . Just the job I thought. On opening the light rum punch nearly knocked me out and I had not even put it in a pipe. Thought I better use the rum blend pipe. Upon lighting the rum punch again dominated then it settles down to a great english with full rum punch top. Great just the thing for those long hot summer days.

Next day I got in from work and the whole house smelt of the "light "rum punch flavour. Pop Pourri forget it . Get a tin of this stuff. In 24 hours the "light" rum punch had contaiminated the Barbary coast in the rum humidor. I know burly soaks up flavours but cross eyed cricket smothers everything. It was then banished to a jar in solitary confinement.

This is a great blend for summer heat . But it has taken a good 20 bowls of strong VA to rid it from the rum pipe and it still haunts the solitary confinement jar . With a half life longer than plutonium an unforgettable blend.

Wow! This is a unique tobacco. Schizophrenic comes to mind. Of all tobaccos in my collection, this is heads above all others in intensity of aroma. It makes other "strong" aromatics like Erinmore pale in comparison. I typically store several opened tins at once in larger quasi-airtight containers. In this case, I had to quarantine Cross-Eyed Cricket by removing it from its tin and storing it in a baby-food jar with a tight fitting lid. The plastic lid on the flimsy tin could not contain the intense aroma. I also put some X-eyed Cricket in a film cannister for portability purposes and it perfumes the whole drawer I keep it in. Also, it seems a lot more "punchy" than "rummy", kind of like snorting Kool-aid crystals with perique, God forbid! What a weird combination.

But this is not, by any stretch of the imagination, a true aromatic. It also has a strong english style. I have a hard time finding a pipe I want to smoke this in, because it would contaminate either a pipe dedicated to aromatics or a pipe dedicated to latakia mixtures. I end up using a kind of wierd, off-brand briar that I am not that attached to.

Now, my issue with this blend is not that I can't tolerate latakia/perique or aromatics. Indeed, I thoroughly enjoy both. I have approached this blend several times thinking I could get both appetites met at once. My problem is that this is just too dang intense! Since others have not commented on the intensity of the aroma/flavoring, I wonder if I got a double-dosed batch or something. Must be that the cavendish really soaks up the flavoring. I know that I could leave open to air out, but it is already fairly dry, and a lot of the good tobacco flavors would also volatilize at the same time.

At any rate, I will not replace this tin when I finish it, unless I happen to sample someone else's tin and it comes across differently. It would be interesting to try this blend without the perique, which is the element that seems to clash most with the added flavoring. This product suggests strongly that you cannot have it both ways.

What a trip!!! This is far and away the most interesting smoke that I have experienced so far. I wasn't sure how I would like it based on the description but I'm glad I tried it. I love latakia blends, but I'm not a big fan of aromatics (except for Mephisto!), so I opened this tin with trepidation. I am fond of Bow Legged Bear, so I had to try it especially after seeing the tin. Opening the bag inside the tin didn't really help much either. It smelled like the tobacco was flavored with something a drunk, college chick drank at a frat party and then vomited all over the tobacco. Well maybe I exaggerate a little, but not much. Seriously, the rum punch they describe is in full effect here, and the mingling with latakia is probably not for everyone. I persevered however and got it loaded into a corn cob and put it to the match. Wow! Much better now. This is a very eccentric blend, but far from bad. In fact, I think this would be great for a latakia fix in the summertime heat when I just can't get into them normally. The flavor stays light and never gets to be too much. In fact, in the second third of the bowl, the flavoring simmers way down and the perique starts to assert itself with a little spiciness that keeps things interesting. It seems to me that all C&D blend are made with quality leaf, and whether you like them or not they are always well blended. The flavors move along seemlessly with the latakia always remaining in the back ground with a pleasant smokiness, and the unsweetened cavendish providing a nice full base. The turkish never really came to my attention much, but the way this blend stays so nicely complete, I'm sure it plays its part somewhere. The room note was appreciated by smokers and non-smokers alike. This blend came on the drier side, just the way I like it. I think this would be a good blend to recomend to a beginner or aromatic smoker who wants to try latakia. Just be sure to point out that this is not an English Blend- just one with latakia! All said and done this is certainly not a smoke that I could smoke everyday but will make a nice change of pace now and again.

I had to run to the kitchen when I opened the tin and smell the kid's Fruity Pebbles for comparison rum punch??? Whatever that is! Call me crazy! It does pack easily, and takes to a match very quickly, burning evenly, dry and smooth. This is one where the room note and the flavor are a bit different. Whispering seductively, the fruit note hints at the sour side, while the perique and Latakia boldly assert their distinctive flavors. It is in the room note where the fruit finds itself very captivating. I found it very interesting that the fruit punch - kind of like a tropical fruity rum drink - is predominant in the room note.

Hey, if you enjoy an aromatic blend, but want to venture into the world of Latakia and/or Perique, here is a pleasant diversion. Of course, if you are an English devotee, but also a closet aromatic smoker, give this a try - others will be glad of your change of pace and you will not be disappointed either.

2.5 out of 5 halos.

Let me start off by saying that this is by far my favorite tobacco... err, NAME. I just love the name Cross Eyed cricket; hell i like it even more than Bow-legged Bear. If you promise not to tell anyone, I'll tell ya a secret. Ok, ya promise? Good.....I even considered (ok, very briefly) getting the damn stoned cricket tattooed on my butt. Alas, sanity returned and I am very grateful I didn't do that prior to smoking this crap. Ok, ok,so it's not crap...it is a quality tobacco and I can see how some people could be very into it. I'm just not one of them. Let me say that, due to my being enamored by the name and tin image, I really, REALLY wanted to like this tobacco. Even after giving it several tries I just can't do it. Sure there are some qualities I like. first it has a wonderful burning quality, as do many of C&D blends. It also looks pretty, a dark tobacco with some wonderful shades of tan, brown, black and substantially an odd blue-ish tint. Unfortunately, to me it tastes like that children's shampoo that comes in the Winnie the Poo shaped bottle, er, or at least what I'd imagine that stuff tastes like. Even though I know there is some fine tobacco in this blend, I just can't seem to get past the soapy/shampoo taste. It also seems to leave a bit of a ghost in my pipes. I had to run a few bowls of Old Ironsides through the two pipes I smoked XEC in to excorcise it's demons.

My advice is: definitely try this stuff. Really. It is unique (to say the least) plus that tin looks pretty cool (especially when empty -LOL). Hell, you may even like it.

This is the first aromatic English blend I experienced, and one of only two I've ever tried, GLP Mephisto being the other. If these two are any indication of the type as a whole, I need to look around for other similar blends! As is usual with C&D aromatics, this blend's casing odor is far more intense than its flavor. Opening the tin, I see that the tobacco is packed in a vacuum-sealed clear bag, though the casing odor is clearly present even before this is opened. The tobacco itself is very dry, as usual with C&D, and appears to be a mostly dark-colored blend, with a small amount of lighter brown mixed in. The smell is VERY strong when the bag is cut open. I added a small amount of distilled water to the bag with a sprayer, as I normally do with C&D blends; I prefer a somewhat damper tobacco. After sitting for a few days to equalize, I choose a Savinelli second 1/8 bent bulldog to test the blend in. It packs fairly easily, and lights easily, too. The casing flavor is fairly strong at first, though nowhere NEAR as strong as the odor! Even in the first third of the bowl, however, the taste and odor of Latakia is obviously present, and the rest of the tobaccos in the blend are not overwhelmed either. This is a blend that is very good blown out through the nose. By the second third of the bowl, the flavor of the casing has diminished quite a bit, and the Latakia is the predominant taste. The casing stays present, however, giving bursts of flavor that mix well with the excellent tobacco without overwhelming it. So far, the bowl has burned well, needing roughly the average number of relights. In the last third, the flavors of tobacco continue to mix and interact very well, with the casing finally giving up towards the bottom. Very little moisture is present at the bottom; the little that *IS* there may be due to my addition of water earlier. Overall, this is an excellent change of pace for those who like light aromatics and English blends, but detest the normal aromatic problems. It leaves a great room odor too! With a high-quality, well-blended tobacco base, I can easily see this becoming one of my regular smokes, especially in mixed company that might not appreciate Dunhill 965-style blends.

This is one of the few tobaccos I've chosen, that I seriously disliked. I could not understand it, and didn't find it at all pleasant. It was somewhat damp out of the tin. I've tried it many times since cracking it open. The only way I can smoke it, so as not to waste it, is by blending it half/half with an English blend like, for example, GLP Westminster, which makes an interesting, puff-able combo. By itself, it just has an indescribable, strange flavor leaving me sorry I purchased it.

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TIN NOTE

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The run flavouring is overwhelming, but you get the latakia pushing through.
The orientals and perique are hard to smell.

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SMOKING NOTES

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This is a decent aromatic. I get the creaminess of the Cavendish, and the rum topping. Right behind there\'s the woodsy, smokey Latakia. The oriental leaf and perique are background players.

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MECHANICS

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Had to dry it out before smoking. I was expecting a goopy, gurgling mess. But to my surprise... it actually smoked well.

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SUMMARY

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This is a good aromatic. If you\'re into that type of tobacco, grab this tin. It\'s a nice crossover English. While it seems to have less Latakia than Sutliff\'s Eastfarthing, the perique and oriental leaves make it more interesting.

I would not buy it, but if someone gave me a bowl, I would have no issues smoking it.

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I purchased a tin of Cornell & Diehl's Cross-Eyed Cricket from smokingpipes.com. Upon opening the tin, the ribbon cut tobacco is extremely dark, a little wet, and has a strong aroma of play-doh and some kind artificial alcohol, apparently rum. On initial light, the topping is extremely evident with a strong, deliciously nutty, fruit-forward aroma and taste. The black cavendish lends to a very creamy body and the smoke remains thick and full throughout. Notes of smoky, woody latakia floats around in the background and reveals itself through the topping from time to time, and uniquely compliments the near-constant sweetness that it provides. The perique and Turkish are a little less noticeable, but give the blend a touch of sweetness, spice, and earth and more nicotine than your average aromatic blend. The tobacco burns very cool and even to the bottom of the bowl and leaves a fine, white ash with no chance of tongue bite, even when puffed quickly. Cross-Eyed Cricket is an extremely addictive, quality English aromatic that I can't seem to stop smoking.