Cornell & Diehl London Squire

"Earthy" is the first adjective that comes to ming while thinking about this blend. It isn't smooth, refined and somehow "aristocratic" like many English blends on the market, not subtle at all. It gives you exactly what you might expect: a great latakia blend, full, tasty, spicy...a true Balkan-style in the old fashion. Latakia is clearly the top note, but the orientals play a major role and that's the secret of its deepness. The Virginias are there to support with "meat", not sweetness. Recommender to the latakia lover.

General Comment for All C&D Blends. So far, all my samples have burned clean and dry. They contain quality ingredients. If purchased fresh from C&D, I find that I must adjust the moisture content, and let them rest for 3-6 months before sampling. They change flavor dramatically in just a few months.

In appearance, this is mainly a blend of mid to dark flakes with an occasional bright speck here and there. The blend aroma is that of a very mild English. The taste is that of a very mild to medium Latakia-Oriental type blend. There are a few puffs where the flavor goes flat but then returns again. It is smooth and does not bite. It burns clean to a powdery gray ash. I can smoke this when I want the flavor of Latakia, but do not want to have the smoke interrupt whatever I am working on at the time. This would be a great smoke for those that want to try a good English blend, but have not acquired the taste for stronger or more complicated versions.

Here's a tobacco that's so polite in its Englishness that it's in danger of going unnoticed. To the eye, it

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looks like a black and tan beer, with wide cuts of latakia predominating. It's a very simple looking mixture with a very simple, enjoyable

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flavor. The fun of the tobacco comes not from any unique taste or zany flavoring, but instead from its almost reserved consistency and

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friendliness. It's much more like a friend with whom you are so comfortable that you don't feel the need to speak, instead of one who is

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always engaging your responses. The hefty cut of the tobaccos makes it slow burning, and sometimes hard to keep lit, but the payoff is a

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very mellow smoke. I got curious to see what this would smoke like if cut into smaller ribbons, and I diced some throroughly to see what

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effect it would have on its smoking characteristics. I like it very much. The burn is better and easier, and the flavor seems clearer, oddly

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enough. I'm sure a certain amount of my reaction is the placebobo effect (the psychological benefit of hitting a clown in the face with a

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pie...), but I do like it better. It's hot on first light, though, but quickly settles into a smooth burn. It truly has everything in its favor -

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mellowness, comfort, affordability, and ready availability.

London Squire is a tasty mild to medium English blend with a mild nic-hit. It would be a good introduction to latakia for new pipe smokers, those venturing away from aromatics & for those who are looking for a milder English experience where the latakia is obvious without dominating.

My pound bag arrived rather dry. It had some rather large chunks of Black Cavendish that needed to be chopped. It might sound like sacrilege to some but for something different I sometimes mix it 50/50 with an aromatic, Mark Twain, for a very enjoyable 'cross-over'.

Room note probably wouldn't win one many friends amongst non-smokers.

As it's tasty, mild to medium with mild nicotine, London Squire suits my preferences rather well, so it gets 3.5 stars from me.

Edit 12/12/20 London Squire leaves an astringent taste in my mouth that is less than appealing. Rounding down to 2.5 stars. Tobacco is very expensive here so nothing goes to waste. I've used LS to make a semi-aro English and a general mixer for which it nicely serves that purpose.

Not bad but there are better mild to medium English blends out there.

I recently bought-out the pipe tobacco holdings of a close friend and in it were two tins of this blend, London Squire by Cornell and Diehl. Dated from July 2012 and appearing in the older blue and white C&D labels, I figured that they had lain dormant long enough to satisfy any speculation as to the effect of aging. I was right, as it smoked smoother than the alter ego bulk blend I had been pilfering over the years. In general, I feel about the same as reviewer Fumatore 2007-06-23, in that, I agree that it is a pretty good medium English smoke. I also, like he, found the initial 1/4 bowl a little spicier than the remainder; a trait I find in common with a lot of blends. You just have to wait for them to calm down, I guess. Smoked straight out of the tin, it is a more than adequate medium English and smokes consistently positive. I have always thought that this blend, ultimately, needs a little something else to elevate it to four star status. I found London Squire to be very copasetic in blending and that is how I will use it from here on out. I would give three and one half stars to it, if I could.

This is possibly my favorite English blend from C&D. The addition of unsweetened black Cavendish really rounds out the flavor and sets it apart from the majority of Englishes that I've had. It adds a certain buttery quality to the flavor and overall experience that's just wonderful, and it makes the smoke real thick and 'creamy. As with many mixtures that include more than two component tobaccos, the flavor of London Squire is more than the sum of its parts.

When I first bought a few ounces a year ago, I didn't care for it nearly as much as when I revisited it somewhat recently. My batch is a little more than a year old now, and I think that little bit of aging helped the flavors to meld, and let the Virginias sweeten. On that note, I typically expect anything with black Cavendish to be sweet, but as I've learned from smoking several different blends, unsweetened black Cavendish (UBC) is an entirely different product than its sweet brother. As with C&D's Poplar Camp, the UBC gives it a flavor which reminds me of products from JF Germain. UBC in combination with Cyprian Latakia is a wonderful thing; when the proportions of each are just right, it's a match made in heaven.

Aside from the condiment tobaccos, Burley's trademark dry, nutty, alkaline flavors become very balanced in the presence of these other tobaccos. It does a great job of keeping the sweetness of this blend in check, without stealing the show. As a big fan of Turkish Orientals, I was looking for their tangy flavor here, but found only a little. As with nearly all of the components in this blend, it becomes a part of the whole flavor instead of sticking out. Finally, the Virginias add a nice foundation; they're mainly of the light variety, which I like more than red. I wish C&D would use more light Virginias instead of reds, as I find the latter in many of their blends makes for a very 'dry' and sometimes harsh flavor profile.

In the nicotine department, London Squire is just north of mild, so no worries if you're sensitive to nicotine. The room note won't make you any friends, as with most English blends. However, LS's room note isn't anywhere near as intense and off-putting (to non-smokers) as the majority of Englishes. One review here said that this would make a good starter English for those new to them or pipes in general. While I agree, I don't want to give the notion that it's unsophisticated or boring; I assure you, it is quite the opposite! This wonderful English has a great 'old word' appeal, and it'll likely be an instant hit with fans of this smoky blend genre. Don't let the UBC scare you away - it makes the scene! 3.5 stars.

(This review is based off of a 5yr old jar of LS.

Prep: On the dry side but due to it being traded to me and with 5 years of age, it may normally not have that issue.

Notes: The Latakia is upfront, giving you a smoky, woody, foundation. The Orientals are evident delivering some butteriness and floral spiciness. The Virginias are bright with a more grassy citrusy notes. The Burley is simply not evident to me. Maybe due to age or my palate but I didnt realize Burley was in this blend until I read the description.

Overall, it is a fine entry level blend. Smokes cool, it's a fairly dry smoke, and it's inexpensive. But it wont be impressive. 5.5/10

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