Cornell & Diehl London Squire

I've smoked a lot of C&D blends over the past couple of years and am now starting to post my reviews by transcribing them from my notebook.

According to my notes, no English or Balkan style blend from C&D gets a heavy dose of Latakia into the veins like London Squire. Beautifully put together true English style with heavy hitting from the delicious Latakia, several grades of Virginias and wonderfully presented Orientals for a full, yet refined taste that is so smooth that the power of the Latakia actually was more than tolerable. It was just plain good. Don't smoke this one around any fire alarms as you're sure to set it off from the heady doses of smoke that will choo choo train its way out of your pipe's bowl.

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.