Cornell & Diehl Byzantium

Here we have another of the English blends from C&D that I recently began to try. This one turned out to be very similar to Engine 99; the only real difference I notice is an overall slightly lighter tone. The aroma of the tobacco is primarily the dark, leathery notes of strong Latakia, but with a few modifying lighter hints; it certainly isn?t the darkest English tobacco I?ve smelled. The leaf is roughly 80% very dark brown, with 10% each of medium and lighter brown thrown in. The cut is short, of normal width, and includes many broken fragments and some powder. The lighter brown pieces are somewhat longer than the rest. The moisture level is very low, like usual; I would recommend adding a little distilled water and letting the bag sit overnight. Packing is easy, if the powder is sifted out first. A bowl lights easily and burns well, if a bit quickly, and a normal number of relights is required. In the first third, the initial flavor is one of my favorites: dark, rich Latakia goodness. The smoke is fairly smooth, with no bite, and is not harsh when exhaled through the nose. I sense no real sweetness here, nor is the flavor excessively heavy. I?d call this a rather satisfying blend at this point. The middle 1/3 is darker but not a great deal so. There is still no bite, though there is a small amount of moisture at this point. The tobacco is not weak nicotine-wise, but I?m not reeling in my chair (yet). It is still fairly smooth and satisfying. The finish is much like the rest of the bowl, with no real bite and no additional moisture problems. The flavor becomes significantly stronger at the very bottom of the bowl, providing a very nice finish. Overall, I enjoyed this blend very much. It is an excellent example of the English/Latakia tobaccos that I like to smoke in the evening. It could use some aging, as with most C&D blends. The room aroma is not all that pleasant; but I recommend this to anyone who can stand the ?camel shit? comments from the ignorant masses . I certainly plan to keep some around.