Cornell & Diehl Star of the East

When I opened my tin, the tin aroma was one of the best I ever smelled in a Balkan mixture.

When I started smoking, however, i kept looking for some sort of taste.

I gave up at the end of the fifth bowl.

This is everything I am looking for in a tobacco ... lots of latakia and turkish. Something seems out of balance, however. It has the expected C&D quality in the cut of the tobacco and the moisture level also. Burns easily. Lots of smoke. But within moments, it gets somewhat sour and bitter ... this increases as the smoke continues. Unlike other turkish blends (Durbar, etc), the bitterness overwhelms all the other components. Well worth a try to those who favor orientals.

What a wonderful tobacco! As has been noted, the flavor is big and bold, but never monochromatic. Slow burning and cool smoking, this is a tobacco to enjoy in the evening with your favorite beverage. If you're an English smoker, you owe it to your taste buds to try this one. If you're a Balkan smoker and enjoy, for example, GL Pease's "Odyssey," you'll feel right at home. 5/5

Smell: Latakia! It smells delicious.

Taste: Smooth, creamy, rich, spicy, smoky, sweet in its own way. Again, Latakia dominates, but the mixture has some degree of complexity, meaning that the other components have their own role in the game. I really enjoyed smoking this English blend. Not the best English I tried but one of.

Ratio Smell/Taste: The smell of tobacco reflects very well in the smoke. No room for disappointment.

Moisture: Almost ready to be smoked.

Filter: With and without.

Ghosting: Mild.

This is a very subjective review. This is the first time I had a latakia based tobacco. It's mixed with Orientals and turkish. It has a woodsy taste to it. Very strong flavor and you can taste the richness, but that woodsy taste throws me off. It is good, but I prefer something a bit more sweet (non aromatic). I will have to venture into this after i cellar it for awhile

This is the essence of what I think a good bulk latakia blend should be. Well blended, inexpensive, and not overly complex. I realize that last bit might sound like an insult but it's certainly not intended that way. What I mean that no one component sticks out too much. There are blends where the blender's trick is using the components to highlight one of the individual constituents, and there are blends where the blender's trick is combining everything into a seamless experience where everything exists in harmony. This is on the latter end of the continuum. It is quite enjoyable when you have the time and headspace to devote only to the experience, but also, and this is key for a bulk in my opinion, remains highly enjoyable when you're puffing along on auto-pilot.

C&D's description says the blend contains 50% latakia. Like JimInks, my visual inspection of the contents contradicts that as does my smoking experience. Don't get me wrong. It's definitely in there. You will have no trouble locating it. This is an English/Balkan after all! But it certainly doesn't taste like the "do you dare" lat bombs I've had before. So if that was something that was scaring you a way, it really shouldn't.

A fine break in my usual rotation. If you like Latakia, you'll love this one, with a touch of Virginia and Perique coming thru in the end of a sip. When I want something from the usual in taste, this Star of the East does it. In a nice broken flake form, it breaks-up easily, and stays lit with no problems. All-in-All, a nice find and unexpected treat. A simple review for a fine and simple; but pleasurable smoke.