Cornell & Diehl Star of the East
(3.16)
One half Latakia with a generous portion of Turkish and sweetened with stoved red Virginia.
Notes: Starting with a base of 50% Latakia, with a generous portion of Turkish leaf, then sweetened with stoved red Virginia, Star of the East is a full-bodied blend, as well as a long time favorite of Cornell & Diehl customers.
Details
| Brand | Cornell & Diehl |
| Blended By | Cornell & Diehl |
| Manufactured By | Cornell & Diehl |
| Blend Type | English |
| Contents | Latakia, Oriental/Turkish, Virginia |
| Flavoring | |
| Cut | Ribbon |
| Packaging | 2 ounce tin, 8 ounce tin, bulk |
| Country | United States |
| Production | Currently available |
Profile
Strength
Medium
Extremely Mild -> Overwhelming
Flavoring
None Detected
None Detected -> Extra Strong
Room Note
Tolerable
Unnoticeable -> Overwhelming
Taste
Medium to Full
Extremely Mild (Flat) -> Overwhelming
Average Rating
|
3.16 / 4
|
Reviews
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Displaying 31 - 40 of 108 Reviews
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 28, 2022 | Mild to Medium | None Detected | Full | Tolerable to Strong |
What an excellent blend! Getting C&D in Romania isn’t easy, as it is only sold in the US and anything that goes over $11 is going to tax you at the customs, so only when there are good offers for the blends can one poor ass Romanian buy a tin of C&D (and other american blends).
This is my second C&D blend, after Pirate Kake, and I’m really into their stuff. Star of the East really impressed me. Why? Lets see below.
Tin note: Fermented (initially, but this went away), very smoky, woody, leathery, dried fruit. Powerful smell.
Aspect: Almost equal parts of black, brown and gold leaves. Medium cut ribbons, very easy to pack. Humidity is perfect, you can put it right in the pipe, and if kept in a mason jar, it will keep this humidity.
Taste and Flavor: This is definitely full bodied. Campfire and smoked oak barrel, with some sweet notes, wood, leathery, pine and a bit of dried fruit. It’s surprising how sweet the smoke can be, and smoky at the same time. The sweetness could come either from some flowery oriental or from the red virginia, but it’s not your normal golden virginia sweetness, it’s the specific red virginia we’re talking about. It could be a combination of the orientals and the red virginia. Not sure though, I couldn’t bet on it, but this really grew my interest in straight red virginia. The orientals could be the spicy time, but very shy, only in the background. Also, there’s a little taste of dark dried fruit, like prune plums and even some pomegranate.
If smoked gently, you will get a very creamy, buttery, soft smoke. It will not bite, it might only get the smoke a big hot if you puff like a maniac (which nobody should do). Lights up easy and stays lit without much effort.
It’s not a very complex blend, it’s pretty straightforward and delivers a lot of taste. Though fullbodied, it’s not strong, it actually mild to medium, while the room note is strong yet pleasant to the latakia lover. And speaking of the room.. it will be filled with both a thick smoke and a strong smell.
I found that I could get the best of it by smoking it in big pipes, like Savinelli 320KS or the HUGE Mastro de Paja Pesaro Gigante 1C, a bent bulldog with an impressive size and no filter. In a regular prince shape pipe, like Savinelli’s 315 KS you don’t get the most of this blend.
Indeed a good, straight-to-the-point blend, great for the latakia lover. I love it! 5 stars!
P.S.: Review on the spot here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEAeR0yudSs
This is my second C&D blend, after Pirate Kake, and I’m really into their stuff. Star of the East really impressed me. Why? Lets see below.
Tin note: Fermented (initially, but this went away), very smoky, woody, leathery, dried fruit. Powerful smell.
Aspect: Almost equal parts of black, brown and gold leaves. Medium cut ribbons, very easy to pack. Humidity is perfect, you can put it right in the pipe, and if kept in a mason jar, it will keep this humidity.
Taste and Flavor: This is definitely full bodied. Campfire and smoked oak barrel, with some sweet notes, wood, leathery, pine and a bit of dried fruit. It’s surprising how sweet the smoke can be, and smoky at the same time. The sweetness could come either from some flowery oriental or from the red virginia, but it’s not your normal golden virginia sweetness, it’s the specific red virginia we’re talking about. It could be a combination of the orientals and the red virginia. Not sure though, I couldn’t bet on it, but this really grew my interest in straight red virginia. The orientals could be the spicy time, but very shy, only in the background. Also, there’s a little taste of dark dried fruit, like prune plums and even some pomegranate.
If smoked gently, you will get a very creamy, buttery, soft smoke. It will not bite, it might only get the smoke a big hot if you puff like a maniac (which nobody should do). Lights up easy and stays lit without much effort.
It’s not a very complex blend, it’s pretty straightforward and delivers a lot of taste. Though fullbodied, it’s not strong, it actually mild to medium, while the room note is strong yet pleasant to the latakia lover. And speaking of the room.. it will be filled with both a thick smoke and a strong smell.
I found that I could get the best of it by smoking it in big pipes, like Savinelli 320KS or the HUGE Mastro de Paja Pesaro Gigante 1C, a bent bulldog with an impressive size and no filter. In a regular prince shape pipe, like Savinelli’s 315 KS you don’t get the most of this blend.
Indeed a good, straight-to-the-point blend, great for the latakia lover. I love it! 5 stars!
P.S.: Review on the spot here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEAeR0yudSs
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 16, 2020 | Mild to Medium | None Detected | Mild to Medium | Pleasant to Tolerable |
A beautiful and subtle smoke. The tobacco lives up to the name, as every satisfying puff is full of thick luxurious plumes. The generous amount of Latakia means you’ll look like a train without burning like one. The taste is typical of a Balkan of this kind. All the usual Smokey notes of campfires and leather are present with a nice undercurrent of grassy, woodsy, earthy, floral notes from the oriental. I was surprised at how the Latakia doesn’t totally dominate the flavor given its portion. When it arrived in the mail the first thing I could smell was this, so I was expecting this to be a lat bomb that would set me on my arse but I found it to be surprisingly mild.
The essentialist side of me wants to say that packaging and names don’t matter all that much and a good tobacco is just that. But I think the naming and packaging really does something here (even though I bought this in bulk I still know what’s on the tin). I couldn’t help but imagine a world in which the railroad was the pride of a nation or desert travelers following the guide star of the blends namesake. But that’s just me romanticizing the old world and getting lost in my imagination and has little to do with the tobacco.
This would be an excellent winter smoke and maybe even a good all day or early morning style of light English. I doubt this will ever see the success that more popular blends have enjoyed, but I could easily see why this blend has such a cult following. It smokes cool, has a ton of billowing smoke and tastes great - all the qualities I want in a blend.
The essentialist side of me wants to say that packaging and names don’t matter all that much and a good tobacco is just that. But I think the naming and packaging really does something here (even though I bought this in bulk I still know what’s on the tin). I couldn’t help but imagine a world in which the railroad was the pride of a nation or desert travelers following the guide star of the blends namesake. But that’s just me romanticizing the old world and getting lost in my imagination and has little to do with the tobacco.
This would be an excellent winter smoke and maybe even a good all day or early morning style of light English. I doubt this will ever see the success that more popular blends have enjoyed, but I could easily see why this blend has such a cult following. It smokes cool, has a ton of billowing smoke and tastes great - all the qualities I want in a blend.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 25, 2016 | Medium | None Detected | Medium | Tolerable to Strong |
Latakia in fair proportion and nothing more.Orientals because of scarcity or their natural shyness don´t sing very much.A nice,mild blend of course but not appealing.By my side I preffer in C&D english-balkan spectrum others like the notable Sunset Harbor or the flake version of Star of the East.IMHO,of course,C&D must short the offert into the really remarkable blends instead of the jungle of nonsense,but non cheap,options.
PurchasedFrom:
smokingpipes
Age When Smoked:
fresh
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 21, 2014 | Medium | None Detected | Full | Tolerable |
An excellent English blend with dark deep and very smokey flavor, Turkish floral aroma is present in the background, less sweet than most English blends I have tried, very well balanced in every way, must be dried out for better result.
Pipe Used:
Billards
PurchasedFrom:
smokingpipes
Age When Smoked:
New puchase
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Apr 29, 2013 | Medium to Strong | Medium | Medium to Full | Tolerable |
This is my favorite tobacco. Not terribly complex. For me it is spot on. It is pure smokiness. Even though it is 50% Latakia it has a mellowness to it. Not bite, to speak of, either. I like subtle tobaccos. It is like a richer version of Presbyterian Mixture. I buy it by the pound.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Nov 19, 2011 | Medium | None Detected | Medium to Full | Pleasant to Tolerable |
SotE is another example of the 50-50 genre of Virginia/Latakia blends out there and is a pretty good representative.
The Cyprian Latakia leads in the blend, softened by the Virginias. The Orientals are really in the background, to the degree they're there. It's hard, I think, to create a complex flavor profile in blends of this nature but SotE does a decent job of it. As a result, it could be a fine all day companion. Like many C&D blends, it's fairly dry in the tin (not a bad thing to me) and burns well. I haven't had the flake version of this but I suspect it will have a little more punch and complexity--I'm looking forward to trying it. Recommended (in a 2.5 stars kind of way)--not wild about it but would smoke it from time to time.
The Cyprian Latakia leads in the blend, softened by the Virginias. The Orientals are really in the background, to the degree they're there. It's hard, I think, to create a complex flavor profile in blends of this nature but SotE does a decent job of it. As a result, it could be a fine all day companion. Like many C&D blends, it's fairly dry in the tin (not a bad thing to me) and burns well. I haven't had the flake version of this but I suspect it will have a little more punch and complexity--I'm looking forward to trying it. Recommended (in a 2.5 stars kind of way)--not wild about it but would smoke it from time to time.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Oct 21, 2011 | Mild | None Detected | Mild | Tolerable |
was a bit let down with this one--pretty bland--have a bit that will be allowed to age--perhaps it will improve a bit--
edit: a bit of time in the jar has improved SOTE or possibly my taste has just come around to it--upping the score to 3 stars--
edit: a bit of time in the jar has improved SOTE or possibly my taste has just come around to it--upping the score to 3 stars--
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Mar 25, 2010 | Medium to Strong | None Detected | Full | Tolerable to Strong |
This is my second C & D blend, and I am very happy to say I have found another winner. Time will tell if I go back and order more, but for now I have another tobacco I find myself craving often, much like Pease's "Odyssey." This is partially due to the fact that I am still exploring the massive world of tobacco, but this does not hinder the fact that SOTE is a good blend.
Being familiar at this point with the obvious scent of latakia, SOTE surprised me with its barbecue-esque aroma, a new one on me. A friend of mine generally describes latakia as smelling like "beef jerkey," but I believe I finally understand his comparison: SOTE really hits the nose with a pungent leathery, earthy tang that smells of spice and soil -- and maybe even beef. Beef could definitely describe the chewy smoke SOTE left in my mouth after each puff, that is, the smoke was so rich with flavor it almost had a chewy texture as it coated my tongue. It was very cigar-like, and oddly even the room note (though I was outside) was very cigar-like (think maduro). Throughout the bowl, the light was kept well, and the flavors seemed to continue to crescendo into one very full smokey mixture that lingered long after the bowl was done and the pipe was cleaned. Again, like a cigar, I could feel the fullness of this tobacco in the back of my throat, as well as that feeling of having just eaten a porterhouse steak for dinner. This could be attributed to my rocket-puffing syndrome, but I digress: SOTE is a great blend and highly recommended to all lovers of rugged, full-bodied blends with a lot of smokey, spicy characteristics.
Whether this becomes a staple for me is a verdict only a few more stout bowls can deliver. 3.6 out 4 points for me.
Being familiar at this point with the obvious scent of latakia, SOTE surprised me with its barbecue-esque aroma, a new one on me. A friend of mine generally describes latakia as smelling like "beef jerkey," but I believe I finally understand his comparison: SOTE really hits the nose with a pungent leathery, earthy tang that smells of spice and soil -- and maybe even beef. Beef could definitely describe the chewy smoke SOTE left in my mouth after each puff, that is, the smoke was so rich with flavor it almost had a chewy texture as it coated my tongue. It was very cigar-like, and oddly even the room note (though I was outside) was very cigar-like (think maduro). Throughout the bowl, the light was kept well, and the flavors seemed to continue to crescendo into one very full smokey mixture that lingered long after the bowl was done and the pipe was cleaned. Again, like a cigar, I could feel the fullness of this tobacco in the back of my throat, as well as that feeling of having just eaten a porterhouse steak for dinner. This could be attributed to my rocket-puffing syndrome, but I digress: SOTE is a great blend and highly recommended to all lovers of rugged, full-bodied blends with a lot of smokey, spicy characteristics.
Whether this becomes a staple for me is a verdict only a few more stout bowls can deliver. 3.6 out 4 points for me.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Dec 28, 2008 | Medium | None Detected | Full | Pleasant to Tolerable |
This review is on a 2 year old tin, which isn't finished yet. Wow, very nice! Light sweetness to start, combined with smoky, leathery tang. Toward mid bowl it settles in to a workmanlike tobacco flavor, with sweetness backing off. Not sure about the balance on this one. Don't know as I like this much Latakia. Have to wait and see how the tin empties out. Personally, I really like the room note, which doesn't seem to linger much. There some twigs in this stuff. They need to be removed, or you will get a poor pack and uneven burn, resulting in harshness and biting. This isn't a good candidate for DGT. It becomes acrid and flat.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Aug 10, 2008 | Medium | None Detected | Medium | Strong |
A nice light Balkan with emphasis on the (tame) latakia. The other main taste is the Turkish; a tasty combination. But the red Virginia doesn't do much -- it certainly doesn't sweeten the smoke, the C&D blurb notwithstanding. As a result, Star of the East is a well-balanced but ultimately rather limited blend; it certainly doesn't develop significantly as you go down the bowl. Good for when you want a Balkan that won't wallop you on the head, and definitely worth a try. But I can't see buying it much in the future.
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