Cornell & Diehl Purple Cow

I'm not a cigar guy, but enjoy a good English, so I thought Latakia and cigar should be worth a try for something different. The Tin art is great. Note pretty good too. Nice smokey latakia start, with occasional dark fruit Virgina, and slight nutty burley. Since I'm not experienced with cigars I can't really say for sure if I'm detecting it or not.

A couple negatives are that it smokes very fast; almost over before you know it. I also got annoyed as there seems to be a lot of smaller bits of tobacco that occasionally make their way into my mouth.

Despite those two knocks, it's a decent blend that's worth a try, but is not going to end up on my regular purchase list. Just good enough for 3 star recommended rating.

I just rediscovered this tin after trying it a couple of years ago and setting it aside. This time around its more interesting.

Disclaimer: I've become a minimalist in my pipe smoking habits as of late. I don't want to hear arias or poetry while having a pipe. This fills the bill. The burley is good: toasty with the slightest hint of a bitter edge, but in a good way. It's the star here. The VA is quietly present, not sweet but grassy. The latakia is applied with a very light hand: every puff I get that small hint of it but it never overshadows the other leaf. The cigar, as others have noted, seems to come and go. Some puffs I get the hint of freshly lit cigar, the next puff it's gone. No it doesn't sound exactly exciting but the combination of flavor makes for a pleasant, durable blend. At the half way point it hits it's stride and burns down to a dry ash. Recommended for anyone who like good burley or wants to try a so called "cigar" blend.

I've smoked most of the recently available cigar wrapper leaf containing English blends and this blend, Purple Cow by Cornell and Diehl, is the mildest one. Comparing it to Pease Robusto, for instance, is like comparing a borderline light/medium English to a borderline medium/heavy English. To me, it smoked like a light/medium English in smaller pipes and a light English in larger pipes. Another peculiarity was how the cigar leaf disappeared in the larger bowls but was present and accounted for in the smaller bowls. The opening of this fifteen year old tin was dominated by it's bulged top and bottoms and the noticeable whoosh from the pull top seal breaking. Inside was a rough mixed cut of darker brown tobaccos that presented a disheveled appearance and was very dry to the touch-not bone dry, but dry for a sealed tin of tobacco. This was noted ten years ago by reviewer Tom Bombadill 2011-09-17 and I am in cohort with him on his other question about the grade of cigar leaf used in Purple Cow. I'm used to ribs and occasional midribs in cigar leaves in pipe blends, but some of the wood I hauled out of this tin was, well lets just say, noteworthy! Still, all in all, I enjoyed smoking this blend but it just wasn't stash material and I recommend it at three stars.

I found this to be an interesting smoke. Upon opening the can the tobacco seems dry if not too dry. Iv been smoking this out of a brand new meerschaum. It packs easily and lights easily. The first puffs is predominatley latikia but the latikia quickly becomes a whisper hidden in the smoke. You can at some points taste the bitterness and acidity of thecigar leaf and feel its effects almost like smoking a cigar. If you puff too hard and smoke to quickly you can expect to feel a heavy chest and almost feel a nicotine overload like chiefing on a brickhouse stogie too quick. Also I find that the cow can burn rather quickly so I would reccomend taking it slow and enjoying it for what it is, a pipe tobacco that lends effects of a cigar. Not the most complex blend but it doesn't get boring and tends to burn out right when you really start enjoying it. If it wasn't so dry and fast burning I believe it would get 4 stars from me.

a good blend kinda smells like a bbq honestly. it may just be me but brings me back to when my father smoked something like this. it has a bit of an aftertaste but it is a very good blend

The C&D catalog describes Purple Cow as "A classic blend from Bob Runowski. Bright VA ribbon is added to a Burley base, then complemented by a dash of Latakia and tasty maduro cigar leaf." This was a good sign for me as I have never smoked a Bob Runowski blend that I didn't like and some of his creations are among my all time favorites.

Purple Cow is available in 2, 8, and 16 oz. tins and has a rather humorous logo with a pipe smoking purple cow and a farmer with an astonished look on his face. I tested the 2 oz. tin. The cut is a rather wide ribbon. There are several shades of brown and some black in the tobacco.

PC seems to like a rather firm pack in the pipe, perhaps because of the cut. One charring light gets it going, then the smoker is treated to a mix of the burley flavor with the Latakia in the background, perhaps not as prominent as in a tobacco like Morley's Best. The VA is there but plays a minor role, however this one can nip your tongue if puffed too fast. The maduro leaf appears to become more prominent as the tobacco is smoked down and adds a cigar note to the mix. PC burns well and down to the bottom of the pipe with no dottle.

I did require a few relights while smoking it, but that is par for the course with me, I've never been a "one match" smoker. PC was smoked in six different pipes and seemed to prefer larger ones, particularly my XL Lannes Johnson.

Overall I enjoyed Purple Cow and will definitely purchase it again. Bob, you did good!

Scores for Purple Cow: Taste-16 of 20; lighting and burn- 7 of 10; value- 8 of 10. 31 pts. gets Purple Cow a high *** rating.

While I prefer my smokes to have some perique, I will make exceptions if the tobaco warrants. Purple Cow definitely warrants the exception. In fact, I have one pipe in which I smoke nothing but PC, it's that good.

Yes, it does hav a slight cigar taste, but who said that's a bad thing? It isn't.

A qualification on the room note: I live alone, so what I consider "tolerable" may be a bit more than what others tolerate. On the whole, it's pleasant.

To sum up: this is a very pleasant smoke indeed. Just the thing for accompanying cerebral activities.

Very nice stuff. Full mouth feel, Billows of smoke. Quality latakia works as a great condiment to the Virgina & Burlies. The touch of maduro gives this blend a mellowing and sweetened taste that makes it a refined, flavorful smoke. Not your run of the mill english- Give it a whirl.