Cornell & Diehl Purple Cow

I have to confess ? I brought this blend because the description and name were tempting. And I was not wrong. This is good tobacco and only warning is, that it is cut in very wide ribbons, so if you are not careful these huge pieces may block your pipe.

This is the best latakia blend I have smoked from C & D, and one of my favorites, period. I don't know if it is the maduro leaf or what, but man, I do like this stuff. Very stringy tobacco and perfect for stuffing the pipe and lighting right up. Burns nearly perfect with a soft pack of the bowl. The taste has a great lingering sweetlness in the background that perfectly compliments the latakia.

Tin note is pleasant. No “figgy” VA note, there is a strong “creamy milkshake/heavy cream” smell. Certainly one of a kind. Country lawyer was my first cigar blend, but that’s a pipe tobacco with a hint of cigar leaf. This blend is different. It’s a full bodied smoke, very close to a real cigar. Velvety, full-body smoke full of flavor even with a charcoal filtered pipe. The Latakia doesn’t stand out, it bridgesbetween the maduro and virginia. For cigar fans, I highly recommend. Must warn you you it’s very high in Nicotine, as a former cigarette and cigar smoker its no biggie for me, but for the traditional pipe smoker it’s quite a handful.

i just finished my first tin and i will soon buy more. this is a great blend. it is a great burly blend with some extras added to it. overall it is both sweet and bitter, smokey and smooth and very very strong. great to settle those occasional cigar cravings when you don't have an hour to smoke.

dry, non uniform cuts. there's a thin hunk in there that will need to be broken up and rubbed out. it doesnt really look or feel that pleasing but i do like the taste and the way it burns enough to highly recommend it.

This blend achieves an excellent balance between pipe character and cigar flavor. The nicotine level is right on target. Other cigar leaf blends I've tried have been over-the-top in that respect. As well, others have had acrid overtones - - the kind you get if you just crumble a reasonably good cigar and stuff the crumbs in your pipe. Purple Cow is smooth, cool, and easy on the draw. The flavor and aroma are dominated by the rich maduro cigar leaf. The burley and virgina, together, serve the same role as the filler in a fine cigar. They support and uplift the flavor and aromatic qualties of the maduro wrapper leaf. The latakia, here, is present largely as a seasoning. It cools and sweetens the smoke and rounds out the mouthfeel while seldom directly revealing itself through its flavor or aroma. While I love full-strenth English blends that showcase latakia, I find it a refreshing change to find this leaf so effectively cast in a supporting role. Another job well done by Cornell and Diehl

Now this is absolutely not what I expected. The tin note was more of Virginias and Latakia than of a Maduro cigar. I like Maduro cigars and thought that this would be an interesting blend to try. I expected the Maduro leaf to overpower the blend and ruin the subtleties of a C and D English tobacco. What i found was surprising and delightful, the top of the bowl was full of VA. sweetness and Latakia with very mild pepperiness from the cigar leaf. As the bowl progressed, the complexity changed and became more rich and powerful. The cigar leaf became more pronounced and the burley helped fill the flavors with a certain creamy richness. By the bottom of the bowl I was amazed at the way this blend satisfied both my taste for pipe tobacco and cigars. This blend is not an everyday smoke but more of a every once and a while treat.

I can sum this blend up with one word: Yummy! This was my first Cornell and Diehl blend and I wasn?t disappointed in the least. At first match, I got a blast of Latakia which quickly mellowed as the burleys asserted themselves. The Virginias added a wonderful top note and the maduro leaf really came into its own about a third through the bowl, but didn?t overpower any of the rest of the flavors. Fantastic. As to the room note, I was in my favorite tobacco shop extolling the virtues of this blend with a pair of cigar smokers. They both said it smelled great. I tend to agree with them but I might be a little biased.