Cornell & Diehl Purple Cow

An unusual mixture of floral notes, Latakia and cigar. Strong nic kick. Rather harsh, needs taming. Nothing "classic" about it.

In the Can, the Latakia and the Cigar Tobacco are easily noted. Cigar Leaf is also noted in the smoke but in the room note,

During smoking, In the flavour, pure tobacco scented, bu so strong, even so strong to easy overhelming and after this, neither more in noted!

Also in the taste, the Burley dominates and this Blend is bitter, much bitter. Than, the taste is too strong to fast saturate the gustative impressions, and because of this, neither more is noted... Overhelm.

Smoking this is good in the begin, but their strenght saturates all the environment easily, becoming tasteless and boring. Large Nicotine ammount.

May be good for people that enjoy Cigars, and for that like extremely strong English mixtures,but this tobacco is not remarkable for me. Excessive Strenght, overhelming all... as Cheap Cigars and Vinegar taste.

This is not because the Latakia content, since almost pure Latakia blends,such as Pirate Cake are better.Also,in the kind of Cigar Leaf Mixtures, Dominican Glory is much better.

2 Stars for their quality,because is well blended, bus is only for people that enjoy very strong tobaccos or cigars, but not so good for me.

Bob Runowski is my hero. He has forgotten more about burley than I'll ever know, but that doesn't keep me from enjoying it immensely. Usually when Bob is involved in a blend I think it's a good sign. With Purple Cow I almost missed out on this fantastic blend. I've had a chance to purchase some on many different occasions but never thought I'd enjoy this blend since I've always thought cigars and pipes don't mix. The good Lord always provides and I was given a good sized sample of Purple Cow in a tobacco trade on one of my favorite pipe forums. Here my love affair begins...

I was a little indecisive on what pipe to pick so I decided to punt and passed on all my briars and went to a lonely cob that had been sitting in my neglected pipe drawer. Once again... the good Lord provides. I loaded up my cob and put match to 'baccy and was met with a quick taste of latakia followed by sweetness, nutty burley and finally the cigar leaf chimed in. Within seconds all the components were harmoniously working together to provide a rich, sweetly nutty, slightly smokey blend that was held up by the cigar leaf. It's hard to explain how integrated the cigar leaf is but it just works perfectly. No bitterness or harshness just a cigar like richness you'd expect from a great cigar.

I think if you're a fan of burley and want something more interesting then definitely try this blend. If you're thinking this is an English blend then you're way off. It's mainly a burley blend that is supported by high quality cigar, virginia and latakia leaves but seems to defy definition because of the harmony of this blend. I would also recommend this in a cob. I've tried briar and I'm sure I can find a briar in my collection that would perform admirably but this blend just sings in a cob. This is American style burley and blending at it's finest.

UPDATE: I have to downgrade this....the vast majority of the tin recently got thrown out in a "spring-cleaning" of old tobaccos I no longer enjoy. It is tastes ok for the first part of the bowl but then degrades into a taste of stale cigars that makes me nauseous. It also leaves its stench in the pipe long after. Maybe I just don't dig cigar-leaf blends, but considering that this costs as much as many other better tasting "premium" tins I do not see the point. Either buy a good English blend or just get a good cigar. I leave the original review below.

General impression: The tin smell is very pleasant, with latakia (rather than cigar leaf) in the forefront. The taste when smoked is...unusual for pipe tobacco. The first half of the bowl is actually quite nice and feels like you are smoking a strong, spicy, smoky maduro cigar in your pipe. However, after that the taste begins to lean a little more toward the kind you get when you reach the very END of a good cigar and it's time to let it go out.

Who should buy this stuff: You feel adventurous and you like cigars. You want to try something unique and you like strong tobaccos.

Final notes: I actually think this is a well-blended tobacco and that any faults with it lie mainly with the inherent nature of cigar leaf. I did not regret purchasing it (although I probably will not get it again - I would rather spend that money on a real cigar). I recommend smoking this in pipe that you won't feel bad about throwing out a lot of unsmoked tobacco (like a corn cob).

A friend sent me a sample of this tobacco: upon opening the pouch the smell was wonderful and it promised a great smoke. The cut was coarse, with sheets of Havana leaf, cubed burley and mostly ribbons of the rest. Big promises, but little taste: the only real tobacco taste I could detect was the burley one, while the others came into here in there, but very lightly noticeable. Really nothing to write home about.

First and foremost, this blend is heavy on the latakia. The cigar leaf and Va, in fact, don't seem to add much in the way of distinct flavors (which is surprising). Instead, they provide a LOT of sweetness -- so much so, in fact, that at times I had to remind myself that I wasn't smoking some kind of aromatic. The burley is hardly noticeable at all, as it seems to be used in this blend mainly as a base. Purple Cow (gotta love the name and tin art!) burns well,seems to have no bite at all, and won't goop up your pipe. The room note is considerably more friendly than that of most latakia-heavy blends. A word of caution, however: when you reach the bottom, the flavor shifts abrubtly to a sooty, ashy mess (probably due the cigar leaf), so I suggest dumping it about 3/4 of the way down.

Basically, this blend makes me think of a souped-up, slightly musty version of Frog Morton, which isn't a bad thing. It's not that they taste alike (the flavor profiles are different), but they both feature lots of latakia, lots of sweetness, and are exceptionally easy on the tongue. I think that fans of the Frog Morton line might like this one a lot, but folks who primarily smoke full-bodied English blends might want to give it a pass.

I agree this is a burley blend and not a cigar blend. Buy this and put it up for 5 years. It turns into a nice mellow smoke. Smoked fresh, its harsh and seems like it has no motivation or direction in its life. With some patience though, it will find itself. That being said, I’m going B-/C++

This one is like the bigger brother of habana daydream.. It is a rough and tough burley driven smoke.. Dry in character as I find cornell and diehl burley to be.. it also offers a nice cigar component that certainly is the second most important ingredient of the smoke.. robust, earthy and spicy. A touch of latakia and just a hint of virginia play in the smoke but are definitely not as significant..The results are interesting.. Maybe a little harsh and dry for my tastes.. I prefer a little tempering with my cigar and burley.. a little oriental or cavendish may have been a nice touch.. but then it would be a completely different smoke.. I think fans of burley have a great option here.. if you aren't a big burley person this one is good to try but maybe won't become a staple so much as a departure.. for me it is a 2.5 which I will round up to 3.. A satisfying cigar blend.. Not my first choice by far.

Purple Cow – Cornell & Diehl Dopo gli assaggi offerti agli amici è giunto il momento che esprima il mio pare su questa miscela, molto particolare. Innanzitutto questa è costituita da Burley, foglie di sigaro, Latakia e Virginia. Sfogliando il catalogo C&D la MuccaViola è descritta come “una classica miscela di Bob Runowski. Al Virgina chiaro si aggiunge una dose di Burley, un pizzico di Latakia e infine una gustosa foglia di sigaro Maduro”. Da qui la curiosità nel provare il tabacco dato che non mi è ancora capitato di trovare una miscela di Bob Runowski che non mi sia piaciuta. Purple Cow si presenta con una confezione dal taglio prettamente statunitense, tutta viola e col disegno, fumettistico della mucca con una pipa che fuma la pipae un contadino con un’espressione stupita sul viso. Apriamo la latta, il tabacco si presenta con ribbon piuttosto largo. Ci sono diverse sfumature di marrone dal chiaro allo scuro e poi il nero del Latakia. La prima impressione che si apprezza annusando il tabacco è quella di percepire un profumo fantastico, molto variegato ad ogni annusata; si sente il fruttato del Virgina, il tostato o nocciola del Buley; il pieno e sapido affumicato del Latakia, non arriva al mio olfatto il Maduro. Nonostante il ribbon non sottile la pipa si carica agevolmente, piccoli pizzichi alla volta, e la si può caricare dall’apertura della latta essendo di giusta umidità. L’accensione è rapida e per poterlo assaporare appieno è indispensabile essere molto, molto accorti nell’accendere il tabacco per tutta la circonferenza del fornello, più che altri tabacchi. Ai primi puff si percepisce subito il Burley, ottimo per la verità, col suo sentore di nocciola e di tostato, accompagnato in modo sublime dall’affumicato del Latakia. Si tratta di un ottimo Latakia, carnoso, non volgare, ma con le sue tipiche (e per il mio gusto sublimi) note di foglie bruciate, un gusto oscuro, untuoso. Il virginia serve per arrotondare i due tabacchi, offre un accompagnamento rassicurante e fornisce note dolci che ottimizzano il mix. E il Maduro? Quando il tabacco è ben caldo ecco che si sprigionano le note del tabacco da sigaro; questo non è oppressivo, ma si presenta di tanto in tanto e quando si presente lo fa coi sentori delle prime aspirazioni di un sigaro appena acceso. Questo lo trovo molto piacevole; anzi è la gioia di fumare il Purple Cow. Il sapore del tabacco Maduro persiste, senza mao offuscare il gusto del mix del Burley col Latakia. Attenzione però, questo è un tabacco molto nicotinico, e può davvero dare una sberla violenta, soprattutto se venisse fumato in modo forte e col surriscaldamento della brace. Facendo così diventa non un vacca, ma un toro da corrida che carica a muso basso. Fumato in modo cadenzato, lieve, a fil di respiro invece è un signor tabacco, squisito e particolare. Se una miscela di Bob Runowski contenesse sigari o sciroppo per la tosse io la proverei, non ho mai trovato un qualche cosa di deludente. In questo caso ha creato un mix davvero unico, superbo, mi piace tutto. Per chi è indicato? Sicuramente ad un fumatore osiamo anche dire esperto. Quando fumarlo? Sicuramente non a stomaco vuoto, se no si vuole essere sopraffatti dalla nicotina, perdendo il piacere di accarezzare col palato una mucca viola. Complessivamente 5/5 e il viaggio da Dubini è realmente speso bene.