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.

To give you a hint from where my below impressions are coming from; I favor aromatic blends (vanilla being my favorite), although I am finding I enjoy English/Scottish blends more frequently, which I could not stand when I first started smoking a pipe. I have been trying more of the English/Aromatic combo blends, which I have found being more and more of that I am reaching for for my everyday smoke

Opening the tin I smelled the Latikia right off the bat, it was noticeable but not overpowering. I was the singular scent I smelled.

The flavor I tasted was the cigar leaf's spiciness, in the background was the burley and the Latikia poked its head out shyly in the background.

Out of the tin the tobacco was dry. Was able to light this without issue and few relights were needed. I did have a little tongue-bite with this 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.

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.

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