Cornell & Diehl Purple Cow

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.

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.

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.