Cornell & Diehl Purple Cow

So here's the thing...before smoking a pipe I was an avid cigar smoker of only the finest... ie Cohiba, Partagas, Montecristo, anything Cuban (as it is legal in Canada ) now smoking a pipe I am a huge English blend guy. I have to say the main reason for me trying Purple Cow is the show Modern Marvels on History Channell on tobacco culture. I'm only on my second bowl of the stuff and it is better than the first. To me it is a great English blend with a kick of the cigar leaf. when smoked to fast I find it can get a bit bitter and heavy but when smoked easy I find the Maduro leaf adds almost a cinnamon woodsy note. I think I'll put this blend in a mason and revisit it in several months and again in a year or so. I believe this blend has great potential but needs some time.

**Update a week later and yeah this is not your balanced English blend. Though it starts out somewhat balanced the cigar leaf makes itself known half way down, not a bad thing for me but for most will be to strong. I said I'll put this away but will try it periodically to see how the tobacco matures. Please don't make this your first English blend as it is a bit strong and may turn some first timers off.

I bought this vacuum can of Purple Cow in January of 2010 and cellared it unopened for a year and a half before trying it. This was done of course to improve the blend. Immediately upon opening, I was surprised to find the tobaccos were completely shredded and diced giving the appearance of being floor sweepings from the C&D factory. I almost had a cow! I was further astonished to find the tobacco was completely dried out even though it was vacuum sealed. And I mean completely dried out. I almost had another cow! I packed a bowl which burnt like paper all the way through in under a minute. I tried a second bowl with the same result. Almost having my third cow I was at a cross-roads: I had no choice but to re-hydrate the blend or throw it out. Opting to re-hydrate, I emptied the tin in a plastic container and placed a sponge dampened with distilled water along side the tabacky. I sealed it up and after two weeks the blend was moist and smokable.

After all that effort, the blend wasn't bad as a once in a while smoke. I'm a big English/latakia blend smoker and like a "cigar" blend now and then. My problem with cigar blends is that I don't smoke cheap maduro cigars and I can't imagine tobacco houses using great maduro cigars when making pipe blends. Lots of "cigar blends" taste like cheap maduros. I smoked Purple Cow intermittantly, outside, as part of my English, flake, and aromatic-now-and-then rotation.

Ultimately, the maduro cigar flavor dominated and it wasn't necessarily a great maduro taste. I've enjoyed other cigar blends more. Purple cow is worth a try for an intepid English smoker. Maybe I had a bad batch.

Maybe the cow is purple because he inhaled this stuff?

An interesting oddball blend. I first tried it when it was initially released and have returned to it on occasion. On review sites, Purple Cow is typically categorized as a "cigar leaf blend" but truthfully I'd place it squarely in the "Other" category. While not as unusual as something like Haddo's Delight or Dark Star, I think it's fair to say that Purple Cow doesn't taste like anything else out there.

I'm always interested in the experimental blends and Purple Cow is suggestively named. In fact when I first encountered it, I was skeptical that it was anything more than a novelty tobacco for the unserious smoker--both the tin art and name suggest a (misleading) sense of whimsy. But after learning it was a Bob Runowski blend (hero of C&D and the American pipe tobacco scene), I suspected there was more to this product than a bit of fun. Indeed, Purple Cow is a serious blend and unusually heavy too. There is an lasting oily heaviness to post-smoke mouthfeel that's not unlike that of strong rope tobacco such as Gawith, Hoggarth Brown Bogie. There's a lot going on with this one--with burley, latikia and maduro leaf fighting for your attention, Purple Cow is a rich smoke.. probably too rich to smoke regularly.

I appreciate the innovation and ideas behind this blend more than I love the blend itself. Don't get me wrong it's good stuff, but only when you're in the mood.

I found this one of the more interesting C&D blends.

The burley is strong in this one and the nic hit can be too. The cigar leaf is noticeable (similar to Country Lawyer) but I could have done with less latakia in this one.

Burns great without any complaints.

I'm not a big cigar guy but I could see cigar lovers liking this one a lot.

Gigar and latakia take the lead out of the chute through to the half-way mark. Then the blend smoothed out, allowing the Virginia to come through, particularly on the retrohale, Cigar leaf could be improved upon to balance the blend. Burned clean on one post-char lighting. 2+.

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

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++

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.