Cornell & Diehl Morley's Best

Forty years a pipe smoker, but my first bowl of this, and I don't like it. Smoke flavour is very thin and light and the overwhelming taste is muddy, dull and needlessly heavy with a constant bitter note in there, but without the balancing advantage of any creaminess or satisfying weight. Can detect no Latakia, and the VA perhaps is there, but hardly noticeable. I guess this tobacco is for people who find Burley a good idea, and I discover that clearly I'm one of those who do not; this one reminds me of nothing more than smoking three-day-old dottle in desperation because you are totally out of baccy. Had several C&Ds recently, but not impressed with any of them; I guess their 'house style' is just not for me. Each to his or her own, but it's a 'never again' from me on this one.

If you’re in a Burley phase and wanting to spice things up for a night, get your devoted English blend pipe out and enjoy this Burley/Lat (light) blend. It’s very, very fulfilling.

I just finished a sample of this that was flawed similar to the sample of Shandygaff I recently reviewed. They were both in a box that also contained about 4 ounces of Ennerdale that was gifted to me from a forum friend who did not like it. The scent from the Ennerdale drifted onto the my samples and left a ghost on the leaf. Now I can see why everything that comes from GH has that scent.

So it seems odd to review them as they would seem to be spoiled. Quite the contrary, I loved them both to four stars as I am a major fan of lightly applied lakeland essences; however, I can't in good conscience give four stars to something that is technically different than what I am reviewing. But if you like lakelands I would highly recommend ghosting some shandygaff with it. lol

As for what I did taste, the subtleties of the latakia in this blend were hidden by the ghost as was the heft of the orientals in the shandygaff. While taste was muted somewhat, the body of the leaf was not. This was a good bit lighter than the shandygaff due to the absence of perique, I believe. I will definitely be buying more of Morley's best in the future as it is, in composition, much like Golden Ash which I love.

As I did with my review of shandygaff, I am giving this 3 stars to be fair to the blend and the quality of leaf was as expected with C & D. Also, it was an enjoyable smoke. I will revisit this review later when I order up more of this.

It seems that C&D are known for their burley blends, and American-style English blends in particular. This seems more bitter than the others they make. I prefer Old College, Consolation, and Big 'n' Burley because they are less bitter to me.

Govern Yourself Accordingly!

I am a fan of Bob Runowski's blends, especially OJK and Epiphany. I wanted to pick this one up, assuming that it would simply taste like Epiphany without the Perique. This assumption was incorrect. Although MB is tasty in it's own way, it seems to me to have a bit MORE 'edge' than Epiphany. It's smokier and heavier on my palate. I never really picked up on the fruitiness in Epiphany until I compared the tin note of these two blends. I would wager that you would not win any friends with the room note of this one, although I smoke outside anyway.

All in all, this blend of primarily burleys with a reasonable dose of latakia (and some Virginia) is unique ---- I don't really know of other blends from other companies with these same tobaccos. In the world of Runowski burley blends, it is a somewhat smokier, slightly heavier alternative for Epiphany fans. Nicotine is squarely in the medium range. Recommended.

Oh my... not what I was expecting.

To me it was pretty harsh, and burned my nose like the dickens if blown out through it. Worse part is, I tried it at 4:00 pm and it's now 7:44 am and my mouth tastes horrible. I ate food, brushed teeth, drank strong juice, espresso... to no avail!

I don't want to scare anyone off but I think after trying it once more I will not be smoking this.

I have a tin of latakia and I like adding that with some other tobacco, or occasionally putting some on top of other blends in the pipe. I don't think it's that turning me away. To me it just tastes sour, spicy and harsh. Also, if this makes sense, it's almost how cigarettes smell. I don't like that smell, having never smoked cigarettes, I can't comment on the similarities in taste, but the smell is very similar. My wife was very upset when she smelled me smoking this one!

This is a pretty good blend, perfectly balanced and possessed of great burning characteristics (it's almost as easy to keep lit as Carter Hall or Prince Albert). I don't feel I can add much to the numerous reviews already posted, other than to say that it seems to taste much better in a cob than in a briar and it should probably be aged a few months before smoking.

There was a brief time when I thought this was my holy grail. I have a deep and abiding love of American-Englsh blends that goes back to when I first picked up a pipe. The flavor is top-notch: you obviously taste a lot of burley, but there is also a significant amount of latakia. The VAs are used sparingly here, which means this is a fairly "bitter" smoke (think of black coffee). Most mixtures of this type use some type of casing or topping to introduce some sweetness to the mix, but Morley's Best eschews all that and instead embraces an "all natural" approach.

The first few batches were notable for how east they were on the tongue, but subsequent ones have given me serious tongue bite. I wonder if a different crop of burlies or VAs is to blame here. I initially had this ranked at four stars, but the bottom line is that this blend is well-night unsmokable to me now. I do, however recommend it if you have any interest whatsoever in exploring what can be done with burley. Tongue bite is often due to personal chemistry, and you may have better luck!

It took me awhile to get to this one. I wish it hadn't. If you are a burley lover, and like your latakia in a condimental sense, this is express train to nirvana. I first smoked this in a Falcon equiped with a dublin bowl. My second in a peterson 305, and third in an Alpha Corona Freehand. (Can you tell I'm your average joe?) The consensus of the three smokes was thus: At the char light, the first thing I noticed was a Classic English taste. Latakia and Virginia which surprised. As the burn settled and the cap was tamped the flavor melded well into a nice smokey nut like flavor, which has a lightly sweet affect. Very nice. This flavor stayed until about midbowl. From Mid bowl to the 3/4 mark the burlies were more ascertive. A bit more of a bitter nut taste, but in no way unpleasant- Like an almond can be. Still very tasty. This is also the area that the nicotine started to make itself known. Slow sipping tends to bring more of the burlies out, while aggressive puffing can bring more latakia up to the front. Finish was clean and all too soon. This is a very contemplative blend, but is also great for a walk outside in the fall air. I never tried Blue Boar, of which this is a reincarnation- But I tip my hat in thanks to Bob Runowski and Craig Tarler for bringing so many classic blends back. If it weren't for them keeping the Heritage alive my generation would be sorely missing out. This one is new to my top five- Highly recomended. Cheers!

Yes, I like my Burley blends. This is another fantastic one by C&D.

Appearance and Tin Aroma: Looks similar to "Haunted Bookshop" with Latakia added to it. Burley is the predominate tin note (8 oz tin) with the VA and Latakia detectable.

Packing and Lighting: As all C&D's, easy.

Initial Flavor: Aahhh, smooth and creamy from the get go. This is a perfectly balanced blend. None of the leaves are fighting for attention.

Mid-Bowl: Still smooth and creamy with a delicious room-note to boot!

Bottom of Bowl: Builds to a medium to full strength. Never overpowering or harsh, and yes, still smooth and creamy.

Overall: I didn't think this blend would appeal to me as much as it did. I can smoke bowl after bowl of this blend and not tire from it. It has that "magic" that blenders attempt to achieve. I am glad I took a chance with an 8 oz. tin. Now I will have to order more...