Cornell & Diehl Morley's Best

This strikes me as Walnut's iron-pumping brother. Where Walnut is sweet and soft with a touch of latakia, Morley's Best is brawny and powerful without a trace of sweetness but still with that wonderful essence of latakia to betray the family lineage.

I've never smoked Blue Boar so I can't comment on how close this one comes to replication. But it's hardly relevant; this one stands on its own. The burley is the major player and the virginias are not of the sweet variety. They are oily and robust, with a rich flavor and strong character. I find the flavors perfectly melded and the strength is of a comforting nature rather than brute force. I honestly believe that this is one of those blends that I call "genius blends". Bob Runowski knows how to do burleys and he knows his OTC's. Those of us who didn't get a chance to smoke Blue Boar can smoke Morley's Best to their heart's content. And we will. At least I will! If you like burley with the rounding off that a touch of virginia can do and the added spice of latakia, you should definitely give this a spin in your favorite pipe.

As I've stated before, I am a fan of almost everything that Bob Runowski has hand his hand in creating. I am saddened by his passing, but grateful that he helped to reproduce so many great blends from the past. Morley's Best is one of my favorites in his blend series, along with Epiphany. It begins as a good Burley, then I taste the twang of the Latakia, and then a nice sweetness from the Virginias, all of which slowly develop, meld with each other, and become fuller as the bowl progresses. It's a tobacco with which I've had more than one "nirvana" smokes and one that I recommend highly, but don't think that you'll make the wife happy with the room note. Trust me.

EDIT (4/22/2016) - This is still one of my favorites. If I can't decide on what to smoke, this is the one that I almost invariably reach for. I've been thinking of calling the local radio station and dedicating Kenny Rogers' "Through the Years" to this blend. 🙂

A Va/Bur/Lat or "American English" blend, if you will. I had this 8oz tin for almost two years before I popped it and I think it was tinned in 2006 or 2007. So.... when it popped it was a bit like popping the cork on a champagne bottle. Some confetti flying and a violent implosion. It's paid off with this one, which has put me in the zone really fast, and I'm not even the biggest burley fan out there. Aged as it should be as in this particular 8oz tin, it's flavorful, biteless, mild and smooth. It's reputedly a strong nic blend, but not to me, not this time. I think that the minimal in the tin aging may have tamed the nic. The well-blended components had enough time to get to know each other and chill. Three and a half stars to this blend, when smoked from a tin that's had some age in it. Most C&D blends should be aged for at least a little and this is certainly one of them. Then it's golden. You know what this blend is? It's relaxing is what it is.

Update: This blend continues to grow on me; the latakia is the tastiest and most aromatic that I can remember. Upgrading it to four stars.

The burley properties of this tobacco develop against a citric backdrop, which is made possible by the addition of virginia flake. It is somewhat similar to Pegasus, but you'll find more of a full tang in Morley's Best. The Oriental leaf is quite apparent as you light up for the first time, but it will fade away the more you progress with your smoke. The backbone here is being provided by both the virginia leaf and the latakia, whereas the burley plays more of a supporting role. I cannot detect any casings or flavourings, the taste is quite clean and unadulterated. 4 stars.

This is a favorite since the first bowl. Not being capable of flowery descriptors, my best description of this blend is a tamer version of Junk Yard Dog. JYD has a bit more of burley kick, while Morley's has a bit more noticeable Latakia presence.

This is the first C and D blend that I have tasted. Don't know why, but just never got around to ordering any before. I think it was that they have so many blends, it was hard to know where to start.

I started with Morley's Best. Aptly called "101", as in "Pipe smoking 101" or "blends 101". What a great piece of blending work it is. I would call it an American blend. Mild, biteless, never bitter or harsh, but with flavour aplenty. The burleys are very prominent at the beginning, and the Latakia is transformed by them and the Virginias. I don't know what else is in there, but there is something that gives it a little extra taste. It could be the different burleys in combination.

The taste never lets up, and it smokes just right all the way down. No essence of ashtray as one passes the half-way mark.

It has been said that this blend is similar to Blue Boar, another resident in the cemetary of blends of yore. I never smoked Blue Boar, and to be honest don't really regret that on account of having this one.

This is a must for burley lovers who want a little more, and for English and Balkan smokers who don't want to smoke aromatics but would like something that does not taste quite so oriental. C&D are doing all of us a great service in putting blends like this together. Long may they continue to do so.

2/15/06 - Update: Having finished my ball jar that was once full of Morley's Best i ordered an 8oz tin from Cup O Joes for $16.00 and dug right in. As before, perfect moisture and ready to go right from the tin. The fact that Morley's Best is so darn tasty and ages incredibly well has made this a favorite of mine. Why this blend does not have a colorful label and is not packed in 2oz tins is strange considering the rave reviews on this site and others but the price difference between the bulk and premium tins is such that it does not bother me.

I purchased 4ozs of this blend based on the reviews here from Pipes and Cigars and i wish i purchased more! This and Old Hollywood are the two finest Blends i have tried from C&D with Morley's Best being on top due to the incredibly low price compared to a tin of Old Hollywood. This does not contain the cavendish as that blend does but there is some sweetness from the bright virginia that intensifies as you reach the halfway mark. With both blends being rich and so smooth, i am hard pressed to decide which i like better so instead i will keep half a pound of Morley's best in a Ball jar and keep a tin of Old Hollywood on my shelf so i do not have to decide which to keep. These two blends and Nut Brown Burley by Wilke's are my Burley Blend rotation and what a fine rotation it is! Any Burley smoker owes it to him or herself to try this bulk blend, it really deserves to be tinned based on the quality blending and the reviews it has received on this site. Glad i took a chance and ordered some!

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...