Cornell & Diehl Crooner

C&D has more blends that stars in the sky it seems. I have smoked quite a few and have enjoyed most overall. To say that I didn't enjoy this one is putting it mildly. After three bowls, I threw the rest in the garbage. I LIKE deer's tongue. The Tinder Box used it very effectively in its '70s rendition of Special. The problem with "Crooner" is that there is WAY too much deer tongue in it. I think I could smoke grass clippings and have a better experience. I think deer's tongue is a hard thing to get just right. In Crooner, it overwhelms the senses. That said, if you want to try a blend with it, try C&D's own "Gentleman Caller." They get the mix just right in it. Better luck next time, Craig.

This is the most chunky of tobaccos. It resembles Grape Nuts cereal, but it certainly doesn't taste like it.

I love burley, so my view is from a burley lover's perspective.

The deertongue is readily visible and it adds an herbal-vanilla essence to the experience. I've had deertongue before in Old Tartan. Here, it is far more prominent and I find it compliments the burley in a delightful manner.

I have never had any difficulty in lighting Crooner. I purchased mine in bulk. I merely dip my pipe (both cobs and briar) into the tobacco and fill up the bowl in one pass.

I find the blend effortless to ignight. Perhaps this is due to the reason I allowed Crooner to dry out a bit. Over the past 4 ounces, I've had numerous times where the char light burned on its own down 3/4 of the bowl. A tamp, a light and it's down to briar. I am a pipe sipper; a small pipe dedicated to Crooner (a Hardwick straight) will go for 25-30 glorious minutes.

Overall, the flavour is sweet and woody. Chocolate notes interplay with soft nuttiness. There is no bite. I draw on my Crooner pipes through the front of my lips, much like a goldfish blowing kisses. I've discovered this brings out the sweetness of the blend.

Of all the blends that I have smoked, Crooner is one of the few tobacs that I will smoke down to the bottom of the bowl. There is no dottle, no gurgles, nothing but a comfortable, laid back experience in the bowl. I have not yet dumped or shorted a bowl of Crooner.

For me, its a keeper.

Recommended to those with an affinity to burley predominate blends.

Cornell and Diehl are, with Peretti, the masters of burley blending. I adore Morley's Best and Big 'n Burley. However, I think in Crooner they have created one of the, if not THE, finest burley blends to be found on the market today.

Well, maybe they didn't create it. As is well known, this was Bing Crosby's private blend, and I must say that the man was more than an American cultural icon: he also had fantastic taste in tobacco.

Crooner is rich, cubed burley with deer tongue added. Very simple, but astonishingly flavorful and satisfying. It smokes cool and dry, lighting with ease despite the uncommonly large cubes of tobacco. I have never been bitten or even had mild mouth irritation from a bowl of Crooner; it is always well behaved.

The deer tongue has an herbal, spicy-sweet scent, reminiscent to me of mild vanilla and cinnamon. It complements the natural tobacco flavor of the burley beautifully.

As you can see, I love Crooner and cannot recommend it highly enough.

The burleys are both earthy and nutty. The deer tongue helps to smooth out any harshness from the burley. It also adds a floral and somewhat sweet dimension. As crazy as it may sound, I occasionally even picked up a spearmint note. Despite the unique quality of the deertongue, Crooner is not very complex. However, it was able to keep my interest all the way down. This is a unique blend and is certainly worth the try.

Let me start by saying that when I first started pipe smoking I used to spend Saturday mornings at my local B&M hanging out with the "old guys" smoking pipes and solving the world's problems (this was before a local smoking ban made it illegal to smoke in any business, including a smoke shop, but I digress). Anyway, one Saturday morning we were talking and one of the guys asked me if I had ever tried a tobacco with deer tongue in it; I had not. As we were continuing to talk the pipes manager said "I think I may have some deer tongue in the back" and he went to check. When he returned he had a small canister with a very small amount in the bottom and he passed it around to let everyone see and smell it, then took it to the back to mix up a quick blend so we could try it. I don't remember exactly what was in that blend, but I remember that it was a quite pleasant smoke and that I very much enjoyed it.

That brings us to this blend. Being that this is a copy of the blend that Bing Crosby blended and smoked I thought that the best pipe for this blend would be my Savinelli Bing's Favorite - I was wrong; I actually don't like this blend in that pipe at all . What I found is that this blend is rather dull in that pipe, but in a little Jobey bent bulldog it is spectacular. Also, the other night while smoking it I had the thought that what this really needed was some Latikia, so I pulled out an English blend that is a Burley/Latakia mixture and I mixed (about 50/50) enough for one bowl, and it was fantastic!

So, while I recommend that you try this one at least once, I have two recommendations: 1, Be sure try it in different pipes if you can (but be careful, the deer tongue can ghost your pipe); and, 2, Don't be afraid to throw in a little Latakia, it does wonders for this blend.

Enjoy

A cube cut mix of mostly dark burleys with a fair proportion of light green deer tongue. Pouch note is strongly of the deer tongue which is reminiscent of wet hay, oregano, green tea and vanilla. There seems to be some kind of alcohol topping but I do not say this with any confidence.

My tobacco arrived tinder dry and burned easily without preparation.

This is an uncomplicated burley that has no bitterness of any kind. The deer tongue is dominant throughout. I found this made my mouth tender, tho nothing like tongue bite, and as such I would describe it as astringent. I quite enjoyed the fragrance.

This tobacco is quite hefty nicotine wise and the complete experience is on the intense side. Would suit an after breakfast smoke to kick start your day.

I know from personal experience that this IS a replica of the tobacco Bing Crosby smoked and I have enjoyed it non-exclusively for many years. It's a burley lovers dream with just a little KICK from the added deers tongue.

This is another one of those tobaccos that could spark a riot. I wouldn't kill anyone over this stuff, but I might bust a few heads. No, seriously. I wasn't brave enough to order anything more than a one ounce sample, and I don't regret it a bit.

Crooner is a piece of work. It's the best looking and tasting Burley I've ever come across. Dark, giant cubes, soft to the touch, and easy for the packing. And dried, broken, olive colored leaves with a stem here and there. It's an intimidating batch to look at, and when I sampled it for the first time, I was careful to only pack half a bowl in a throw-away cob.

My expectations were something along the lines of 1792--a robust tobacco with a strange, overwhelming vanilla-like taste that would pervade the entire experience. Although that might be the characterization of some, my actual reaction differed quite a bit.

The Deer Tongue wasn't as strong or out of place as I suspected. It's in there alright, and it does have a kind of vanilla quality, but it's muted. I found the Burley to drive this blend all the way through, and I am a convert in many ways. This is the first Burley blend that I didn't have any problems with. It's such high quality stuff, it almost takes on other characteristics that I don't typically associate with the leaf. Because Burley is low in sugar content, the Deer Tongue makes an excellent compliment--they work so well together that I didn't bother to question their coexistence.

Would I smoke this every day? No. But would I buy it again? Certainly. And I will be sure to keep some on hand for those moments that I need to question why I have no idea who Bing Crosby might be. Seriously. He directed movies, right?

ba ba boo boo boo.. boo boo boo.. boo boo boo. Oh what a crooner. Yes, he is one of my old favorites.. so I surely had to try something he may have smoked. Although many mention Hayward as his blend, and who wouldn't like a nice Burley, Latakia, Virginia blend? But, I can see Bing smoking this blend easily. I have donated a Rossi Canadian to this blend, while a Bing Crosby Thermostatic sits on a shelf to smile at. he surely was a salesman in his day. I enjoy Burleys and this Deer-tongue just kicks it off nicely. I can agree with others that the blend will bloom when lit. I get a "grassy" aroma from the bag while loading up, At which point it burns nicely to an ash. The flavor is a nice medium burley with the vanilla floral of the Deer-tongue / Carolina-Vanilla. For me, explaining DeerTongue smell and flavor may be "telling". It reminds me of the 60's and those five and dime bags of Mexican dirt weed cut with everybody's brother home spices from the kitchen. You had to live the 60's to understand maybe.. lol. it just makes me grin from the aroma. Not my everyday smoke, I'll find a special time to smoke this blend and hope it never goes away. This blend has a taste well worth trying. Obviously taste differ, I am not a Va/Per or straight Virginia fan while many like them, but toss in some burley to sip and I smile. Deer-tongue makes me grin. Thanks Cornell & Diehl for keeping Crooner on the market. it keeps me swinging on a star... he was such a hip cat..