Cornell & Diehl Crooner

Having never tried a blend with deer tongue, I chose this one as my intro. I think I got lucky. I love this stuff. The Burley is top notch. Earthy and nutty. The DT adds notes of herbs and definitely vanilla. It also gives this a nice freshness that I can see some interpreting as minty. There's also a nice sweetness in the mix. Medium in body and flavor. Can't get enough of this wonderful blend.

One last thing. This blend expands like crazy. I found it best to gravity feed and fill only to the 3/4 mark of the bowl. Otherwise the ashes are spilling out all over the place. Happy smoking.

Definitely a long time favorite. A friend had this blend for a a couple months, and it always kept me interested. It lasted for a while and the room note is still one of the best.

So I had to try it. First time round the strength seemed a little high, but after a while I very much enjoyed it. It turned into almost a daily smoke. Flavor wise it is a strong burley, but its the deer tounge that's different. People look for a vanilla and mint taste but I would say more of a light floral flavor.

The room note is nothing I have smelt before. The wife loves it and can always distinguish it. Can't really describe it however, something you need to experience yourself.

I could go on for hours, but in the end it's a gorgeous smoke and I have the up most respect for both the blender and the man who created it.

I am obsessed with Crooner. A 2oz sample quickly became 16oz for the cellar. I have a few pipes now dedicated to this blend (it ghosts) and will most likely dedicate some more. The cube-cut makes this blend easy to pack. A quick gravity fill is all you need. I never dry this one any either it is immediately ready.

The Burley here is nutty sweet and quite strong. It delivers a solid kick with some spice too. The Deer Tongue is delicious. Floral/minty with some vanilla. There's a noticeable cinnamon flavor I get in every bowl. The room note is intoxicating as well. Extremely pleasant.

Wow! What a blend! This is my first time to try deer tongue. In the pouch it is fragrant. The deer tongue (I suppose) has a pouch aroma similar to flowers, mint, herbs and a little vanilla combined. After lighting, it has very full and fresh flavor! It has a "burst in your mouth" kind of feel. I can taste the minty, herby, floral essence of the spice used. The room note is just similar to good pipe tobacco. The aroma is just pleasant burley (to me). The nicotine hit is strong! Perhaps from the burley. I smoked this in a medium billiard. It smokes cool and has no tongue bite. But it does make my tongue feel "numb" a bit, as if an anesthetic was applied to it. It's a good smoke to try in the evenings after dinner. Totally different experience. You must try it and judge for yourself.

Appearance: Mostly medium brown cubes, with a few smaller greenish bits. The cubes are substantial in size, but can be rubbed out a little.

Aroma: Mellow Burley aroma, with a hint of sweet herbiness. The aroma is elusive, but puts me in mind of Tarragon, or Summer Savory.

Packing:. Works best in medium and larger bowls. I simply pour the cubes in all the way to the top, add a few bits of rubbed out tobacco and then tamp lightly once.

Lighting:. In spite of the large cubes, the tobacco is not hard to light. Typical char, tamp and relight get it going well.

Initial flavor: The initial taste is good nutlike burley, but there is a hint of the Deer Tongue. The flavor when burning still reminds me of some delicate kitchen herb.

Mid-bowl:. The Deer Tongue provides a layer of flavor which interplays with the Burley in a beguiling manner. The Burley is excellent quality, and can stand on it?s own, but sometimes needs a counterpoint. This combination works for me. The blend burns cool and dry, but stays lit well.

Finish:. No noticeable change at the bottom of the bowl. Generally leaves a clean dry pipe.

Summary:. This is an excellent all day blend for the Burley guy. It would be a great change of pace for anyone willing to broaden his horizons, be he an English fan, a Virginia lover or an Aromatic devotee

These reviews are filled with the comparison between Deer's Tongue and Vanilla, and while that is true, I'd like to underscore the floral and herbal flavour off it. Definitively different from a standard tonquin bean flavouring (in which the flavour comes mainly from coumarin) which to my tastebuds taste almost exactly like and almost only off vanilla. This blend has that coumarin-vanilla flavour but is far more complex than that. I am reminded off grass, flowers, tea and even pinewood. The blend has almost no sweetness and has a dry, woody quality to the smoke. I don't think a comparison to Lakelands is out of order, even though I don't find it soapy, it's also more subtle and not as overwhelming in flavour. I can see why this blend is polarizing. It has a highly unusual flavour. The flavour develops alot troughout the bowl and the smoke has plenty off taste. The burley is top notch and has a constant presence, but the deer's tongue dominates the flavour.

I consider this a must-try for anyone who is a fan off floral and herbal flavours like myself. If you don't, stay away.

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.

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.