Cornell & Diehl Star of the East Flake

I purchased this tin along with a 2 oz sample of Star of the East. This will be my review of the Flake by itself and compared to the ribbon cut.

Opening the tin, the Flake are at a good moisture. Not too much to steam my tongue but not too little to make it burn fast. The tin aroma is smoky, earthy and a very slight sweetness. The tin note is a lot more earthy and damp then Star of the east. The flavors changed quite a bit throughout the bowl. Smoky with the graham cracker note like Star of the East but not as heavy on the graham cracker. A damp earthy flavor and slight mustiness kept popping up throughout the bowl with the graham cracker fading in and out along with it. The end started to become more roasted. No tongue bite and burned clean.

Comparing Star of the East Flake vs. Star of the East, I find the Flake is more heavy and earthy. They both have very close flavor profiles. I find the Flake to be a end of the day smoke vs the ribbon cut. Both a vary enjoyable. But due to the ability of possibly overpowering your palate, the Flake is better at last smoke of the night.

That being said, it was great! Much stronger flavors then any English I've had. Will definitely be stocking up on more along with the ribbon cut.

There have been more than a few comparisons to Penzance, but this is much fuller and bolder to me, a somewhat "fresher" and younger version whose huge portion of Latakia is counterbalanced by rich, tangy and sweet Virginia and some Turkish. This is a rustic, Americanized Balkan -- not a bruiser per se, but full bodied and full of flavor, with the Latakia delivering an almost smoked-meat essence.

It is less "melded" than Penzance, perhaps because the aging is abbreviated or the processing is different. You can readily point out the constituent tobaccos, which taste so natural and clean.

The mixture is ready-rubbed in thick strips out of the tin. I rub them out thoroughly and allow them to dry before loading. Like all C&D blends, it is well-behaved in the bowl, requiring only a few relights and it burns beautifully. A must try for full English lovers.

This product was recommended to me as an alternate if not better then penzance. I unfortunately missed the penzance train but will review what's in front of me. This product upon smell has that solid earthy rich burnt wood smell in it all of course from the Latakia. The tobacco was purchased in bulk so it was very easy to work with and smoked like a champ. This tobacco is an English blend and was one of the smoothest English tobaccos I have smoked lately a very solid buy from cornell and diehl. I would highly recommend this as an all day everyday smoke it is just a joy and has a good tobacco taste. I guess the only input as far as compared to penzance for me would be it's better mainly because it is available. I think that's what's hard with reviews sometimes having blends that aren't available or are limited. Overall a great smoke for this one I would give it a 3.5 if that was an option.

The mixture I tried was bulk blend. The flakes and tinned versions might not be a lat bomb but the bulk mixture certainly is. As others have remarked in their reviews, it turns sour and/or bitter halfway through the bowl. I haven't been impressed with C & D blends.

From the tin, the smell is beautiful: strong latakia and an almost olive-like sourness. The taste is rich, smoky, and nutty throughout, and the burn is slow and cool. The bottom of the bowl is where this blend really comes together; it's sweet, creamy, leathery, and spicy with the virginias taking centre stage. I have noticed there can be a faint ammonia taste behind these last flavours, which can spoil some moments. This blend is medium strength in terms of nicotine.

I am not a very big fan of Cornell and Diehl's straight virginia or burley offerings, but from what little I've tried, they get latakia blends right.

Well, there is God for the lovers of Latakia! 50% Cyprian Latakia with some Izmir and stoved red Virginia.

Tobacco form: Broken Flake.

Humidity: A lot, needs drying.

With 50% Latakia the aroma is quite smoky (a friend described it as bacon-y). The tobacco has a full and nice taste that fills your taste buds and makes them happy. The flavor is sometimes smoky (because of Latakia)and sometimes sweet (because of the Virginia). Nicotine levels fall into the medium to low category. Smoke it slowly and relaxed because anxious puffing tickles your tongue. The room note is strong and some people may find it unpleasant.

It is an enjoyable smoke especially for the Latakia lovers. The only drawback is that it is a quite flat blend. No surprises here. Nevertheless, it is a quite good tobacco and I truly recommend it!

Have been enjoying this blend for the past six mos., and has become my preferred Latakia cake/flake over Penzance and Fairmorn Lancer Slices.

For me, this tobacco needs some time to air and is just too moist out of the cans I've opened. Packing a pipe and letting it sit overnight, or letting some sit on a paper plate for a few hrs. before smoking is my routine. Have experimented with this stuff in wider and narrow gauge pipes. Like it rubbed out a bit more than it comes in the can, and in a wider bowl. Everyone has a different preference.

Do not find this to be a Latakia bombshell. There is a unique creamy thickness to this blend in the mouth. Very full. It is also subtly sweet in my opinion. No doubt there's Latakia in there, but the salty smokiness of Latakia does not overwhelm the tastebuds at any point. Very balanced with the Red Virginia and Izmir components.

Tobacco is consistent from top to bottom of bowl. 3 stars.

This is a great Balkan blend that requires a degree of finesse to obtain the best results. Please don't do what I did. When this tin arrived I was rather anxious to take it for a spin, having read the reviews below. My first impression on opening the tin was that it was dry enough to smoke NOW. Wishful thinking ! So I rubbed and stuffed a nice bowlful into a large straight billiard and proceeded to fire it up.

Now I expected, from a blend that touts itself as 50% Latakia, to experience a certain degree of Latakia bomb. What I obtained was a Latakia thermo-nuclear device. Whoa ! Basically nothing present but Latakia, tongue bite, and an unsweetened, salty licorice coating on the tongue. No Virginia sweetness, no Oriental spice, no nothing....'cept Latakia. Ok. I knew something was wrong and went back to the reviews. What did I miss? Obviously....dry time,dry time, dry time. So after letting my tongue and palate heal for a couple of days. I tried again.

Round 2: About 1 hour of dry time on paper, followed by a gentle rub, I loaded a smaller bent billiard bowl with what seemed like VERY dry tobacco. There was a powder left on the white paper that looked like powdered graphite. Did I overdo it?

NO. This time I had a GREAT smoke. Lots of Latakia and yes, Santa Claus, there IS Virginia. And Oriental, in this blend. Experienced a very pleasant creaminess behind the Latakia, along with some nice spicy sparks from the Oriental.

Is this a all-day smoke? Not unless you have a tongue that resembles a razor strop. Is it an everyday smoke? Not for me. I'll be reserving this for after big dinners or when I crave an extra hit of Latakia. It's a very nice, quality blend that I will keep on the shelf.....for occasional use only.

I need you guys to help me here. I have a pound of Penzance and it can't outperform The Star of the East... initially. Let me explain: this tobacco has a creaminess that just soothes the soul. It is the closest thing to a Latakia putting. Slightly sweet, just a little spicy, and leathery full. HOWEVER, I'm puzzled at its behavior half way into the bowl. It consistently switches from Penzance killing goodness to a strong ash tray /cigarette butt flavor as if there was a line drawn midway into the bowl. Never fails. It ruins the moment. I can't sip it, so i dump it out. What's going on here? My pipe is a deep bowl grabow. Is it that?