Cornell & Diehl Sunset Harbor Flake

I wouldn’t call this necessarily bad, but the dusty spice flavor wasn’t my cuppa. The tobacco was a quite moist broken flake and upon opening the tin and each bowl required 30-60 minutes drying time to be smokeable. I didn’t care for the smell upon opening the tin, the smell reminded me of a bad Mediterranean food joint. The taste was actually a pretty bland English with occasional puffs of that unpleasant spice note, which must have been the Izmir in retrospect. Not awful, but I won’t be finishing the tin.

these flake are crumbling realy easily and are easy to pack and smoke. i found it not relly evolutive from start to finish but it's not a bad thing. It taste alot like chocolate to me and i like the little spiciness. It leave a good after taste in the mouth like a floral nutty taste if i can say.

Quite dry blend which burns almost to quickly (maybe it was just my tin...). Anyway, it is good tobacco, but without any thrill. Cornell & Diehl has better mixtures.

I've opened a tin from more than one year old and smoked a pipe of this. Not so heavy in latakia in my opinion. A very good and sweet taste coming from the latakia and oriental spiced with perique. Not a latakia boost like Pirate Kake but the latakia is clearly there. Broke up the flake almost completely, very slow burning, one lightning.

I you would like to try Cornell & Diehl's version of the McClelland Blakeney's Best Latakia Flake ,this is it. Draw your own conclusions.

The some of the whole is greater than the sum of it's parts. Best describes this gem.

We're all very familiar w lat, per, and ori/turk. But these strains, in this ratio, delver tremendous flavor without being overwhelming. It's some of the best feeling tobacco between the fingers. It has a fine fluffyness to it. The flakes will rub themselves out just by mean-mug'm, smells familiar in a very unfamiliar way. If a feathery trait could everbe applied to a flake tobacco, than this is it.

The perique really doesn't make it's self to noticed IMHO. Has a earthy, spice/musty, unique flavor. Won't bite, even if you try. nic hit is mild to medium mild. Leaves the most powdery,light ash. Smokes dry, and is great while you work on a project or relaxing and savoring the exp and flavors.

Very interested in trying a tin w some age.

And they call this a Balkan blend, further confusing me on the subject.

Presentation: Mixed together with smaller pieces throughout the semi intact flakes come in different lengths and sizes and not one is alike to the other. Looks more of which someone took a crumble cake and fashioned it into slices. Further breaking apart requires no effort and falls apart easily. Still, a unique presentation that I have yet to find in another blend. Moisture is a little more than usual out of the tin, but can be smoked right away.

Palette: The Latakia comes through first with a slightly smoky essence. Not a typical campfire strong latakia, but a rather sweet BBQ glaze with a little bit of charring. The orientals play a significant role next to the Latakia in the minor wood notes followed by a sour zest. These two combined create an almost creamy like mouthfeel you might attribute to a plain Greek yogurt. What is interesting with this blend is that even though it contains no Virginia components, it still retains a delicate sweetness that is noticeable throughout the smoke. The perique adds just enough spice on the retrohale. It is slightly prune and black pepper, an even mix with both never dominating the other. It has a somewhat savory essence to it too. Reminds me of the salt on the rim of a well done margarita. As you take sips, the salt gently soaks up some of the sweet liquid until you are finished. You take swipes with your tongue to the glass and it is sweet, sour and salty all at the same time.

Performance: You can either rub the flakes out and have medium sized pieces and layer them, or rub it out completely to have fluffy, even smaller sized pieces. Either way, the blend burns really well. Doesn't bite unless really pushed being that there are no Virginias to burn too hot. Nicotine is mild to me and even after a bowl I don't feel too much. Leaves a little dottle at the bottom along with some moisture. Requires about two false lights and one true light, with one relight, sometimes two. Not an all day blend, but some who fall in love can easily smoke this more than once a day, if a few bowls in a row.

Conclusion: A super underrated Balkan that I'm surprised is top tier in terms of quality and flavor. I suppose some pipe smokers may be hesitant to purchase this blend seeing that there is no Virginia leaf added to the blend and may assume that it is bold and heavy, but I think that what Sunset Harbor Flake does with the form factor, it melds the flavors together to give it a unique and rich, mildly complex, semi sweet smoke. I can usually smoke this blend two bowls in a row. I wish they would make this in 8oz or 16oz tins, as I would love to cellar this deep. For now, 2oz tins it is.

A decent, competent blend, but nothing special and typically C&D/Pease. Earthy, sour, sometimes sweet and sour, burns and packs well, moderate vitamin N. There's others which put the wind in my sails more than this one.

Fun to try; however, I shan't purchase more.

(First Bowl, 2021 Spring) Fresh from the tin, stuff and go (Lazy Frank Method). Took three tries to light but this is my first bowl in five years so I don't have a lot of practice. As I was lunting the first few minutes were mostly starchy and ashy, settling down in some grass brought the flavor, lightly savory, consistent to the end. One re-light halfway. Dumped the last bit of dottle.