Cornell & Diehl Red Carpet

New tin to me, but bought with other C&D tins that were from 2009. Tin aroma is very strong fig aroma - almost overpowering. After airing out and aging in a tin a bit, there is no significant change in aroma, which is for some reason a bit off- putting.

The flakes are dark burgundy, dense, and leathery. They don't rub out well, but rather crumble into smaller pieces and individual ribbons never seem to flake off. The flake cross- sections reveal what look like A LOT of large stems, and rubbing it out confirms that. One of the larger stems had what looked like white mold in the pith. I cannot pinch a bit of rubbed out flake without getting a big stiff stem in there, which I have to remove or I can't pack the bowl. The texture and cut, and mold don't bode well for me. Bad batch?

I have managed to smoke one or two bowls in a cob that were enjoyable, but most of them whether in a briar or cob have been disappointing, especially since I LOVE Sunday Picnic and C&D in general.

The smoke starts off very earthy and mouth drying with a bit of bite. A little later I do get some red VA toasty-breadiness with a hint of sweetness but it doesn't last. I often get pleasant tingling with VA blends, but this bite is not as pleasant. The taste remains earthy-dry and spicy but the balance is out of whack. I try to adjust my draw, pack, tamping, etc to compensate and get some more sweetness or something else than this one- dimensional flat taste, but I only get a very infrequent reward for my efforts in the form of a blast of VA sweetness, then its gone.

It seems like this blend has quite a lot of Perique, which would account for the constant earthiness and major nicotine. I cannot smoke this without feeling a little queasy unless I have had a big meal. I love Perique, but it has to be in balance, and it's just not in this blend.

At the end of the bowl, when Perique rightfully takes center stage, it becomes overwhelmingly spicy and mouth-drying, and any already subtle nuances of flavor are gone. I usually can't finish this one.

Ironically, the aftertaste is wonderful and I enjoy the lingering VA sweetness and fig undertone taste in my mouth for hours.

I wanted to love this one, but I can't. The texture of the flakes and the sheer amount of large stems (perhaps accounting for the out of whack taste?) was troubling. I'm curious whether anyone else has noted this. My Sunday Picnic flakes are fluffy, springy and lively smelling, with no stems at all, while these are leathery, crumbly, and sort of stale smelling.

Is this a bad tin or do I just not get why this blend is great?

This tobacco was a sample tin at my local tobacco shop, thus I can not attest to the moisture level of a new tin. What I sampled was of perfect moisture level. I prefer a VaPer blend to be a bit drier so that it will not require as much drawing, thus less bite. I noticed a bit of sweetness in the tin, but none in the smoke. I upon match was a bit concerned that the Oriental addition was a bit too much, but the earthiness subdued after a few puffs. The VA tobacco was more tangy than sweet, and the Perique was more hit and miss than a constant. The blend seemed well balanced and rather refined, but it did leave me wondering what a bit more Perique would do. The bottom of the bowl was a bit more like the top with the Izmir letting its self be known. I would try this blend again but think that a bit of cellaring might make a good blend an excellent one.

I was very excited about this blend but was a little disappointed. I was hoping for something a little more along the lines of Sunday Picnic but found that this blend (as other reviews have said) leans far more toward the red virginia, with a spattering of perique and Izmir. No doubt with some drying it was a good quality tobacco, but just a little rough around the edges for a perique blend in my opinion. Might try adding some blending perique to this blend to see if it smooths out.

A fair VaPer. The VA tobacco was more tangy than sweet, and the Perique flavour was not sufficiently apparent in the smoke. The Izmir, other than the very first bowl, was never detected at all. This 2oz can, over two years in my cellar alone, was dry when opened and required very little (if any) additional time on the side board. Rather unflavorful when compared to many other Virginias and VaPers...and begs the question if the Oriental condiment waned too much over time. Somewhat recommended, but would not order again.

A companion infusion: Jasmine Tea.

I don't go into specific detail with my reviews due to my lack of knowledge/experience with pipe tobacco. But I can say if I like or dislike a blend (or something between).

The only time I looked forward to smoking this blend was with the first 3-4 bowls. After that, my interest waned quickly. I liked the spice of the Perique but it wasn't always there. I had a hard time with this one's bite. I tried it straight out of the tin to bone dry but didn't really buy into what any moisture level had to offer. Maybe it's just a little too complex for me.

I had a good amount left by the time I was ready to pitch it but held onto it for experiment purpose.

The two stars that I gave this blend(moved up from 1) came from its blending properties. I mixed 2 part of this tobacco with 5 parts of Ben Hartwell's Signature blend and had a nice smoke.

-Z

This one struck me as being relatively unflavorful when compared to many other Va. I was barely able to taste the Oriental or Perique, and I've now opted to use the rest of this tin for blending. I think that many others, however, might really enjoy this well-presented Va., so I'm giving this two stars instead of one. The quality really seems to be top-notch.

This is a miss for me. Ok flavored VA with a slight muddied taste absent of Perique. Very mediocre, dull tobacco. There are many, many VA/Per tobaccos more enjoyable than this "Red Carpet". Does light and burn nicely though.