Cornell & Diehl Epiphany

Epiphany did not seduce me but it's far from being bad. I find the fruit casing to be pleasant and it does work. I would have liked to see a bit less Burley and more Latakia; but I guess, without having been able to try it, this change in proportions would not have made Epiphany a recreation of Revelation, wouldn't it? I can't even say Epiphany is a light English as the Latakia is really too light. I can't say I detect the Périque, either. This being said, taken on its own merit, it does remain a nice change of pace and it does burn well. It does smoke a bit harsh during the last third of the bowl, which makes it lack elegance. I will finish my tin if this harshness does not persist smoke after smoke; but I will not be tempted to buy anymore. I don't think I am a fan of these American-English blends because the presence of Burleys dominates too much. And no, I will not try it in a Cob. Beurk.

Guess I should take some time to adapt to C&D's Burley blend. It seems Burley is their core and all the blends are just variations. However, this one is rather smooth and perique and latakia blending in a good way.

Not sure what to think of this blend. It smelled like a ton of figs, raisins, and other fruits, but not aromatic. While smoking it there were hints of that same fruity smell, but very subtle. Seemed kind of flat. I didn't detected latakia though the blend indicates that it's there. I'm going to let it age and try again.

Tried it a few more times after a couple years of age. Still doesn't tickle my fancy, though I really wanted it to. Has quite a good N-kick. It's not a bad tobacco, but just wasn't impressing my taste/nose buds.

A difficult review as Epiphany, ostensibly a Revelation match, is a reviewers' favorite. And its tough to buck the history on this one - it was one of Dr. Albert Einstein's top choices. Challenging credentials to contest.

I've wrestled off on on throughout my life to like this blend. I really wanted to like it, but just never been able to do it.

As teenagers we managed to illicitly acquire a few supermarket blends like Holiday, Rum and Maple, Prince Albert and Hickory, but Revelation was one of those finds we'd obsess over. The Burley, Virginia, Latakia and Perique configuration made it intriguing and a joy to have around. It smelled different and exciting. But as I recollect none of my pals ever actually smoked Revelation much because it was just an unpleasant encounter, bitter and biting, like Popa's Camel cigarettes.

And things haven't changed for me. Acquired 8 ounces recently in another attempt to embrace this icon tobac only to find it still smells great, but that is where the adventure ends. It smokes hot, has a tendency to require multiple relites, tastes bitter, is hard on the throat, and ghosts any pipe I ever put it in including the cobs. I'm relegated to using it as a mixer and for me that is where its salvaging grace lies. I give it ** stars in deference to all good Revelation lovers out there.

Sorry Dr. Einstein but your passion for it athwarts a dimension I have never been able to enter.

Well, I have to say that I think I must've gotten my 2 ounces from the bottom of the bulk jar. This was supposed to be a "ribbon" cut but really I all got were tiny little flakes and dust. This, of course, made it impossible to smoke in my favorite cob as I kept sucking the flakes through the stem into my mouth. So, I switched to my Savinelli bent apple. This was a slight improvement but as the bowl wore on, the unburnt flakes started to pack themselves against the draw hole.

As for the smoke itself I got some smokiness (i.e. Latakia) in the bag but this didn't really transfer to the bowl where I found mainly burley and perique. The lack of latakia made it a little too spicy for me and because it lacked the smokiness of the latakia, the burley and perique just sort of hung there with nothing to support it. In the words of the 42nd president of the USA, there really was no "there" there.

I blended some in various ratios with 1Q and will see what that does in a week or so. I'll order some BCA and blend it with that, too, and see what happens.

I do kinda like this blend, however I get that black Cavendish mouth paste feeling that keeps me from reaching for it very often. I also notice an added flavoring or maybe its just the flavoring that's present in most C&D burleys that Ive smoked. C&D is one of my favorite blenders but black Cavendish will ruin any blend for me. 2 stars because I will smoke the rest I have but not re-up when its gone.

This is an OK blend. I got the tin with the white paper label. It's an "American" but I can't quite define for myself what that means. Yet. It has a little bit of everything. So one could say it tastes like everything, or conversely, that there's nothing distinctive about it. I tend to let it smoke hot because I keep trying to draw some particular flavor out of it, but I don't get either a revelation or an epiphany. Drawing slowly produces a decently cool and pleasant smoke. It burns well with just a couple of re-lights. I will likely not get another tin, but I wouldn't refuse if someone offered it to me.

A friend brought over a batch of Einstein's brainy blend to try, and while the tin had been opened for a bit, and the contents were likely dryer than when it was first opened, the smoke likely wasn't too off from a fresh tin.

The open tin was quite alive with a sour, nose tingly spiciness that was inviting. The ribbons were of course somewhat dry, small, and kinda crumbly. The smoke was dry and I barely noticed any fruit/citrus, but on a whole it was a satisfying Burley experience.

I could see why other would enjoy it more than I did, but as an Aromatic smoker at heart, it was just... fine.

When I open the tin, I am struck by the typical aroma of mixes containing rum coating (this happens to me because I have not previously read the reviews here). I had only seen the tab for this blend where it appears: “Flavoring - Fruit / Citrus”. Tobaccos with rum coverage are not my preference, so perhaps I am not the best one to take as a reference in my evaluation. It's not that I don't like them or that I can't get to enjoy them, but that I prefer other types of mixes. An exception here would be McClelland's Navy Cavendish, which I find very tasty.

It took me a bit to keep it on since I am one of those who hardly dry any tobacco, except those that come almost dripping. For this reason it worked best when the tin had been open for several weeks. For my taste, the coating covers the flavor of the ingredients more than I would like. I smoke it from time to time, like a change of pace in between my rotation, but I think anyone who likes this kind of mix will have a lot of fun with this one.