Cornell & Diehl Epiphany

Summary: a light American English where all flavors are in balance, producing a light fruity and nutty blend.

Virginias and Burleys harmonize to form a backdrop for a light Latakia English with Perique barely detectable in the background. The Burleys make the flavor solid where the Virginias sweeten and the Perique gives it a fruity flavor which plays with the Burley to create a sensation almost a fig Newton with some tangy spice in the background. The different flavors do not so much contrast as balance, creating a single note from which different highlights emerge, united with a mild rum/fruit topping that complements those flavors. The result is an English that is more mild than spicy which favors casual, lengthy smokes.

Thanks to Pipes Magazine forum member "fnord" for this sample.

I heard about Einstein smoking Revelation and how Epiphany is similar. I've seen Epiphany before at my LTS and decided to get it for the novelty. After smoking one bowl in a hardwood pipe I really liked it. Being new to smoking pipes, this was way different for me when comparing this to a full English Blend and would recommend others to give it a shot if you have a few dollars to give it a go.

Even buying it in bulk, it was fairly dry but smoked really well. No tongue bite and the flavors are very enjoyable. I could taste perique with very little latakia, which seemed to be a secondary characteristic which made this blend very balanced. The virginia and burleys were also evident in the flavor, adding a sweetness and nuttiness with the perique adding a pepperiness and very little smokiness from the latakia. Overall quite sweet in flavor for the overall mildness of this blend.

I'll probably keep this on my normal rotation of pipe tobaccos until something else is found to replace it, which will be hard to do, I've also purchased another tobacco from the LTS from the clerk who recommended it, since it was similar and said it was better in his opinion. Well Epiphany won out for my taste so it could be hit or miss to some people depending on their palate.

This is probably my favorite English style blend. It does not have a very complex flavor to meditate on, the smell is tolerable, the spice from the latakia and perique don't really interfere with the smoke and act more as condiments. It tends to smoke a little hot, but stays dry pretty well. I can smoke it for about an hour, then I'm done with it.

Tin note: typical English, campfire smell

Room note: same as tin note

Taste: pretty mild for an English, but tastes just like every English ever made.

Overall: I like it. The can was pretty cheap, the smell isn't overpowering, and it tastes like an English. It's really just not a complex flavor.

I don't often review tobaccos but I feel I should comment only because of some comments and part of the description that refers to Revelation and Einstein. I suspect Einstein smoked other tobaccos but Revelation was his favorite. I've seen pictures of him at his desk with a large tin of Revelation in front of him. I smoked a lot of Revelation in the late 1950s and early 1960s and unless my memory is completely shot, neither this nor the House Of Windsor recreations are much like the old Revelation. The original Revelation was produced by Contenental Tobacco and then sometime about 1940 Phillip Morris acquired Revelation at the same time as Bond Street. I've seen some comments about Einstein smoking HOW Revelation which was impossible of course. The HOW version was produced after 2000 and Einstein died in 1955. He smoked the Phillip Morris Blend.

Having said all that, this is a good blend, though heavier in Latakia than the PM version. Its essentially an American English with a Burley base. At first light, the Latakia aroma is prominent then fades somewhat. This tobacco shines at about half bowl when the nutty flavor and aroma of the Burley begins to dominate. It can get a little bitter at the bottom of the bowl. Someone commented that it is a good transition tobacco for those who want to move from aromatics to English or a more natural blend and I would agree. Its certainly worth trying.

I called in to C&D, and spoke to a gent about switching into their English blends from some other light english, and a few lingering aromatics. I ordered a sample pack of 6 blends, and this led the list. Being that what little they've forgotten about blends is probably more than I know, I simply asked the gent to pick out 6 of the "light english / all day" variety to sample (C&D sent 015, 068, 101, 412A, Bed & Breakfast, and Good Morning)

The order on Monday morning arrived on a Wednesday afternoon via US Priority Mail. The sample packaging was in heavy duty ziplock bags with a Cornell and Diehl label, see uploaded photo.

I gave this tobacco it's first firing in a good sized meerschaum that was well cleaned prior to smoking, to attempt to narrow down the flavor, etc. to this blend alone. (this is what I prefer, for a first go with any new tobac)

The taste was decent, the smoke appealing, and like the other quality tobaccos I've used the ash was fine and gray. Tongue bite for me was noticeably absent at my standard relaxed pace, though I did not attempt to mindlessly huff it to see if I could get the bite.

The aroma was certainly tolerable, the taste was decent to my palate. I have no experience with either of the two variants that inspired this blend. I will continue with this blend . . .

I agree very much with Pipestud's review of this blend: a tasty, hearty, simple tobacco that can be enjoyed regularly and doesn't require much attention.

Sure, Revelation was better and more unique... but you really can't complain! It's nutty, moderately sweet, full of bold and pleasant nuances. A great balance between burley nuttiness, Latakia smokiness and leathery taste, slight Virginia sweetness and just a bit of Perique tang.

It's stout but not heavy, not as nicotine-laden as some other C&D burley based blends. Very interesting for cigarette AND pipe smokers, it really fixes the occasional craving for a cigarette.

Truly low-maintenance tobacco, in the good meaning of the term: it burns great, quite quick but never hot or with nasty aftertaste if you overpuff it. Absolutely no bad-burley bitterness here!

Not a masterpiece of originality or class, but a very delicious tobacco for the real smoker.

This is what it is - a light aromatic, American English. Smoked most all of a tin in a Benton and the remaining bowlfulls in an estate Dunhill. A little sweeter in the Benton.

Looks and smells to me (and a friend) in the tin a little like the IRC Three Star series, but this does not have that level of sweetness.

Nice burley with bright Virginias and some red added. Spiced a wee bit with both latakia and some Perique. It packs, lights, and burns easy and dry.

The mild, fruity note is per the blender, plumb, as apparently the original version was. That's the main new information I can add to these reviews.

Though the fruit note is light and balances with the tobacco taste, it does stay with the bowl to the end. The last half of the bowl picks up a little more of the spices from the condimentals. But it's not heavy by any means.

So something for everyone -- burley, virginia, condimentals, and some added sweetness. It introduces the aromatic fan to a bit of spice, and provides some fragrance to a natural smoker.

I found it an interesting change of pace, and could be a frequent to all day smoke for some. I give it three stars for its civility, but it is better than that really; just not designed to knock your socks off.

Not much in the flavor department. Bought does blend in bulk and can only pray it improves in the jar over the years. Pretty underwhelming .

I purchased 0.5lbs. of this about a year ago. I put the bag away, and revisited the blend this morning. I smoked a bowl while driving in to work. This is fantastic! All ingredients form a different taste than you’d expect. It’s mouth watering good! Sipped slowly, and even to large puffs the flavor is the same. There is a mild richness, with an aroma that is handsome and not sugary sweet but more like burning hickory from a whole hog barbecue fire. Burned to the absolute bottom without a re-light and didn’t leave a goopy mess. Delicious.