Cornell & Diehl Or Olam - Light of the Universe

The raisiny, plumy, spicy perique is fairly noticeable as it cohesively melds with dry, buttery sweet, woody, spicy, earthy, floral and mildly sour Orientals in competition with the Virginias, and mostly leads a little. The tangy ripe dark fruity, earthy, woody red Virginia is a bit more prominent than the citrusy, grassy golden Virginia. The red Virginia cavendish adds to the dark fruitiness as a minor component. The nic-hit is in the center of mild to medium. The strength is medium. The taste level is a couple steps over medium. Burns cool and clean at a moderate pace with a deep, rich, slightly inconsistent sweet and savory, floral, woody flavor that translates to the lingering after taste. Leaves little dampness in the bowl, and requires an average number of relights. Not an all day smoke, but it is repeatable.

-JimInks

I have enjoyed this. It is a solid blend that does not have a lot of "wow" factor for me. The flavors work well, and I find myself smoking a fair amount of it without thinking much about it. It is a full tobacco flavor for me with some sweet Virginia in there and some spicy orientals. I am not getting so much perique, but I can believe it is there. I am glad to have some around. FWIW, I found the bag aroma to be heavy and sweet with a little chocolate.

Edit 10/26/18: This blend grew on me. I ended up getting a pound of it, which I went through fairly quickly. Then 4Noggins quit selling the bulk, and it was reintroduced in tin only by C&D. I found someone doing cellar clearance who had a pound to sell last week, and have this back in stock again.

the perique and the orientals is the first thing that jumps out at you with this blend followed by the virginia and the cavendish the perique is aggressive on this one almost feels like is kentucky rather than perique but i could be wrong the orientals on this one are of the sour taste it could be dubec but I'm not sure yednidje maybe? anyhow like I was saying the perique and the orientals are here for the whole ride with the virgina and the cavendish (unflavored) add a little bit of sweetness to the mix, is a very monochromatic blend, there are no surpises I specially enjoy it while I watch TV it goes great with some english breakfast tea or earl grey, if your looking for complexity here I did not find it but what i did found was a very good no intrusive mixture of tobaccos, there's no problem on keeping this lit or tongue bite i would rate this if I could a 2.9 star blend only because I would it like for the virginias to be more pronounced but this did no stop me from ordering 8oz for storage just to see what time would do to this, in the nicotine factor this one rates high but tolerable, if smoke fast the sourness of the orientals is more pronounced if smoke slow the perique comes forward, if you DGT the first couple of puff feels like smoking a very dark maduro.

Sample on a CAO meerschaum pipe that is dedicated solely to smoking virginia/oriental blends.

This blend is to VaPers what Belgian Oude Gueuze is to beer. Different enough to be perceived as exotic, but still a real and excellent VaPer. Another C&D Perique wonderblend, After 2 puffs I knew I loved it. A lot.

I was just gifted two ounces of this stuff. I was pleased to receive it as it is blended by a fellow pipe puffing rabbi but as it is a VA/PER, something I have nothad good experiences with I had not considered purchasing it but desired to try it. As I've posted in other reviews I'm challenging my preconceptions and prejudices in tobaccos and actually in much everything else so I happily loaded up a pipe for a go. I did have some mistrust so I used a little used Dr. Grabow Freehand so as not to mar the taste of any favorite pipe. So here we go. The aroma of this mixture was not to my liking at all. When it comes to cigars a bit of a "barnyard aroma" is considered a plus as it denotes proper fermentation and aging. However this tobacco was more dog-run than barnyard. Needless to say I keep my shnoze out of this in the future. Upon lighting my mouth was assaulted with an unfamiliar bitterness and a taste similar to the foul aroma of pre-lit tobacco. I tried smooking this for about a third of the bowl, some sourness emerged along with the strong acrid bitterness and a bit Virginia like sweetness seemed to lurk in the background but I found the taste quite horrid and the smell repulsive and in general love the smell of almost all pipe tobacco even the nastiest Latakia. I put the pipe down and ended the experiment. I still gave this tobacco which i found repellant two stars as I am not the one to judge this mixture. One should rely on those who enjoy mixtures of this variety as a regular pipe smoking experience for their recommendation. I'm going to rinse my mouth now.

Cornell & Diehl’s Or Olam suited me right out of the tin, but a month’s rest upped the WOW factor considerably, and over that time it’s become a daily smoker and a favorite. In the tin are moist ribbons and small chunks ranging from tan to red-brown, to medium and dark brown. Tin note is yeasty bread and fresh, musty silage with spices, exotic sawdust, and a very natural, fermenting tobacco smell. One month sitting in its oft-visited tin (with the re-closeable plastic lid closed) and the tobacco remains perfectly moist for optimum smokes. It handles, loads, lights and smokes down with ease. Tastes and smells are well melded, with the Orientals in front, quite woody, with subdued dates and fragrant, savory, zesty roasting and baking spices. I suppose this is where the sourness comes from, as well. Since I quite like all this I load it loosely into a #5 pipe with a very open draw, and if I want more, I pull harder. The Perique contributes spicy white raisins and a sort of sour, sharp, Burley mustiness, and some bitters. The VAs are mingled, including the VA Cavendish, yielding fermenting, slightly earthy, fragrant wheat bread and a little hay, with more zing than sugar. As usual for Orientals, the snork is where it’s at, delightful, slightly game-y, rich and slightly sharp at the same time. Strength and tastes are just over medium. Room note is tolerable. Aftertaste is a nice, slow trailing off of the best of the smoke as the VA sugars rise.

I see from the other reviews that Or Olam is not all that popular, and I am not surprised. Although it has a wide, fairly complex profile that includes rich “low notes”, it’s also sharp and bitter, as well, as though it has undeclared Burley in it. Because of this it seems best suited to more experienced smokers, and codgers more specifically. Withal, the quality is there; it’s a complex-but -not-too-complex blend that I find both relaxing and satisfying. 4 stars from me, and a place on my favorites list.

Comes ribbon cut, small cut and very dry, almost crumbling to dust. Looks like it was made from leftovers from other blends. The tin note is very pungent, like fermenting yoghurt – a thing quite common to the C&D tobaccos. It also has a distinctive woody smell.

Not difficult to load and light, the first thing that impresses me is how natural tobacco-tasting it is. It’s not full of flavor however and it is cigaretty but it tastes very natural. Not an exceptional tobacco despite the very fine design of the tin. Lacks some sweetness for me and strength is more than its taste, and the Orientals are only a whisper, not really aromatic. And the Perique is also dry not juicy or fruity, just strong. As for room note it’s very acrid and cigaretty. Actually, I think I’ll use it as a blender. The thing I do like from this blend is its natural taste but actually I do not think it is very successful overall.

Def. taste the oriental blend and the virginas , as well as the smooth virginacavendish full strong taste zone out mellow feeling.

A bit dull-maybe that's too strong a word. I'm giving it three stars, after all. I was excited to try the Hebraica series: I think pipe smoking rabbis are kind of sexy (just an expression!), kind of like whiskey drinking Catholic priests. The tin was so plain! Just a stock tin with the name of the blend typed onto it. Shouldn't it have verses from the Torah or illustrations from Jewish history on it? The blend seemed kind of plain as well; good, but plain. It didn't blow me away like Sunday Picnic. I did smoke it all, however, but tended to blend it with Virginia flake to add more interest. The quality is unmistakable, I just don't completely share the good rabbi's tastes in pipeweed.

Excellent Vaper blend. Tin odor is extraordinary- very pungent, a bit sweet and for lack of a better description a bit "Urine" if that is acceptable. I find the smell intoxicating and mysterious. When smoked the flavors are satisfying to a fault. Very woody with full flavored. The perique is much present without being overwhelming but it could be even stronger for me as I love it. The sweetness of the Virginias is quite pleasant and goes well with the spiciness. A terrific blend for the Vaper lovers among us. Definitely one of my favorites.