Cornell & Diehl Or Olam - Light of the Universe

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.

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.