Cornell & Diehl Exhausted Rooster

Was lucky enough to receive this as a sample from a good friend. After opening the package, got a fruit like smell- Citrus? I let it air for about an hour and the smell disappated. Rubbed them out and Loaded into a Ser Jac Bulldog reserved for Va/Pers. The initial taste is of a good stout Burley, Perique, Virginia in order of dominance. At the start, the perique is prickly, but not in a bad way. Just letting you know it's there. The Citrus/Orange? flavor plays lightly, but it's there. This is a good solid smoke. Nice flavor, Med Strength, Dependable to the bottom. I like it very much. C&D flakes just get better and better. Try it. You won't be sorry.

This ol’ cock’s concoction had been smothered by the hens’ perfume a bit too much for my liking. Allowing the tin to breathe a couple of days helped a lot, especially giving the high moisture content. That said, I then enjoyed it.

Tin notes amazing cocoa, cherry, liqueur. When lit you get those good old days tobaccoes, well balanced in flavorings not overwhelming tobaccos. Perique is very present along with Virginia and burley. A must for every piper.

Tin note of Rasins, spiced rum and fruit syrup. the mostly brown Flake, is moist, but not overly so. Rubs out with a little effort, no drying needed. Burns normal with a few extra relights. The strength is medium and nic is medium. Flavoring is very mild in the background. Taste is medium to full and somewhat consistent, with notes of herbal raisin spice, sweet grass, toasty nuts, wood, earth, floral, bread, mild dark fruit, mild tangy orange, mild sour plum, and a peppery retro. Virginia is leading with Kentucky supporting and Perique filling in when needed. The flavoring is there too, hanging around in the background. Room note is pleasant to tolerable, and aftertaste is outstanding.

My first impression of this one is not good. It’s a shame. I really like the name, but marketing can only get you so far.

I can tell that there’s some pretty good tobacco underneath all that topping, but it’s mostly obscured by a sickly-sweet mess. That’s enough for me.

And I’m not opposed to a little topping, up to a certain point. To give you an example, I really like Gawith Hoggarth’s Dark and Brown Flakes aromatic. But their Glengarry Flake, just like the Rooster here, takes it a little too far.

I can’t exactly say how much is too much, but I’d really like to try this with, say, half as much topping. And even that may not be far enough for me.

But, hey, if you’re a fan of aromatics (not the GH kind... the Captain Black kind) this might be a great introduction into the world of more potent tobaccos.

Me? I’ll be over here chopping up some Brown Irish X.

The fact that I almost didn't have enough tobacco left for the review because I smoked it all so fast speaks for itself. This is a winner blend.

Tin Note: Plum, sweet, mellow. No spice nor sharp notes come through.

While some indicated the Kentucky taking a lead, for me this is very much a full Virginia blend with a bit of a condiment of Kentucky and even less Perique. The Kentucky only takes some lead somewhere in the middle of the smoke. But aside from that, The Kentucky gives the blend more of a Virginia/Burley feeling, a bit like Peterson's University Flake. I'm not sure which Virginias are used, but I guess more on the red side. Not much of sweetness, but rather a mature and bready taste to it.

The alcohol topping, if it's even there and not just in my head, is extremely mild and doesn't really carry much flavor, but can be felt way in the back. I believe we could also do without it.

Some spiciness from the Perique comes in around the end of the first third of the bowl. As the Red Virginia opens up, it brings its own bit of spice (yes, I get a bit of spice from the Red Virginia) and strength in Nicotine. But despite the ingredients, this is not very strong in Nicotine. It's just where it should be for me.

It's one of those blends that have the right amount of complexity for an all-day quality blend. Not boring by any means, but not over-complex that you have to stop and think about it either. You get you base of Virginias, a bit of Perique spice, and a medium-full body thanks to the Kentucky. And that's it.

I like to crumble it all and have it ready rubbed whenever I want to smoke it. It's then easily packed and smoked. A bit on the moist side, could use 15-20 minutes of drying time.

Burns at a slow pace, down all the way. I usually need one relight towards the end. Easily an everyday, all-day blend. It's a fantastic blend.

While I almost never use a wider bowl for Virginia blends, this one worked well with a wider, Apple-shaped pipe as well as a narrow bowl. I do get the best result in the smaller bowls, though.

To sum this up, this is just a great blend. If they sold it in bulk, I'd buy a whole lot. But for now, 8oz tins for aging will do. This rooster has been working very hard and deserves 4 stars.

C&d Exhausted Rooster is a bright Virginia blend with a good amount of Dark Fired Burley and a little Perique. It is nutty sweet with some bread and hay . There are some real nice floral notes . The first bowl I lit I immediately tasted the topping . I wasn’t sure if I would like it after the first bowl but It has grown on me after smoking it this past week . From reading reviews I don’t think anyone really knows what the toppings are ? It tastes like Egg Nog with Nutmeg and Cinnamon but that’s a guess . Anyways I enjoy it . Never tastes a topping like this . You can still taste the tobaccos though. It satisfies in the nicotine with a medium sized pipe . The Dark fired is tasty as hell . 3 1/2 stars . To order more I think you would have to like the toppings . An Aromatic with strength.

After reading reviews I expected an aromatic so I was surprised when the first identifiable smell from the tin note was hay. I could not detect any aromatic smell at all. The tobacco was very moist and allowed 1 hour dry time. The bowl needed several relights but once she got going I enjoyed the flavored. The characters all play very well together with neither overpowering the other. The Perique was very subdued and I could have tolerated a couple more percentage points in the blend. All in all I was very satisfied as for my taste I enjoy having a small Burley kicker inside of a Va/Per.

C&D's Exhausted Rooster is a consistently pleasant smoke from start to finish. This one has great interplay between all three components and as you adjust your cadence you will find various flavors (sweetness, spiciness, and nutty) shine through. The quality of the tobaccos is evident, it ages well, and will not bite. This one gets 4 stars from me