Cornell & Diehl Exhausted Rooster

When the rooster crows at the break of dawn,you'll roll over and I'll be gone. You're the reason I'll be travelin' on, but don't think twice. Its all right....... This line goes through my mind as I smoke this fine weed. The lyrics don't have much in common with the tobacco except the word "rooster". It is much better than "all right" and I would never leave it behind..... Come to think of it, I seem to be singing this Bob Dylan song to myself no matter what I'm doing. Anyway...This blend has a fragrant smell upon opening the tin, from the topping, that doesn't carry over that strongly to the flavor of the tobacco once lit. With mostly rich burley flavor, virginia comes through nicely and the perique is noticeably slight. This blend comes a bit more moist than most Cornell & Diehl blends and I dry it for twenty minutes after rubbing out.

Although not a burley fan, this blend is very enjoyable to me. It's for fans of natural tobacco in which one can taste the actual tobacco flavors. If there is a topping, I don't notice much of it during the smoke. The burley is certainly present, so fans of JackKinfe plug might want to give this a go. It's not the same but there are similar flavors in there.

It's a broken-up flake, and thoroughly rubbed out it's an easy light. The bowl I'm smoking right now I didn't bother - I just shoved a wad in and lit up. In this case it took a few relights, but once on fire it burns steadily and reliably.

The last third is awesome. If the whole bowl was like that it would get four stars.

I rather enjoyed this one, the VA's for me had a nice base flavor which balanced well with the Perique and Burley to deliver a bit more of a punch. For me this one hit a bit hard with the nicotine and so it isn't a regular smoke for me. I still have a bit more left from a small sample, so perhaps I'll have more to say about it later on, but as of now not being a huge burley fan and taking a foray into the C&D burley blends, this one comes out as one of the better ones for me.

First this is a flake-ish type tobacco for me. I suppose it is a flake, but it easily separates for those who like to break their flakes down. I found it enjoyable whether I folded and stuffed a flake or if I broke it down to be gravity filled.

The aroma right from the tin packs a big sweet, almost fruity, punch, giving a promise of what it may smoke like. The VA's definitely provide a pronounced sweet taste, so much so that I want to say there is a coating on this baccy. The perique does not present itself until later in the bowl and the burley was hardly present for me, other than as a side note that helped add balance to the blend.

This particular blend seemed to fair better in larger bowls, which allowed the nuances to come to the forefront. The strong scent of the the tobacco that is present at first does tend to lay back a bit as the perique comes forth. This could be an everyday smoker for some, just not me. I did enjoy it quite a bit though and will smoke it quite regularly.

Upon opening the tin the first time I was shocked by the aroma of, eggnog? I didn't let this deter me. The dark brown flakes are a good size and hold together well. ER is a bit moist right out of the tin. After about an hour of sitting out a flake is ready. These flakes pack easily. It's a little work to get lit (2 or 3 charring lights) but no problems after that. It has a sweet taste that is to be expected from a Virginia. There is also a taste I can't put my finger on, kind of like malt. I can still taste ER half an hour after finishing a bowl. All in all I would say ER is pretty good stuff. G

A true VaPer this is not. The Burley is forward facing, with support from the Virginia and more subtly by the Perique.

I am bewildered by some of the “Flavoring” ratings here...makes me chuckle. To me...a definite Egg Nog or Rum ‘n Raisin, heavily laden, casing. Think rum extract used in baking, versus the alcoholic drink. It is definitely perceptible in the flavor when smoked...particularly the first third of the bowl. This surprisingly does burn off, and some nuttiness of the Burley eventually becomes evident...absolute pleasure for the last two thirds of the bowl.

Rubbing it our further, and letting it dry on a side-board for a couple of hours was desirable. I blew through this 2oz can rather quickly...I must have liked it a lot.

Recommended.

A companion infusion: Pumpkin Spiced Latte.

***supplemental review 6/19/09*** I have really gotten into the Va/Per thing now that warmer weather is upon us and I decided to finish off this tin. I like the taste a lot. The eggnog topping is still there but does not in any way make itself into the smoke. The smoke was just a very nice, somewhat cool burning Va/Per. I enjoyed the rest of the tin very much. I won't buy any more because the topping is not to my liking and I have many other tobaccos to try and this one will not make my regular rotation. Perhaps the few months of sitting in the tin did this one well. Anyway, I upped my review to *** three stars. If there was a 2.7 I would give it that.

The tin says "a tasty flake of Virginias, dark fired burley and a dash of Perique." To me this seems like a Va/Per from the description. I have to put it in that category by taste exept for one very strange addition. This smells like egg nog. The tin has some nice cartoon like artwork, a catchy name and a description of a va/per flake with some burley in it. For some reason the blender decided to add some egg nog topping that takes away from the potential of a great va/per. It doesn't taste like egg nog but it smells so strongly of flavoring that you think you have a heavily cased tobacco when you open the tin. Look under the paper and you don't find a flake but rather a broken flake which is not quite the same thing. I smoked some and couldn't get beyond the egg nog thing then put the rest into a small sealed Ball jar for 6 months. I have been loving and getting really in to the Va/per experience and decided to pick this up again. Once again I found a tobacco with no identity. It wants to smell like a flavored aromatic, wants to taste like a va/per, wants to be a flake but somehow fails miserably in all areas. I really want to like these blends from Cornell and Diehl because I want tobacco with no humectants, but I can't help but think that perhaps they really need a master blender to make all this ambition really work. It seems like a pipe tobacco inthusiast with lots of money decided to make tobacco but forgot to actually get somebody involved who knows how to make those magical alchemical blends. This blend is all flash and no substance. Just a big disappointment. I will try some more blends from Cornell and Diehl but will I ever really find a tobacco from them that meets my hopes? this blend gives me doubts.

I am not a burly fan at all ! Had to go with the rooster when my supplier ran out of my regular C+D blend Sunday picnic , That won"t happen again ! Anyway with full knowledge I don"t like burley in my Virginia read the tin " Virginia Burley Perique !I laid the money down and walked out .I am more lucky than clever!The blend is nice I like it . If I was a burley lover it might well blow me away. i will keep some on hand! I would also like to say with as many blends as C+D puts out I am amazed at the quality of the ones I've tried. It shows they love what they do.I will experiment with more of their blends;and keep the faith. Vincenzo now somewhat a burley believer!

Very nice flavored VaPer. The aroma from the tin and the first third of the bowl is so similar to Haddo's Delight that one could say this is a great imitation. So, this mixture's main problem is the unavoidable comparison to Haddo's, which won't hurt it until you reach half the bowl. From there, Haddo's evolves in new subtle flavors, while ER stays the same thoughout the smoke.

If it wasn't for the Dark Lord, this would get 4/4.