Cornell & Diehl Exhausted Rooster

Good stuff, with a nice smell in the tin. Lights well, smokes pretty dry, but smoke it slow or it will give you the shakes. Kidding... but like strong liquor, sip it.

C& D gives us another winner. The larger flakes in my tin were ~ 2"x3"x1/16" and mostly brownish with some golden and darker colors intermixed. Many were broken up and I don't know if this was by design or occurred in transit. The tin aroma was intense and inviting. The ideal moisture content allowed easy lighting and packing without any rubout and a smoke without the need for relights. At the start, the Perique came thru but then the smoke smoothed out and the balance of the components was great to the end. Give it a try.

The scent on first opening the tin is scarily similar to that of Haddo?s Delight. But the backy didn?t hold this scent as long as HD does. It?s a dark flake & was presented at the perfect moisture level. It lit with no difficulty. In spite of the 'just a dash of Perique', it was the first thing I noticed ? a flush that soon passed, softened by the Va?s. But the Perique was there, a little touch of spice on the tip of my tongue. And then the Burley came through, nutty & solid, straightforward but rounded. Until two-thirds of the way through the bowl. Then the most remarkable change occured: it all backed off & was replaced by a soft, creaminess ? quite perfect. A bit like Lindt chocolate. I could detect no dominance of ANYTHING at this stage, apart from a certain smugness. At this stage too, my wife noticed the smoke & commented that it smelt wonderful & mild. The pipe is a Pete deluxe which I?d just given a quick reaming with my pipe tool. It is one of my older pipes ? I have a soft spot for it since I bought it from the Pete shop in Dublin. Now I?m about ¾ of the way down the bowl. The cream is still all there but the perique is creeping in again. Bliss...

This is a very fine smoke indeed. Highly recommended.

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.

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

Since Craig Tarler has perfected the processing of Flake tobacco's, I have become a fan like never before. Every one I have tried has the characteristics of perfection in blending, smoothness in smoking, and the wonderful taste and aroma of natural tobacco. The "Rooster" is another Four-Star blend for me. I enjoy the Burley element of this Flake. Every C&D Flake presents a unique charactor to be enjoyed. I recommend them all to you. They're all excellent for the discriminating pipe smoker.