Cornell & Diehl Exhausted Rooster

***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!

Well folks, this is as close as one can get to an aged Old Vine Zinfindel, in a pipe. Upon opening the tin, it is nearly impossible to want to smoke this stuff. It smells so good, one almost wants to merely sniff this stuff. Hints of chocolate and fruit, almost good enough to eat. An excellent offering in the pipe. Notes of Almonds and Pecans, berries, an excellent Virginia sweetness, held together with just the right amount of spice from the Perique. It does not get much better than this. I can't seem to put this one down, and just ordered another pound of this fine blend. Kudos to Cornell and Diehl, for yet one more excellent offering. I tip my hat to you gentlemen, and I can't thank you enough for this particular batch of weed. Happy Smoking!!!

What am I tasting???? It is SO delicious and so overwhelmingly tasty that I find it to be one of the best tobaccos I have experienced in over 50 years of smoking pipes. I would never have learned of this excellent blend had it not been for Tobacco Reviews and once again I wish to extend my thanks, All I can say is VIVA EXHAUSTED ROOSTER! (Pardon my shouting but it must be shouted out!)

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.

This is some seriously good tobacco. When I opened the tin it smelled so good I wanted to eat it. The tobac was a little moist for my taste so I dried it a bit and then experienced one fantastic smoke.

The burley gives a nice medium body to the smoke and the topping is not noticed while smoking. The virginia was in the lead and the perique gives an extra zing without over powering the blend. No tounge bite and it burns to a nice ash all the way down the bowl.

Be forwarned, Exhausted Rooster can become habit forming.

Now, this is a blend to ?CROW? about! Exhausted Rooster is exceedingly smooth, well balanced and with a nice, light touch of perique. The blend also proved to be somewhat puzzling. To wit, although this is primarily a burley blend, I enjoyed it much more in my pipes I reserve for VA blends and less so in my pipes that I reserve for burley blends. What?s that about? Talk among yourselves. I?m EXHAUSTED!

A cigarette is to be smoked. A cigar is to be enjoyed. A pipe is to be savored.

I rate this blend 9.93 out of 10.

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.