Cornell & Diehl Riverboat Gambler

We are all familiar with VAPERS but I call Riverboat Gambler a TURPER, i.e., a Turkish Perique blend. My palate did not like the dominance of these two tobaccos. The first third of the bowl was pleasant and even welcoming but as I progressed down the bowl it became increasingly strong, bitter and harsh.

There is nothing sweet about this blend. It even presented cigar-like undertones if not overtones. I was never able to finish the last third of the bowl in three smokes in different pipes on different days. It became overwhelming and, quite frankly, intolerable. C&D has many other blends that I enjoy much more.

For informational purposes and in fairness to C&D, my unfavorable experience with RG may be a bad blending run. My can was tinned in 9/08. I have cellared the remainder of the tin in the hope that it will improve with additional aging when I reluctantly revisit it.

UPDATE 3/19/2014 - Although burley blends don’t require the aging that VA blends do to improve them, six years in a Mason jar changed my mind about RG. But I suspect it has more to do with my tastes now: I like solid, no nonsense tobaccos that taste like tobacco and that are medium to strong in strength. And this is what RG is, and this is why I am now giving it four stars.

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

I rate this tobacco 9.0 out of 10.

Bob Runowski and Craig Tarler have created another very special and unique blend. It could be an all day smoke. It is smooth. Aroma and taste rates right up there with the best of the non-aro's I have ever smoked in my 42 years of puffing.

My wife took one sniff of the tin and said "I like it". She liked it when I smoked it, too. She is a non-smoker. That says a lot for a non-aro.

It has an exciting taste brought out by the condimental leafs of Turkish and Perique while at the same time forming a perfect marriage in flavor with the Virginia and Burley. I prefer traditional loose-cut tobacco such as this. They pack beautifully and easily in any pipe. It lights well and burns slowly and evenly to the last puff and the wonderful tobacco flavor of each leaf is absolutely present all the way to the last puff. A truly "Premium" tobacco. Another "winner" from these guys.

I am truly thankful for their efforts. It will give me great joy to smoke the entire pound I ordered. And then, I'll order it again.

***UPDATED 4/4/09***

Been smoking this in regular rotation for quite a while now. I have also smoked Old Joe Krantz and Haunted Bookshop. In my personal experience, I believe that Riverboat is all that OJK and HB have to offer and then some. For me, this is the winner of the three.

***UPDATED 7/24/09 This tobacco has been in my daily rotation for more than a year. I have smoked four pounds, have two pounds on hand and am ordering two more pounds. It satisfies me very much. I would not want to be without it.

***UPDATED 04/16/10 I Can't say enough for this tobacco blend. It is still my go-to Burley based tobacco. Exceptional in every way that I judge tobacco. It is honest and true while being exceptional in its class. I can't recall how many pounds I have enjoyed. But it is a keeper in my daily rotation, that is for sure!

Top strong burley, with the other leaves just making it all work. If you like burley and you like it with a good does of nicotine, look no further, close to perfection, albeit a robust perfection...lovely stuff.

I'm glad I stumbled across this blend. It will occupy a spot in my burley-based blend batting order for sure. I'm a fan of HB and OJK, and this blend sits nicely in that niche, offering a little less strength than OJK but perhaps a bit more than HB. Flavor-wise it is similar, however the addition of the Basma oriental leaf in this blend adds an extra dimension that peeks through now and again. It packs, lights, and burns with little fuss, and does not seem to bite or smoke hot with a normal cadence. All elements are detectable in the smoke, the dry nuttiness of the burley, the hay/grass note of the virginia, the woody tang of the oriental, and the spiciness of the perique. There is a hint of sweetness detectable at times coming from either the virginia or the perique, but this is a piquant smoke overall. I ordered another tin after my first couple of bowls. IMO, this is an under the radar blend that all fans of the aforementioned blends should try. Three and a half stars....rounded up to four for all intents and purposes.

Riverboat gambler is old joe krantz light. This is how I will do this review. Instead of explaining particular flavors and such I will only compare it to old joe, but for good purpose. QThe tin note is almost identical, just a tad less offensive. The smoke is nearly the same but instead of an upper cut, it’s a hard right hook in flavor. The one big difference is the nicotine. This has medium nicotine. If you enjoy old joe but can not smoke it because of the nicotine content being so high, this is your blend. If you also like old joe the way it is, but want a lighter nic hit in the morning, or before a meal, this is also perfect.

When I read reviews, I wish someone would have reviewed it like this to let me know it’s basically the same blend. If I were to blindly try this , I would think it was old joe, but I would wonder were the crazy high nic hit was. Hope this helps ! It’s good and highly recommended for full and almost offensive burst of flavor, easy to smoke tobacco that stays lit, and a very spicy retro.

If you like Burley , this is an excellent blend with medium Perique content and very light Orientals (The Virginias goes almost unnoticed), good nicotine and with a dry taste, this a very flavorful smoke.

Update: This blend deserves more attention from Burley Smokers in my opinion, its Outstanding Stuff!!!

Well I couldn't decide easily if this blend fits for a three or four star rating. It has a fantastic combination of flavors. But is it too robust for my tastes? It also has a straight, real tobacco taste which is similar to cigar smoking. I think just the lack of some more sweetness was the problem for my rating decision. I can easily detect the different and enjoyable flavors of the tobaccos in this blend. It offers a nice quantity of nicotine. Packs well and burns even.

Yep, this seems like an old time blend, like in the days when Edwards Vintage Cube was fuller or Smokers Haven Pedigree was more potent.

I agree this blend seems on the "milder" side of Old Joe Kranz (very strong) and Haunted Bookshop (moderately strong to medium) in that order of strength. Maybe more Virginia is in it. Maybe even more elegant! But it does have taste and natural body. Neverhtless I have had puffers tell me they felt woozy after a bowl. I don't think it has that that much perique for such an effect, but beware.

It does have a dry (non sweet) taste but it is very tasty nonetheless. It has more of a white burley taste than OJK or HB which have more of a Kentucky side I feel. Maybe that is the turkish reacting with the blend (but I don't detect that leaf too much otherwise).

The perique seems much less that OJK (20%!), and it doesn't kick in until the bottom half, making the taste more spicy.

It is a dry smoking blend too that burns quicker than most. No gurgles here.

Recommended for the white burley fancier who likes some extra body.

I'm a big fan of Old Joe Kranz and Bayou Morning. This blend is right there with them, with the added kick of the oriental. I just love the flavor, and as soon as the bowl's finished, I want another (really!). It's got a dry flavor, not sweet. It's serious, like a high stakes poker game. Room note, I've gotten scolded at times (in the car), but got away with in front of the fireplace. I love the aroma and while smoking, I frequently sniff both bit and bowl. Only thing I don't like is it burns kind of fast. Suddenly there's half a bowl of ash to tamp, and then, sadly, it's gone. I'll definitely be getting more of this blend.