Cornell & Diehl Habana Daydream

The cigar leaf comes through, but with all the other players it brings mainly a little sweetness and earth. The VA's have a slight sweetness and falls closer to what I expect in reds and browns a little dark fruit and bread like. The perique adds a little depth with its note of figs and a faint spice that comes in and out. The Lat. is barely noticed but does have a smokey note that raises its head now and again. The black cav. has its characteristic brown sugar note and I think it is where the blend missing for me. It is too much. If you puff hard it comes forward and can dominate the blend. Keeping a steady pace yields a better overall flavor profile but the brown sugar note reminds me a little of the old crooks cigars. It will not bite, nic. is a med. overall strength with all going on the overall strength gets closer to med. - strong. The room note is quite strong.

Habana Daydream is an excellent blend. While you might think that having cigar leaf will make this a "cigar like" mixture, that's not the case. There is cigar leaf, but it's just one more ingredient, it doesn't have a leading role.

There's the virginia and the black cavendish -without flavouring- serving as a base. Then there's the perique that comes out every now and then to give that spicyness and the cigar leaf to round it up. The result is an extremely nice smoke: flavourful, with a nice body, doesn't bite and the nicotine on the milder side. The room note is quite tolerable, from a tobacco with cigar leaf.

The taste is also balanced: there's some sweetness from the virginia, the cavendish gives it a plain -just tobacco- taste, while the cigar adds some earthiness.

It was a pleasant surpirse the first time and it's a blend to go back to.

I recently discovered Cornell & Diehl's “Habana Daydream” -and I love it. We all developed our own discrete perceptions and memories of the distinctive smell and taste of Tobacco. Hence, and obviously, this remains an utterly subjective matter.

Habana Daydream perfectly captures my sensory definition of Tobacco's fragrance and flavor. It is quite exemplary of a genuine, pure leaf, which is neither edulcorated nor adulterated.

The pleasantly sharp cigar notes form the steady scaffolding of the blend, but do not obfuscate its delicate architecture. The texture of the smoke is smooth and creamy. It is not a complex tobacco, but certainly not simple either. I like to think that the purpose of this blend was to conjure precisely the fragrance and flavor of tobacco in a purer state. If so, at least for this enthusiastic reviewer, it has wonderfully accomplished it.

In fact, although the blend resorts to natural spices, Latakia, Perique and unsweetened Cavendish to adorn the Virginias, the addition of “a spoonful of rich Cigar Leaf” seems to dictate the mood of the blend. This is not a cigar in your pipe, but a sophisticated cigar-inspired pipe tobacco blend.

This blend, “Habana Daydreams”, is not for everyone (as no blend could kindle unanimous consent). If one relishes overwhelming flavors, sweet or spicey as they might be, this will prove quite disappointing.

It may be relevant to add that: 1. Nicotine is certainly at the medium level; 2. If carefully kept in check with a gentle temper, it easily burns to the end with no further relights, after the charring ritual; 3. No bite whatsoever, even if hurried.

This is one blend that actually tastes a lot like smoking a cigar. Compared to, say, Key Largo this one is clearly more stogie. It tastes good and burns great, so there are no real complaints there - technically this is one great blend! Personally I want a bit more pipe tobacco in the profile, otherwise I will smoke a cigar, but I still enjoy this and would gladly smoke it anytime if treated, I just don't think I will buy it myself.

On receiving my first 2oz I was rather underwhelmed. It needs a week in the jar before the flavours really open up.

It has a similar presentation to G.L. Pease Robusto, and the early part of the bowl tastes like a slightly more subdued version of this cigar leaf/latakia blend. Despite the inclusion of Black Cavendish in Habana Daydream I don't get quite the same earthy sweetness of the flake cut Key Largo, the other cigar leaf/latakia blend from GL Pease.

Packs fairly well, smokes at a moderate pace, and doesn't require many re-lights. A large pipe works well for me, and as with Key Largo a wider bowl, a bulldog for example, would be a good choice to smoke it in.

Once you get into the bowl, the perique makes its presence known. This is where the smoke becomes markedly different to the GLP cigar blends. Once the perique emerges it remains upfront, without overshadowing the latakia and cigar leaf.

Generally the smoke develops from medium to fuller flavours as the bowl progresses. I find the nicotine content noticeable in this blend, which I take to be a positive.

Until I tried this blend, I always had an open tin of Key Largo or Robusto; which were my all day/everyday smoke. Although not quite as wonderful as Key Largo, which remains the best tobacco ever blended, I like the price and the perique in Habana Daydream. It has now become my go-to everyday tobacco; not over-powering, but with enough to keep my interest, and great value.

Full bodied with a surprising nicotine rush. The latakia taste is mild and pleasant and blends well with the perique. I am a beginner pipe smoker and appreciate the complexity of the blend but a little too strong for my palate. Experienced smokers will really like, not for the faint of heart.

This tobacco to me, has a great taste as well as a great smell, however every time I smoke it, it seems to give me heart burn. I haven't had a tobacco do that to me like this one does. Recommended, im just not able to smoke much more because I of the heart burn that it gives me, right in the upper esophagus.

Habana Daydream is a smooth cigar leaf blend and satisfies my desire for cigar leaf without getting a Burley overload. This one will give you no tongue bite and you can puff away without fear. I am not huge fan of Black Cavendish and although a nicer touch here it is just a little too much to give this blend my highest recommendation. HD has some beef but no one ingredient, especially Perique, will hit you in the face. It is good just about any time of the day .

Let me first say this is an excellent blend, one of the best cigar blends I have ever had. Its bloody brilliant and I will tell you why. First off it burns so nice and cool. You can really taste the VAs and Habana Leaf in this blend. This blend was made for a group size 5 on up. I could really swear it was a cigar Im smoking and not a pipe. A lot of cigar blends are just pipe blends with added cigar leaf. Not this one. I did a lot of comparing to the other cigar blends I have smoked. And this one is at the top of the list.

The tastes of the Habana leaf is complimented by the natural sweetness of the VAs. A lot of the cigar blends have grown on me, not this one it was great from first light to the nice white ash that it burned down to. The blend is nice and light, no tongue bite and no moisture build up. I had 2 one light smokes with this blend already and that has never happened for me on a new blend.

I tested this blend in several pipes, from a group 3 Briar to a very large Gurd Calabash and I must say that the larger pipe lets you taste the different tobaccos more clearly if that makes sense they are more mottled together in a smaller pipe.

I have really enjoyed my several pipe fulls and will buy more of HD in the near future. In my book its a winner.