Cornell & Diehl Habana Daydream

I bought this tobacco as bulk. It is an affordable English blend with some tasty cigar leaf.

First Impressions: You can see uneven sized ribbons of golden Virginia, dark brown cigar leaf and black Latakia. Tin aroma is mostly Latakia and natural tobacco smell. I cannot detect any toppings here. Moisture is perfect, you can fill your pipe and begin smoking without any preperation.

The taste; you mostly feel sweet, tangy Virginia. Latakia is always there but does not dominates the smoke. Cigar leaf adds body and Perique, which is barely detectable, adds some spiciness.

The tobacco burns easy and cool. No tongue bite here.

Verdict: This is an easygoing blend, not very sophisticated but delicious and satisfying. If you like cigar leaf blends, this is one of the best alternatives.

EDIT 11-22-2016

I just finished up the second half of the pound I had purchased back in 2012, the first half of which I reviewed below. This one still has not really done it for me. Complicating this further is the fact that I have tried some other blends with cigar leaf that I prefer to this one. From C&D alone, I prefer both Billy Budd and Purple Cow to this for their IMO better use of the other leaves in the blends.

HD has a lot of different components, all of which whisper to the smoker leaving a rather boring smoke. The cigar leaf is apparent though and this should, no doubt, be the focus on these types of blends. It is for that fact that I am leaving this one at three stars, but it actually falls closer to the 2 star mark in my own mind as the two mentioned above, as well as all the John Patton blends containing cigar leaf, GLP Robusto and Key Largo outdo HD with regard to cigar blends to my tastes. YMMV

ORIGINAL REVIEW 12-27-2012

I can't believe with just over a year of pipe smoking I am already writing my 40th review. Maybe this is a natural progression as I have found myself settling into a few different blends I like. I am positive it will take more than a year to get to my next 40.

Anyway, on to this blend. It is my first blend with cigar leaf added and I do taste the leaf. I do enjoy the blend, but after smoking through half the original pound I ordered, I don't find it highly recommendable as of yet and likely won't. I have just ordered three more blends with cigar leaf so I will have something with which to compare. I may come back to this review if anything causes me to change my mind about HD.

Like a lot of C&D blends, this is A LOT better with age, which brings out a subtle figgy/fruity tone from the Perique, which is fairly in the background for a C&D blend. It also benefits from moisturizing, as opposed to drying. In fact, bringing it up to the moisture of level of Bayou Night (which comes very moist) raises the silkiness factor to a high level without any bite penalty.

Also, every now and then, a bowl of this will taste just plain bitter and I'll want to dump it out. And every now and then, it will taste wonderful. OK,the same goes with other pipe tobaccos, but more so with this one. I think the hit and miss factor here are the random bits of cigar leaf, because if you've ever experimented with cigar leaf, you realize it can get very harsh and bitter in a pipe real quick.

The predominant taste in the first half or so of the bowl is nutty, figgy, and the creamy Latakia is definitely there. Very full and also surprisingly harmonious. Close your eyes and it's very much like a Dunhill English of some type, despite the different ingredients,

The cigar leaf is usually so well integrated that I didn't even mention it yet, though it is there, always in the background, only really becoming cigar like for me at the very end.

This blend definitely cannot be inhaled, not that I recommend doing this with any pipe tobacco, but the cigar like quality (mainly in the creaminess of the smoke) also translates into "don't inhale". Soft in the mouth but harsh on an inhale, which is not the case with many C&D blends without cigar leaf.

I like this better than Billy Budd, which I find more Latakia forward and inharmonious.

Great blend with the cigar leaf standing in the foreground. All the different tobacco flavors come through delivering a perfect smoke every time. Moisture level perfect. Medium to above average nic hit. Great after dinner smoke.

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.

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.

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 .

When I was a teenager I smoked cigarettes for a brief time. Then I found cigars, it was an instant love affair. At one point in my life, I had commercial humidor in my man cave. It literally had thousands of cigars. I started noticing they all had similar flavor but the big difference was the nicotine hit. I was smoking pipes off and on, and eventually decided that there way more flavor profiles in pipe tobacco. Side note aromatics don't qualify in my book. That being said I sold my giant humidor. I decided to be all in on pipes. I love a good English, Balkan or Scottish blend. Sometimes I find myself missing a good cigar. So I've tried several cigar leaf pipe tobaccos, and haven't been impressed. Billy Budd is a good example of lackluster cigar tobacco. This one is quite good, very flavorful and doesn't disappoint. If you love a good cigar, give this one a try. You won't be disappointed..

If you like your coffee with cream and maybe just a little sugar, I think you will love Habana Daydream.. it is a soft impressionistic painting (daydream if you will).. On first light the latakia pops up but it fades into the background almost as fast as it enters.. you are left with that subtle sweetness from the Cavendish mixing with that sort of typical dusty/earthy mild cigar flavor.. as you exhale you get a hint of perique, adding pepper but never feeling strong.. the Virginia, for me, is very toned down by the other elements.. strength for me was medium.. I enjoy the smoothness and it burns pretty cool.. gives you nice hints of flavor.. I tend to prefer richer tasting blends, but this is a nice change of pace.. it almost smokes more like a burley.. feels more like wearing slippers than shoes.. available at a nice bulk price.. I would recommend it for a lighter cigar blend. Just like key largo i find certain weather conditions really benefit this blend.. warm with no wind seems to really make it shine.