Cornell & Diehl Billy Budd

No, no, no, I'm sorry, but this was a huge disappointment. After reading so many good reviews about this blend, and enjoying a good, strong Latakia blend every now and then, I decided to give this a try. I bought four ounces of this from Pipesandcigars.com and that was a mistake.

The aroma as I opened up the bag was not at all agreeable to my senses. It was not a sweet aromatic smell, nor a strong smoky one, but rather a pungent cigar aroma. The cut was rather coarse and the color was almost a light green.

Undeterred by these warning signs, I packed it into one of my favorite briars and lit up. It required a few relights as I worked my way through the bowl, but the flavor from start to finish was consistent - consistently bad! When I smoke a pipe, I want to be smoking pipe tobacco, not a blend that reminds me of a cheap cigar! That was exactly what the taste in my mouth and the room note around me declared about this blend. The cigar leaf overwhelmed all of the other tobaccos and left me with no desire for more. I did persevere through a few more bowls, and even mixed it with a sweet aromatic I had ordered at the same time, but nothing cured it of its undesirable flavor and room note. In the end, I passed this tobacco along to a cigarette smoker. If I do ever end up like Robinson Crusoe, I hope and pray that the barrel of tobacco I salvage from the shipwreck is not Billy Budd!

This is the second tobacco I've ordered from Cornell & Diehl that was extremely dry, even in the sealed tin. The two C&D tins were from different shops. I will not order anything else from them.

The taste is too strong, like a very dark and heavy cigar and I keep having re-light problems with this. (other tobacco's I smoke light fine, so it's not me)

I would not recommend this tobacco or anything from Cornell & Diehl for that matter. Very over-rated.

If you have a hankering for a good, strong, tasty cigar,(without the outrageous price) this is your blend. Has a kick which will definitely awaken the senses. I have never smoked anything like it, but I really like it. I don't know if it would appeal to new pipers or those who are in love with strict English blends. For a change of place, highly recommended. Might even become a favorite, as I just have an ounce sample a friend shared with me (he was stingy with his pound), I'll have to buy some more and find out! Note: the room note is not going to please the wife or non smokers, so enjoy this somewhere you won't be nagged!

There´s some kind of tobacco that delivers their magic at first hit and here we have definitely one of them. Do you know that kind of tobacco that is so good that when you give the first puff you widen your eyes unconsciously??... This tobacco shows its quality at first puff.

There is some complexity in the right dose, none of the tobaccos really get the spotlight, the latakia is in the correct amount, burns cool, good body, good nic-hit, the cigar leaf makes a huge effect in the smoke and taste quality.

One of my favorite English mixtures from all times....
All stars possible, go for it!!

I really think the reputation Billy Budd has here is unfair. The blend really is not that overpowering. The tin note is actually more in your face than the taste. It’s definitely a notch up from a typical Balkan blend (which normally I find a bit dull), but in the English genre, I’d call this a medium. If you smoke only Virginia’s, well, you might consider this full flavored (no offense).The tobacco comes though perfect moisture. I’d call it a rough cut. It smokes relatively slow, and it’s hard to get it to burn hot. I’d say it would be extremely hard to get this blend to overheat. The nic hit is medium at best. The Latakia becomes creamy when it melds with the cigar. But I don’t think many people could single out the cigar leaf on its own. The burley adds substantial body to the blend. The addition of Virginia gives this a perfect balance of sweet and savory. It’s really a classic blend. A blue collar smoke. I’m a big fan of Billy Budd.

The cigar and latakia were counterpoised so that I was not satisfied I had either firmly in hand. Enjoying a rich cigar, and a solid latakia in the pipe, I found neither craving was satisfied by Billy Budd.

Had my hopes up too high for this one. Nothing more than a standard tobacco and didn't really tickle my fancy in any way. Sure, a bowl of this now and then could probably slip in but it is nothing for my regular rotation.

Tastes a little sour and a little perfumed. Decent but nothing more. Overrated.

Cigar leaf and Latakia are the dominate players in this blend being held up by the Burley and Virginia like they where crowd surfing, oh yeah this is in your face poking you in the eye balls. Makes a good late afternoon smoke for me with black coffee.

The First time I had this tobacco,

It was Labor Day weekend I was seventeen I bought a Coke and some Billy Budd And I drove out to the county fair When I saw her for the first time She was standing there in the ticket line And it all started right then and there Oh, a smoker's sky made a perfect sunset And that's the day I'll never forget

I had a barbeque stain on my white tee shirt She was killing me in that miniskirt Skippin' rocks on the river by the railroad tracks She had a suntan line and Dunhill Pipe I worked so hard for that first smoke And a heart don't forget something like that

Well it was five years later on a southbound plane I was headed down to New Orleans To meet some friends of mine for Mardi Gras When I smelled a smoke from the past Comin' from a few rows back And when I looked, I couldn't believe just what I saw She said I bet you don't remember me And I said only every other memory

I had a barbeque stain on my white tee shirt You were killing me in that miniskirt Skippin' rocks on the river by the railroad tracks You had a suntan line and Dunhill Pipe I worked so hard for that first smoke And a heart don't forget something like that

Like an old photograph Time can make a feeling fade But the memory of a first smoke Never fades away

I had a barbecue stain on my white tee shirt She was killing me in that miniskirt Smokkin' pipes on the river by the railroad tracks She had a sun tan line and dunhill Pipe I worked so hard for that first smoke A heart don't forget, no a heart don't forget I said a heart don't forget something like that Oh, not something like that