Cornell & Diehl Billy Budd

Cigar anyone? Latakia anyone? Nicotine fix anyone? Billy Budd answers the bell on all three counts and delivers a knockout punch!

The combination of the Latakia/Cigar/Virginia/Burley makes for an unusual presentation both in the tin and at the match. The tobacco burns smoothly and cool. No sweetness here... just a plain old tobacco taste. Nothing subtle about Billy Budd either; it's combination of flavors and strength slapped me around like no other cigar leaf blend I've ever tried.

Speaking of getting slapped, don't kiss the spouse immediately after smoking this one.

My favorite blend of all brands. Full flavored, complex, slightly sweet, great afternoon and evening smoke. Ages superbly.

The best cigar leaf mixture I have tried so far. The cigar taste is to the forefront but you also get some Latakia smokiness and dryness. Since I also smoke cigars, I know what to expect from such a tobacco, it's not for everyone.

With those condiment tobaccos it's impossible for me, to detect the lighter tasting Bright Virginia or Burley. I guess, those are used to help with the combustion of such a slow burning mixture.

Virginia lover

I picked up my pipes again after a few years smoking cigars exclusively. In so doing, I found most of the pipe tobaccos I started smoking again to be lacking in richness and complexity as well as smoothness. Afterreading many reviews on this sight, I sent away for among others, Billy Budd.

Well, joy was mine when I smoked this fine blend as part of a C&D sample package. I was interested in cigar leaf blends: I also compared smoked Purple Cow (C&D) and Robusto (GLPease), as well a couple aromatics.

Billy budd is a wonderfully full smoke that is the one I have been seeking. It is 50% latakia and needs some getting used to, but it is now my everyday smoke. I love the mouthfeel and rich luxury of its deep smooth full tobacco essence.

It is great! As for the other two cigar leaf blends, I find them somewhat unfocussed and uninteresting, though in matters of taste one must try for themselves.

In Billy Budd, I am pleased to have found a substantial and well blended pipe tobacco that is relaxing, powerful and pleasant. Thank you C&D.

UPDATE 2019-08-22: I am fortunate to have hoarded a bunch of tobacco years ago, now I have a stash which includes lots of ten year old leaf. After ten years in the jar, Billy Budd has become one of my all time favorites. What is amazing to me is that the Latakia smoke has greatly subsided and what is left is a smooth, incredibly well-integrated richness and toastiness that just intrigues. Refuses to bite. Delicious. Absolutely worth the effort to age for a long time!

Total refurb of my previous two star review. After about a year in the jar, this stuff has become absolutely sublime. Rich, smooth, toasty, flavorful, full, delicious! I don't believe I have ever witnessed such a dramatic change from a year of aging. I am very, very happy that I grabbed a pound of it when I did, and you can be sure I'll be stashing away a few more pounds as soon as possible. The best cigar blend I've tried to date, and one of the best blends of any kind in my cellar.

Billy Budd reminded me, briefly, of McClelland's Coyote Classic Full, which is one of my all-time favorites, but the resemblance was ephemeral, as the unique qualities of Billy Budd came to bear, such as Burley and Cigar Leaf which Coyote Classic does not have. Conversely, Billy Budd does not contain Oriental/Turkish leaf that distinguishes Coyote Classic. Billy Budd has a rounded flavor, no sharp notes. It is Latakia forward, which is perhaps the quality that first invited my comparison with Coyote Classic, as well as the fact that the tobaccos used are premium in every respect, no inferior Burley leaf as a cost saver here. It was a little slow to stay lit, but once it was lit, it stayed lit to the bottom of a large bowl. The nicotine is, I would say, past medium bordering on strong. The Cigar Leaf is evident without giving the impression of a cigar. It is a cool smoke with no chance of a tongue bite. The room note is strong but not offensive, although some who are sensitive bystanders may disagree. It burns to a fine gray ash, with no dottle, and no moisture.

Magnificent. I am a huge fan of C&D's Purple cow. Billy Budd seems to be a more refined version of Purple Cow. A great marriage between a cigar and an english tobacco. Very cool burning, very robust full flavored smoke. Very well done. The smoke is creamy, silky smooth and packed full of flavor. A nice dose of vitamin N as well. When I'm in the mood for a good cigar blend but Purple Cow's a bit much at the moment I'm sure to reach for Billy Budd. Well done C&D. as usual.

Loud and boisterous. If Star of the East flake is Philip Marlow, Billy Budd is Mike Hammer. A beautiful combination of sharp burley and virginia flavour, with the Latakia given some strength by the cigar leaf.

I could smoke this all day and all night, if necessary. It is mild, in the vitamin-N department, unlike many of the CD line-up, but it keeps its flavour from start to finish.

You can't really taste the cigar leaf per se. I suspect that it works inside the Latakia, serving as a kind of chemical additive to that worthy leaf.

Towards the last third of the pipe you get even more Latakia, with the burleys muted. I would presume that even CD's burleys, not generally a shy bunch, are upstaged by the other components to the point of just creeping away.

Outstanding in every respect.

This is simply a brilliant tobacco. The CT leaf is very present and notes that are expected blend very well with the smokiness of the lat. The VA's are a little sweet but only slightly so and the burley gives a big base with its earthiness. The sum is greater then its parts. This blend has something about it that is simply indescribable when all these elements come together. The very best blend in this category I have smoked so far.

A couple of notes on the side that are worth mentioning: As a cigar smoker for 23 years I have had many cigar smokers ask if there is a pipe tobacco that tastes like a cigar. My answer is no. Don't expect a pipe tobacco to be exactly like a cigar they are made differently, etc. This is definitely cigarish however. The CT leaf really brings out things that remind me of a cigar but that is as far as I would go in describing it as cigar like there are other nuances that are distinctively pipe. Also a note about the strength. I have rated it as strong but the nic is really med-strong it is all other elements that moved the strength up.