Cornell & Diehl Oriental Silk

Simply put, Delicious! A keeper for anyone who enjoys the flavor of turkish tobacco. Extremely well blended.

C&D- Oriental Silk . Let me start by saying I was so impressed by C&D Smokinpipes.com 20th anniversary XX flake that has Bright Virginias. 2 orientals and Perique that I searched for other blends that had the same tobaccos. Oriental Silk was the first blend that came up . This one is more turkish - Oriental forward though . The Orientals have a buttery, creamy and very mild sourness that is delicious. The Virginias are always present with sweetness, hay and citrus and I think add to the floral notes. The Perique is fairly light as a condiment but is there with pepper spice and a little fruitiness . Glad I bought 8oz as I thought I may like it . There is a satisfactory nic nit and just a great flavor to it . Right up there with Haunted Bookshop and I think Some Turkish and Burley leaf have some similarities in flavor profile . Four stars , would definitely buy again !

Oriental Silk

Not too many Cornell & Diehl blends are available here in Ontario so I purchased a tin of this through an online US based outlet. I purchased on the assumption that the tobacco that I liked most in previous English blends had been the Orientals and wanted something with a big Oriental content to see if this was the case.

I open the tin and I get the scent of grass like from a straight Virginia, but also something that smells a bit astringent. The smell is different than the other blends I’ve tried thus far, but pleasing and mild.

The cut is almost like a ready rubbed, there are ribbons and some broken flakes throughout. The tobacco is a fairly uniform colour of bronze/orange and it seems nice and moist, but not too wet.

Lighting up was easy and the tobacco stays lit and burns evenly throughout the bowl. The taste is something that I was definitely looking for. Having assumed that I liked the almost sour/sweet flavour of the Orientals in similar blends, I was rewarded mightily. Smoking through this bowl the sour flavour developed until it effectively subsumed all the other tastes. Reminds me of a tobacco version of Sweet Tarts candy. Despite how it may sound, the sour flavour is quite delicious.

I would recommend this blend and I will likely be buying more tins in the future as I run low. Not having been doing this long enough I’m not sure that this would improve with age so I will probably just buy a tin here and there and smoke it when the need strikes me.

I plan to keep this in my smoking rotation. The Turkish (Izmir?) is definitely dominant. It has a sour and spicy quality that I really enjoy. The bright Virginia and Perique work well together. The Virginia provides its hay and slight sweetness with the Perique offering mostly spice and pepper with a little fig taste. I don't know the proportions of this blend but it tastes like about 50% Bright VA, 15% Perique and 35% Izmir. A simple yet complex blend that highlights the fine qualities of Turkish tobacco.

(Edit) Definitely not 35% Izmir! More like 10%.

Being a burly fan this was never on my try list. Irish flake and junk yard dog are my go to tobaccos. Ill have to say this one caught me by surprise. I bought 2 oz bulk, it has a sweet aroma,it looked and smelled of all the things I dislike in a tobacco.The first bowl was just OK..But the perique send me back for a second bowl. I know some on here said the perique is non existent, I have to say this stuff had enough perique to clear my sinus. Not a whole lot of flavor complexity but I dont think that was the point of this tabacco it is a simple blend,well balance and makes a good all day smoke.

I've doen a total about-face on this blend. Initially I didn't like it, but it won me over. It's many things I

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normally don't like in a tobacco- pale, golden, sweet, grassy, and heavily Virginia, but somehow all the components blend together into a

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fascinating harmony. It's very finely cut, and is easy to smoke too quickly - I wouldn't recommend it for a beginning smoker, lest he bite

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his tongue or crack his pipe. Given relaxed puffing and slow savoring, though, it comes into its own with a sweet and very pure taste that

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always reminds me of a summer evening.

Just the right amount of exotic tobaccos blended with one of my favorite Virginias. Smokes cool and clean and doesn’t bite. An all day smoke for sure.

Tin note sweet and sour, herbal, a bit musty, perfect moisture level. Ribbon cut. If you like Orientals this is a really great blend. A bit peppery (slow puffing required) from the perique but Oriental forward and the Virginia give is some nice sweetness. Its a bit bolder than Oriental express and the Nic hit is at the halfway mark. You will get more out of this blend if you sip it, fast puffing and it looses flavor . I dropped this to 3.5 stars as this blend seems to be inconsistent,

Bought in bulk. The baggie note is nice, with raisins in front. When lit, I got a strong buttery note off the bat. Afterwards, I'd describe this as a good Balkan, but with Perique instead of Latakia. Or, if you prefer, a nice Va/Per with some fragrant Orientals thrown in. There's no question that the Orientals assert themselves here, but the Perique isn't far behind. Not exactly what I was looking for when I ordered this, but at the same time it was better than I expected. Burns cool, no bite, not too strong to smoke throughout the day. Nicotine is mild-medium. Unless you hate Perique and/or incense-like perfume, but not the Lakelands flowery type perfume because it isn't like that, I can't think of anything that's unlikeable here. Plus it's cheap as dirt.