Cornell & Diehl Oriental Silk

It's taken a while for me to get around to reviewing this tobacco, because the more I smoke it the more subtle aromas I pick up. I had four or five rather bold dark blends on hand, from Périque to black Cavendish, and at first this (literally) paled by comparison. But as I smoked it, it grew on me, til I was smoking more of it than any of the others. A light, very pleasant smoke, definitely 'Silk' smooth. It reminded me of some sun-cured Yenidje purchased in whole leaf form from leafonly.com.

The aroma—especially when I first opened the pouch—was very sweet, new-mown hay with honeysuckle and even a touch of sherry. Others have said 'no flavouring', but I found this hard to believe. Perhaps a little topping of Tonka bean or coumarin? On the other hand, perhaps this is a natural aroma for some types of curing; it reminded me of a burley blend, purchased locally, which the salesman assured me was straight burley with no casing. If anyone can educate me, since we don't have a forum here—yet, I would be interested in hearing from you, either email [email protected] or Tony Patriarche on FaceBook.

From the colour I would assume the Virginia in this is Virginia Bright, but I detected none of the characteristic scent of that tobacco (about the only tobacco I DON'T like); must be a more southern variety than the Canadian Virginia I'm familiar with. Orientals dominate, but not the strong soapy flavour of some 'Turkish' varietals—nice, grassy, fresh taste. Couldn't detect any Périque in a 2oz bag, either by flavour or by eye. That's OK, I have a little C&D's Joie de Vivre left, and lots of pure Périque if I feel like blending on the fly!

Not quite enough assertive character for four stars, but a definite 3.49 😉 And darn it, I'm really enjoying it.

**Update--Uprated…Any tobacco that can compel my attention when I have such good blends as C&D Oak Alley to smoke deserves 4 staes…a good candidate for an all-day smoke, now a favourite ….

I bought 2 ounces bulk of this a couple years ago when I could see that my cellaring days were coming to an end. Up popped a sale on C&D bulks from Smokingpipes and I just went down the line ordering 2 ounces of pretty much anything I hadn't tried at the time. (OK, I did skip some aros)

In a jar this one rested for nearly two and a half years. I popped it a few months back and was instantly wowed with the smell from the jar. It had a wonderful vaper smell, rife with hay and fruit with some citrus notes. I only wish that I enjoyed smoking it as much as I enjoyed smelling it.

This is not to say this is bad by any means, but I found it kind of boring. I also found it tricky to stay in the zone on this one. Whenever my mind wandered it started turning harsh on me quickly. It was when I had my full concentration on my technique that I was rewarded by the sweet and slightly sour taste reminiscent of the jar note. Once there, it just wasn't grand or interesting enough to keep that attention. So either this is difficult to smoke right, boring or I have attention deficit disorder. lol

I don't look at reviews before I have smoked through what I have as I am long past buying tobaccos and would rather not let myself be swayed prior to reviewing a blend. I was actually surprised to see all of the four star reviews on this one. I was trying to decide whether to give this one two or three stars myself. Based on the smell, those wonderful fleeting moments and all the four star reviews, I will bump it up to three stars, but would say it is really a 2.5. I am glad to have tried it, but I won't miss it or rue the fact I only bought two ounces.

Short and narrow cut ribbons, almost shag with some pieces of broken flakes thrown in. Mostly bright colored but with some darker pieces as well. Very natural tobacco aroma. Has the natural taste of bright Virginia, citrus and hay with the added sweetness from Red?? Virginia and some nuttiness. These to me are the main players. There is some sweet floral aroma from the Orientals and Perique adds to the strength of the blend without being very prominent tastewise, although there is some peppery tingle to be sure.

I like Oriental Silk, it’s sort of cigaretty natural-tasting tobacco which as a former cigarette smoker I enjoy a lot. Tasty and very natural-tasting, highly recommended for those who like unprocessed natural-tasting tobaccos.

As the name suggests Oriental Silk is very Oriental forward. The Izmir really is showcased in this one. It is dry, woodsy with a peppery spiciness. It is buttery and a little sour and only slightly sweet. The grassy VA's form a solid base to this and have a note of citrus to them. The perique moves in and out and goes from almost undetectable to forward competing with the Izmir for a few puffs before moving to the background again when forward the peppery, plum, fig and raisin notes really shine. The frustrating thing here is that both the Izmir and the perique have similar but unique peppery notes I can tell the difference but I lack the ability to articulate exactly what is different so the description of pepper while fair falls a little short overall. I do think the Izmir is a little too far forward muting the other tobaccos slightly. I have used Izmir straight to add to blends myself and it does not take much to overpower other elements and this is the case here, but only slightly so. The room note is tolerable and the nic is at the upper end of med. The finish is very short and the flavors do not linger on the palate long. This could be a very nice morning smoke or used as an in between bowl between bigger stronger blends. I smoked a couple of bowls in a pipe dedicated to big lat blends and the lat ghost added a very nice element as well. So adding a pinch of lat might also be rewarding. This is easy to recommend but I don't see myself trying to horde pounds of this but I can see picking up a few oz to smoke from time to time. Well worth trying.

This is indeed a silky smooth smoke. The Orientals demand most of the attention most of the time, with the Virginia adding balance to fill out the Or. The Oriental brings with it a buttery sour that blends well with a touch of fruity tang from the Va. At times, a floral wisp makes itself known as does a touch of wood, with just a tad of sweetness from the Va rounding it all out. As far as the Perique, there seems to be two camps. For me, the Perique is not at the forefront, nor middle, of the flavor. It lingers in the back, demanding no conscience attention, with just a hint of raisin poking through at times. It is there, but contributes to the overall body of the smoke, rather than the flavor.

A smooth, well balanced smoke, for sure. Not at all overly complex, yet not entirely monochromatic in flavor either that includes a good tobacco taste. A very satisfying smoke.

The guy from C&D had run out when I called so he 'knocked' some up for me. This was at least 10 years ago and I did not care for it so it rested in the bottom of a box in a large bell jar until I moved and found it. The aroma is tangy and mushroomy, very redolent of Perique of which there is more than a small amount as I can see it It in the blend. Tangy and peppery with a great burn and I can taste C&D's Izmir distinctly. Now a very good blend and a good find

The oriental blend is very good.. The oriental flavor is smooth and non biting . The perique adds a degree of elusiveness.Virgins and maybe a hint of cigar leaf makes this a sublime a tasty blend.

Terrific blend. Well balanced. For those who love the Turkish accent, beware, because that accent disappears after about a year. Still a 4-star smoke, but different from fresh.

Cornell & Diehl makes hundreds of blends that I need reviews on TR to help me decide which to sample, and this is on top of the list. Vaper with oriental, simple but impressive combination. Easy to work with and good for all day smoke.