Cornell & Diehl Oriental Silk

(3.42)
Perique, bright flake, Turkish flake and bright Virginia ribbon combine to make a memorable smoke.
Notes: Oriental Silk was introduced in August, 1996.

Details

Brand Cornell & Diehl
Blended By Cornell & Diehl
Manufactured By Cornell & Diehl
Blend Type Oriental
Contents Oriental/Turkish, Perique, Virginia
Flavoring
Cut Ribbon
Packaging Bulk, 2 ounce tin
Country United States
Production Currently available

Profile

Strength
Medium
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Extremely Mild -> Overwhelming
Flavoring
None Detected
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
None Detected -> Extra Strong
Room Note
Pleasant to Tolerable
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Unnoticeable -> Overwhelming
Taste
Medium
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Extremely Mild (Flat) -> Overwhelming

Average Rating

3.42 / 4
29

18

5

1

Reviews

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Displaying 1 - 11 of 53 Reviews
Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Mar 01, 2018 Medium None Detected Medium Pleasant to Tolerable
This blend is absolutely magnificent! I was not expecting this blend to be as good as it is based on description alone, but I was very pleasantly surprised.

So as you can tell, I really like this blend and it has become a regular in my rotation. The tin note is grassy with a bit of fruity sweetness, but then the orientals play in the background giving off some sort of nutty, tangy, earthy smell that I can't really describe (the Perique may be contributing to that tangy smell).

On first light I am bombarded with the virgina. It is a Virginia forward blend (which makes it perfect for me). The oriental settles in pretty quickly providing that nutty mysterious flavor throughout most of the bowl. The perique though is what really keeps the whole thing interesting. It's not as perique heavy as other blends in my opinion, but its just enough to warm the senses with its spicy flavor. What is impressive to me is that it smokes just like a good old Va/Per, for an all day smoke if you'd like, but you can also sit down and tease out the different nuances and enjoy the blend. It is just a great over all blend that I especially will enjoy in the warm summer months.

Mechanically, I've never had any relighting issues except those caused by user error. The blend smokes down to a fine white ash every time. I did get it to bite me once when I was really puffing hard on a short smoke break, but it was an extreme scenario. I don't think you will experience tongue bite in most normal situations.

I'll be picking up a pound of this sometime this year to cellar. I bet this will get better over the years to come.
Pipe Used: Neerup Poker, Briar Works straight billiard
PurchasedFrom: smokingpipes.com
Age When Smoked: New Bulk
2 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jul 19, 2016 Medium None Detected Medium Pleasant to Tolerable
The smokey, dry, earthy, woody, moderately spicy, herbal, vegetative, floral, buttery sour Oriental/Turkish takes the lead much of the time, but this isn’t an Oriental bomb. The bright Virginias offer a bit of tart and tangy citrus, some grass, hay, floralness, bread, tart, acidic lemon, sugar, and a pinch of spice. It is a strong player in the mix. The raisin, fig, plum, earth, wood and spice from the perique is fairly noticeable. At times, some ingredients show a bit more than at other times. The strength and taste levels barely reach the medium mark. The nic-hit is a slot and a half behind them. It won’t bite, but the pepper will tingle your tongue a little if you puff fast, so it needs a slow smoking cadence. Has a few rough edges. Burns just a little fast with a clean, mostly smooth, fairly consistent sweet, mildly sour, spicy, floral, rich flavor. Requires a few relights, and leaves very little dampness in the bowl as it easily burns to ash. The pleasant after taste and lightly stronger room notes linger a little. It has a fair amount of body for an all day smoke.

-JimInks
48 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Sep 21, 2010 Medium None Detected Medium to Full Pleasant
Fun With C&D Samples, Vol. II, # 1

Sometimes you get lucky with samples. Sometimes you fire up your first bowlful and, after just a few puffs, think to yourself that you have a winner. And sometimes that feeling lasts throughout the entire 2 oz sample baggie. This is one of those times.

As mentioned, the cut of this (wide ribbon with some chunks and narrower ribbon) looks like it would burn like tissue paper but somehow C&D has managed to make it burn nicely, if a tad quickly. I've smoked and reviewed all the McClelland Grand Oriental series and I enjoy several of them but this one adds a nice shot of testosterone to the flavor. This is a bolder smoke than, say, Drama or Smyrna in the GO series. Oriental Silk has all their flavor and then some but also a good deal more body and "satisfaction factor" (which may be simple nicotine). The room aroma is redolent with spices and incense and the flavor is a wonderful spicy sweetness. The perique is barely there but does seem to escalate the flavor somehow. It has a "bite" and I mean that in a positive way. It doesn't bite the tongue but it has a nice sharp burst of flavor, like Sobranie or Dunhill 965 does. The flavor of this demands to be actively experienced from the first puff. I wouldn't call this wildly complex; instead I'd call it excellent from charring light to dottle - just a wonderful flavor that I intend to go back to over and over. If I could smoke just one tobacco... well, I'd be irritable for sure but if I HAD to, this would be on my very short list of choices.

C&D has nailed the VaPerTurk! These guys continue to impress me, even though I don't appreciate the taste of all their blends. They are truly working to put something out for everyone. Most impressive blender!
45 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jun 06, 2010 Medium None Detected Medium Very Pleasant
What took me so long to smoke this blend? I think it is an overlooked front runner and the taste was sublime. The strength of this blend is what attracted me to it and the Perique element is so slight that it can go unnoticed at times. Turkish leaf smacks you immediately with a burst of deep flavor that reeks of quality.

Good job, C&D!
43 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Feb 18, 2014 Medium None Detected Medium to Full Pleasant to Tolerable
This was much more than I expected. The flavors are rich and there's a depth that's hard to account for. Not sure where that's coming from, but it's very welcome. Turkish forward, but the sweet Virginias make a strong showing. The Perique is very light, but discernible. In a word, delicious.
Pipe Used: MM General, MM Country Gentleman
PurchasedFrom: smokingpipes.com
Age When Smoked: fresh bulk
30 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Apr 05, 2014 Medium None Detected Medium Pleasant to Tolerable
I have been on a Turkish kick of late and recently bought some Oriental Silk. The pouch scent is mainly sour, but in a good way. I did dry the entire ounce sample that I bought as it was a little bit moist for my personal taste. My first reaction to smoking Oriental Silk is that it is a fitting name for the blend. OS is a silky smooth offering. The Orientals take the lead, but the Virginia is just right and the Perique is definitely noticeable, especially as each bowl progressed toward its end. I like small to medium amounts of Perique, but if you are not of fan of Perique, this might not be your best choice as I do think there is more here than others have mentioned. For me, along with the sour, comes a wonderful sweetness and a small amount of mustiness. The Oriental and Virginias come together in perfect harmony. I have wondered if there is a small amount of added sweetener but I can’t say for sure. OS is not a strong blend, but it does have a bit of backbone to it too. I would put it in the medium category in the strength department, unless you smoke it quickly and then…. Oriental Silk has quickly become one of my top three or four C&D blends!
Age When Smoked: new
28 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Oct 29, 2014 Medium None Detected Medium to Full Pleasant to Tolerable
Cornell and Diehl has an affinity for blending mixtures with weighty tobacco flavor and Oriental Silk is no different. It’s comprised mostly of brightly colored Turkish and VA leaf with small dark flecks of perique, and the pouch note is fruity, a bit sour and smells a lot like freshly leavened bread dough. When lit, it becomes fast apparent that this is not your typical mild-mannered and/or lightly nuanced “Oriental” blend.

This is a stout and spicy mixture with a dense semi-sweet, tangy flavor. And while not as exotic as I expected, there are still some subtle mushroomy nuances, occasional hints of pepper and a few floral notes to be had. But for the most part the smoke is heady with substantial body and it literally coats your mouth with tobacco flavor. Oriental Silk is smooth and balanced and it’s expertly blended to emphasize strength and assertive Turkish flavor character. Retrohalers will find much delight in its invigorating pungent sting.

Quality tobacco flavor with good backbone and best savored at a slow sip.
Pipe Used: Briar & Cob
Age When Smoked: Fresh
17 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Mar 12, 2012 Medium None Detected Medium Tolerable
I think that I've enjoyed the erstwhile #414 more than any newfound blend in years...and years. Maybe it's just that it hit me at just the right point in my own 'taste preference progression thing' - lucky me! It's not overly complex...just another VA/Per/Turk...being Perique, bright flake, Turkish flake and bright Virginia ribbon...but it has a fantastic all day kind of straight flavor that just 'clicks'! The sweet bright VA's being balanced by the sour Perique and the tangy Turkish. It's a small sized ribbon/shredded cut, soft and easy to pack. Lights easily and evenly and burns readily but is managable with proper attention (as with amything of this cut a fairly constant light tamp is needed til the halfway point). It does especially well in deeper bowls but I think putting it into too small a bowl would be a sad thing. lol It's also easy to obtain (not a small thing any more) and for what counts today as low prices.

I'll let DK's spot on review below stand as representing my thoughts as well, I couldn't have said it any better!

So let's finish by doing it this way:

1st star: availability (yes, it gets a star for just being there) 2nd star: low pricing (and another because I can afford it) 3rd star: managability of the leaf during packing and smoking 4th star: interplay of excellent flavors

So, mixing the practical and the sublime...it comes up with a 4-star rating.
16 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Nov 21, 2014 Medium None Detected Medium Pleasant to Tolerable
I had a friend send generous samples of Pegasus, Orion's Arrow and Oriental Silk. I seem to have reviewed the first two and and never got to writing up the Oriental Silk. I have one more bowl left in the sample and it is time.

This is a wonderful combination of natural tobacco flavors. I claim there is no topping, and the individual tobaccos are identifiable in the flavor profile. The Virginia is bright and sweet. The perique is sour and a little peppery when pushed. The Turkish is spicy and contributes to a slight whiff of incense in the room note. The Turkish has a distinctive "mouth tingle" I have experienced with other oriental blends sometimes. It starts as a med/mild in terms of strength and transitions to a medium about mid-bowl. Think of it as a cousin of Old Joe Krantz.

It all works very well, and it is a tasty blend that is easy to smoke. I will buy more of this and would recommend this to anyone who likes orientals. It is a really a 3.5 on my rating scale. I have not bought it by the pound, but I will. If you want to try a VaPerTurk, this is an excellent place to start.
14 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
May 30, 2010 Mild to Medium None Detected Medium Pleasant
I am scared of perique due to my own stupidity of hearing descriptions of spicey,peppery,et al. Got a sample of this years ago from C&D & finally decided to try it. It looked as if it would burn hot. Light flakes,squares, flat chunks,etc. Smells Virginiaish (Funn Dictionary). Have tried it in small meers, briars am currently smoking a second bowl in a Peterson System 309. I don't understand how Craig can take a feathery light blend that should burn like tissue paper & transform it into an amazing mixture! This is Va.lights & perique at it's BEST. Ultra mild light Old Gowrie. Gravity feed it lightly,grind up some into crumbs or dust on top for combustability (Funn Dictionary). And take your time. This is light Va and Turkish. I huff some and sip discriminently to start with. Don't epect Va. sweetness or perique biteyness or complexity as I did.Take your time and the subtlety of the Va and Turkish will reward your mouth exquisitely. Make sure you have something to drink because it will dry your mouth out. My preferance is green tea. I was shocked at how smooth and biteless this blend is. I bought a lb at the CORPS Show after my sample was gone. Smoking this gives me images of Holmes & Watson dressed in whites at a summer lawn gathering,Bengal Lancers enjoying it in the barracks shade,Sopwith Camel pilots in the summer's heat w/a lager. Cary Grant and Errol Flynn at a Beverly Hills pool party w/Vodka martinis. I light this continously till it doesn't light anymore then gently tamp stopping at any resistance. I can exhale thru my nose occasionally with no ill effects. This burns leaving the pipe walls clean down to a fine grey ash with no liquid or gurgle. The well of my System was left dry. You have to sip this and breathe smoke to appreciate the Turkish blendation (Funn Dictionary) w/the Va.s. Smooth as silk. Highly recommended to any mild Va. smoker but with a drink.
12 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Aug 28, 2015 Medium None Detected Mild to Medium Pleasant to Tolerable
A total sleeper blend. This is a wonderful tobacco for any lover of Turkish/Oriental leaf, especially those who don't want Latakia. There is a hint of perique pepperiness hiding under a sweet Virginia, but the Orientals are what steal the show. A delicious tangy tin note translates into a slightly spicy bowl with strong wood notes. Medium body and taste and a perfect change of pace as Oriental forward blends without Latakia are not very common, especially at an economical bulk price. 4 stars.
Pipe Used: Billiard, pot, prince, apple, meer, rhodesian
Age When Smoked: Fresh and aged 1 year
10 people found this review helpful.
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