Cornell & Diehl Captain Bob's Blend

Somebody sure dumped a lot of different aromatic flavors in this one. A little bit on the overpowering side as far as an aromatic smoke goes, but with the base being misted rather than dunked, I did get a good, solid tobacco taste with Captain Bob along with the flavorings. Not really to my personal liking overall, and would have to demote Bob to a Corporal for coming up with this one.

Pipestud

Whew GRAPE!! I knew what I was getting into when I purchased this tin, I like aromatics, I like the tobacco's used but the grape is very overpowering. I will continue to smoke my tin and see if this is an acquired taste or if me and grape just do not get along. I truly applaud Capt. Bob for blending some fine stuff and C&D for letting him do his thing. This blend has top quality tobacco's present and you can tell the topping is not some chemical kool aid goop. The family absolutely loved the aroma and I hope that I acquire this taste because to be able to smoke a medium English in mixed company would be ideal!

This is a good quality aromatic. A very nice English tobacco base that does come through. It smokes clean and dry and overall it is a pleasant experience. The grape flavor, however, is really all that I can pick up from the various aromatic essences that have been added. It is a little much for me personally and not something that I would have thought to add to a tobacco. So a somewhat recommended rating from me as grape is not really a flavor that works alongside tobacco for me personally. If Welsh's grape juice (or grape Koolaide with a little Ever Clear mix) is your drink of choice with your pipe this might be a home run for you.

Wow! What’s that smell? Opening the pouch brings forth a large bubble of grape flavored bubble gum, mixed with Nehi grape drink and maybe some Welch’s Grape Juice. I continue to sample the aroma, hoping for the grape to subside.

Visual inspection reveals some light colored ribbons, some darker cube cuts and a random cut of a black leaf. The darker brown tobacco appears to have been pressed. The other two components, light and black, appear as single leaf. There are a few clumps of bright, brown and black leaf. The pouch note is still grape. The moisture level is just about perfect. The tobacco is well separated by touch. After running my fingers through the pouch they come up clean, smelling of grape.

I chose a medium Nording bent billiard and use gravity feed followed by a light Frank tamp. I chose a light Pinot Noir pairing. The charring light brings forth a cloud of grape and raises a crown on packing. Lightly packed, the charring light goes out. A second charring light brings the same result. Tamp and light brings a small crown and finally some tobacco flavor mixed with grape. I take a sip of Pinot… Not bad. Two puffs later and the grape is back.

The pouch note, room note and taste are consistent, grape. The pinot removes the sweetness of the Nehi which returns after a puff or two. At this point I cannot understand the “point” of this blend. I do not want to smoke flavored tobaccos, at least not flavors that are better represented by the original constituent.

Overall the blend is mild, easy on the tongue and mild in strength. It burns with minimal relights to a grey ash with little dottle and pairs well with a Pinot Noir.

With all due respect to Captain Bob and the folks at C & D, I give this blend two stars.

WARNING THIS STUFF STINKS BEFORE YOU SMOKE IT. After mostly smoking non aromatics I have decided to try some. I usually smoke Sam Gawith's tobaccos. I have started to appreciate some of the flavors of the aromatics. I saw the reviews here and decided to purchase several single once blends from Smoking Pipes. This smoke was kinda bland not much flavoring. What I couldn't stand was the smell in the raw form. This stuff stinks up a whole room just sitting in a bag in my tobacco cellar. ( Cellar is just a hutch ). It smells exactly like an adult book store. That sweet musty nasty smell that you don't want to know what it is. I moved the tobacco to the garage. The next morning the inside of my car smelled like it. It actually got into the car. I had to throw this stuff out. If I ever own acreage and have a small building out on the corner I will try this again and try to keep it 500 feet away from the house. I am just hoping the smell disappears or I am going to have to move.

Captain Bob is a great guy. I've read quite a few of his postings on various forums and he's always been especially candid about his creation, while being helpful and supportive to members. The pipe world could use more Captain Bob's. But his blend, I'm not so sure.

This stuff reeks. I bought two ounces, bulk, stuck it in an old C&D tin and threw it in my cabinet. I could smell it through the glass doors, five feet away. It was so bad I had to stash it atop my bookshelf with a few unsavory blends that I can't bear to throw away. The smell is odd. I know people are saying grape, but I don't get that. It smells like the rubber from fresh sneakers. Not that that's a bad thing, I kind of like the smell, but the problem is, that odd scent carries directly to the smoke. To me, it's not grape, it's not vanilla, it's not orange or even liquor. It's unlike anything I would like to smoke and I can't get used to it, not enough to finish off these two ounces.

It's not all bad. The tobacco is excellent, flavorful and ever present, unlike many aromatics that use cheap leaf. I can taste the Latakia, the Burley is a wonderful base, and the bit of Perique adds some heft. It's not goopy but it will probably ghost your pipe something awful. Even without the topping, this is a decent blend. But you have to like the topping and I've tried. Sorry Bob, but I do like the tin art.

This one is bizarre, and being that it was custom blended for a single customer, I suppose that shouldn’t come as a shock. While some custom blends such as Presbyterian and 965 have gained mass appeal like popular recipes that get shared by friends, this one is a different animal.

The extensive and mildly disparate list of additives suggests this blend is more akin to your weird uncle’s favorite recipe for tuna salad with lime jello and Limburger cheese sandwiches. It may seem repugnant to the masses, but I suppose every third or fourth person may take a bite and nod semi-approvingly.

This blend is not a broken flake as indicated above. It is a unusual mixture of large torn black leaf, 7-8mm square cut black leaf, drab brown leaf that was wrapped/curled tightly upon itself, flake remnants, and ribbon ranging from gold/orange to tan and olive. There were a few strange pieces that resembled cardboard more than tobacco leaf. The grape and caramel are the main pouch notes. Light up gives the taste of a grape jolly rancher. There are some sour and tangy variations of this before the grape topping takes on more of a scented quality like overchewed grape gum. The grape taste is gone in the tobacco, which becomes surprisingly natural tasting after the first 10 min, but the grape essence clings to one’s beard. The Latakia is not identifiable in the taste as an independent actor. I presume this is burley based given the earthiness, nuttiness, and pleasant bitterness of the smoke. There are some sweet orange notes mid bowl.

Despite the toppings, this leaf is never sticky and arrived at usual C&D dryness. It burns dry and required few relights. This is clearly not for the masses, but if you like aromatics and don’t mind wandering way off the beaten path, this blend may be worth a try.

I received a sample of CBB in my tin society box and looked forward to giving it a try.

The bag note reminded me of Capt Black Grape aka the Purple Monster.

It was easily packed and fairly easy to get lit.

The initial taste was the grape front and center. However as I smoked the bowl I definitely can taste perique and the Burley base. It tended to smoke a little hot but with a slow pace was fine. I was worrying about tongue bite but no problems there.

Retrohale brought out some subtle notes of cream or vanilla. I never picked out much of the Latakia.

All in all I think it is a good smoke and quite different than most blends. It won't make my rotation.