Cornell & Diehl Gentleman Caller

I read about this "deer tongue" herb in my journey to explore new flavors of tobacco blends. Apparently it used to be fairly common in a lot of American blends of yesteryear and, according to C&D, a preferred flavor of Bing Crosby. At the time of getting this, Crooner was not available, but the blend contents of Gentleman Caller sounded more interesting anyway.

Off the bat, the tin note of this is quite distinctive: a sharp, herbal, vanilla like scent to it, akin to a potpourri hand soap. It's not at all unpleasant, but not what you would expect from a non-aromatic (in the modern definition, anyway) pipe blend. The blend is also quite dry from what I'm used to - not crispy/crunchy/dusty, just not spongy or springy like what you would expect. As a result, this packs a little bit differently from most blends I've tried. I found it functions best by packing it tighter than you would normally.

It lights easy and I've never had a problem with it going out. The taste isn't complex and about what you would expect from a mild English blend. Whiffs of the deer tongue come through from time to time, and it's by no means over powering. What is overpowering is the smell of the remnants: devote a corncob to this blend because all you're going to smell from now on is deer tongue.

This is a nice and simple blend that's no-nonsense and uncomplicated. It tastes like what you'd expect from an unfettered vabur blend but with a nice little addition to add some flair.