Cornell & Diehl Yale Mixture

Yale Mixture is remarkably like some of the older blends that have gained name recognition over the years such as some of the Barney's blends and lighter English fare from Dunhill and Pease.

While I liked the flavor (smooth and very "English"), the blend was a bit soft in the strength department for my own personal regular enjoyment. When I wanted to just "sip" my pipe while doing other things, I found Yale Mixture to be perfect.

As is typical of most C&D blends, it arrives somewhat dry, burns evenly and beautifully, and leaves the smoker sated.

Overall, a very enjoyable smoke.

I don't hide the fact that I am a big fan of C&D! Last week I had the chance to visit their 'plant' with a group from the Dr. Grabow Collectors Forum and we were treated splendidly and in addition to what each of us purchased, we were given some 2 oz 'samples'.

I knew what I wanted to try and one of them was 531 'Yale' mixture. I'm not sure what which English made tobacco this reminds me of from a far distant past but I do know I love it!

Easy to light and keep lit, flavor from the first draw till the end of the bowl. I have to say a light, everyday English mix, enough flavor to savor but no bite. Delightful sweet Virginia and enough latakia to taste and smell but not to overpower. This is now on my 'must have' for everyday use!

A very good English. This was a bulk purchase and came on the moist side. The flavors are indicative of quality tobaccos. The Virginias and the Latakia are in proportions that give equal flavor. It's very tasty. Medium bodied and flavored. Not complex. I noticed that the Virginia leaf is very thin; like a single layer of tissue paper. This causes it to burn a bit hot toward the end of the bowl. You have to watch out for that or you'll get scorched.

The Virginias offer tart and tangy citrus and grass, with a small amount of dark fruit, wood and earth. They form the base of the blend. The smoky, woody, earthy, dry wine-like Syrian Latakia is the lone supporting player. The nic-hit is just shy of being mild to medium. The strength level is in the center of mild to medium, and the taste just passes that. No chance of bite or harshness. Burns cool, clean and slightly fast with a very consistent flavor that lacks some depth. Leaves little dampness in the bowl, and requires an average number of relights. Has a decent after taste, and room note. An all day smoke. Two and a half stars. This blend now has Cyprian Latakia, and I have not tried the latest version. When I do, I’ll update this review.

-JimInks

Not a screeching Craven "Me Too! Me Too! blend, IMHO. A very nice basic English, without Orientals. Very straight forward, easily an all day smoke, if you are so inclined.

The Virginia and Latakia components maintain their integrity throughout the smoke. This one does not require your undivided attention to enjoy to its fullest. Nice.

Cornell & Diehl - Yale Mixture.

This is from loosely pouched/bulk, not tinned.

The blend looks a bit eclectic: I see some leaves, long and short ribbons, a few twigs and some tiny specks. There appears to be more Virginia than the jet black Latakia. My moisture's acceptable, if anything, it's too dry.

If I'm honest, even though the quality of the blend is unquestionable, I don't like it. I class a Latakia/Virginia blend as being in the camp of Balkan's and English's, but this has nowhere near enough Latakia richness for me. The Latakia lacks the big smoky qualities, or robust woodiness, and sits very much in the background; miles behind the Virginia. Now, some people will see this as a positive, but not me. To be fair, it burns well, gives quite a cool smoke and doesn't bite; so it's not all bad!

The room-note causes a feeling of indifference, and the nicotine's mild to medium.

If you fancy a very light English or Balkan I recon you'll love this! Solely for the decent quality this gets two stars, but I won't be ordering more of it.

Somewhat recommended.

My long-time favorite in C&D English blends has been #416 Plantation Evening. I've smoked a lot of this wonderful tobacco and never tire of it. I never figured Craig Tarler could top it, but now I think he's got one that's really close to being it's equal.

Yale Mixture has an inviting appearance in the pouch with it's bright and brown VAs, along with the black latakia flecks. It's aroma is a little bit sour and not as appealing as some other tobacs, but sniffing is not why we buy them, right? It packs easily and lights readily with a couple of matches.

Once burning, the first impression is of the VAs, then you notice the latakia in the background. Y/M is one of those tobaccos that likes your full attention, if you want to decipher all the flavors within. Doing so results in a lovely complexity, as the tang of the VAs wafts in and out, with the piquant notes of the latakia drifting in. It's a very pleasant tobacco to exhale through the nose, as I do occasionally.

Y/M requires less relights than many tobaccos and burns down to a fine gray ash. Dottle is minimal. I've also noticed that I can smoke this tobacco when my tongue is still a little sore from too many long sessions with VAs and VA/Pers.

Scores for Yale Mixture: taste- 18 of 20; lighting and burn- 8 of 10; value- 9 of 10. 35 points equals a solid **** for Yale Mixture. Nice work, Craig!

This is a good, medium strength English blend. The Virginias are dry, and smooth, the Latakia moderately strong and smokey. I have learned there is no Turkish in this blend. This matters not a jot as I still think it is delicious. I love the aftertaste I get with this blend. It is indeed very discrete, but consistent. The room note has an almost cedar like quality at times. Despite its relatively gentle flavor, this does have a good bit of nicotine, making it a pleasant, relaxing smoke. As with all C&D blends, this is a quality product and an exceedingly good value.

From an old Yale Mixture tobacco jar: "May your troubles end in smoke."

Lightn English blend that I keep on hand. The Virginia is light and has a citrus taste, also some sweet hay aspects. The Latakia is Smokey albeit light. I get a variety of flavors ranging from semi sweet to a hint of sour. Smooth and well behaved throughout the bowl. Burns at a moderate pace with no harshness detected here. A regular morning smoke for me, just enough nicotine to get a normal day started. Solid 3 from this view

During Labor Day there was a sale on C&D bulk and I bought about four ounces each of seven different blends. This is one of them and I bought it solely on the name. It sounded collegiate. This has a nice sweet natural smell out of the jar with short crimped ribbon tobacco of brown with plenty of dark scattered throughout. This is supposing to be a remake of the famous Cravens blend expect this one has no Oriental or flavoring according to the description. I never have had Cravens blend and will take them at their word that this is similar. The is an extremely English light blend with the Virginias taking the lead and the Latakia in the background at least in my smoking experience of this blend. Every once in a while, I get the hint of Latakia probably depending on how much of it is packed into the bowl. I like it but as noted this is a really mild blend and was a nice way to start the morning. This blend is almost equally divided between 4, 3 and 2 stars. If you want a light Latakia blend then this one is the way to go. This reminds me of when I was not at Yale, wearing my collegiate sweater, Captain of the Football Team, Valedictorian, Class President, Homecoming King and standing outside smoking this in my Charatan’s Make Special pipe talking to two beautiful blond Cheerleaders as they enjoy my tales of campus life and the pleasant room note of this blend.:)