Cornell & Diehl Orient Express

I've not posted any reviews of C&D blends over the past couple of years although I have nearly 100 of them in my personal tobacco log. So, I am running through them as I get time to transcribe here on my favorite place to hang out and blab with my fingers. (-;

So, Orient Express had beautiful tin art and an even better presentation once the lid was popped and the tobacco was smoked. Krumble Kake made packing easy and the combo of Pirate Kake and Odessa made for a still very Latakia forward blend but Odessa's fine Orientals shone through as well. The Virginia was not particularly well aged and too grassy, but did not detract much from the outstanding presentation. So, why discontinue this one?

Lighting my pipe filled with orient express tobacco was like I was taking a step onto the Orient Express Train. Taking me on the journey of a lifetime, transporting me back 100 years. As I slowly take in the first puff of smoke, I am swiftly taken from the reality that I once knew. My senses are whisked away to the platform number 6 to take the orient express to the other side of the world. All of a sudden, I am no longer on my porch in my flannel shirt. I am now wearing a full suit and top hat, with a cane! And I have a beautiful asian woman on my arm, softly kissing my neck as we board the the old Steam Engine locomotive. I walk into a room full of the tobacco aroma of the Orient Express, where there are velvet love seats and more beautiful half naked women from all over the world and of all races, inviting me to sit with them. After we dine on delicacies from the 4 corners of the world they slowly begin to remove my cloths, starting with my top hat. And the pleasures of my mouth, created by this tobacco still transcend into that ensue in this Orient Express Train car. When all is finished and things have calmed down with the exotic women we finish up with tea as I receive a full body massage. Just as the aroma from this tobacco massage the smell receptors in my nose. As my bowl in my pipe begins to die, so does my time on the train. I pick up my things and kiss the ladies good bye, with a tip of the hat to the train conductor and leap from the train back to reality; back to my chair with my flannel shirt. Until next time when I light up on the Orient Express.

Sort of moot writing a review, but fortunately, I still have a half filled quart jar of it. I'm very impressed by how this mix is aging and I find it getting noticeably sweeter and more flavorful as time goes by. I agree that OE can be a bit airy and mild... But I've corrected this by picking over the mix and breaking up the clumps and chunky bits before smoking it. Tamping religiously results in a rich and interesting flavor. I also agree that this is not a beer drinkers tobacco. I'd rather have this one with plain water or tea. OE may not be the best C&D blend, but it did open my interest in Oriental blends and I hope to find an even better blend to replace it with. PS. As of this writing, pipesandcigars has finally marked this one as backordered, which I assume means that they finally ran out of it.

I find the complexity of this blend to be both an asset and liability. Rich in presentation and smoking experience, this blending of leaves presents a maze of flavors to delight one and all. By the same stroke, it presents an expansive spectrum that may not be appreciated by everyone. For me, this is the product of a skilled hand influenced by fruitful experience. Not just anyone can successfully combine all these elements without having this range of resonance manifest disjoint collisions. Simply to achieve this plateau of excellence without the alliance of Virginia leaf is remarkable. The treatment of the Orientals is a most outstanding accomplishment. The Burley and Cyprian leaf provide the best qualities of support. Yet, all the while, this is a comfortable smoke that burns easily and leaves little residue beyond white ash. The issue of classifying as either Balkan or Oriental matters not to me. What really matters is that this is an excellent smoke. The surprise for me is that many others have not undertaken the opportunity to investigate and discover this worthwhile blend.

Meerschaum Man Smoking an Altinok Canadian Smooth

My first try at Orient Express was interesting. I have only to assume it was the orientals that to my pallet tasted bland, airy, acidic... can't completely recall my reaction. It wasn't terrible, but not what my pallet was used to, nor could my pallet detect much more at that point. However I kept going, as I am used to doing with this hobby, and as you see, I now give it four stars, and it's perhaps in my top 10 or 15. I love how different this smokes from most of my other blends, how the orientals play such an important role, and how well it pairs with certain drinks, especially good french-pressed coffee. What a pair. It is the "creamiest" smoke I have tried I believe, which I'm assuming is the wonderful and prominent orientals. It is temperamental for me (or my pallet is), and more than any other blend, this smoke changes from one smoke to another. Perhaps its just me, or perhaps certain tobaccos like orientals are more affected in their taste to us by the remnants of what we've been eating-- the acidity or alkalinity, the leftovers in the mouth. But this is how it seems with orient express and there's something I like about that. For example, to me it tastes terrible with ipa's-- beers with plenty of bitter hops. Anyways, I very much recommend this smoke. Wonderful, acidic and creamy, being different from many others, I tend to crave the experience, and wish I could order more!

The first thing that came to mind when I opened this was a BBQ smokehouse. It is an excellent smokey aroma and the taste is almost the same. A smooth smoke that burns slow. All and all a great blend with loads of aroma and flavor.

Bulk Blend Smack Down: This is a fantastic bulk buy. What stands out about this is the bang for the buck. For roughly 2.50/oz your getting a smoke that rivals many 4.00+/oz tins. Woot! Super tasty! No bite. Great balance of the ingredients. Lots of toasty burley, orientals, light Perique and light buttery Lat.

A wonderfully complex, yet balanced blend. It is Oriental-forward and relative to Latakia would say it's mild-medium. The perique is added with a light touch which, given my constitution's touchiness when it comes to perique is perfect. You do note the peppery presence of the perique. Then the brilliance of the blend is folding in burley. All told, I think this is the best oriental blend I've experienced. My current favorite blend overall.

Lighting my pipe filled with orient express tobacco was like I was taking a step onto the Orient Express Train. Taking me on the journey of a lifetime, transporting me back 100 years. As I slowly take in the first puff of smoke, I am swiftly taken from the reality that I once knew. My senses are whisked away to the platform number 6 to take the orient express to the other side of the world. All of a sudden, I am no longer on my porch in my flannel shirt. I am now wearing a full suit and top hat, with a cane! And I have a beautiful asian woman on my arm, softly kissing my neck as we board the the old Steam Engine locomotive. I walk into a room full of the tobacco aroma of the Orient Express, where there are velvet love seats and more beautiful scantily clad women from all over the world and of all races, inviting me to sit with them. After we dine on delicacies from the 4 corners of the world they slowly begin to remove my cloths, starting with my top hat. And the pleasures of my mouth, created by this tobacco still transcend into that ensue in this Orient Express Train car. When all is finished and things have calmed down with the exotic women we finish up with tea as I receive a full body massage with a happy ending. Just as the aroma from this tobacco massage the smell receptors in my nose. As my bowl in my pipe begins to die, so does my time on the train. I pick up my things and kiss the ladies good bye, with a tip of the hat to the train conductor and leap from the train back to reality; back to my chair with my flannel shirt. Until next time when I light up on the Orient Express.