Cornell & Diehl Tuskegee Airman

My first gifted tobacco. Not sure of the age, but it came in a block form. Smelled really spicy and leathery. Crumbled some off the block into the pipe. It's a mild medium English blend, where the Latakia is really in the background hidden, but the spicy perique was there. I don't find it sweet at all, but it is fairly easy to smoke. It is my first C+D blend to smoke, and I definitely enjoyed it. Gave me a little heartburn, may have a slightly higher nicotine content. You could provably smoke this any time or the day or all day. Definitely worth a try!

One of the best English mixtures I've tried lately. Sweet Virginias and spicy Orientals are backed by a clear presence of Cyprian Latakia and a pinch of Perique, and the result is a Balkan-style English that smokes smoothly through the entire bowl. 3.5 stars.

It's a shame that TA isn't attracting more attention that it is. A medium English that emphasizes the Orientals over the Latakia, TA has a slightly "nutty" taste to me and a fine English room note. It is pressed into a sliced cake that rubs out easily and burns slowly, dry and cool. It's become a regular smoke of mine. Similar to its mate, Buffalo Soldier, TA fills a spot in the rotation for a flavorful medium English that's not too heavy on the Latakia "camp fire." Recommended.

Let me start by saying that I should have let this dry a bit before I smoked it.

I was given a sample of this from my local tobacconist, consisting of two 'cakes.' I looked forward to this due to the pleasant smell; I expected a flavorful experience. However, I was a tad disappointed. Initially, this tobacco didn't really want to light. (Probably my fault.) After a couple of relights, it did answer with voluminous smoke, but the taste was thin and not what I expected. The virginia didn't come through, nor did the latakia initially. In fact, it wasn't until the second half of the bowl that the flavors began to come through. Once they did, however, there was enough going on to keep me interested. Here's the thing: I believe that the flavors were so balanced, none of them really came through. There were moments when the latakia would peek out, but it would fade just as quickly. The sweetness of the virginia never fully developed, at least not in the way that a VaPer blend would. As the bowl was finishing, the different essences seemed to begin to get their act together, but it was too little, too late. The finishing note was reminiscent of Penzance, but fell short of the performance of that blend by far. All in all, I was relatively disappointed. I recommend it for those who are looking for a subtle smoke, but personally I prefer something a little more flavorful. Two and a half stars.

My tin had one year of age on it.

The cake was pretty neat in presentation with a small separate brick to rub out right away. The smell in the tin was sour and fruity with a touch of smokiness.

I like to slice off some tobacco with a knife and rub it out gently. I didn't find that any particular pipe, or pipe shape worked better than any other.

Taste: In the first third of the bowl the taste was more fruit-forward, and bright. There are tangy, fruity, and floral notes. There is a spicy mouthfeel and on the tongue for about the first two-thirds of the bowl. On retrohales I get some sort of combination of fruit—maybe nectarine, or some other stone fruit, flowers, leaves, and wood. Sometimes it is two or three of those four notes, and sometimes it is all four of the notes. There are dried woody notes, sometimes sweeter woody notes. Sometimes there is a fruity note backed by some smoke that, to me, is like a dark, stewed fruit (I mean like the fruit is cooking in some kind of warm batter). That touch of smoke is actually present throughout the bowl, really bringing some roundness to the taste profile. In the last third I got leather notes. Some of the fruit notes weave in and out, along with less spicy and floral notes, but those tastes become secondary to the leather and wood.

The nicotine content is mild, for me. This is a medium English, maybe Scottish blend, that is somewhat full on your senses, but not overwhelming. It's sweet, tangy, earthy, and slightly smokey.

The price is reasonable for the 2oz tin, and there are no issues with availability.

I recommend this blend for Virginia Perique-lovers that want to try something a little different, or the Latakia blend-lovers who want something different.

A very good Krumble Kake. Smooth, smoker and flavorful. No over the top elements, just a perfect blend of flavors. Excellent blend for after dinner on a cold winter night.

It's an interesting pressed crumble cake sort of cut, with clumps that need to be broken up somewhat before loading. Good flavor, with no single element overwhelming. I'm trying to cut down on the blends I give four stars to, so I'll give this three, but it definitely has four star potential i.e. if you like the ingredients and the overall approach of C&D, try it, you may find it is four stars for you...

After reading other reviews, I would agree that the latakia is in the background, and that there's a bit more perique than in many other English blends, so it's fairly dissimilar to what most people think of when they think of an "English" blend or even read the ingredients. The perique can be pretty dominant at the end of the bowl, the orientals are the most forward at the start of the bowl. The VA and latakia are both obviously present but neither takes things over.