Cornell & Diehl Cordial

In one place on C&D's website this is listed as an alternative to Dunhill Apertif (as it's name might imply). Unfortunately I never smoked any Apertif despite smelling it nearly every day for over twenty years (in my father's office at work, in his automobile, in his study at home, and at every family function). Both he and I are "old school" smokers from an age were men found a favorite blend and stuck to it as they did sitting in the same seat in the same pew every Sunday morning. I smoked MM#965 back then and never asked him for a bowl to try. When Apertif became unavailable to him, he quit pipes going to cigars for several years rather than another blend. Today, he's back on his pipe and will still readily inform anyone interested that he cannot get any Apertif. I can hardly wait to either send him some of mine or buy him his own supply outright. C&D lists several of it's blends as alternatives to other older mainstays but only adds that most are accidentally similar rather than outright clone attempts. I have no experience to form an opinion on this basis with Cordial vs. Apertif but it certainly is both unique and GOOD! My first bowl of Cordial gave me such a different (but pleasurable) smoking experience that I was befuddled at what to make of it. So I smoked another, and another, and another...and yet another. This stuff is a seductive temptress. It seems now that 7 out of 10 times I open my cabinet to load my pipe I come away with this loaded - even when I had intended to smoke another blend. My beloved Engine #99, Margate, Penzance, and Pirate Kake are languishing with neglect. Cordial showcases its Oriental componentS wonderfully with Latakia playing an equal but not oppressive role. It is tasty sweet without (I assume) any casings. It is dreamy, creamy. At times I taste what I think might be Drama leaf with its olive hints, and at others I taste a toasty caramel all the while with the Latakia playing right along. At other times I think I'm enjoying a glass of 7 Star Metaxa or a fine Georgian brandy. Bursting with flavor Cordial will not paste one's palate (true to the role of a cordial), neither does it ghost one's pipe. Even a shot of tobacco juice issuing forth from the mouthpiece onto my tongue or lips is tasty. While smoking this I AM licking my lips, literally. It tastes THAT good. These flavors persist throughout the burn until the end where it finishes with a rich mocha taste. Aftertaste is mild, and very pleasant and would not interfere with a forthcoming meal (true to a cordial). The closest I have yet smoked to this is McClellend's Syrian Super Balkan and Cordial is far better. Even with Cyprian vs. Syrian Latakia the flavor of Cordial is more pronounced and without any "ketchup notes" of lingering heavy aftertaste. If one is a smoker who enjoys Frogmorton but wish it had more breadth of flavor - this is your blend. If one finds Presbyterian just OK and wished it had more depth of flavor as well as a bit more Latakia, this belongs in your pipe. If one is an aromatic smoker who is interested in English style blends but been put off by too much Latakia, you should try this. Quite obviously I am rating #973 Cordial a solid 4 Stars.

(Note: if one allows this smoke-ready blend to dry out too much, a lot of the flavors become muted. Judicious use of humidification coins might be in order).