Cornell & Diehl Pennington Gap

01/14/2004

I purchased a tin of this at Campbell's Smoke Shop in East Lansing, Michigan. He must not sell a lot of tinned tobacco, because there was a pretty thick cover of dust on the lid of the can I purchased. I made the purchase on the strength of the reviews on this site. I was not disappointed.

Others have lauded the virtues of this fine blend so well that that there is little that I can add. It is pleasant to the eye. Its fragrance in the tin is rich and pleasant. I find the components unusual: Burley, Black Cavendish, Perique!, AND Bourbon. The blender did exceptiona work in conceiving and bleding this fine tobacco.

It is a delight to smoke. I rated it "I smoke this on occasion." only because at $10.00 per 2 oz. tin locally I will cannot afford enjoy it more often than an occasional treat. Pennngton Gap and MacBaren's Burley London Blend, though quite different,share one common denominator: they are two exceptional Burley based blends. I recommend them both.

If you're averse to booze-flavored tobaccos, don't be put off by the presence of bourbon here. This is a very well-put-together cubed burley blend. As with most C&D/Serad/Pease burley blends, it has a slightly "green" taste to it. This mostly gives way to the classic burley nutty flavor by halfway but never completely vanishes; the Perique keeps things lively, while the Bourbon-cased cavendish adds a bit of body and subtle sweetness.

Cool-burning, tasty, and bite-free, this is an ideal tobacco for breaking in new pipes, and the cube cut makes it well-suited for pipes with wide bowls, such as Savinelli Autographs. Were it not for the "green" taste, this could be an all-day smoke for me.

The perique is evident in the tin note, but rather than foot odor, it's coming across more musty -- probably modified by the aromatics, which don't smell like anything I could describe, other than to call them strange and sweet. I do pick out what I'd describe as cocoa, or something similar. Same in the smoke, I'm getting cocoa, and then something strangely musty and sweet, maybe even slightly fetid (but somehow not in a terrible way). Definitely wouldn't call it bourbon. Someone mentioned raisinettes, and though it's been probably 30 years since I've had them, that somehow seems fitting. Funny how finding a box to fit something into can change your perception of it; maybe now I'm getting a little "malted milk ball".

I don't really know what to think about this one. Before making the association to some candies from my childhood, it wasn't making much sense, but now it's kind of growing on me. Definitely isn't your standard cherry/chocolate/vanilla aromatic. Not overly sweet, or wet and sticky. I don't know if it'll make it into regular rotation, but I'd probably miss it when it's gone.

I received a tin from 2010 in a recent trade. The age had treated in well for an aromatic blend. Tin note is fruity bourbon.

I packed a cob and lit it and got a definite fruit topping and the bourbon. Sipped like a bourbon it provides a good smoke with little bite. The retro was sort of a banana nut bread to me.

Nic was fairly high and I definitely felt it by the end of the bowl..

Not sure how it would be fresh.

Bulk: Being packed in a bag, it was quite dry with no really strong aroma. Dark brown.

Taste & Aroma: Nice woodsy sour quality.

Nicotine: Mild-medium

Overall: The sour aspect is something to experience in this burley-perique blend, but Bayou Morning Flake is considerably stronger, although BMF is a VAPER. 3.0 stars.

First off, I noticed the tin was not well filled. There should have been more tobacco. Upon smelling this blend, I find it smells like bubble gum. It's not bad, it's just somewhat overwhelming. This certainly smokes better than how it smells in the can, but it won't be something I'll try again. I prefer the G.L. Pease Barbary Coast blend to this. UPDATE: After some aging, i like this much more than I initially did. It dried out a little and that sweet bubble gum smell subsided. This now gets a third star from me.

This stuff smelled awesome upon opening the tin.

I believe the actual smoking experience gets better with age. The first smoke was hard to get lit and tasted somewhat flat. After letting it sit several months, I tried it again and was quite pleased with the flavor. It did taste somewhat more like it smelled after some aging.

This would be a good occasional smoke, but I would not consider it an "all-day" smoke.

I really like this. Smells great in the tin and in the rooms. Fairly consistent burn but it does tend to smoke a bit wet for me. I have taken to smoking it in a smallish Savinelli with the balsa filter and that's helped with the moisture. I stopped just short of "highly recommended" because I tend to cotton mouth when I smoke it. I thought it might go away after a while but I've burned through a couple of ounces and it still gets me unless I smoke it real slow (something I'm not good at). I'll definately buy more of this.

C&D best mixture I tried till now. More complex then "regular" aromatics. This is the 1st tobacco I tried that gives aroma while smoking better then when smelled in the tin. Not strong, mild, doesn't bite. One annoying thing though: a little itchy in the throat, I gave it evantually 3 stars because of that irritation.