Cornell & Diehl Pennington Gap

It took a while for me to figure out how to smoke this stuff. There were a couple of issues to contend with. As to not bore you I will just give my conclution. 1)This stuff must be dried out almost to the point of being crunchy or you'll just end up with a goopy blob. 2) Due to the cube cut it must not be firmly packed into the bowl but rather loaded loosly to the top and then slightly tamped. If you tamp it down too hard during loading or smoking it will blob up and not draw well. Using these methods, this is a tasty, quality smoke, semi sweet with some complexity. Geared more to the Burley lover rather than aromatic IMHO, it does have the qualities of both. The Perique is an evident and nice addition. The Bourbon does add to a nice tin fragrance but not much to the taste. It does turn a little sour towards the bottom of the bowl, but don't we all LOL.

I'll begin by saying that I tried this blend in the interest of finding a suitable replacement for Frog Morton's Cellar in my rotation, and for this task, it won't do, but thankfully it has merits of its own.

A nose in the tin doesn't produce the smell of Bourbon to me, but the aroma does bear a resemblance to whiskey. I'll take Cornell & Diehl's word that it's bourbon they added, but if so, the aroma has changed significantly now mixed with the tobacco. It doesn't smell bad, but it doesn't strike my fancy either.

However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the aroma does translate to the taste a little bit. I detect it as a faint "brown-sugary" accent to the already nutty flavor profile of this tobacco, and they marry quite nicely.

Overall, I'd say this is a blend worth trying, if, like me, you like the idea of an aromatic, but can't stand the goopy stuff. It has a mild flavoring that enhances the already decent tobacco. Well done.

When I was given this tin in a trade, it was new and fresh and was to me a little too green and overwhelming on my taste buds. I found it also tended to bite a little. I then put it up sealed tight in my cellar and when browsing the other day found it 6 years later and thought I would retry it. Thus my experience here is on a 6 year old tin. I found it to have matured nicely and am quite enjoying it now.

Upon opening it, the first things I noticed was that it is pressed and cut into small square cube cut very dark, almost black in appearance. It has an aroma of dark peat with a spicy sweetness. Looks and smells very rich. It is somewhat wet and sticky so I let it dry until it no longer sticks to my fingers. Like this it packs and lights up very easy and is great for a slow relaxing smoke. The flavor is a rich, deep, full flavor of burley with the bourbon topping present but not overwhelming and the perique adding it's spicy yet subtle character. It is not sweet really, but it is full on the tongue. Smoked fast it is hot but smoked slow it is very nice and cool. The room note is strong but pleasant and I could smell the perique amongst the sweet burly aroma. It smokes slowly down the pipe leaving very little moisture or dottle in the bottom of the pipe. Mostly produces a steely grey ash with white edges.

I like this blend with age on it and think it will appeal to aromatic smokers and non aromatic smokers alike. Because I found it overwhelming right out of the tin without aging, I am giving three out of four stars.

Early in my smoking career I bought a tin of Pennington Gap. It was contained in one of those earlier tins with the metal lid. When I broke the thing open it was dried to a crisp. I promptly rehydrated the contents and consumed the tobacco with few complaints. A few years down the road, I decided to resample Pennington Gap.

Things were a little different this time around. The first thing I noticed when opening the tin was the overwhelming scent of booze. This stuff was dripping in it. The tobacco was wet, very wet. I looked to the date on the bottom of the tin, noticing it was a fresh batch, just two weeks old.

I didn't bother to dry my first bowl out before smoking. I loaded up a small Grabow and fiddled with the light. It burned hot and uneven, which immediately indicated that I was too hasty in my desire to smoke the stuff.

The Burley predominates the entire smoke. I couldn't detect the Perique at all, and that goes the same for the Bourbon topping. Pennington Gap is a fairly heavy smoke. It won't kill you, but you will likely enjoy a nice nicotine hit. No real surprises here. If you like Burley blends, like Edgeworth or Prince Albert, you'll feel right at home.

I'll make sure to air out subsequent bowls before smoking.

Three of Four.

Cracked open a tin with just under 4 years of age on it...

Appearance: Mostly dark with some brown chunks mixed in..very "rough cut" if you will..smells deeply of fermenting fruit with a slight tinge of alcohol. Really smells good to me...but I don't detect bourbon in the note..

Packing & lighting: Easy 3-step & go. My sample is at the ideal moisture content, that is to say a tad moist..which I prefer over dry. This enables a nice springy pack and it takes easily to flame.

Smoking: Pennington Gap starts off with a nice sweet note. To me it tastes of a "watered down" cavendish, in a good way. I get the black cav tastes but not in an overwhelming way. I like the occasional bowl of BCA etc.. but I tire quickly of that flavor. Its well presented here not dominating the smoke at all but just contributing a bit to the note and smoothing out the burley. I don't get the perique here really at all..if the description didn't list it I wouldn't have guessed its present. Perhaps a slight spice of it here & there but not much more. All & all a really balanced blend of its component tobaccos perhaps leaning slightly heavier on the black cav. I also don't get much of the whiskey flavor but it is present and for my tastes I wouldn't mind if it were a bit stronger. I was looking for an alternative to Borkum Reef whiskey which I enjoy the flavor of but cannot smoke due to how insanely bitey it is..speaking of bite you will find none here. This is an extremely well behaved tobacco and will tolerate poor technique without issue. A great trait for those times when you're not paying much attention to the smoke and get sloppy on cadence/tamping. That said, its worth taking the time here to really ponder the smoke as it can develop into something more then the sum of its parts would indicate. While its not a "complex" or "heady" smoke by any means you'd be doing a disservice here by not giving it a chance. Burns to the bottom with minimal relights..

Finish: Nice finish here sweetness remains to the bottom without any burley bitters. No goop or dottle mess left behind. Although this is an aromatic I can't imagine this ghosting a pipe with anything other then perhaps a slightly sweet essence.

Overall a good smoke worth the price of admission...can I have a bit more bourbon in mine next time though?

I have a three year old tin that I opened, sampled, didn't care for and put away for the future. Well the future is here and I'm smoking this now.

When first opened the tobacco was quite moist and the bourbon was much in evidence. Now with drying and aging the bourbon has calmed down and the tobacco is much drier, a good thing is this case. Due to the fine cut this almost packs itself and a single match had it off and running. Flavors are varied but a pleasant nutty burley, some raisins (the reviewer who said "dark fruit" hit the nail on the head) the a bit of spice from the perique pretty well sums it up. Takes very little draw to keep going, making it a cool, mild and "quiet" smoke. This will definitely be a regular. though not necessarily everyday, smoke. It is very well prepared and has a taste that's something different. This is one you'll want to try when you can sit and enjoy it.

UPDATE: Time in the tin has mellowed this blend for me and made it more palatable. The sourness seems to have been minimized (perhaps this is due to the bourbon casing wearing off?) and the perique does not seem as overwhelming. As a result, I am upgrading this by one star. It is still not my favorite aromatic and definitely not my "go-to" blend, but it deserves a try. Original review below.

I have to dissent on this one. On the positive note, it DOES actually smell like whiskey out of the tin (unlike most so-called whiskey-flavored tobaccos) and it has a nice medium strength and very good room note. However, the bourbon flavoring is nearly undetectable upon smoking it and all I got, time after time, was a strong sour/spicy taste. It does not taste that sweet at all. Not that this is totally unpleasant tasting, but nor is it something I crave.

On another note: The tin is only half-full (as some others have noted), which might be due to the fact it is sopping wet (with whiskey?), resulting in a very dense leaf. Amazingly, it actually stays reasonably lit without drying in this state. So, I don't see a lot of value per ounce here.

Pennington Gap might be a good one to try out for those you who normally hate aromatics but need something that won't offend others since it's little bit of sweetness seems to come mostly from the tobaccos rather than casings. For me the burley is too sour and the Perique is too much (it makes my nose sting) and the taste is just "ok". I would not buy it again.

When first opened, this is a wonderful aromatic--smooth, sweet, tasty, with real character. A fun smoke, especially in the summer. Unfortunately, as with most aromatics, the fun subsides the longer the tin is open. After awhile, this seems to be nothing but a nice burley jazzed up with a bit of Perique and some black Cavendish. It's ok, but nothing spectacular.

That being said, if you like high-quality burley as your main smoke, you will probably like this. It's not nuanced, but it is reliably smooth and tasty, especially at first.

If you are an aromatic smoker, especially one who smokes Lane bulks or drugstore blends, run, don't walk, to get a few cans of this.

Pennington Gap is a unique blend! The tin note is, well, to say the least off putting at first. The flavor in the pipe is very good, the Burley is nutty and earthy with a bit of chocolate to my palate. The Black cavendish brings a smidge of sweetness and the Perique adds a tad of stewed fruit to the mix. The bourbon is there but not as present as it is in the tin note. Getting past that initial whiff of fruit soaked in Southern Comfort you have a pretty good smoke. Burns clean and consistent throughout the bowl leaves some moisture and has a pleasant room note. The nicotine is middle of the road for me. All in all a well done blend. Solid 3 for me.