Cornell & Diehl Rajah's Court

The first half of the bowl reminded me of Dunhill's London Mixture. Very nice Orientals out front and center. Nice and spicy. The second half saw the Orientals fade a bit as the Latakia stepped forward and provided a nice deep creaminess to the mix. If it would have stayed this way I would have given this four stars, but the Orientals continued to fade until they became nearly invisible. What was left was just a creamy smoke with a very slight sweetness from the Virginias. Nice but I would have liked a little Oriental flavor in the finish. All in all though, a very nice blend that I enjoy smoking.

Cornell & Diehl - Rajah's Court.

A pleasant English, not overbearing, but tasty nonetheless!

The tin-note's camphoraceous, a little tangy, wisps of hay. Flavoursome, but not indicative of a Lat-bomb. The mid-size ribbons are easily packed and the moisture's just right.

The Orientals lead the way. At first there's a fragrance from them, which takes until about a quarter bowl to die down; die down a little. The Latakia adds a definite flavour, peat, smoke, but doesn't take things over; a strong seasoning rather than a headstrong addition. I get a pleasant fruitiness from the red Va, which gains recognition after a third; until then the bright Va has more of a say with it's hay, citrusy flavour. The burn's good, albeit a little fast when puffed hard. I don't get any tongue-bite, whatsoever.

Nicotine: medium. Room-note: not too bad.

Rajah's Court? Although a pleasant smoke, it lacks the ''wow factor'' for a full house. So, a steadfast 3 stars it is:

Recommended.

This is a hard one to classify, one only needs to read the first 20 reviews and we have a wide variety of blends we think this is similar to :" Dunhill Durbar, Dunhill EMP, G.L. Pease Caravan, Dunhill's London Mixture, Karl Erik , S.Gawith's "Squadron Leader. I'm not even going to attempt a guess, oh what the hell, I'll say Rattrays Red Rapparee mixed 50/50 with Dunhill EMP.

I would classify this as a Balkan and it is well done. A little spice, a touch of Latakia, heftier Oriental/ Turkish, some sweetness. What it doesn't have is C&D's attraction for adding Burley to every blend, they must have a pile big enough to cover a house.

So what's not to like? Well, the wife says the "smell", offensive !!!! This will be a regular for me when she's around !!!

This blend was a pleasant surprise to me. Upon opening the can, you are instantly aware of the pungent orientals added to the VA's. Colors are typical golden, mohagony, and black. Moisture was perfect, packing easy, lighting easy. Initial flavor: Pungent (in a good way).

Relight Flavor: Settles down with the VA's coming out and the latakia in the background.

Mid-Bowl: Nice, mellow, with hints of VA sweetness, and an occasional burst of bitterness from the oriental leaf.

Bottom of bowl: Slight increase of richness, ends with a sweet note and a pleasant aftertaste.

Overall: A nice mid-strength English blend tilted toward the orientals with good interplay with the Va's. Good all-day blend, no tongue-bite. For me, an occaisonal smoke.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars Enjoy..

Tin note is sweet and herbal with a background of grass from the Va. not much Latakia on the nose for me.

Typical C&D ribbon cut packs and lights well and came with perfect moisture content.

Taste: Perfumey, zesty, and slightly creamy Orientals balanced by a touch of Latakia and a backdrop of bright grassy Virginia. I prefer my Balkan/Oriental Mixture with less grassy and bright Virginia than Rajahs Court. It’s really my only complaint.

The nicotine crept up on me with this one. Smoked it in a big broad bowled pot and then a clay. It is fairly balanced throughout and gets a tad rough towards the end of the bowl as the creaminess dissipates. It is rather good. I have a tin of Dunhill London Mixture that’s still unopened as well as GLP Westminster that I will come back and compare this against.

I recommend this for anyone wanting to be surprised by C&D for making something other than an American Burley Forward blend. If you’re wanting to delve into Balkan/Oriental forward mixtures as a Virginia Enthusiast or an English enthusiast give this a shot. It’s cheap enough and readily available.

Similar to Samuel Gawith Skiff Mixture but less oriental spice and kick, more Virginia grass and nicotine.

A little bit sharp on the tongue. I could not detect any of the sweetness mentioned in the description of this blend. It still satisfies without being very heavy in the latakia department.

Govern Yourself Accordingly.

I expected a medium blend laden with a Turkish peppery taste mingled with a preponderance of sweet Va's. What a pleasant surprise. This is a well-balanced, 'almost' full blend that burns cool and has a marvelous taste. While its signature is certainly Oriental, the Latakia component adds a dimension that gives this tobacco some body. The Virginias provide a constant but restratined sweetness that really brings the blend together. Kudos to the Tarlers!

This is a great all-day smoke for the English fans. It has a classic "dunhillish" feel when you open the tin, that good old sweet Virginia-Oriental smell. It comes with the perfect moisture, I just leave it dry a little bit.When you light, the first impression is of an oriental-canted tobacco, but after a few puffs the Virginias are back in the front row, perfectly balancing the blend with their sweetness. Only the latakia lacks a little for my taste, but it's present and comes out here and there. A fine change of pace for the latakia addicted.

This a mellow surprise! The sweet red Virginias are very creamy and burns well with the not so spicy oriental. Latakia plays a supporting role to give the smokiness you deserve in such kind of blend.