Cornell & Diehl Rajah's Court

Exactly what it says on the tin. This is a mild, sweet English that is Orientals forward. I thought the fragrance was beautiful.

This has none of the Va complexity and nuances that are brought to, say, McC's English blends, but that is not a failing because that is not the purpose of the Virginias here, which is to provide a sweet platform that does not compete with the Orientals. The Lat here is always evident but very lightly applied. The result is light and delicate, lively even.

Comes quite dry and is a one light tobacco that burns without fuss. Somewhere between a 3 and a 4 for me, but I'm rounding up because so many blenders get heavy handed with English blends and this really is well done for the intended style.

This is a really good blend from C&D. To start with it reminds me a lot of a less latakia loaded version of G.L. Pease Caravan.

Really nice medium-small ribbon cut that packs easy and smokes well with minimal relights. Not a tobacco to rush in the smoking but it is not a punisher, I'm sure many will mistake the tongue tingle from the spice for bite. No bite here- just pure robust flavor that. And smoke that gets tastier with every puff until you end up with an empty pipe.

It starts off a little in your face in an oriental spicy way but it smooths out real nice by mid bowl. It has everything I want in a pipe tobacco. The latakia presents itself more in the last third of the bowl and it burns to a nice ash with no moisture.

Really a good smoke for folks who like a little spice in things. It builds to a really nice smooth finish. It is rare I let anyhing else go in my Caravan smoking pipe but this is welcome anytime. I think this makes it taste even better.

And the nicotine- oh it's the good kind that makes you just feel like you are melting into relaxation. Not too much but enough to make you respect and appreciate it.

It seems to be the type of tobacco that a year or two of age would make it just out of sight. So glad I tried this one.

Room note- well it's surely not an aromatic, I like the smell but don't expect others to.

I like it a lot. Surely not what I would call an "english", not sweet at all. Just spicy and so good. Reminds me more of a balkan. Not much else like this out there. Highly reccomended.

Presentation is a ribbon of mostly medium and light browns with a delicious smokey/sweet tin note of simply intoxicating Orientals and a hint of sweeter Virginia. Moisture content is just right and Rajah's Court is ready to smoke right out of the tin.

Very easy to light and get going, the initial flavors mimic the tin note: Oriental-forward with a backbone of sweet Virginia. The mouth feel is very full, rich and creamy. The Latakia here is condimental, but an important contributor to both the mouthfeel and overall smoothness. There's a truly incredible interplay of Orientals and Virginias here that I must say is one of a kind. The slight sour notes you'll experience in the bottom quarter of the bowl are not defects. Rather, think of them as the grand finale of a fireworks show.

Bursting with flavor yet smooth and cool-smoking, Rajah's Court could easily do double duty as both an all-day smoke for those favoring more assertive blends, or as a more contemplative evening bowl. Seemingly influenced by the acclaimed Dunhill blends of old, the burn on this blend is amazing: cool and slow, with nary a relight. A modern classic.

Just opened a tin dated '09 this morning & have tried it in 3 pipes already: a narrow, conical-bowled gr 4 full-bent meer, an old H&B Irwin Cobb half-bent, and a "disputatious" MM straight-up cherrywood. All smoked great, started out with a real Oriental spicy hit, switched to Va sweet pretty quickly w/ spicy overtones in & out, Lat came through about 1/4 bowl & drifted in-out-in all the way. The great thing about all these is that the BALANCE was about as perfect as can be. I'd call it on the light side of medium, but an all-around superb all-day one.

Let me give it to you straight on Rajah's Court. Unless you're one of those VA/Per guys it's all here, baby, in this order:

The bittersweet, floral Orientals out front; The leathery, woodsy Latakia right behind; And the Virginias holding it all together and adding body.

I've tried it in several pipes and it is consistently good in all of them. It packs easy, burns well, and the taste remains balanced throughout the bowl. Looks great in the tin, a beautiful mixture of light and dark ribbons.

As to Nicotine, I'm a lightweight so it has plenty for me. Some of you may find yourself wanting more.

Room note - I love it, but I'm certain my wife wouldn't. Take that as you will.

I will always have a tin of this open. It is complex and full of flavor but well balanced, unless you don't like orientals, latakia, and virginias. But if that's the case steer clear of English/Balkan blends. If you're a latakia freak I guess it might not have enough for you. Personally, I consider this a must have English blend.

This was a treat. I bought this tin when I was in my heavy cellaring days solely because a friend was always smoking it and I decided that I would one day have to try this blend. So one tin went in the cellar when I was taking advantage of a sale on C&D.

TBH I had very low expectations. C & D is not one of the blenders that come to mind when you think of great Balkan blends. Almost every blend they do that has latakia or some Turkish/oriental, also seems to include a good measure of burley taking it from what could be exotic to more like the homey American English blends of yesteryear, albeit with less chemical tinkering. And not to take anything away from them for that as they do those types of blends very well. When they do not include Burley, the Virginia used is often earthy and lacking in sweetness, making it taste, well, like burley.

Rajah's Court explodes this stereotype. It has an abundance of Virginia sweetness. You know, without a doubt, this has no burley in it. The sweetness combined with whatever Turkish leaf is used, creates a lovely citrus, sweet/sour taste that is just lightly brushed by the campfire notes of the latakia. The latakia is very lightly applied, so much so, that this is one of those few latakia blends that could easily be smoked all day.

Another way this one is different than many of the other C&D offerings is that this one is not tinder dry. Neither is it overly moist, but this one will last longer in the pipe than the average C&D blends, which tend to burn up fast. True to these sorts of blends, there is no problems with biting. I swore I was done buying tobacco, but this one may test my resolve. 4 stars.

Reading the component tobaccos: Virginia, Latakia and Turkish; you would think this is your average English blend, like so many others. This is however a quite unusual tobacco. When you light it the first thing you notice is a spicy incencey taste and smell. The Turkish is dominant from the beginning. The Latakia does not come out at all, though if you examine the tobacco you can see a little in it. I suppose it smoothes out the blend. The Virginia adds a little sweetness in the last half of the bowel. The flavour is unique and exotic. You have to try it to see what I mean.

I primarily smoke English blends and have sampled or smoked just about all of them during the past 50 years. RAJAH'S COURT has become my favorite and it exemplifies, in my opinion, exactly what an English blend should be. Perfect as an all day or for those that want a milder and lighter smoke all day, this would be the Perfect Nightcap. 4 stars all the way!

The tin I opened was dated January 2016. The tobacco turned out to be pretty stale and slightly dried out. I put it down to rehydrate for a couple of days, not denying my curiosity to examine it. Cut in fine ribbons, the color ranged from yellowish brown to dark chocolate, the different varieties clearly distinguishable despite their age. The tobacco is mixed very neatly, light and fluffy to the touch.

When the tobacco had moistened enough, I decided to investigate its flavor. Leather, sandalwood, musk, coriander, a bit of peat smoke, some citrus and a complex meadow flower scent. The bouquet is extremely calm and difficult to separate, no single component is out of place. Latakia is clearly very little, the blend can hardly be called oriental. In spite of this, it is classified as English. There is no need to knead, the mixture is easy to get into. I took a medium pipe that had already rested from other tobaccos lying on the shelf, and stuffed it tightly.

The initial taste is a sweet, slightly sour, yet spicy blend with a hint of smoke from the smokehouse and orange zest. The sweetness is very light, as from the light milk chocolate, with a hint of cream. There is also a woody note in the flavor - imperceptible at first, it intensifies to the middle of the pipe. Along with it, the latakia flavor intensifies - to the sweet and creamy comes a resinous, smoky flavor. The tobacco smokes cool, but easily heats the pipe if you get carried away. The flavor is very mild, the tobacco doesn't bite or burn even with a deep puff. The ash is very fine, smooth, light gray. The strength of the tobacco is slightly below average, nicotine hit is not a threat. The medium pipe ran out after about half an hour.

The smoke has the same sweet and creamy aroma with a woody note. It is moderately dense, and lingers in the room long enough.

This is a very pleasant blend. It's clearly lighter in flavor, smell and strength than Oriental Square, softer and more airy, sort of - and doesn't dry my mouth out. Overall, if I have to choose between Oriental Square and Rajah's Court, I think I'd rather have Rajah's Court than Oriental Square. It's cozier somehow.