Cornell & Diehl Red Stag

Revised 01-02-06 I recently opened my last tin that was in my "cellar" and have come to the conclusion that this blend is NOT FOR ME! I just do not like it. It has a similar leaf as found in Pease's Cairo, blegh! Maybe some you will enjoy it, have at it...

Original review: First, let me state that I am of fan of C&D and have praise for many of their blends, but this one did not work for me. The tin I tested was aged for 8 mo's before opening. Upon opening, you are greeted by mostly medium brown leaf with an occassional speck of green, black, and gold in the usual medium, broad ribbon cut. The tin aroma is, I'm afraid, very off-putting (to me, anyway). I work by the beach quite often and every now and then I work by secluded coves where in the fall and winter you get a nasty whiff of sea-swamp (nasty, indeed!). This is the tin aroma that this blend reminded me of. Well, I loaded my pipe anyway and as usual, packing, moisture, and lighting were a breeze. Initial flavor is very minerally with the turkish in the forefront. Mid-bowl you begin to taste the latakia and virginia, but only as support. I generally like turkish leaf, but the leaf in this blend tasted too bitter for my taste. Last third of the bowl is the worst. This mineral flavor turns sour and I had a difficult time finishing the bowl. I tried this blend in several pipes with similar results. I can not put this blend in the "English" category, but rather seems to be a very poor "Balkan". I can not recommend this blend at this time "Here I stand I can do no other" Rating 1 out of 5 points. Sorry...

I bought this tobacco because I liked the art and Mike had it on sale. I like to try different C&D blends and have had a splendid time doing it. Well, I have to say the first 1/3 of the bowl in each case smelled and tasted okay, then something went sour. It got really unpleasant and it was hot and didn't taste good at all. I am pretty hard headed so I tried it in two or three other pipes and the case could not be made to save it.

This tobacco has been a sore surprise, 'cause I've always found great tobaccos within C&D production. The disappointment began while opening the tin: it was too dry and turning to dust. A week in the jar did something to make it smokable. When I smoked it it immediately tasted bitter, dull and unpleasant; many smokes later I haven't changed my opinion, it's a useless tobacco. The only good points it score are that it burns very easily and cool, so it can be succesfully used to run in a new pipe or to teach novices how to smoke.

This was the first C&D blend I smoked and it was very nearly the last (which would have been a misfortune). The thing that put me off the most was the smell when I opened the tin. I have smoked virtually every type of tobacco blend and a sampling of most brands. This was not the smell of tobacco, nor of anything organic (save maybe one of those organic carbon based human corpses of the month old variety). It smelled of heavy acidic chemicals with a hint of blue urinal bar. I nearly tossed the cookies. Upon lighting, the smell abated, but did not entirely leave, rather it mixed with a rather insipid excuse for a dry flat English representation. While I keep Pirate Kake, Yale Mixture and Three Friars on hand, I will never touch this again, save perhaps to give to a pipe smoking enemy.

This blend is finely chopped, and very easy to load. It is sharp on the first light, but as the bowl progresses it settles down to a just slightly sweet, sometimes neutral taste. Sometimes even a little sour. It can bite if you're not careful. The room note, for a smoker, is wonderful. For a smoker's wife, the scent is apalling. I am curious what this blend would be like with six month's age.