Tobaccos Cornell & Diehl - U.S.S. Mason

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JimInks (2919)	2015-03-02		Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

The brandy topping is mild and doesn't detract from the tobaccos. The Cyprian latakia is a minor addition, but adds a smoky, woody push to the blend. The mild plumy, slightly spicy perique is lightly applied. The Virginia is a little grassy and lightly sweet, playing a firm back up to the toasty, nutty burley. The nic-hit is just past being mild. Won't bite or get harsh. Burns to ash at a moderate pace, clean and fairly cool with a slight sharp note from the burley, and leaves very little moisture at the finish. Needs an average number of relights. Has a decent after taste. Is almost an all day smoke.

-JimInks

8 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	StevieB (2051)	2019-06-05		Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Tolerable

Cornell & Diehl - U.S.S. Mason.

When I woke this morning I picked this 'blind'. Meaning, I didn't look at reviews, etc., but closed my eyes as I grabbed a tin from my stash. Well, luck was on my side!

The tin has a mild scent of brandy, but nothing stertorous. No way would I call this Coarse Cut, it's actually a very well rubbed ribbon, medium and light browns, and the moisture of my tin raised no issue.

U.S.S. takes to the flame with extreme ease, and gives a nice, lightly flavoured, smoke. I find the tobaccos well melded. There's no over-spice from the Perique, or a smoky frenzy from the Latakia, but a good, rounded flavour; the VaBur side leads, spiced by the Latakia and Perique (the Perique outweighs the Latakia, and boosts the nic-hit ). The brandy gives a little elation to the palate, a fragrant sweetness, but don't expect alcoholic pandemonium. The burn from it's good; reliable, quite cool, mid-speed. After many bowls, today, I've had no bite.

Nicotine: medium. Room-note: not the best.

U.S.S. Mason? A definite four stars:

Highly recommended.

Pipe Used: Savinelli 320 KS

Age When Smoked: 5/10/17

Purchased From: Smokingpipes.com

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	CoolPilot (69)	2013-05-14		Medium	Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant

The scent out of the tin is exactly the same you find in the C&D Afterhours : rum in that case, brandy they say in the USS Mason. So let's call it Brum. I like the C&D Brum flavour. The USS Mason is just great for me. Perique is here. Latakia is somewhere else, with the brandy maybe. But nevertheless, the smoke is excellent, just excellent to me. Loving the VaPer stuff like Dunhill DeLuxe Navy rolls, this is similar in taste, but with addictional Brum flavour. Burns out to ashes, leaving nothing to clean. Super. Now, if someone at C&D can explain where has the latakia gone..

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30082)	2011-05-18		Medium	Very Strong	Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

Well, I'm glad the previous reviewers liked this mixture, and I, in no way wish to diminish their take, on this smoke. My take, is a bit less enthusiastic. The first smell upon opening the tin, is that burnt rubber smell of Latakia. This stuff smells, and tastes like perfume....cheap perfume. I discovered, that if you leave the tin open for 2 or 3 days, to air dry, it will eliminate, most, of the perfume "stank", and then, you're left with a rather strong Burley, but smokable. On the "plus" side, my wife likes the "smell", so maybe I'll give it to her, and she can huff it, straight out of the tin. This stuff, is an insult to my garbage can.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Young Piper (303)	2015-01-09		Medium to Strong	Medium	Medium to Full	Tolerable

On opening the tin I noticed that the tin aroma is identical to Haddo's Delight. A very full mouth feel and a very dry tobacco as in dry wine. This blend has the perfect amount of latakia making it a very fine upscale burley mixture, ribbon cut which makes packing a breeze. The perique gives the blend a grand finish and spices up the snork, the Virginia's are not very sweet but tame the Burley and Perique from becoming bitter. This blend and Haddo's Delight are very similar in taste due to the Brandy being so overpowering even though this blend has latakia and no black Cavendish. Mason and Haddo's are so similar that when I got down to a quarter of each tin I blended the two together and the aroma stayed the same confirming the use of the same Brandy as a topping. Three stars as its not one of my favorites but a very delicious burley blend.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Coyote (7)	2011-02-20		Mild	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Very burley. I smoke a lot of burley and I like it. This is a quality burley. The taste is very nut-like and it's a little astringent like walnuts, not sweet like almonds. It's got a very slight sweet taste of the VA's and the Latakia and Perique were very subdued. The room note was quite nice, very little Lat or Perique. The brandy adds to the room note but I didn't taste it in the smoke. And that's comparing this to Barbary Coast that has a 'splash of brandy' and I can taste that in my mouth as well as smell it in the room note. This is a very good tobacco, mild, no bite what so ever. You can definitely taste the burley but it's a nice high quality burley taste.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Captain bob (38)	2010-10-21		Mild	Extremely Mild	Mild	Pleasant

This delightful new blend reminds me a lot of another very popular C&D blend named Epiphany. If you enjoy Epiphany, you will enjoy U.S.S. Mason.

Light brown in color, coarse cut and perfect moisture for an easy pack and light. One light and I can enjoy this blend for an hour. Very smooth, comfortable and appealing. A very enjoyable smoke.

Don't let the reference in the description to Latakia, Perique or Brandy flavor scare you off or you will miss an exceptional experience of pleasurable pipe smoking. The elements of Latakia, Perique and Brandy flavor do not stand out. Rather, they combine with the Virginia and Burley to deliver a well married tobacco flavor with just the very slightest touch of sweetness.

I reserve the four-star rating for only those blends that are truly exceptional and that I will smoke again and again.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30082)	2011-04-15		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Very Pleasant

What a delightful blend! This ought to please aromatic and non-aromatic smokers alike. It has a very light touch of flavoring to create a nice room note, but the taste is all fine tobacco--essentially a light American-English. The many components (virginia, burley, latakia and perique) work together to produce a surprisingly complex pipe experience for such a smooth smoke. It is much closer to the original Revelation than the C & D Epiphany blend. It has the promise of being a successful everyday favorite. Great job!

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