Cornell & Diehl Five O'Clock Shadow (Working Man Series)

Very intense blend—in appearance, in smell, and in taste.

You're first confronted with a dark, crumbly cake. Some say they can break it apart with their fingers, but mine was packed a bit more tightly and needed a knife. Once cut, it resembles brown and black fish food flakes.

The smell is what you would expect from the components: a dark, smoky, leathery, earthy smell from the DFK mixed with a spicy, raisiny small from the Perique and the grassy, fruity (almost tea-like) smell from the red Virginias.

The first puffs were very earthy and leathery, with DFK at the forefront (and the charring light cloud even stinging my eyes a bit from the Perique!). For the remainder of the smoke, though, the DFK and the Perique battled it out (both at quite strong levels—just right up at the border between amazing and a little too much, but firmly on the side of the former), with the red Virginias always a background presence.

There's a surprisingly nice mouthfeel and aftertaste, which makes me suspect a tiny bit of flavoring of some sort (not as bold as a topping would give, but maybe in the casing).

The smoke is pretty thick and pungent, giving both a spicy—but enjoyable—retrohale as well as a borderline tolerable room note.

From my experience, it seems as though this smokes best with a gravity-filled bowl tamped down very gently once after filling, and it will burn extremely consistently and slowly with a lot of rich, spicy, leathery smoke.

This is definitely not an everyday smoke (let alone an all-day smoke), but rather good for an occasional knock-your-socks-off experience.

Also, a big, deep bowl might be too much of a good thing, and so I'd go with a smaller—albeit wider—one, maybe a pot (a Savinelli 316KS works perfectly for me).

The nic hit is pretty high, too, so an empty stomach is not recommended!

Overall, I reserve my perfect 4-star ratings for those blends that I would turn to often, and I know this would simply be a rare treat because it's definitely a mood-dependent selection. Also the strength pushes the limits just a bit at times, and so all that said, it's 3.5 stars for me.

Presented as a lovely "tobacco brownie“, this crumble kake is easy to prepare and is a near perfect moisture content from the tin; I packed it lightly with no drying time in a Morgan Blackjack 12 Bent Bulldog. The tin note is that of rich, fermented dark fruit. The false and true lights were all that were required to enjoy the entire bowl, which smoked to almost complete ash, only a small amount of dottle remained. (I should note this was the inaugural bowl for this pipe.) The flavor was slightly smokey and spicy with a rich dark fruit sweetness. It remained consistent through the bowl. I did feel a bit of a nic-kick, and I’m not a nicotine light weight

5 o’clock shadow I found this by chance while browsing through the extraordinary amount of tobaccos available by C&D.

This blend is a culmination of everything that says meat and potato’s, the old dark fired and Virginia play well together almost weaving off each other, smoky but somewhat sweet. The Perique in this blend adds a hint of spiciness but not sneezing fit, just tickle of the olfactory senses.

This wonderful tobacco comes in a plug/kake press and breaks apart easily, it’s easy to load and smells slightly sweet and smoky upon first opening. I good entry into the ODF, Virginia Perique triad. I really love this blend and have bought a few tins to keep in the cellar, interested to see how age will change the blend although this is perfect right out of the tin.

A meat and potato blend, that will knock you on your butt, a no non sense smoke with tons of flavor. A few of the members at the pipe club I introduced this blend to have bought tins.

5/9/21- I revisited this blend and will improve it to 4 stars, it just hits all the notes that I truly find enjoyable in a good hearty smoke.

3 star blend.

Cornell & Diehl - Five O'clock Shadow (Working Man Series).

In the tin, the kake appears to have the consistency of a plug. But, a piece breaks away easily and rubs to having a fine texture with extreme ease. The smell from it's fruity, yet a little smoky. My moisture couldn't be better.

The smoke? Heady! It lights scintillatingly; just a quick touch of the flame is all that's required. Then, this isn't a smoke for the 'less experienced'. The Virginias and Perique compliment one another perfectly; fruity, sweet, Virginias and plummy, spicy, Perique. The Kentucky is a little more than a 'background' player; fire-cured, coarse and rustic. This increases the strength of flavour, and would be the constituent to perturb the newer folks; IMO. The burn from it's good, but the temperature can increase to above medium if puffed with too much vigour.

Nicotine: lots. Room-note: unpleasant.

Five O'clock Shadow? A good smoke, especially for the mornings, but just a bit too potent for a full house. Three stars:

Recommended.

I am falling in love with Krumble Cakes and this one is a true winner. An excellent Vaper blend with plenty of flavor and character. I absolutely love the consistency of the tobacco when rubbed out. It turns into a very nice small and consistent texture of granular particles which pack excellent, light easily and burn so nice and evenly. I can keep a pipe full going smoothly for a good long smoke with virtually no relights. This is the magic of the Krumble Cake to me. This blend is rich in Virginia which is sweet and satisfying. The perique is superb as always. The proportions are perfect. And the Kentucky adds just that tiny touch to polish off the smoking experience that fully satisfies. Do you like Vapers? Do you like Krumble Cakes? This is what you are looking for, both and together for your enjoyment. Try this one for sure. You will not be disappointed. One of my very favorites.

One of the closest things yet to one of my favorites: GL Pease's Quiet Nights. It has that dusty, burnished wood sort of pungency, the smell of spilled scotch on a tweed jacket lapel. Stuff is strong, stronger than Quiet Nights - better have a meal and be sitting down. Not quite as even of a temperament as QN. Crumble is a bit too crumbly, almost powdery. Burns slow for a blissful evening sunk into your easy chair, as you watch the stratum of smoke fill to the edges of the room.

The short story: Va/Per After Dark. Tin note is a siren's song for a Perique lover; figs, dates, yeasty bread, and a notable impression of dark chocolate. There is noticeable Virginia sweetness to the smoke, as well as stewed fruit and pepper from the perique. I get very little KFC smoke or nuttiness, and if it lends any pepper it drowns in the Perique tide. Not a bad thing, mind you; I love C&D, but it's nice to find a blend that isn't burley-centric. The Virginias are of a very heavy character- bready, earthy, darkly fruity and reservedly sweet. It harmonizes well with the considerable percentage of Perique; not a full blow-out like Chenet's Cake, but still outside of normal tolerances. I ordered an eight-ounce tin, which came as four individually packaged cakes and a few odd slices. Mine was marked 11/17, and at 6+ months of age the moisture content is perfect for smoking right off the block. The nic-hit is notable, and can get overwhelming in too large a bowl (2.5 inch depth, 1 inch bore was a bit too much for even my saturated neurons). Smokes cool and dry in any quantity, and refuses to bite. Room note was Va/Per-ish; heavier, more Maduro cigar than cigarette. Repeatable, possible all-day smoke for grizzled nico-fiends, and a must for any lover of Perique.

The portion of the brick, given to me by a friend, was very dark in nature. The crumble cake brick looks mostly black with bits of dark brown flecks. It smells like fermented fruit with hints of raisins, plum, and just a bit of spice.

Easy to crumble out and load. Lights easily and remains so with light tamping.

The smoke is very much dominated by the perique. It tastes of dark fruit, raisins, and plum, mixed with spice. I detected very little red va, however, this did come out more about halfway down the bowl, at which point the bready and slightly tangy flavors mixed well with the dark fruit and spice. The dfk would make an appearance here and there by giving more spice and adding some earthy tones. Overall a good smoke. I'm glad I tried it but not sure it's one I'll add to my rotation.

For me, the Red Virginia was the main player, with support from the Perique and hints from the Kentucky. Despite that, this was very moderate in terms of taste, even on the light side at times. Fully rubbed out, this burned a tad on the fast side but not too hot. And the same time, it left a moderate cigarette-like aftertaste. Not quite fully rubbed out, the aftertaste was missing, it smoked slower, but needed the odd relight. So, looking for a light/moderate tasting straight forward tobacco, with little to no extra casing? This might suit you.