Cornell & Diehl Izmir Turkish

This is a nice blending tobacco, and as such I think it should be used, but you can always sample it on a stand-alone basis. It has sour and spicy notes, but it is lacking the deep and woodsy profile of Latakia. It can be used in virginia and burley blends to add a silky profile with salty undertones. Without the addition of Latakia, you might find it lacking or boring in one way or the other, but I think this is all down to what other components you might be using in your blend. The addition of dark fired Kentucky or perique is optional too, so you might want to tweak it a bit until you shall tune in on something that you like. My advise is you go and use this leaf as a condiment, not as a base tobacco.

I've tried this straight just once, but was quite impressed. The jar/pouch note is just the nicest baking spices, natural classic tobacco and the faintest ripe cheese (somewhere I heard it compared to a Romano or Parmesan cheese and I have to concur).

In the bowl: wonderful, soft herbal notes with a touch of cedar. I've also blended this in with an English blend I concocted out of other C&D blending tobaccos. So, while being a very well-rounded and approachable tobacco on its own -- I would seriously be quite satisfied on a desert island with a pound of this! -- it is also the perfect condiment (or perhaps even base, but will have to get back to you on that one) to any Virginia/Latakia mix.

Highly recommended.

Smoking now:

Not really sure how to give this stars as it’s a straight Izmir Turkish tobacco. It is what it is. Came perfect for blending, not wet but not bone dry.

Smoking it straight and hey it’s not too bad. It’s slightly sour, woody, earthy, a little floral. Maybe a slight spice. Has a sharp taste to it, not in a bad way, zesty maybe. A bit harsh to smoke straight all the time but it has a nice flavor.

Would recommend for blending of course and to expand your pipe tobacco knowledge.

I’ve been blending it with C&D Derringer or Yorktown and damn it’s not bad.

Great for blending some into your favorite blend, I really enjoy this with some Burley-based blend such as Pegasus by C&D. I also mixed some with C&Ds other blending tobaccos (CUbe Cut Burley, Dark Burley) and it also works great.

The Turkish has some zesty, exotic aroma to it. Slightly sharp note to it, which isn't unpleasant at all. Great thing is that you only really need a small pinch between your fingers to spice up the blend/mix, which makes this very efficient. My 1oz is still lasting me a bit. Had great smokes with it, no doubt, I'd always buy this again and it makes some of my most favorite blends even more enjoyable. 4 stars.

I bought this strictly as a blending component and my review is based on that aspect only. I have had considerable results doing this with some basic research on the net. My approach is simply to blend enough to fill a pipe and adjust accordingly. This Izmer is a fantastic choice for your blending needs. I love latakia so I used 50% along with 25% izmer and 25% red virginia. An attempt at making my own Star of the East and it came out satisfactory. Happy blending!

A straight Izmir leaf with an aroma in the tin I would describe as a mix of hay and sweet tea leaves. Perfect moisture content and no PG or added sugars here. Mild nicotine.

When smoked straight it is just a little spicy on the tongue and in the nose. Has just a bit of bready sweetness similar to virginias which comes through nicely towards the bottom of the bowl. It is less sweet than most virginias and has it's own character which I really enjoy.

Of course if you like oriental in your blends this is great for blending or adding to other tobacco. Simple, straight forward, pleasant tobacco flavor. No reason not to give it a try.

I bought a pound of this in mid-2018 as a blending tobacco. It works great to add some "spice" to boring blends and/or making my own variants.

Smoked by itself I found it easy to pack and light. The flavor reminds me of the camels I used to smoke years ago. I get quite a bit of mouth "tingle" but no tongue bite even if pushed.

A favorite blend of mine is about 20% Izmir to 80% CD VA flake pressed down in a noodle press for a couple of weeks. Sometimes I'll dust it with some perique or some blending latakia depending on my mood.

I've bought a selection of blending tobaccos, mainly in order to better understand the components of my favourite blends. I'll try my hand at blending in due course but for now I'm just trying the pure tobaccos.

So the Izmir. Medium brown ribbon arrived on the dry side, the bag aroma is very sour, spicy, rich leafmould with a hint of incense.

It has a delicate sweetness on lighting, with a sour and herbal in character. The sourness develops with smoking quite early in the bowl, and progressively gains strength throughout, becoming somewhat overpowering towards the finish. It is spicy, and this too is progressive through the bowl, becoming very potent indeed at the end. The tobacco also has a background earthy character which I quite enjoy. It also offers occasional blasts of a rather raw, green herbal quality, and the flavour and mouthfeel is slightly astringent.

It's not very strong on the nicotine front but is certainly full in flavour, and the room aroma is pungent. I smoked it all to ash, no wet dottle at all, although the flavour in the final quarter was rather strong.

Alone then, this is a strong tasting and aromatic leaf. I've gained an appreciation of the potency of the Orientals in a blend - I suspect that just a little can go a long way, and perhaps my favourite English mixtures (those with a prominent Oriental character) contain less of it than I had supposed. I'll explore this more in due course when I get to blending with it.

Jar note of musty sweet, sour, and spices. The tobacco is a yellowish tan, brown and dark brown. It's a ready rub or tumbled out flake, moisture is good, rubs out easily. Burns slow with a few extra relights. The strength is medium and nic is mild. No flavoring detected. Taste is medium and consistent, with notes of spicy, nutty, sweet and sour, very dry, bitter wood, floral, spice, musty herbal hay, mild orange peel, tangy stewed fruit, a tart sour background note, and a peppery retro. Room note is tolerable, and aftertaste is great.