Cornell & Diehl Oak Alley

I was granted a sample for about 4-5 bowls worth and REALLY enjoyed this one.. I even packed the last crumbs (maybe a quarter bowl worth of tobacco) into a pipe, because I found it to be that tasty!

An autumn-y scent comes out of the tin, the name is very aptly chosen, as it really reminds me of strolling down an alley in autumn. The scent of freshly chopped wood, old wooden doors and huts... "old-time-y"!

First off: They describe it as a VA/Burley, yet the Burley somewhat dominates for me! The Virginias on the other hand aren't really sweet, but moreso earthy and also offer a nice spiciness along with its hay-ish character! Characterstic for the C&D burleys, they offer their rich earthy aroma, with some nice nutty undertone lurking. Dry, spicy, warm!

The Oriental is what makes this really interesting! At first I thought there's some dark fired leaf in it.. but after reading other reviewers I'm quite sure it's the Oriental that contributes this distinct sharp-smoky aroma, that I really appreciate in this blend. The perique is discreetly added, just a bare hint of it to be perceived for me, yet the Katerini Turkish/Oriental is quite intense and genuine in its aroma. Less floral and ethereal, moreso sharp, smoky and spicy!

Stout in both nicotine and mouth-feel, but not overly so! A great smoke after dinner, in the evenings, or when strolling down an Oak Alley 😉 I'll definetly buy a few tins of this and the update my review, when I've smoke through a tin or two, but my provisional rating is: 4-stars! Great, unique smoke!

|| Personal rating: 4-stars | Attempt of an 'obective rating' : 4-stars ||

I didn't think Chenet's Cake could be beat but Oak Alley may be the star of cellar series. I currently rate it at 4 stars and it will definitely improve with age. This is a complex, Burley forward blend. The nutty/bready brown Burley dominates and has a little sharp white Burley to go with it. The red Virginia is sugary and earthy with spicy Perique in a moderate dose. The Katerini also adds a little spice and wood. All these components are very well married and balanced. The tobaccos combine with flavors of coffee, chocolate, earth and some fruit notes. Delicious!

Oak Alley is an absolutely wonderful blend in the cellar series by Cornell and Diehl, and it has quickly become my second favorite in the series only taking a back seat to Joie De Vivre. This blend is absolutely loaded with flavors that seem to interchange as one smokes the bowl further down. Popping the lid off of a fresh tin dated 3/14, I am greeted with the wonderfully sweet smell of the Virginias and a nice rich chocolaty smell from the Perique and a nuttiness from the Burleys. In the tin is a nice compact 2 oz cake of tobacco that resembles a small brownie. It is obvious while looking at the cake, that the tobacco is of high quality and due to the presentation, there will be no twiggy or woody bits mixed in the tobacco. The tin note is amazing, with aromas of sweet grassy or hay like notes coming from the Virginias, which balance well with the nuttiness that I detect from the Burley. The Turkish provides a light tea like aroma to the mixture, and the Perique provides an almost smoky or chocolate like aroma. The moisture level of this particular tin is much drier than any of the other tobaccos that I have smoked from the cellar series, however, it is still on the damp side, and will require a short drying time before being smoked fresh out of the tin. I imagine that this moisture level is intentional, as the tobaccos in this series are intended to be aged, and at their best in ten to fifteen years. In order to help with the drying process, I took my cake and cut thin strips off of one end and then rubbed this out into a thin ribbon, setting it aside for thirty minutes to dry. After allowing the tobacco to set out for a spell, I packed the pipe easily enough with the thin ribbons, and lit the pipe. The first flavors that I detect are those from the Virginias, they are slightly sweet and then they become bread like, but they are shortly followed by the smoky and somewhat spicy Perique. As for the Burley, there seems to be a robust nuttiness that constantly shifts from the back of the flavor profiles to the front and then back again sometimes it seems to steal the show. The Turkish provides a tangy or slightly sour quality that is detectable throughout the entire smoke, but it definitely takes a back seat to the Burley and Virginias in this blend. This definitely makes for an interesting smoke due to the flavors constantly changing place and swapping roles. As for burn characteristics, I did not have to tend to this blend at all during my smoke which made for a relaxing and enjoyable experience. When finished, the tobacco burned down to a fine white powdery ash which made cleaning the pipe rather simple, only requiring that I run a pipe cleaner through the stem and around the inside of the bowl to remove any remaining moisture. As for the room note, those around me made mention that the tobacco smelled like a cigar, so I take that to mean that it is tolerable to strong, and one may want to smoke this blend outside or while alone as not to offend those that don’t tolerate the smell of smoke. Overall, I have been very satisfied with Oak Alley, and can only imagine what it will become with ten years or more of age. With that in mind, I purchased several tins so that I could smoke a few tins now, and cellar several, comparing my notes later on down the road. I would recommend this blend to anyone who enjoys a good Virginia and nutty Burley blend.

The tin I have is from the 5-set samples of cellar series and luckily they are all from the first release. This one has aged for 1 and half years and this is by far the most finest VaBur with perique and oriental blends I've ever smoked. The tin note is intoxicated with bright fruity, fig, winy flavor. The burley is in the back and provide it's backbone, while the red, ferminated virginia floats in the front with perique and oriental just in perfect propotions bringing out smooth and delicate taste. As smoky as it is, Oak Alley shows no harshness and the spice is right on the spot of interesting and not overwhelmed. Extremely smooth with enough N strength. I reorder few more tins for aging right after two bowls of sampling. Highly recommended!

I'll side-step redundancy and simply state that I wholly agree with Perique's review of 2015-08-05, only to add that I pick up a wonderful musty component in the blend.

C&D’s Oak Alley is a complex blend that takes a few words to sum up. The first word that came quickly to mind, and one that stuck, was “Exceptional”. In the tin (mine’s dated 03-23-20) is a firm kake of mid red-brown, mid and dark brown bits smelling of festering old hay and wood, surface leaf mold, barnyard, yeasty bread, and dry Sherry, with traces of dark and other stone fruits. Despite it’s dubbed “Cellar Series”, and I have no doubt it will improve with age, it is very OK to smoke it at 8 months, as I have done, and it opens up with some rest, once it’s jarred. I just pinch a wad off the kake, spindle it, stuff it, and patiently light it. Right off, it starts with my favorite combination of barnyard and flowers, then funky plum that morphs to funky fig, old hay and meadow grasses, along with woody, bitter nuts, zing-y, yeasty bread, fruit leather, and mild-but-savory baking spices. It’s fairly sweet, also quite sour, and bitter, also salty, and the Perique is the sort that reminds one it started out as Burley. There’s lots of fragrant smoke that smells like a more nuanced iteration of the tastes cooking over fruitwood at a distance. Strength builds to between medium and strong, likewise the tastes, strength almost belied by its smoothness, which surprised me because my sample is not really aged. As for the room note, that’s hard to say. It smells great to me, but I suppose not so great to non-piper bystanders. Aftertaste is the best of the smoke, only sweeter, and it lasts and lasts. In case anyone cares, the first pipe I put it in, a small-ish (#4) pot with thick walls, worked a treat. All told, I Love Oak Alley!

It’s not a coincidence that I posted this masterpiece as my 200th review, on Christmas Eve. 4 bright stars, and a spot on my favorites list. Merry Christmas!

On opening the tin, I was greeted by a marvelous, warm, earthy aroma. Chocolate, fruity, nutty, a little French coffee perhaps, complex rich and VERY inviting. The "Krumble Kake" falls apart easily as its name implies with very little rubbing, to a quite fine ribbon cut. There's a risk with such a cut of overstuffing the pipe, but I found it easy to load and it burned evenly, often to the end without relighting. The taste is almost as rich as the odour in the can. I would have sworn there was dark-roasted Virginia, but I think it must be the combination of extra aging and the Orientals. A perfect choice for autumn!

Overall, it reminded me a bit of the discontinued McClelland Personal Reserve series, although much lighter on the Perique than their St. James Wood, my old fave. Definitely a similar aroma. Blended with a generous helping of Périque, it approaches quite closely.

This is one of of the finest tobaccos I have encountered in recent years. If I could give this 5 stars I would. This tobacco is going on my list for the occasional special treat. On second thought (and several pipes later), it just may become a regular item on my menu. I've got six fine tobaccos in my humidor at present, but I keep coming back to this one.

I've decided to review to cellar series blends from C&D upon purchase (or thereabout) and after the recommended amount of aging to see the changes. I intend to update the review after that period of time has elapsed.

Now:

The tin note is an overall light aroma. There's a hint of that trademark Perique smell, but it's nothing like what you get in a VaPer. There's a sense of flowers as well.

This opens sweet and sour, and almost immediately welcomes a mild nutty flavor. In general, this is like a slightly lighter version of 3P's, and there is a mild fruity sweetness. That sweet/sour flavor that came in at the light switches to a floral flavor and back over the course of the bowl.

You can view my review of this blend, unaged, here:

https://youtu.be/4vRa3KZbBF8

Aged:

Stay tuned.

Oak Alley is a blend that I had to learn to smoke, but once I did, it opened up its potential to me. The first few bowls were kind of boiler plate Va/Bur/Per with an odd taste in the background, good but not really memorable. I had tried using different briars, but kept getting the same result. Then, around my sixth or seventh bowl the Katirini showed herself. I found the right sized bowl and just the right puffing cadence and voilá, there was the magic! The Katirini leaf seemed to spice up the whole bowl and it enhanced the Perique as well as softening the Burley, in other words, it really tied the blend together. I don’t think the blend will be so fussy with some age on it, as was the blenders intention. It’s very good now that I’ve learned to smoke it, but I believe that with five or ten years of age on it, Oak Alley will be sublime.