Cornell & Diehl Bourbon Bleu

I received a tin of this as a sample in an order, and recently got around to smoking through some of it. I am a big fan of navy flake, Va/Per, and have liked virtually every variation I've tried so far. I was intrigued to try a similar blend in cake form, with bourbon to boot! I am also a big fan of bourbons, so this seemed like a win-win situation.

Tin Note: Despite all the other reviews stating that there is some type of bourbon aroma in there, I can detect none of it whatsoever. I have had my nose in a variety of bourbons from every tier of the shelf, and if I ever had one with an aroma similar to this tobacco I would probably think someone was playing a joke on me. The first thing that comes to mind when smelling this, is old fashioned spiced fruit cake(the kind people joke about around Christmas time). If I were to try and separate the aromas, I smell the spiciness of the Perique, followed by an almost sour note which reminds me of very over-ripe fruit. A strange whiff indeed.

Prep: Breaking off a chunk of the cake and rubbing out thoroughly, produces what looks like a broken shag cut. It is probably the finest I've ever seen in tobacco actually meant for pipes, not the RYO crowd. The tobacco was very moist, and took about 30-45 minutes to get to a point where it wouldn't stay in a wad when pinched. It packed easily as expected given the fineness of the cut.

Light/Burn: First light was somewhat challenging, I think due to the fine cut, as it expanded like a magic-snake out of the top of my bowl. I had to stop mid char to get it tamed back into place before finishing the light. It seemed to stay lit very well, and burned evenly without issue. No bite for me at all, even when pushing it; however, the flavor when not sipped reminded me of a cigar that had been over-humidified(steamy, acrid).

Flavor: The flavor is not what I expected at all from the tin note. I detect no fruity or citrusy flavors common to other Virginia dominate blends, and I surely do not taste bourbon at any point during the bowl. What I do taste pretty uniformly throughout is the Perique - it dominates the palate, and I feel that the addition of the bourbon may be muted by this(although Frog Morton's Cellar is supposed to have whiskey in it as well, and I can't detect it either). Every now and then during the bowl the Virginia sweetness would poke it's head out with a "Hey Y'all", but in an instant it was gone, making me question if I had tasted it or just imagined that I had. The after taste was pleasant enough, like white pepper, and did not overstay it's welcome.

Obligatory, "burned to the bottom/left no dottle/dry bowl/white ash" comment here..

Summary: Overall this was not an amazing smoke, nor was it a terrible one. It was a pretty flat, Perique forward smoke which doesn't offend any of the senses, but also doesn't really tickle them much either. Perhaps with long term cellaring the Virginia flavor would improve, but if you are going to smoke it fresh I would personally seek out other blends.

I received a sample of C&D Bourbon Bleu with a recent order from Smoking Pipes.

I smoked two bowls one evening before looking to see what were the constituent tobaccos. I had no trouble determining that the blend consisted of Virginias, burley and the Perique. I did not taste any bourbon.

BB is a plug tobacco. The moisture content was perfect, making it quite easy to crumble the tobacco for packing. It lit easily and burned consistently, meaning no need for relights. The tobacco burned to a light grey ash.

From the first light until about half way through the smoke, the Perique was dominant with the Virginias and burley peaking through occasionally. During the last half of the smoke, the sweetness and grassiness of the Virginias prevailed and, by the end of the smoke, the nuttiness of the burley was the predominant flavor component. However, the change in taste was modest and I would call this a fairly monotone blend. The description says the burley is dark-fired Kentucky but I did not taste much if any smokiness, so I assume this is a fairly minor component in the blend.

I enjoyed BB but would probably not smoke it again, as the flavor is relatively mild and not especially intriguing. IMO, it would benefit greatly if it contained some Latakia or a larger amount dark-fired Kentucky.

If you're a fan of mild VaBur blends and like a fair amount of Perique in your smoke, you will probably enjoy this tobacco.

Got a free sample of Bourbon Bleu with a tobacco order. I love C&D blends but this was disappointing. C&D makes other quality Va/Pers that puts this one to shame. No bourbon detected and it tasted more like a straight Virginia. Save yourself from a huge letdown and pick up a tin of Kajun Kake or Bayou Morning instead.

I received a sample of this, a little square nugget. I sliced a bit off with a knife and crumbled it up. It breaks up very easily, and burns very evenly. It has a pretty unique taste. The Virginia and perique is balanced well, and there is enough Kentucky to add body without adding harshness or intruding. What is supposed to be a bourbon type flavor, to me at least, ends up producing a grape-soda taste. I hate grape soda, but this type of flavor in the background of the tobaccos is actually a very pleasant change-up. I don't know if I'd ever order this for myself, but I do know I will enjoy all of the sample I received. It is very well done. If my memory is correct, this tobacco reminds me ever-so-slightly of sixpence by G.L. Pease.

This blend comes as a nice looking easy to handle crumble cake. The tin has a sweet bourbon and raison smell. For me this blend did not offer a whole lot through the fist half of the bowl. The bourbon flavoring was the dominant flavor accented by some mild earth and hey notes. Thankfully this blsn became more interesting about half way down the bowl. The bourbon taste was still present along with some earth, chocolate, green pepper, and a nice savory herb note. The smoke had a sweet character throughout. Bourbon Bleu did tend to burn hot a wet, leaving moisture in the bowl. It needed a couple of relights. I didnt find the bourbon to be overbearing, but a times a little distracting.

Pleasant bourbon + VA smell out of the tin. Easy crumble and packing, consistent burn. Smoke taste is dominated by hayish VA dominated and with the peppery notes of Per. Bourbon doesn't play much of a fiddle and remains a subtle background note of sourness. Easy to keep lit and the smoke is thick. A little bite on the tongue is present. Nic a bit above average like with most of C&D stuff. I'd not classify it as aro. I can smoke it, but I won't buy it. Needs drying, otherwise you'll get a wettish smoke. Burns hot.

Tin note of tangy stewed figs, liquor, and Rasins. The orange, tan and brown marbled Krumble Kake easily breaks apart and rub out. The tobacco is quite moist, drying is needed. Burns slow with a few relights. The strength is mild to medium and nic is mild. I can't detect any Bourbon. Taste is medium and mostly consistent, with notes of lemon grass, sweet bread, wood, earth, tangy raisin, floral, mild dry nuts, mild baking spices, and a moderately peppery retro. Virginias are leading with Perique playing backup. Dark Fired Kentucky is supporting. The bourbon is upwind somewhere. Room note is pleasant to tolerable, and aftertaste is good.

Bright Virginia’s have lovely almost floral note to this blend. You can get nice notes of bright and red Virginia’s. Some real tangy and some sweetness to this. The dark Kentucky’s add a fair bit of woody and spice to the finish for me. Finishing this blend with bourbon enhances the sweetness to the finish. Perique adds a nice, rich touch of tangy fruitiness to the balance of Bourbon Bleu. This Krumble kake nicely rubs apart making for a good fitting pipe tobacco. Overall there is a lot going on in this blend for me. I smoked a few sessions of it and put the remaining kake into a mason jar that I’ll revisit sometime in the future. It’s a pretty good smoke and the room notes are nice, but complex blends need perfect balance for me and some of this just seems like they tried to incorporate too much of too many different types of tobacco. Listen, I enjoyed this blend and I’m from Kentucky, so I am usually always biased toward anything Kentucky or bourbon for that matter! But this just isn’t my style. I would recommend this to anyone though as I believe discovering your perfect blend is experiencing a bit of everything and I haven’t ran across many if any like this. Give it a try! Once dried a bit it holds an excellent flame and smokes pretty cool. Definitely a change of pace blend. I am very curious to how this ages! I think some time could add a great deal of balance to this blend overall.