Oops, They Did It Again
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Kevin Godbee - Jul 6, 2015
- 5 min read
E. Roberts
Back in August of last year, we took a look at Cornell & Diehl’s Cellar Series project—blends specifically designed for the hobbyist with aging in mind. [The Joy of Smokes] Perique was and is the driving force for the flavor profiles of the blends, as this condimental tobacco’s propensity to soften and season the mix are well-known and, if not predictable, surely amenable. Virginias of course provide the backbone, with high sugar content giving them the longevity and structure. Then come the supporting players of burley, Oriental and Cavendish, fine-tuning the chorus. The first three entries, Joie de Vivre, Oak Alley, and Chenet’s Cake, were standouts to be sure. The two newest follow-ups, Old Grove and Bourbon Bleu, carry on the high standard of innovation and skillful blending we expect from C&D splendidly.
We’ll begin with Old Grove, a most peculiar blend. The tin text notes a mixture of bright and red Virginias, dark burley, Katerini Turkish, black Cavendish and granulated Perique, overlaid with a subtle pomegranate topping. Wait… pomegranate? Indeed, and although it took me a bit to wrap my head around this one, it’s an excellent smoke that I’m very interested to taste with a few years under its belt. Both tins from my review were produced in April of this year, from the first production batch I’d assume, and as such are a bit green behind the ear, as are most blends at this stage.
Opening the fresh tin is, well, anything but subtle. The pomegranate unwraps itself broadly and exuberantly, smelling for all the world like a grape soda. To be honest, it was a bit surprising, and a tad overpowering, at this early stage, and the first few bowls were inconsistent. A week of airing time was in order, so it was set aside to investigate Bourbon Bleu in the meantime. The initial bouquet faded considerably after the first day, and the loosely-closed tin waited patiently for a second chance. Eight days later, palate recharged, we began to reacquaint ourselves on firmer footing.
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Old Grove is easily a cousin of Captain Bob’s Blend, that developed by Craig Tarler’s good friend and PipesMagazine.com forum denizen "Captain" Bob Coffey. While the latter contains Latakia as well, the initial impressions and flavoring profile are analogous. The early burst of grape soda settled into a more discernible pomegranate aroma after the first day, and as the moisture level lowered, the overall bouquet was tempered with more of the typical tobacco scents coming through. Notable is that although it was very soda-like at first, it didn’t come off as cloyingly sweet, and some air time reinforced this. The added essence is thorough and rides pleasantly atop the intriguing base mixture of tobaccos, evident but not overpowering in the palate and nose, and quite tantalizing in the room note, settling into a smoky wine tone for bystanders. In the tin the broad, chunky ribbon is well-mottled, and though it lacks the Latakia of CBB, the Katerini coupled with the flavoring offer an almost-Syrian Lat aroma, mouthfeel, and flavor. The structure is actually quite complex and layered underneath the surface, which offers real promise for down the road. Thinking in terms of how it will age in the projected 10-15 year timeframe offered on the tin, blends like Esoterica’s Pembroke or Ramsgate come to mind; both are deeply seasoned and a bit on the saucy side when young, but have weathered a decade or two superbly, and with their defining flavorings intact. The fruitiness of the topping will marry well into the Turkish and Perique tobaccos’ natural talents and direct their maturity, while the Virginia and Cavendish will supply the long-term stability. Those new to crossover-style blends or "non-aro snobs" may be off put at first, while aromatic lovers and those who enjoy experimenting will find an engaging orchestra to puzzle out and perhaps broaden their smoking horizons.
And now a trip down the Quarter to Bourbon Street. Here in crumble cake presentation, which happens to be one of my favorites, is a stout VaPer blend with a shot of whiskey for good measure. The bourbon in this is solid, and comes through on the nose from a freshly-opened tin distinctly and pleasingly; I could practically feel the warmth in my belly that a glass of Basil Hayden’s brings, and it seems only appropriate to spin up some Preservation Hall Jazz Band records from the vault to accompany my tasting.
Not surprisingly, this tobacco is perfectly suited to a Missouri Meerschaum corncob. The spool and country gentleman styles provide a perfect furnace to roast it in, and can simmer along for a good hour per bowl. The nose is quite piquant on opening, like the Old Grove; again, a measure of youthful exuberance for these blends with their consideration for aging. The cake is on the tannish-dun side, speckled through with jet black Perique and dark-fired Kentucky leaf. Crumbling quite easily, the leaf is short ribbon and cross-cut, making packing a full bowl a little on the tight side a breeze.
Lighting the char is akin to that first shot of whiskey, with a refreshing burn and bouquet of bourbon—it stays quite evident even after a solid week of airing out, melded perfectly within the leaf. The profile here is much more straightforward than Old Grove; coming with a steady, swinging 2-4 beat, it’s a bundle of spice and bass notes, with sharp Virginia solos ringing like a trumpet above the steady fruity-meets-smoky thump of the dark leafs. The Perique is very tempered here, with its earthy truffle notes highlighted rather than its fruitier ones. Dark-fired Kentucky brings to bear its heavy, woody tone to shape the flavor, and though it never overpowers, it certainly lends gravity to the smoking session. The profile stands firmly in tones of wood and and leather with a salty tang on the aftertaste, and is most satisfying with a sweet tea or, naturally, a glass of room-temperature whiskey.
To peer through the looking glass at what lies ahead for this blend, it will likely sweeten considerably over time with its predominantly Virginia composition absorbing the bourbon and orchestrating the show. The sweet vegetal notes should balance out the heavier smokiness of the dark-fired considerably in as little as four or five years’ time; though it’s a good smoke now, it’s still quite young and eager to mature into a great one. With both blends I’m happy to add a couple of tins of each to the cellar; now that introductory tastes have been recorded, we can revisit to see the journey that they take.
Written by Kevin Godbee
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His grandfather came to the US with a $50 gold coin in his shoe, opened up a cigar shop, and his most famous customer was Babe Ruth. He holds the record for the longest slow smoke in the world at over 24 hours, and he is the only man who stopped Chuck Norris from round-house kicking the Nording Pipe Statue. The most interesting man in the world, Jonathan Goldsmith, stopped by the Chicago Pipe Show this year to get kissed on the cheek by Neal Osborn. Wait, what? OK, I kid. Jonathan came to honor his friend and fishing buddy Steve Norse of Vermont Freehand at the annual Doctors and Masters of Pipes award dinner. Steve was one of the two recipients of the Masters of Pipes award and asked Johnathan to show up and add some color to his acceptance speech. Slightly overshadowed but no less important! Jay Furman was also honored as this year’s hobbyist Master of Pipes, joining me and a pipe-star-studded list of great contributors to the hobby and profession of pipes. Jay is a character in his own right. While I don’t know him as well as I would like, I’ve learned that he’s a kind-hearted collector who started the Artisan Pipe Makers Club, a place where new artisans learn, grow, and are challenged. There are around 60 artisans who participate, collaborate, and learn. Jay and Mike Bishop also started the Long Island Pipe Club, which has around 50 members and meets twice a month on different sides of the island. What is not featured here are pictures of the Doctors of Pipes. Both recipients were unable to attend: Marco Parascenzo – Doctor of Pipes, Trade/Industry Regis MacCafferty – Doctor of Pipes, Hobby Please join us in congratulating these newly inducted Doctors and Masters of Pipes. It is a great honor, and each of these men embodies what our hobby and industry strive to do: grow, educate, and cultivate its future. I encourage everyone to attend the dinner next year as it’s always illuminating. And now, on with the show. Sort of. You may be wondering what the most interesting pipe smoker in the world smokes…. I didn’t miss the opportunity to chat with this incredibly nice man, whom Brian Levine and I also remembered from one of our favorite TV shows, the A-Team. He was also in many other shows from the 80s, such as Magnum PI, Murder She Wrote, Dallas, and MacGyver, just to name a few. Jonathan: I actually enjoy simple and readily available tobacco like Captain Black or some black cavendish from my local cigar and pipe shop in Vermont. What about your first pipe? Jonathan: I picked up my first pipe; I think it was a billiard when I was in London many years ago at a place called James Fox. How often do you smoke? Jonathan: Almost every day. I enjoy a pipe in the morning and a cigar in the afternoon. 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Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 605. Our featured interview tonight is with Pete Prevost. Pete is a pipe maker and the President of the BriarWorks pipe factory in Columbia Tennessee. BriarWorks is a a pipe maker co-op with several other pipe makers, including Todd Johnson, who co-founded it with Pete. Brian and Pete will be talking about what’s new at BriarWorks, and how they are getting ready to attend the Chicago pipe show. (This was recorded before the show that took place last weekend.) At the top of the show, Brian will give his report of his travels and what happened at the Chicago show.
When I first started with the pipe as a quirky and precocious teen, the only tutelage I had at my disposal were scenes from old movies in which a well dressed chap would stick his pipe into a pouch, scoop tobacco into the bowl and press it down unceremoniously with his thumb. Then, with great flourish, he’d strike a match and light the thing with all manner of cinematic excess, puffing up vast clouds of smoke falling just short of completely obscuring his visage. While it may look good on film, it’s a terrible approach to actually enjoying the thing. Somehow, though, this “technique” seems to have survived in the contemporary vernacular, at least to some extent, even with bit-loads of information handily at our fingertips that should dissuade us from the practice. But, at the time, this misguided approach was all I had; it’s no wonder my early days of puffing were fraught with difficult lighting, harsh, bitter smokes and tongue bite, all culminating in a fireproof mass of ye old soggy dottle in the bottom of the bowl. Ultimately, the resulting frustration made me give up the pipe, at least for a while. While the idea of it was still very appealing, the practice of it was not. It wasn’t until a few years later when, still full of curiosity and romantic notions of pipe smoking, I wandered into a real tobacconist’s shop, and learned my “method” was a long way from the techniques that would bring me to any sort of pipe smoking bliss. So, after my poor start, and under the guidance of someone who actually seemed to know how to do it right, I was given the opportunity to approach the process anew, this time with much greater success. It was only because I was both perseverent, and fortunate to have a local shop staffed with knowledgeable people, that I’ve been able to enjoy the experience ever since. At least mostly… How many fledgeling pipe smokers have simply given up on an enjoyable pastime because of similar early mis-starts? Fortunately, today, it’s not hard to find helpful guidance at the press of a key or ten. But, at the same time, not all roads lead to Valhalla, and sometimes the advice offered might well be labeled with, “Here be dragons.” The other day, I came across a short video on-line in which a well-meaning tobacconist suggested packing a bowl of an “English” mixture “nice and tight.” Perhaps somewhat ironically, I was smoking, or trying to smoke a bowl that I’d filled on auto-pilot, packed too tightly, and not only was having the devil of a time trying to keep it lit, I really wasn’t enjoying the acrid smoke the tobacco issued during the brief periods in which it was actually burning. “No, no, NO!” I found myself muttering at my pipe, and at the figure on the screen, my protests joined by the guttural growling noises that sometimes accompany my discontent. Defiantly, I grabbed a pipe nail, shoveled out the dense, asbestos-like clog from the bowl, swabbed out the shank with a pipe cleaner, more out of habit than need since I hadn’t actually smoked enough of the mass to foul the shank, and started over, this time paying proper attention to what I was doing. (For as long as I’ve been doing this, I still screw it all up sometimes.) Much better. This got me thinking about a couple things that are so important to the maximal enjoyment of our pipes, yet not often enough discussed, namely how different tobaccos respond to variations in filling density, and moisture content; two separate but related parameters. Once I’d been shown the proper way to fill the bowl, or at least a proper way, everything had changed for me. I also began drying my tobacco down as a matter of course. Suddenly, there was greater cooperation between leaf and flame, the smoke was rich and flavorful, and it burned mostly to the bottom of the bowl with few relights. Given that, at the time, I smoked latakia mixtures almost exclusively, there didn’t seem to be a reason to explore beyond my “new” approach. It wasn’t until my attention turned in the direction of Virginia blends that I had to look a bit deeper. The same technique that worked so well for me with latakia mixtures resulted in bland, and often harsh smokes with Virginias. I attributed this to the tobaccos, convincing myself that I just didn’t like the stuff. At one of our pipe club meetings, I was talking with a friend who smoked Three Nuns exclusively. When he offered me a bowl. I thanked him, and told him that I just didn’t seem to get along well with Virginias, that they weren’t for me. “Maybe it’s the way you pack them. Here, let me fill your pipe for you.” I watched as he rubbed out a few coins to fine ribbons, moister than I was then accustomed to, and filled the bowl carefully in stages, pressing it tighter than I would have. 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Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 604. Our featured interview tonight is with Jon David Cole. JD is the Owner/Tobacconist at The Country Squire in Jackson, MS, and he is the former co-host of the podcast, Country Squire Radio, which ended their 10-year run last year. We’ll have JD with the “From the Country Squire” segment talking about all the new things happening at the store and in the business in general. At the top of the show, we’ll continue our audio tour of Brian’s pipe collection.
Before we begin, I should tell you: this tobacco review is being written by an A.I. Not the fancy new GPTs or their ilk; no, this is last century’s meat-and-bone, all-organic model. To be fair, a large part of what we call knowledge is merely the accumulated perceptions and impressions gathered from a life wandered through, synthesized into a spongy mass of what-it-is-that-we-think-that-we-know. The algorithm for this prompt is simple enough: pump thousands of bowls of smoldering plant matter into a gaping maw, cross-reference the chemical sensations with all other matter previously ingested or inhaled, sieve it all through the diffuse and fractal twin lens of memory and emotion, and churn out a panoply of adjectives that attempts to convey the sensations to someone who hasn’t experienced it yet. Odds are that a diligently trained monkey could succeed half the time; if this reviewer nears fifty-one percent then that would qualify as an unrivaled success. There must have been some similar musings perambulating through the mind of Per Jensen when he began his mad scientist routine at Sutliff with the Pipe Force project, which brings us to the current mixture under the microscope—Sutliff’s Pipe Force: Episode I. Here again are the unusual ingredients that engendered the series, with the stoved Rustica being the defining voice in this composition. From the tin: The Latakia-forward English mixture offers plenty of smoky flavor from the fire-cured leaf, which is artfully harmonized with floral, earthy Stoved Rustica. A mixture of high-grade Virginias imparts a natural sweetness. Katerini, the sole Oriental component, offers herb and spice notes bringing complexity and nuance to the flavor profile. It’s certainly Latakia-forward, with the stoved Rustica doubling up on the rhythm section like a second bassist. A first whiff from the tin releases the aromas of shoe leather and hide glue in a base of clay soil with a campfire wafted over it like last night’s beach party. Once it’s been accustomed to oxygen again, subtle hints of sweetness poke through from the Virginias: lemon rind, light milk chocolate, the dregs of a peaty Scotch, and muddled cherry. Old regulars like fresh-sawn oak and tilled earth are there, of course, with distinct notes of truffle, creosote, damp peat, and pine bark mulch. As an aside, I’ve been re-potting my camellias and the similarity of aroma to the ericaceous soil mix is notable; the Katerini really brings the unique depth of its vegetal complexion when supported by the Rustica and afforded more voice in the mix. The smoky Cyprian Latakia, in turn, is backed by equal earthiness from the Rustica, which overall exhibits a profile similar to dark-fired Kentucky; it leans more toward the woody and vegetal end of that spectrum, echoing and amplifying those traits of the other constituents. The tobacco is presented pressed and cut into a couple of thick, hearty flakes in the tin, lightly moist and easily crumbled to prepare—I prefer mine with a bit of drying time. The out-of-this-world tin art for this episode in the series is Major O’Meara smoking a cavalier. In the absence of confirmation, I’m going to hazard a guess he’s of the Ithklur species. The first taste from the light is sweet, with hints of that milk chocolate dancing around the edges. The Virginia leads the smoke through the top of the bowl, and orchestrates it well. Thoroughly smoky with lemony, grassy highlights from the Virginia spectrum, it soon segues into the mid-bowl profile: heartier, smokier, with the flavor leaning to the mildly acrid and tangy tinge that is the campfire-esque signature of English blends. Caution advised, it can turn overly bitter if pushed—this is where one’s sipping technique is required to maintain the fullness of flavor through to the heel. I did tend toward a lot of relights, though it may have as much to do with technique as with the blend. Pacing is also important as the nicotine starts to manifest; though the Rustica’s contribution has been tempered well by the stoving, it can certainly upend an empty stomach. At the end of every bowl, the mouthfeel somehow gets better. The balance of sugars in the tobaccos would seem to be spot-on in this regard. I started out my tasting in cobs, then cut short an unpleasant bowl in a meer, and finally landed on my best instrument with the lovely Dunhill 4427 pictured, a quaint group 4 shell briar with a gentle curve and Cumberland stem supporting a perfectly executed acorn bowl. It surprised me here, as I’ve learned through the years that I generally have the best experience with English blends in large, wide bowls. With this blend it seems that to get the best out of the Katerini’s somewhat diaphanous influence the smaller bowl fared much better. Room note is very English, so the company you keep will either love it or hate it, and it doesn’t linger too much. I find it paired best with a strong coffee; Sumatran beans complement the flavors well, as do Ethiopian if a lighter brew is preferred. Overall impressions of the blend are that it’s a curiously interesting take on the English genre, almost a reductive reconstruction of the theme using the unique components. This blend, if nothing else, expanded my vocabulary of sense perceptions with the uniquely treated leaf. While the average human can distinguish approximately one trillion (1,000,000,000,000!) different aromas, multiplied by seven basic tastes, and wholly dependent on variables from body chemistry to atmospheric conditions, our overworked and underpaid simian brains can’t effectively catalog them all. Our pet adding machines are exceedingly good at this, however, and someday soon they’ll be the ultimate and unequivocal authority on what something tastes, smells, looks, or even feels like. Until that time, friends, revel in the moments that can be stolen to savor over a bowl of Pipe Force: Episode I.
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 603. Our featured interview tonight is with Rick Newcombe. Rick is a well-known author of several pipe books, and he is currently working on his third book. He is a prominent collector of Danish pipes, and vintage tobaccos. He has traveled the world visiting pipe makers, and learning their different techniques. He is also the founder and chairman of Creators Syndicate, which currently represents more than 200 writers and artists. At the top of the show we’ll have a Pipe Smoking 101 segment discussing best pipe shapes and sizes that are best suited to certain types of tobacco.
Nice job, E. Roberts. Both sound distinctly tempting, but to me, a non-aro devotee if not snob, the Bourbon Bleu really puts out the welcome mat. Still, the idea of Pomegranate as a flavoring (with a grape soda twang) discourages me less coming from Cornell & Diehl than some other source, since I know there is big tobacco flavor in the back room and not shy about coming forward.
I have stocked up on the Bourbon Blue as I found it to be real good. This is exactly my opinion as well:
“…it will likely sweeten considerably over time with its predominantly Virginia composition absorbing the bourbon and orchestrating the show. The sweet vegetal notes should balance out the heavier smokiness of the dark-fired considerably in as little as four or five years’ time; though it’s a good smoke now, it’s still quite young and eager to mature into a great one.”
The stated target date of 10 to 15 years of cellar time by C & D is a lot to ask of us mere mortals.
@Jack — good to know our tastes align! That Bourbon Bleu goes down a bit too easily when accompanied by some Basil Hayden’s…. And while a decade-plus time projection is daunting on the tin, I realized today when reviewing and updating my cellar spreadsheet that I’ve got a lot of tins that have exceeded their projected dates by years; once your cellar stock exceeds your smoking rate, aging is rather easy (though temptation is not!).
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@mso — These blends are definitely not shy about showing the tobacco flavor alongside the enhancements. I hope the accompanying photos illustrate that I try, whenever possible, to make honest one-to-one comparisons, in this case actual whiskey and pomegranate. It helps me immeasurably, and I highly recommend it for all those folks who take the time to critically assess their tobaccos.