Finally Bought Some C&D Blends - Any Good, Bad, or Ugly Opinions?

[mtwaller]

I pulled the trigger on 3 Cornell and Diehl blends online, having never tried a one of them. I must admit I’m damn excited about them, though. I’m a new pipe smoker but I’ve fallen in love with it mainly thanks to my trusty little Peterson System Standard 313 and some Plum Pudding that’s been cellaring for a couple months. Anyway... on to the tobaccos in question... I got 2 oz. tins of Mad Fiddler, Dreams of Kadath, and Bayou Morning Flake. Any folks have experience smoking these? Any nirvana moments, any gripes, any of them just meh? I’d love to hear personal accounts from some folks who’ve smoked and cellared these blends. They’re going straight into mason jars so they should keep well, for my part. Assuming they’re tasty enough to keep around for a few years.

 

[mso489]

To me, the best of C&D are the burley blends, but maybe that's the burley fanatic speaking. Kadath, though I only have a sample a Forums member sent me, is excellent. Burley blends I re-order are Old Joe Krantz, Billy Budd, Bayou Night, Riverboat Gambler, and others. I have several more in waiting. Once jarred, even if you try them and aren't immediately enchanted, I'd keep 'em aging, and see if you like them in a year or two, as tastes change and aging helps. I think C&D is to burley what McClellands was to Virginia blends. Happy sampling. I think you'll find most blends good or better.

 

[d4k23]

I have only smoked Dreams of Kadath out of the selection you have. It is the most unique tasting tobacco I have tasted. I smoke it out of a meer to get the most flavor, like a fine wine or nice Christmas Ale. There is a lot going on, sweet, sour, nutty, all at once. I have one tin open and will let my other rest. I am curious how it will be in a few years.
Other C&D tobacco I am a big fan of are Opening Night, with some age, Waccamaw per another's suggestion (if that counts) and of course Red Flake.

 

[mtwaller]

Awesome! I’m glad to hear that their blends age well. If I like these I’ll definitley try some of the other ones that you guys mentioned.

 

[olkofri]

I've only smoked Black Frigate and Sam's Blend. I liked them both, but the latter seems to have really upset my stomach: I had nausea the day after. Haven't touched it ever since; I've wanted to give it another chance, but other blends in my 'cellar' have gotten my attention.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

I'm not a huge fan of C&D. However, I do like Star of the East Flake and Dreams of Kadath. Tried more blends recently. Opening Night is good, Redburn is really good. If you want and like A latakia Bomb, Pirate Kake is for you. I actually like PK, there's enough oriental flavor present to make it q quite pleasant. I just opened a ton of Burley Flakes 1 & 3 to see if there's any way I can like it. I tried Billy Budd, one of the few times I actually emptied the bowl and quit on it. But some people love it. That's why asking other people for opinions of what you may like is a little silly.

 

[foursidedtriangle]

What are your initial impressions? I like star of the east and super Balkan is ok.

 

[seanv]

Bayou morning, poplar camp, haunted bookshop are staples of my rotation

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

What are your initial impressions?

I'm smoking the Burley Flake #1 at the moment. It's okay but not as much flavor as I prefer.

 

[mtwaller]

I’ve been intrigued by the Burley Flakes... but not enough to spend money on a tin of them. C&D just has so damn many blends it’s really hard to choose one. I guess that’s why I started with 3 haha. If I really dig at least one that I have coming in then I’ll probably try some more in the future. Right now I’m only smoking SPC Plum Pudding and Orlik Dark Strong Kentucky.

 

[wolflarsen]

Dreams of Kadath has a fermented red wine note that threw me off at first but I've come around to enjoy it for what it is. If you like plum pudding you might like the very good but often overlooked Sunset Harbor Flake. Sunday Picnic and Red Odessa are a few more from C&D that I like to keep around.

 

[texmexpipe]

Big and Burley, Bayou Morning, Epiphany, bowlegged Bear, Haunted Bookshop, Exclusive, and Star of the East are all favorites of mine from C&D. I’ve had Bayou Morning Flake too but prefer the ribbon because I’m lazy. Most in that list pack a big punch too!

 

[okiepiper]

In addition to the blends already mentioned, I like Mountain Camp. It is like Bayou Night but with the amounts of latakia and perique reversed.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

Smoked my first bowl of Black Frigate. Wasn’t expecting much to be honest, thought it would just be another Balkan blend with more Oriental than I prefer. I was wrong. I found the Origental leaf to be nothing more than a subtle compliment to the sweet, smoky Latakia. I can see why this blend has such a strong following, it is very, very good.
So I tried 5 new C&D blends in the past day and a half. Really, really like Opening Night, Redburn and Black Frigate/ Pirate Kake is quite good and I’ll smoke it regularly but certainly not daily. Burley Flake #1 is solid but doesn’t hit my sweet spot yet. It may grow on me. That’s all first impression. I’ll smoke the entire tins and see which ones I reorder. I’ll be surprised if those first 3 don’t find their way into a reasonably regular rotation.

 

[mityahicks]

I enjoy Byzantium.

 

[acidpox]

Dreams of Kadath is my personal favorite tobacco I have tried in my short time of piping(around 7 or so months). If anyone knows of similar blends please let me know.

 

[rogerrodger]

I'm partial to Stratfordshire and Odessa and plan to stock up on both.

 

[btp79]

If you like plum pudding you might like the very good but often overlooked Sunset Harbor Flake.

also one of my favorites!

 

[onestrangeone]

I keep quite a few different C&D offerings on hand, Bayou Morning is one of my go to blends . I like the Burley Flakes but have to confess that it took me pretty much a full tin to “get it”

 

[puffthemagicpiper]

Morley’s Best (a Runowski) is, to me, amazing. I only smoke it out of a cob, as I do with any burley heavy blend. As others have mentioned; Bayou Morning (a real perique kick), Star of the East are good. I like Oak Alley, Pirate Kake, Mississippi Mud, and Red Odessa as well. YMMV of course. There certainly are a lot to choose from.
ETA: Orion’s Arrow is d**n fine! A Va/Per with some Oriental. I’m going to start a bowl’s worth to dry now that I’m thinking of it.