Slow Down Cornell & Diehl

[leafsmoker]

Where to start?...I have been buying C&D bulks and tins for a long time now. I like variety, but there is just too much these days with them. If Billy Bud wasn't good, let's try Billy Bud Blonde. If Old Joe Krantz was not good, let's do Red, White, or Blue.

Furthermore, let's have 101 bulk blends and 222 tinned blends. Where does it stop with this company? I am worried that having such a variety might actually hurt their business by so much capital, sitting and waiting to sell.

Honestly, I like the Pease blends better, but the price makes me have both. So where does it stop, I was thinking when I packed a tinned blend by C&D today, my smoke only lasted about 15-20 minutes. why? Well I always smoke their blends the way they are....DRY....so that may be their catch. Give them the driest tobacco, it smokes faster, and they will order more sooner.

They did have Mold issues a few years ago, and that may be the reason why they keep it on the dry side, which I do not blame them there. I think I am going to hydrate some of my blends and hope they still taste the same, but last longer. I am smoking slow, but gosh, this tobacco is vanishing rather quickly.

I hope the best for the company, but I know I am certainly not going to try half of their tobacco. I've tried enough, and I know what I like from their blends....I have other tobacco to enjoy, especially the Pease they make. You chums have any thoughts of the company having too much variety? (sounds silly, since most of us like variety),or do you also notice how quick some of your bowls vanish excluding their cakes....

 

[haparnold]

While it is a little mind-boggling how many blends they have, why does it bother you to not be able to sample all (or even half) their offerings? It's certainly no skin off my nose if they make a bunch of blends I'll never get around to trying; maybe somebody else considers them a desert-island smoke.
Re: dryness. I like my tobaccos dry, and I haven't noticed C&D tobaccos burning faster than GL Pease, Mac Baren, Esoterica, etc. when dried to roughly equal moisture. Maybe I'm an oddball, though. I'm a pretty slow smoker.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

IBTL

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

I would say if they made enough, they may screw around and eventually make one I like. However, I recently have found several C&D blends I like. Glad I was patient and remained open minded.

 

[jpmcwjr]

I'm with Hap on the dryness. Almost no tobacco is tinned or shipped at a moisture level that's too low for good smoking. In fact the opposite is generally true; most blends smoke better when dried some- or a lot.
Now, there is a thread in which you make some major statements regarding a lighter blowing up. You've been asked for details, but to date, no reply from you whatsoever.

Link to the THREAD in question.

 

[unkleyoda]

I've gone with these guy too, I like my tobacco dry. And also, yes drier tobacco does burn faster, but C&D doesn't burn any faster than any tobacco at the same dryness.
If you're going broke buying tobacco, because it smokes too fast, maybe the pipe hobby is not for you.

 

[leafsmoker]

There is definitely blends I like and I buy regularly. Bayou morning,haunted bs,crooner, and morning drive, yorktown, and five o clock shadow...I guess I am just worried about it from a company prospective. They do have solid tobaccos and with mc clelland closing, I was astounded. I thought C&D,or any other tobacco company, but mcclelland was a big surprise for me....back to C&D..Too much inventory? could that hurt them? The last thing I want is to have c&d close their doors too.

 

[haparnold]

I imagine they keep a pretty close eye on that sort of thing, esp. with Sykes Wilford running the show.
For example, according to smokingpipes.com, their best selling C&D tinned tobacco is Pirate Kake. As of right now, they have 85 tins on hand. For Canal Boat, which is tin sales rank #792 on SPC, they only have 10 tins on hand.
From a business perspective, offering consumers more choices is a good thing. It also protects C&D from getting into the McClelland situation of (depending on who you ask) having to close your doors because one type of leaf ceases being available.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Well, I would assume that the company knows what it is doing better than me. I’ll enjoy the blends that I enjoy from them. May they live long and prosper. ::

 

[leafsmoker]

Now, there is a thread in which you make some major statements regarding a lighter blowing up. You've been asked for details, but to date, no reply from you whatsoever.

I replied in the thread for you John, thanks for the reminder....I am not on the forum half as much as I should be. I do enjoy the forum and group we have here.

 

[josephcross]

Some of the ones I like are really dry right out of the tin. It doesnt bother me one bit. As far as the amount of blends in their catalog, the more the merrier. There are some sleeper blends in the mix that dont get enough attention. But thats ok too because it means nobody is ordering it except me.

 

[rmpeeps]

Of all the blends C&D produces, I’ve probably only tried about 30, but found about 10 I like. I’ve been quite happy with their quality and consistency.

The mold issue from the recent past is not the driving logic behind C&D providing a dry product; it’s been that on the dry side for 20+ years.

Personally, I prefer buying leaf weight as opposed to water weight.

 

[pipestud]

C&D appears to have a solid base of quality blends, many of which have been great sellers since the company's inception. They certainly have a loyal following judging from my own personal experience with selling their products. I just checked tobaccoreviews.com's numbers in comparing them with McClelland's -
McClelland's - 234 tobaccos, 7,121 reviews

C&D - 313 tobaccos, 5,858 reviews
If variety is indeed the spice of life, then McClelland's was and C&D is wonderful for our hobby. And history certainly dictates that present C&D ownership knows what it is doing when it comes to production, marketing and selling.
With our hobby and tobacco consumption under constant attack, I certainly applaud C&D for not only championing our cause, but for being a highly successful company that appears to have something for everyone when it comes to our smoking enjoyment. Rock on, C&D!

 

[woodsroad]

If anyone has a solid business plan, it's Laudisi. If I were you, I'd learn to stop worrying and love the blends.

 

[seanv]

I don’t think I’ve tried a C&D blend I haven’t liked. As long as bayou morning and haunted bookshop aren’t axed, I’ll be happy forever.

 

[tkcolo]

I don't smoke enough to just buy random tins. It would take me 20 years to try all of their blends. So the only ones I buy are the ones that I see many people talking about. If everyone has different C&D blends they like, the frequency of any one being enough people's "favorite blend" (in order to convince me to buy it) is much lower. Therefore, I'm less likely to try them.
I'd love to smoke a bowl of every blend, but the thought of having 313 open tins I won't finish would stress me out to no end. From that perspective, I think their multitude of offerings could hurt them as well.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Come on tkcolo, step up your game. Smoke more, faster. Haha!! If you can't smoke often, get bigger pipes ::

 

[bnichols23]

Gotta agree with Steve at al. on this one. I was in on cupojoes the other day looking at some other stuff, & the sheer giganticness of C&D's range hit me dead in the face again. How they do so many blends & so many good is just beyond me. I'm all for it, even if I only routinely smoke a relative handful of their brands.

 

[tkcolo]

Cosmic: My jarred open tins I won't ever finish stress me out to no end. Will my tastes change? Will the aging tobacco change enough for me to like them again? I should put them in a box and forget about it, but I can't.
I'm the same way with snowmobiles. And tools. And horses. Yikes.

 

[ashdigger]

I didn't have one tin of C&D in my 200+ pound until I purchased some pipes from Smokingpipes.com and they included free tins. I know have 3 tins of C&D and while they are good, I'm okay with not exploring the C&D catalog deeper.
But everyone has different tastes and style.
I'm grateful they have a giant catalog, just like I'm grateful Baskin Robbins has more than vanilla.