i also came to cobs late in life--ive smoked mostly OTC pipes and tobaccos for over 50 years--i still occassionally find that nothing else will do when i feel the need for a faithful old briar--
having said that, the cobs i have gathered together provide an honest smoke--burley never met a cob it didn't like--the country gent and the mizzou do wonderous things for burley--
however the best cob i own is the strange looking Dane Spool--it remains cool to the hand, smokes cool to the tongue, has a fairly large bowl for a moderately long lasting smoke, and just feels right to this geezer--(i plan to soon add the Dane Egg to my rack to compare the two)--the Spool handles anything i feed it, and does it well--i wouldn't want to be limited to just one cob, but if i were, my choice would be the Dane Spool--