I've been smoking quite a bit of Cornell & Diehl's "Big & Burley" lately, and really developing an appreciation for it. I smoke Old Joe Krantz most often, but while I love OJK I have one problem with it: no matter what I store the tobacco in, I always end up with an inch or more of mostly tobacco "dust." This dust (for lack of a better word) isn't very nice to smoke; it just doesn't burn right, and just somehow doesn't provide an enjoyable smoke for me. I can't put it any better than that!
I don't know what it is about the tobacco that causes it> I smoke OJK bulk, and it's a little better when I buy a tin, But I smoke it regularly enough that it makes sense to buy bulk.
Anyway, I had some old Big & Burley that was pretty dried out, but I rehydrated it, and it smokes great! It's pretty close to OJK. OJK does have that bit more perique, so the B&B is lacking that slight bit of plum or prune tase, so it's definitely more of a straight burley experience, but it's got a little - I forget what, but a little virginia and a small bit of perique I think. But it's basically a nice, burley blend that DOES NOT give me that problem of the dusty remnants that are wasteful to just accumulate or throw out. I keep hoping I'll find a use for it - maybe rolling cigarettes?
So I'm thinking I'm going to try replacing OJK with Big & Burley for a couple of days and see how that goes. Have to put in an order for eight ounces or so, for starters. I usually have a bowl of Chelsea Morning or Early Morning Pipe or Carter Hall in the morning, and Bayou Night in the early evening - that's about as much latakia as I can handle!
