Cornell & Diehl : Cross Eyed Cricket

It was by chance that I came across this blend today. To be frank, C&D blends are  a pretty rare sight in Malaysia. A friend of mine who imports these tobaccos did tell me that they are not as sellable like the other offerings such as Dunhills, Petersons and the rest of the usual suspects. Hence, this particular unheard of blend was definitely not in my shopping list. I've had a particularly unpleasant experience with one of C&D's blends previously, namely the #668 : Dark Caramel. It was at that juncture that I decided aromatics were not my cup of tea and had leant more towards English blends especially those with a generous proportion of Latakia and the occasional Perique.

So, back at the baccy store it boiled down to 2 choices after spending a good 30 minutes sampling the available offerings. A part of me insisted that I was to walk out of the store with anything that has Latakia in it. A part of me was also getting weary of the more straight English blends and wanted to see mountains Gandalf...mountains...lol...pardon the LOTR dialogue..what I wanted to say was...ADVENTURE..i wanted something new and fresh and alien to my palette.. I finally decided to give this blend a go because of the tin description. And also I learned that this particular tin has been sitting on the shelf for well over a year and it came with a 30% discount! I saw that as a sign..

Upon opening the tin, the tin note was mix of sour-ish berries and a hint of the camp fire-ish latakia. Not the best tin note by far, but it was different. The moisture content of the tobacco inside was just right, however I hope this will not dry out as quickly as the 668. Only time will tell. Packing the baccy in a pipe was a breeze. Lighting the baccy was easy, thanks to the perfect moisture content.

My initial thought of the first smoke was it was a very sweet yet pleasant taste. The sweetness remained from the initial light until about 1/3rd of the bowl when my pipe went out. I don't recall the presence of the latakia throughout the first few puffs. However the perique lent a distinct sharp yet cool character to the experience. When my pipe went out, i put it down to cool before lighting it again. It was then that the woody character of the latakia made presence in the back of my throat.

What a myriad of characters this baccy has! The second time lighting it I managed to smoke all the way to the bottom of the bowl. The sweetness that was very prominent at the beginning has subdued somewhat, however puff for puff it was still very enjoyable smoke.

In the Vitamin N department or nicotine strength, i would rate this baccy as a very light strength. I see it as an all day smoke perfect for lovers of latakia who is out for some adventure..aro lovers, pick up a tin too..you never know where the journey may take you..I know which path I'm taking on my next journey, that is to find a few more tins of this excellent blend for cellaring purposes..peace!