morleysson reviews

[sisyphus]

C&D Comfort 22Aug2002 3stars

After a pleasurable experience with Longevity, and with an acknowledged affection for both burley and perique, I really had to try Comfort in the Serenity Series. Clean pipe, a Cassel 1/8 bent with a slightly larger bowl. Large glass of ice water to keep the palate fresh. Popped the lid. Great aroma, spicy warm and fresh, under aroma of something sweet, but I knew there was no casings here, it must be the black cavendish. Visually, the tobacco has pale, tan/brown, dark brown and black. Springy to the touch, with fair moisture content, a little more than I like, but very reasonable. Filled and tamped, lit twice and there was a fullness in the first tastes of the tobaccos. There is the burley, lightly present, with the virginia flake coming forward. The sense of black cavendish also, then the spicy must of perique. The perique and virginia stays through the first half, smooth on the tongue. Smooth seems to be the operative phrase. Now, I fear virginias generally, for that normally cloying sense and bite. But, that virginia taste is not here. This virginia is full and smooth, clean to the taste. The tobacco takes a relight w/o anger or bitterness, and no bite. I smoke a lot of Edgeworth RRd, and that burley has a musty fullness. This is a lighter and cleaner sweeter taste. I noticed that there is very little moisture, no tightness in the draw. The pipescleaner came out reasonable clean.

I liked this blend, enough to smoke the entire tin over four or five days. I switched pipes for each bowl, and the flavors didn't seem to leave or change discernibly with the change in pipes. Not strong to the taste, just full. I would like to say complete. Last test was in the car with She Who Speaks Loudly. She did not complain at all, in fact she asked me to bring the tin w/ me when we went to friends. High praise from a nonsmoker.

[sisyphus]

C&D Tranquility 5Sep2002 3stars

Tranquility is a name which only hints at the nature of this blend. In truth, I regret not arriving at the formula before Mr Serad. A full, unambiguous smoke for the mature palate. Dark, moist, with a sense of a fermented fruit essence but no casing. Not the taste of chocolate or dark brown sugar, which has a cloying sweetness. There are subtle qualities in each bowl which I smoked somehow I missed in the previous smokes. The latakias complement each other and set the tone for the direction of the smoke, and the perique holds its own presence. But the burley (and I love any burley but really favor cubed burley) and the black cavendish acknowledge a smoothness and quiet sweetness through the smoke.

I have a Peterson Shamrock X63 1/2 bent which has exhibited a fondness for this tobacco, so I smoked the tin over a few weeks in just this pipe. No other tobacco during this trial in this pipe. Each smoke became a little fuller, a little more obvious in the strength and presence of the latakias. No gurgle, clean gray ash, relatively clean pipe cleaner through the smoke too. A fine smoke, which should improve w/ some sitting in the tin.

[sisyphus]

C&D Big n Burley 28Oct2002 4stars

Big and Burley. I only wish that I had been bright enough to conceive of this blend. It is a blend that clearly is neither for the faint of heart nor the uninitiated. My briar brothers and sisters, this is just rough-cut burley w/o much adornment. A little latakia and perique, a dash of turkish, all are like minot decorations on an old Int'l Harvester pickup. This is the roughcut burley show, which bites a little at first light, smoothes out in a grand nut-flavored smoke w/ hints of connecticut cigar leaf, then eases into a pleasant but heady finale. It burns cool w/o much extraneous moisture, cooler and smoother than Edgeworth RRd but not quite as full and sweet,. which probably could be attributed to the cubecut burley in the RRd. Personally, I like burleys. They are joyful for their flexibility and compatibility with some other tobaccos. But, burleys are tricky, and have to be approached with some respect for their potent quality. Burleys by nature have very little sugar so they burn a little cooler but can be harsh in the larger leaf. Unlike VAs which favor a smaller bowl, the burleys smoke best in a larger bowl pipe packed a little looser than normal. B&B deserves a large bowl, loosely packed and tamped frequently to experience its gifts of taste and aroma. My only caveat is to smoke slooooowly and savor the tastes. And, never a Dunhill, too much the gentleman for the burley. A cob with B&B might work to your advantage, or a Carey or custombilt could work very well.

[sisyphus]

C&D Old Hollywood 15Oct2004 4stars

Old Hollywood-the very name suggests a certain sumptuous and lavish lifestyle, perhaps even larger than life. There are these wonderful images, to me at least, of a manly John Ford and the Duke, the uber-intellectual appearing and suave Leslie Howard, and on and on... This tobacco blend seems to complement those images.

Old Hollywood is a distinct treat for the mature smoker. It is in that personally desired area of not-English and not-aromatic, but flavorful and constant. There is complexity within the blend, seen to by the oriental leaf and the latakia, but this also quite the robust blend of red virginia and cubed burley.

Old Hollywood is visually distinct, with the mottled browns and tnas, and the sensual aroma and blackness of the red virginia cavendish. It lights well and stays lit, fragrant clouds of blue-gray without a hint of bitterness or tedium. There are layers of taste within the blend which seem to vary in each of the ten or so bowls which I smoked. it seems that each puff is a new treat of nuttiness or sweetness or unmasked strength.

This is a very fine blend and highly recommended. Remember LS/MFT: Let's Smoke My Favorite Tarler Tobacco.

[sisyphus]

C&D Bridge Mixture 10Nov2004 4stars

I'm just a fool for burleys, though some have characterized me as merely a fool, but then what do THEY know? What I know is that the Bridge Mixture offers the more matured smoker a series of treats to the palate w/o bitterness or a cloying sweetness. It was hard for me to fathom that these tobaccos could coexist, but they do, and in a complementary manner. Bright VAs, to me, always were a little too sweet, red VAs a touch too bold, but neither one here seems to exert their personality to the detriment of others. Instead, the cigar-like sense of the flue-cured 20 year old burley and the condimental leaves of latakia, turkish and perique liven and deepen the mixture and heighten the stronger VA presence.

[sisyphus]

C&D Crowley's Best 27Oct2005 4stars

I have an old Sasieni 2 dot full bent billiard that sought the right tobacco as its complement. For years, the pipe just did not seem to be at its potential, as I tried one commercial blend after the other. C&D burley offerings helped considerably, but there was always a missing piece of the puzzle. Fortuitous gesture and I received some of Crowley's Best to sample, even though it is not a new offering, Craig Tarler thought that I might enjoy this blend. How right he was, and how happy that pipe is. Crowley's is an outstanding blend, mostly ribbon rather than broken flake, with a strong burley base and latakia and perique for flavor. Many blends, the components will exert themselves at different times during the smoke. Here, in Crowley's, the approach is a simpler harmony of flavors throughout the smoke, a dynamic in which the burley exerts a balancing to the pungent latakia and the musty qualities of perique. This is, unreservedly, a fine all-day blend, a little quicker burning than I am used to, but steady.

[sisyphus]

C&D Evening Rise 18Nov2005 4stars

I have had an opportunity to smoke a new offering from Cornell and Diehl - Evening RIse. I received an advanced tin before the Richmond Show and have been savoring the smoke. It's one of the few crossovers between the American burley-based/ latakia blends with a slight sense of turkish and virginia and cavendish. Very tasty w/o a cloying quality that virginias and cavendishes can impart. Actually, a few bowls into the tin, which is now empty, and there is a subtle natural overall sweetness. The bitter latakia offsets the blend nicely. Evening rise worked best for me in a larger pipe, which allowed the burley (rough-cut?) to set a base on which the other tobaccos build. Very reminiscient for those familiar with the old Philadelphia-favorite Burlington Arcade but more flavorful with the turkish. Highly recommended.

[sisyphus]

Fader's O.S.S. 20Feb2006 2stars

There are almost no burleys to which I have been exposed which I didn't like. OSS is that one burley, unequivocally. Pleasnat pouch aroma, like BLWB. Packs well, with little spring. But, from the first bowl, the smoke was harsh. There was a mild, very mild flavor, seemingly like hot air. The taste reminds of the lesser grades of drugstore polybagged tobaccos. It burns well, a little wetter than I like While I have no problem with them, I would prefer PA as a standard go-to blend. This OSS is just too sweet and biting. I can hardly believe that this blend was a favorite of American troops overseas. OSS is uncharacteristic of the WWII and later periods. It has no, well, passion as a blend. There are far too many burleys available that provide a more satisfying smoke.

[sisyphus]

C&D Atlas Balkan 17March2006 3stars

I was looking for a change-of-pace smoke, but not overly expressive. This seems a good choice. An Americanized balkan blend with generous latakia and a warm undertone of turkish. The key for me is a balanced presentation that lights easily, burns cleanly. It's been compared to Nightcap, but this one has a cleaner aftertaste and a lighter smoke. I went through three bowls this AM, and there was no tongue bite. My sample was tinned and just about the appropriate level of moisture, with a faint spring to the leaf after packing. Not a burley, but certainly one that I would smoke again.

[sisyphus]

GH Kendal Kentucky 11Aug2006 4stars

Smoking Kendall KY, for the first time, is like going to the senior prom with the bouffanted barmaid from the local taproom and she's driving her '72 Eldorado with the leopard skin seat covers. This is a serious experience, not to be taken lightly and not to be forgotten. It is life transforming rite-of-passage. KKY pushes the limit of the matured smoker. It is a mostly black fragrant shag cut tobacco blend of cosmic strength. I was fortunate enough to have ordered my staple 5Bros from Marscigars. Small samples of Kendall KY and the GH Dark shag were included, clearly for seduction purposes. 5Bros is legendary for strength and flavor, full-bodied and unpretentious shag cut for pipe or chew. Kendall KY is about halfstep above 5Bros in taste and burn, with the added charm of a roomnote like all-night smoking Parodis little cigars. Not unpleasant but real tobacco. After I smoked all of the sample, I bought another 8 oz, perfect with an apple meer of great reliability. Kendall KY doesn't burn clean or smooth, or handle relights well. But, it provides a thoroughly enjoyable experience to the bottom of the bowl, and a wonderful lingering aroma to your clothes. If this were a movie it would clearly be NC17. Good stuff for the experienced pipesmoker.