 As 2016 unfurls (with more reasonable, seasonable temperatures), it’s only fitting to fire up a bowl laced with some Latakia!
Cornell & Diehl has a long and storied history with literally hundreds of pipe blends available to the discerning pipe smoker. I’m now smoking one of their bulk offerings, Cordial. Rumor has it that Cordial was created as a replacement for an original Dunhill blend called Aperitif, a blend which has been resurrected thanks to the good folks at STG (though I’ve never had the pleasure of smoking the original Dunhill version).
C&D typically does a chopped cut to these bulk blends, and in my sample there were several pieces of broken flake that needed to be rubbed out a little. Cordial is blended using Virginia, Turkish, Orientals (Latakia), and Black Cavendish. It’s easy to pack and light; the Latakia is present but not full-on until about the halfway point in the bowl.
There’s a spicy flavor profile throughout that meshes nicely with the earthy tones brought out by the Latakia. Slow smoking is recommended as Cordial has a propensity to bite if it’s pushed too hard.
The bowl mellowed toward the end with a nutty, earthy finish and no dottle, just ash. I attribute that to the fact that Cornell & Diehl does not case their products in propylene glycol, so everything I’ve ever smoked of theirs has been anywhere from just right to slightly dry.
4 out of 5 pipes for C&D’s Cordial. Good stuff! Puff On in 2016!
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