James J.
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Cornell & Diehl - Mountain Camp
It Ages Very Well
I’m in South Carolina, a couple of hours from Smoking Pipes, and it’s been colder than a well digger the last couple of months. So naturally I started digging through the old cellar for some English Blends. I came upon a 3 year old jar of Mountain Camp and decided that was the one. If anyone has Mountain Camp cellared, be sure to open it right in front of your nose so you can get a fresh smell of it. It had a wonderfully funky, slightly fruity, tin note that translated right into the bowl. The age really smoothed it out even though it’s a real freight train of a smoke builder. It just enveloped my upper body. I highly recommend this one for Latakia lovers.

Cornell & Diehl - Oak Alley 2oz
Cellaring Blues
I titled my review “Cellaring Blues” due to the melancholy feeling I get when I look at the dates on my cellared tins of the C&D Cellar Series. However, I decided 4 years was a good place to start trying Oak Alley. Fortunately, I purchased several tins early on, so I have a couple of more tins that I left to age. This tobacco was not my favorite when I tried it fresh. Not sure what it was, just didn’t care for it, maybe it was the harshness coming from fresh burley. True to its name, it needs to rest a bit. Now, 4 years later I am impressed with the metamorphosis. I think the biggest change at this point is the smoothness that time has imparted on Oak Alley. I smoked it in a Peterson Arklow 124 with a .70 chamber, great little pipe. This particular 124 is a pipe that I consider a favorite, especially for the price. Anyway, I digress. The perique and Virginia’s seemed to come to the forefront at this age for the Oak Alley. I plan to purchase some more of this blend and put it down for a little nap. I also plan to come back and visit/edit this review over time. I hope there will be higher marks for this blend in my future.

Peter Heinrichs - Curly Special 100g
Not Readily Available
I would have given this blend a 5.0 review if it was a little more readily available. I’m primarily a VaPer smoker and this blend is a nice one. It’s pretty much ready to go straight from the tin, I do tend to air it out a bit probably out of habit. The small coins are easy to work with and handle. I get a citrus and hay taste from it, along with a little bit of fermentation from the perique. I have found that with a little time in the cellar the smooth flavor is enhanced. The oldest I have is about a year so I’m curious to see how more time resting will affect the flavor. I said all of that to say this, I like it, a lot. Also, a good manufacturing code for being able to know the age of the tins would be handy as socks on a rooster. That’s handy, keeps his toes from getting cold.

Cornell & Diehl - Briar Fox Winter Edition 2oz
Wonderful Artwork
I smoke Briar Fox regularly and I have quite a bit squirreled away in my cellar. However, I don’t have this label. I have plans to repurpose my favorite Cornell & Diehl labels for a table with a glass top with said labels under the glass. Great job again, C&D, for giving us a great label to enjoy. I’m on the waiting list for this one to come back around.

Cornell & Diehl - Bayou Morning Flake 2oz
VaPer Extraordinaire
This is by far my favorite tobacco. This Saturday morning finds me, yet again, reaching for it. This particular morning I’m enjoying a 4.5 year old rendition of Bayou Morning Flake and the smoothness never ceases to surprise me. The cellaring brings about a very nice transformation to this blend. This exquisite VaPer has also become my pipe break in tobacco and being a loyal C&D fan having no less than 95% of my cellared tobacco from this brand. I’ve been a pipe smoker for about 15 years now and I went through the gamut of famous name brands, suffering much tongue bite from you know who, but I have landed squarely on team C&D. Thank you C&D for making my pipe smoking journey a pleasant one. I wish you much success and I’ll continue to do my part to help you in that endeavor.

A&C Petersen - Escudo Navy Deluxe 50g
A lot of firsts
So, what’s all the hype? I was a aromatic smoker until recently and started branching out into the world of uncased tobacco blends. That being said, I have tried several VaPers and enjoyed them but this Escudo name keeps coming up. So, I was inclined to check it out and oh boy, oh boy, oh boy I will never smoke a pipe with the same outlook. I even sent my fellow pipe smoker a text and said, “I’ve just had my most wonderful pipe experience ever.” It gives nervana meaning! Just wow. Hence the hype…

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An Overview of Low Country Tobacco
  • ► Great article for me personally. I moved to South Carolina a little over a year ago, from Texas, as I was recruited by a company in the Columbia area. I have mostly gotten over the culture shock and it’s mostly a great place to live. The whole 267 types of BBQ still has me scratching my head but hey, I can buy green peanuts for boiling, not a bad trade. Anyhoo, I just love the fact that I can put a “face” to the name of what I term as the “River Blends”, I’ll catch one of the names on a sign as I’m driving down the road and it makes me smile. I’ve tried several of them, and none have disappointed, my favorite warm weather blend would be Waccamaw and for the cooler weather I prefer the Black. So, I’m also a fly fisherman, of late, and I live within minutes of the Broad, Saluda, and Congaree, can’t wait to smoke those blends, if they come to fruition, at daybreak while I’m casting to a wily trout with a Moonshine Rod made by the original Moonshine Pipe maker. Maybe this South Carolina thing ain’t such a bad gig after all. Again, great article and what a great tribute to the state of South Carolina to have the “River Blends” made by Cornell and Diehl. Now, about that Palmetto Balkan I’ve been waiting on for like 15 or 16 years…
Employee Spotlight: Favorite Peterson Shapes
  • ► Great article, thank you for writing it. I’m with Kaz, the 124 is my favorite. It just suits my tobacco choices. I smoke mainly Virginia Perique blends and the small but tall chamber allows for a really nice smoke.
On Collecting and Letting Go
  • ► Great article and you covered a lot of collection ground. I believe I fall into a category of numbers. I have somewhere around 100 pipes and I have smoked them all. However, I’d have to say only about 30 of those are special to me and are in regular rotation. I have also noticed that over the years my taste has changed. I went from smoking large chambered bent pipes to small chambered straight billiards as my usual choice, with the occasional Dublin thrown in for good measure. It probably has everything to do with the change of taste in my tobacco type, yes I did the old aromatic, to English, to mostly Virginia blends, especially VaPers. I don’t even want to talk about the plethora of tobacco blends that I have cellared, maybe 200, I can’t really say (mainly because my wife is within hearing distance). Anyway, I have been thinking about letting a few of the pipes and tobacco go. It’s bittersweet, I’m sad to see them go, but glad they will be replaced with others that will bring me pleasure. After all, it’s a hobby, right?.?! Again, great article.
Top 10 Best-Selling Flake Tobacco
  • ► I find it extremely hard to believe that A. C &D Bayou Morning Flake and B. Escudo were not named. I see a bunch of tobaccos that can’t keep up with the demand apparently because they are always out of stock. Signed, Befuddled.