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An outstanding blend of Latakia, black cavendish, Virginia and burley. A surprisingly smooth taste.
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Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pipestud (1829) |  |
Medium | None Detected | Medium | Pleasant |
Now this is my kind of tobacco. A Latakia blend with both a bold taste and strength! This American style English blend is about three steps up from Barking Dog and one bowl will satisfy your pipe desire for awhile.
The Virginia and Burley in this blend contain an unusual amount of strength and the Latakia plays somewhat in the background although you will sure taste it. The cut is somewhat broad, yet small and it loads and packs easily. I have found few C&D blends that do not stay lit well and this one fits in with the majority.
Strength and Flavor.... I'm going back to Old College soon.
11 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
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| Gentleman Zombie (729) |  |
Medium | Very Mild | Medium | Pleasant to Tolerable |
The flavor profile is of a sweet, smoky, Burley with just a hint of toast. Medium bodied and flavored. I think the Black Cav has just a touch of artificial sweetness. Not a problem for me. I think it's a nice touch. All in all, it's enjoyable and satisfying.
Pipe Used: MM General, MM Country Gentleman, MM Freehand
Age When Smoked: fresh bulk
Purchased From: smokingpipes.com
8 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
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| Scriptonic (3) | |
Mild to Medium | None Detected | Mild to Medium | Tolerable |
Leaf/Looks: Somewhat flaky Virginias, the rest is a ribbon cut. Tin Aroma/Smell: Very light on the latakia, subtle sweetness. Not overpowering at all. Pleasant to the nose Taste: Straight forward mild english blend. Very well put together. The latakia is very light after the initial light up. Slight nutty taste on the retrohale. The Virginias are very nice and sweet. Not a whole lot to say about this blend. It is a tasty english blend from start to finish. There is no hidden complexity, and its well blended. Nothing in there is overpowering at all. Smoke Ability: Smokes great with no relights down to the bottom of the bowl Drying Time: 20 minutes tops didn't need a whole lot of time
Pipe Used: Cobs, Briar
Age When Smoked: New
Purchased From: Smokingpipes.com
7 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
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| 7formy1911 (37) | |
Medium | None Detected | Medium | Pleasant to Tolerable |
C&D has been my main tobacco preference for several years now. I've always been impressed with their quality and consistency. Even after the business deal with smokingpipes.com I've not seen a single skip in their beat of consistency. This should give comfort to those seeking a company with a reputation for quality and consistency. All of this is a segue into my absolute endorsement of their bulk line of tobaccos. My tastes run from Old Joe Krantz to Pegasus to Big N' Burley as my main smokes. Old College fills a gap for that all day smoke that keeps your interest but is consistent.
Upon first light Old College may seem like a Latakia powerhouse but very quickly mellows out into a sweet, smokey and slightly nutty blend. There's not a lot of variation after the first calming down and remains consistent to the end of the bowl. The only (minor) drawbacks may be some slight ashiness towards the bottom and a slight, but not unpleasant, burley bitterness on relights that have sat for longer than 15 minutes. The cavendish really smooths out this blend and for those who did not like the bitterness of Morley's Best this blend may be more to your liking if you want a bit of latakia.
Overall a very good blend that is certainly worthy of consideration if you're a pipe smoker looking for a blend that is a bridge between different genres. It's perfect for the English smoker looking to get into burley's or vice versa. It also can bridge the Virginia smoker into English or burley blends. It's quite tame and there wasn't ever a moment of nip or nicotine overload. It's no weakling either and will certainly satisfy with a pipe load. It's not a blend that will wow you into cellaring pounds and pounds but it one to keep on hand for when you need an easy smoker and like a bit of latakia. Certainly recommended and I would jar this for 3 months before trying to let the leaves get to know each other a bit.
Pipe Used: Upshall Bent Rhodesian
Age When Smoked: 3 months
Purchased From: www.smokingpipes.com
Similar Blends: Along the same vein as C&D Big 'N Burley but with a sweeter bent, less focus on the burley and more latakia. Also a sweeter smoother cousin to Morley's Best., Cornell & Diehl - 103: Big n' Burley, Cornell & Diehl - 101: Morley's Best.
6 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
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| SteelCowboy (685) | |
Medium | None Detected | Medium to Full | Pleasant to Tolerable |
Old College is another rough/chopped cut tobacco from C&D that arrived with just the right amount of moisture. At first light it was a bit sharp, but quickly settled down. I was having a hard time finding the right pipe for this blend and found it worked best for me in a very wide (for me) bowl of about an inch. OC is smoky, but not a Lat bomb, and at points a touch of sweetness would pop in and out. While not what I would call a strong blend, it does have some kick to it compared to many English blends. I did wish for a bit of Turkish that this blend seems to lack. At the bottom quarter of the bowl OC turned a little acrid. I sometimes can smoke a little quickly and I think I may have avoided this late bowl foulness had a slowed a bit. By the time I was finished with the ounce of OC I bought, I was left wondering why I find many of the C&D English blends tasty, but I would be hard pressed to find one that fit into my regular rotation. I think most often it is because the common habit, at least with the blends I have tried, to add Burley to many of their English blends. I think it is also because I find a lot of C&D’s blends to lack the “polish” that I view many of my favorite English blends seem to have (Dunhill, Schurch, Pipeworks & Wilke etc.) although I thought the discontinued Orient Express was pretty darn good. I haven’t given up on C&D and I don’t claim to have the “corner” on English blends, but this isn’t good enough to buy again, C&D lovers may feel differently.
Pipe Used: Several, but large bowled Morrisette worked best.
Age When Smoked: New
5 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
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| Grumpynuts (9) | |
Medium | None Detected | Mild to Medium | Pleasant |
This could easily become my everyday go-to English smoke. Per other reviews it is an interesting cut but to me that adds to the character....kinda "rustic". It burns nicely, evenly, and has a pleasant, good overall character. I'd recommend it for anyone wishing to venture into the non-aromatic English blends.
Age When Smoked: New
Purchased From: Smokingpipes.com
Similar Blends: TBD..
3 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
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| Emeritus Account (30194) | |
Mild to Medium | Mild | Mild to Medium | Very Pleasant |
Boy, is this stuff good. I love American Englishes and this is one of the best I've had in a long time. I've been smoking it in a variety of MacArthur and General cobs and if I were ever to choose an "all-day smoke," this would among my top choices.
Burley, latakia, black cavendish, and Virginia. Those are the ingredients according to C&D's website. I don't know if the cavendish is sweetened or not, but there's only a pinch of it in this blend, which has an undercurrent of unobtrusive sweetness that I quite like. It's got a nice strength, too--not too powerful, but by no means weak. Perfect for smoking bowl after bowl, which I've been doing. If you like the combination of earthy burley and latakia, you'll like this.
Old College packs and lights with ease, and I don't go through very many matches while smoking it. This is classic stuff and you should try it if you haven't already.
3 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
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| Emeritus Account (30194) | |
Medium | None Detected | Medium to Full | Pleasant |
This is a funny tobacco. I'm not quite certain what I expected from the sample that I had, but I think that I was hoping for a singular latakia moment, for the latakia to overwhelm me. The pouch presence was unremarkable, shades of blacks and browns. I could not detect that characteristic twinge of the nose, like from a John Cotton. "Old college" spoke to me of undergraduate days when my professors preferred BSWHite or Constantinople, and the air in the classroom resembled a Turkish train station. Here, latakia didn't push the limits. The sensation was more of a well-balanced medium strength blend, perhaps suggesting even an all-day smoke. The latakia and virginias were present and obvious, while the burleys provided a smooth under-base and the cavendish offset any bitterness. All-in-all, a very serviceable American latakia blend, w/o bite and a clean burn to the bottom of the pipe.
3 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
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| Legion (27) | |
Mild to Medium | None Detected | Medium | Pleasant to Tolerable |
Old College is a well balanced English/American blend. I don't have the palate to describe nuances of blends [As an inhaler I'm told that I'm missing out on subtleties of flavour] but I can say that no one leaf dominates the other. It's just really well balanced. 7formy1911 makes a good point that OC does benefit from a few months jarred [I've found that many blends taste much better several days after being jarred] for the leaves to harmonise.
The latakia is noticeable in every puff but it certainly does not dominate. It's the right amount for my tastes. Closer to mild to medium than medium. It's a rather smooth smoke.
Nicotine is a couple of steps past mild. As I'm used to smoking blends with mild nicotine, OC is not an all day smoke for me but for those who like a touch of Lady N this could be an all day satisfying smoke for sure. [I'm very sensitive to Vit N so please don't get the wrong impression. There's just enough for me to notice]
Old College is best for me smoked in an MM cob. A smooth satisfying well balanced English/American. 3.5 stars.
Pipe Used: MM cobs.
Age When Smoked: One year old.
Purchased From: www.tobaccopipes.com
2 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
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| Capt (339) | |
Medium | None Detected | Medium to Full | Tolerable to Strong |
Similar to Old Court, minus the Perique. Pouch aroma is a wonderfully toasted aroma of burley with a nice addition of smokiness from the Latakia. A little sweet note from the cavendish, and a slight vinegar from the Virginia. Short, choppy ribbon makes packing easy. Typical moisture level of C&D bulks, slightly on the dry side (which I prefer). Initial lighting is easy with this moisture level.
Upon lighting, the Latakia seems to fight the burley for the most attention. The Va offers very little sweetness. As of now, this blend smokes hot and acrid with a very sharp tone. This like many other C&D bulk blends seems very, very young. For now, I see this as a 1 star blend. I will age this at least a year and come back to it.
Stay tuned...….
Update 6-2-20
Even with just a 6 weeks this blend has leveled out and melded well. The sharp tones are gone, amd a nice medium-full English blend is What we have now. From 1 star to 3! I recommend this, but age it a few months to a year!
Pipe Used: several
Age When Smoked: fresh
Purchased From: smokingpipes.com
2 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
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| Emeritus Account (30194) | |
Mild to Medium | Extremely Mild | Medium to Full | Pleasant to Tolerable |
I am new at the pipe, so I am not supposed to like this kind of tobacco, right? Well, I do. I saw this on the local shelf and "ghast", liked the name. When I opened it, I felt the tobacco was a bit dry. The smell was a little on the spicy side to my nose, but hints of sweet in there too. When lit, it has a bit of smokey, but it is much more complex than that. Not too smokey, not real sweet, but pleasant to smoke. The smoke takes on the word "creamy" fairly well. The room note was nice, but subdued. It stayed lit easy and smoked down consistently to me. I tend to like really dark coffee and espresso in the morning and I think this may do nicely to get me going. I suspect that for a hard core English person, this blend will be too mild, but I think it is a good beginning for smokers wanting to try this type of blend. There is a mild hit from it, but not enough to concern me approaching a work day. I think this can be smoked daily in a larger pipe. That is what I plan to do.
I am certainly experimenting and there may come a day when I go for a stronger English and I am certainly liking flakes right now too, but I am happy I chose this to start with to see if I could handle something with Latakia.
2 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
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| Emeritus Account (30194) | |
Very Strong | None Detected | Medium to Full | Pleasant to Tolerable |
I have learned to ignore most Names given to tobacco. The infamous fascination with the black arts, the references to dogs and even cochroaches and medeviel forms of torture, this OLD College is not well suited - but a REAL good tasting Latakia blend english. At the start, it is alittle acidy, and quickly mellows out into a creamy (yes creamy) smooth smoke. A Wine affect starts and contiunes for most of the duration - which I like alot. Caution: This is very strong and will whack you in the head. Also leaves a ashy coating in your mouth but, with most Latakia blends, par for the course. similiar to Gawith's perfection BUT MUCH STRONGER (not even Pirate KAKE gave the tummy turns like this did) and better quality.
2 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
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| RyinMD (27) | |
Mild to Medium | None Detected | Mild to Medium | Pleasant |
This is an excellent mild English. The Latikia isn't overpowering; it's pretty light but present. The burley and black cavendish smooth out the Virginia, which gives it a bit of sweetness. I find this blend well-balanced. Nothing really overpowering the rest of the components. I like this one a lot, and I find myself smoking it more regularly of late.
Pipe Used: Savinelli, etc
Age When Smoked: Recently purchased
Purchased From: Smokingpipes.com
1 person found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
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| Emeritus Account (30194) | |
Mild to Medium | None Detected | Mild to Medium | Tolerable |
A reliable though somewhat generic and bland English blend. Reminescent of Presbyterian. More dry in the package than I would prefer, like most C&D blends. Smooth though unremarkable. Low nicotine content and lacking richness.
1 person found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
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| doc pipes (110) | |
Medium | None Detected | Mild to Medium | Tolerable |
Here’s a deep cut from the C&D catalog for those who favor American style blends and light Englishes. Nobody has reviewed this for 2.5 years!?
Smokingpipes describes this as being satisfying to the smoker while providing a “delightful fragrance for the crowd.” Indeed, when this first arrived in the mail 8 months ago, I could have sworn there was some vanilla or possibly anise in the bag note. Now, 8 months later it smells and smokes about as naturally and uncased as can be. This has the same component leaf as Americana and nearly identical to golden ash. It is an unflavored American mixture that creates a fragrance sure to disperse any crowd, smokingpipes copy writers be damned.
The pouch note is smoky, spicy, and musty. The rough cut leaf is appropriately 30-40% black leaf. The tobaccos come dry to the touch, and are ready to be packed upon receipt. The taste was savory with notes of leather, earth, and woodsmoke. There is a tiny hint of sweetness present if one really concentrates. Latakia is readily evident in the snork. This blend left wet dottle after each pipeful. I don’t want to knock this one too bad because it doesn’t do anything wrong necessarily. It doesn’t shine strongly in any way either. Kind of ho-hum.
Pipe Used: Numerous briars
Age When Smoked: 8 month old bulk
Purchased From: SP
Similar Blends: C&D Stanhope, Golden Ash, and similar to Pegasus if Pegasus had Latakia and less burley.
Nobody has rated this review yet.
600 Perdue Ave
Richmond, VA 23224