Tobaccos Cornell & Diehl - Izmir Turkish

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Gentleman Zombie (729)	2014-02-23		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

As a stand alone smoke: Spicy, buttery, more sour than sweet, but both are present. Medium bodied with medium flavors. I really enjoy smoking this by itself. As the bowl progresses it acquires a fair amount of depth and smoothness. First third of the bowl can be a little edgy, not sharp, but close. Calms down nicely after that.

As a blender: I had a couple of mediocre VaPers lying around that I never seemed to reach for. I mixed this with them (2/3 VaPer and 1/3 Izmir) and they really woke up. It added another level of flavor and accentuated those flavors already present. Also added complexity. I was very pleased.

This is an outstanding Oriental and I highly recommend it.

Pipe Used: MM General, MM Country Gentleman

Age When Smoked: fresh bulk

Purchased From: smokingpipes.com

15 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2014-04-11		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

A C&D-type cut of wide ribbon mixed with long cut and chop cut, yellowish in color and a musty, sweet/sour bag aroma. This one I decided I could smoke straight, as it was very tasty. I found a hint of a buttery taste but mostly this was kind of dry and spicy. Fun to smoke straight. But again, the point was as a blender.

I'm a big fan of C&D's Oriental Silk, but I've had a few people tell me that the perique content of that blend is too high. Smoking a single bowl of this tells me why they feel that way, as this has a kind of perique-y taste, but of the peppery kind rather than the fruity kind. I've always found the perique to be light in OS but the Turkish to be heavy. This must be the Turkish they use, as the flavors are similar (OS switches gears with the addition of VA and perique, of course). Good straight, but as a blender, this one can take over a blend if too much is used. It worked wonders for my oriental blend and also helped spice up straight burley and Virginia. Using a popular "latakia bomb" blend as a base, this helped tone down the latakia but didn't help out the dusty flavor I get with those blends (which is Me, not the blend!). For basic Balkans, I found this to be insufficient, as I suspect more or different strains of Turkish are used in Balkans. But in my preferred Scottish blends, this stuff sung like Harry Lauder (off-key at times, and with a humorously heavy brogue!). It seems to prefer a lighter dose of latakia, but then again, it's probably just me that prefers that. So this one delivered as expected! Really nice tobacco and I'm going to be using it a lot. Highly recommended.

Pipe Used: meerschaum and morta

Age When Smoked: new

13 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	StevieB (2075)	2019-04-30		Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Cornell & Diehl - Izmir Turkish.

Some straight tobaccos, like C+D's White Burley, I reviewed the other day, shouldn't be smoked neat. They need blending to enjoy them, properly. Yet, others, like this, can be enjoyed either way!

See the photo here: Izmir Turkish is presented as a medium brown, mid-size ribbon, with a few coarser strands, but nothing 'hefty'. Being from bulk mine had aired, and the moisture had lessened to perfection.

Due to the moistness I.T. lights easily and gives a top notch smoke; I enjoy it neat! There's a floral note present, albeit, the florals don't dominate the smoke. Behind the florescent note there's a buttery sweetness, which makes this a delectable smoke, on its own. A bowl of T' Izmir, smoked neat, does so in a cool manner, with bite only occurring if REALLY pushed.

Nicotine: medium. Room-note: I quite like it.

Izmir Turkish? I don't consider myself a steadfast fan of Oriental/Turkish blends; more of a VaPer or Balkan fan. But, smoking this has reminded me what a joy this leaf can be. Highly recommended:

Four stars.

Pipe Used: Ben Wade Albert's Theory

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: Smokingpipes.com

11 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pipestud (1829)	2017-03-27		Mild	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Izmir has more nicotine content than any Oriental I've smoked, and it was used to spice up old Virginia cigarette blends, particularly back when Camel was pouring out their specialty sticks. As for this Izmir, it sure has an odor in the tin and at the match the pungent spice really comes through. Izmir straight is just too much for me. I will try cutting some of this as smoking it straight is not getting the job done for me.

7 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	BlueTomorrow (15)	2018-05-09		Very Mild	None Detected	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

C&D Izmir Turkish is a perfectly respectable Oriental tobacco that's clearly intended for blending but is also enjoyable smoked by itself. I chose the latter route. This tobacco is cut in a fine ribbon (almost but not quite a shag) that doesn't burn too fast in a pipe and that I would suspect would work very will in a cigarette.

Its flavor is lightly woody, more than a little bit peppery, and just fruity enough to keep things interesting. I was honestly hoping for a more tangy/piquant flavor (though as it is, Izmir Turkish is certainly not too sweet). The body is definitely a mild one with little in the way of a nicotine hit.

It's really more of a 2.5-star tobacco for smoking on its own, but I imagine that it is a solid 3 for blending.

Pipe Used: MM cob

Age When Smoked: new

Purchased From: SmokingPipes.com

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Ronnstein (29)	2016-08-13		Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

Finally! A C&D tobacco that I can smoke. I'm a virginia smoker and I really don't smoke for nicotine, so I'm S.O.L when it comes to C&D blends as they are mostly the opposite of what I prefer. This Izmir is a wonderfully spicy, sour/sweet Turkish tobacco that is what appears to be in broken flake form. Go ahead and try it on it's own, it won't bite., you can definitely spice up some mediocre blends with this or use it in your own blending. Very reasonably priced and well worth it.

Purchased From: smokingpipes

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	incendio (45)	2018-02-21		Mild	Very Mild	Mild	Pleasant

I really wanted to like this. I bought 4 ounces. I thought "how can this not be amazing?" especially with a cumulative 3.7 star rating.

I ought to clarify: I bought this bulk, sometime late 2017, early 2018. Maybe the quality has changed lately, since the other reviews are 2016 and earlier.

The pouch note has an interesting dried apple aroma. I like to squeeze the bag to catch a good whiff. Smells good.

It's a decent tobacco smoked on its own. No formidable nicotine content (this alone is incongruous with earlier reviews). It's a good cigarette-type pipe tobacco. I say good (not great) because, for example, I think that Drum shag would be a tastier cigarette-turned-pipe tobacco than this. It's not bad, it's just rough around the edges and lacks depth.

Also, I tried blending this stuff every which way. Any combination of various Virginias (Red and Lemon) and/or Latakias and/or Periques, all sourced from various companies. I just couldn't come up with a blend that had this stuff in it where it didn't detract from the quality (it always somehow became LESS than the sum of the constituents).

I sure would like to try what all the other reviewers had smoked. I know it can be impossible to source the exact same leaf, so a product is certainly bound to change. My advice, which I'll be following from now on, is to buy ONE ounce until you form an opinion and decide to buy more.

Pipe Used: billiards

Age When Smoked: fresh? (bulk)

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	GabrielCRT (115)	2016-02-14		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant

This is an absolute pleasure to blend with. It is such an exotic, spicy, well tempered tobacco. It is much more tolerable to smoke straight than a bowl of just Latakia or just Perique though still slightly overwhelming for my palate. As a blending component it offers spice, sourness, and some cedar woodiness. I also find that Izmir is a great tool in reducing tongue bite. Pairs wonderfully with Perique, Virginia, Latakia, Burley, everything really. 10% Izmir is the sweet spot I've found. Any more can dominate the blend and any less leaves you asking for more. Major kudos to C&D for offering to consumers!

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Demetri (113)	2015-06-22		Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

C&D taunts this as a high grade Izmir. I do not doubt that in the least. My initial few ounces purchased for blending, both outright personal blend and tweaking other blends was used up rather quickly. I reordered in greater quantity at which time I tried it straight. Expecting a sourish smoke, I got a very pleasant sweetish experience with some tang showing through from Izmir's base Virgina pedigree.

I found it does not take much of this to yank a mediocre tinned blend from other houses into much better territory.

An incredible value price-wise as well.

Pipe Used: Briars, corncobs

Age When Smoked: Current production

Purchased From: smokingpipes.com

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	L'Italiano (231)	2014-04-08		Mild	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

At the moment this is the best Oriental tobacco I have tried. Very good aroma and taste. The scent of the raw tobacco is scent of tea, pleasant. It is a true natural aromatic. My mark is 7/8.

Purchased From: SYNJECO'S PIPE SMOKER'S HAVEN Brissago, Switzerland

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Knightsmoker (216)	2019-03-04		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

Izmir straight is a little buttery, woodsy, a little sour and peppery. Not overly sweet. The smoke is dry and has a rough edge but does not bite. Overall a nice uncomplicated profile that works well as a blender, which is what its primary purpose is, as long as you add it with a light touch. Once I get it over the 20% mark it will come forward a little more than I think it should but it works great with lat blends that need some oriental to spice them up, goes fine with VA/Per's as well. Worth keeping a few oz. on hand to add to blends that need a little spice and woodsy note.

Age When Smoked: ROTT

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Jorge Soler (202)	2018-12-02		Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

This is a nice blending tobacco, and as such I think it should be used, but you can always sample it on a stand-alone basis. It has sour and spicy notes, but it is lacking the deep and woodsy profile of Latakia. It can be used in virginia and burley blends to add a silky profile with salty undertones. Without the addition of Latakia, you might find it lacking or boring in one way or the other, but I think this is all down to what other components you might be using in your blend. The addition of dark fired Kentucky or perique is optional too, so you might want to tweak it a bit until you shall tune in on something that you like. My advise is you go and use this leaf as a condiment, not as a base tobacco.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Singularis (17)	2021-11-17		Mild	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

I've tried this straight just once, but was quite impressed. The jar/pouch note is just the nicest baking spices, natural classic tobacco and the faintest ripe cheese (somewhere I heard it compared to a Romano or Parmesan cheese and I have to concur).

In the bowl: wonderful, soft herbal notes with a touch of cedar. I've also blended this in with an English blend I concocted out of other C&D blending tobaccos. So, while being a very well-rounded and approachable tobacco on its own -- I would seriously be quite satisfied on a desert island with a pound of this! -- it is also the perfect condiment (or perhaps even base, but will have to get back to you on that one) to any Virginia/Latakia mix.

Highly recommended.

Age When Smoked: Fresh

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	WorkingClassChap (192)	2022-01-10		Very Mild	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable to Strong

Smoking now:

Not really sure how to give this stars as it’s a straight Izmir Turkish tobacco. It is what it is. Came perfect for blending, not wet but not bone dry.

Smoking it straight and hey it’s not too bad. It’s slightly sour, woody, earthy, a little floral. Maybe a slight spice. Has a sharp taste to it, not in a bad way, zesty maybe. A bit harsh to smoke straight all the time but it has a nice flavor.

Would recommend for blending of course and to expand your pipe tobacco knowledge.

I’ve been blending it with C&D Derringer or Yorktown and damn it’s not bad.

Pipe Used: Clay and meerschaum

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	DenizBeck (323)	2020-04-17		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

Great for blending some into your favorite blend, I really enjoy this with some Burley-based blend such as Pegasus by C&D. I also mixed some with C&Ds other blending tobaccos (CUbe Cut Burley, Dark Burley) and it also works great.

The Turkish has some zesty, exotic aroma to it. Slightly sharp note to it, which isn't unpleasant at all. Great thing is that you only really need a small pinch between your fingers to spice up the blend/mix, which makes this very efficient. My 1oz is still lasting me a bit. Had great smokes with it, no doubt, I'd always buy this again and it makes some of my most favorite blends even more enjoyable. 4 stars.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Big Blue Jazzman (73)	2020-04-16		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

I bought this strictly as a blending component and my review is based on that aspect only. I have had considerable results doing this with some basic research on the net. My approach is simply to blend enough to fill a pipe and adjust accordingly. This Izmer is a fantastic choice for your blending needs. I love latakia so I used 50% along with 25% izmer and 25% red virginia. An attempt at making my own Star of the East and it came out satisfactory. Happy blending!

Pipe Used: Tinder Box Unique

Age When Smoked: 6 months

Purchased From: smoking pipes

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Cleonides (21)	2019-10-22		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant

A straight Izmir leaf with an aroma in the tin I would describe as a mix of hay and sweet tea leaves. Perfect moisture content and no PG or added sugars here. Mild nicotine.

When smoked straight it is just a little spicy on the tongue and in the nose. Has just a bit of bready sweetness similar to virginias which comes through nicely towards the bottom of the bowl. It is less sweet than most virginias and has it's own character which I really enjoy.

Of course if you like oriental in your blends this is great for blending or adding to other tobacco. Simple, straight forward, pleasant tobacco flavor. No reason not to give it a try.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Rustedrailsmokes (293)	2019-07-21		Mild	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I bought a pound of this in mid-2018 as a blending tobacco. It works great to add some "spice" to boring blends and/or making my own variants.

Smoked by itself I found it easy to pack and light. The flavor reminds me of the camels I used to smoke years ago. I get quite a bit of mouth "tingle" but no tongue bite even if pushed.

A favorite blend of mine is about 20% Izmir to 80% CD VA flake pressed down in a noodle press for a couple of weeks. Sometimes I'll dust it with some perique or some blending latakia depending on my mood.

Pipe Used: various

Age When Smoked: fresh from bag to 1 year

Purchased From: Smokingpipes.com

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JaWiBr (437)	2023-01-01		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

Jar note of musty sweet, sour, and spices. The tobacco is a yellowish tan, brown and dark brown. It's a ready rub or tumbled out flake, moisture is good, rubs out easily. Burns slow with a few extra relights. The strength is medium and nic is mild. No flavoring detected. Taste is medium and consistent, with notes of spicy, nutty, sweet and sour, very dry, bitter wood, floral, spice, musty herbal hay, mild orange peel, tangy stewed fruit, a tart sour background note, and a peppery retro. Room note is tolerable, and aftertaste is great.

Pipe Used: Wally Frank Limited White Bar Sandblast 128

Age When Smoked: 5 years

Purchased From: smokingpipes.com

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pipefitter (51)	2022-07-11		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

This is great tobacco whether smoked straight or mixed with C$D Virginia flake or a VaPerique blend. Very complex and burns cool and clean. Leaves no moisture in the bowl and since I get this in bulk from City Tobaccos the price is better than buying tins as this type of blend can get pricey. I would recommend this for the more veteran smokers because there’s no flavoring or cloying sweet additives that beginners gravitate to.

Purchased From: City Tobacco in New London Ct

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Quiggifur (86)	2023-02-24		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant

Tin note: sort of a lightly sour, lightly sweet, musty (almost perique adjacent), maybe floral scent. In the smoke, mainly grassy and floral. Not sweet to speak of, maybe the barest hint of sweetness. Not strong by any stretch of the imagination, but it is pretty interesting for being plain oriental leaf. I could see smoking this regularly.

Nobody has rated this review yet.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Brunello (125)	2023-01-03		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

This review will be a little different. If you like exploring variations in Turkish leaf join me for a mini deep dive . . .

On the playlist today: C&D Izmir fresh bulk version vs. aged tin version vs. my own processed Izmir vs. completely unprocessed natural Izmir leaf. Which will be the winner? Do they improve with age? How do they compare as a blender vs. solo smoke?

Okay, first I have to say that my bulk supply from 2018 was used up fairly quickly in blending projects, so that’s all gone up in smoke by now. I have only one tasting note from when I tried it at the same time I popped the tin. The tin was from July 2018, so probably from the 2017 harvest by the time it gets exported and processed by C&D. I gave the tin a little over a year and then tried in September 2019, along with the last bit of my bulk supply. At this point the canned version seemed more developed than the bulk which had been in a jar. But the differences weren’t huge and I didn’t consider either one to be a viable solo smoke. The bulk was a little drier so it burned a little hotter, but both left a somewhat unpleasant cigarette-like aftertaste.

I tried the tin version again after one year in the jar (September 2020), and already the aromatics were developing, and gone now the unpleasant aftertaste. Taking on a more savory depth. Now fast-forward to today when I tried again, now with a total of four-and-a-half year’s age. It has developed nicely indeed. A deep nosing of the jar reveals aromas of Grape Nuts cereal, dried dates (some might say stewed fruits), and sweet tea! It still has noticeable mid-palate penetration and some spicy pepper on the retrohale. At this stage I’d say this is now a satisfying solo smoke, a solid 3+ stars. As a blender four stars for sure, which is the rating I’m giving this. Goes great with medium and dark Burley, and red Virginia. I’d only suggest prudence when combing with Perique, which will requires a deft touch to avoid too many clashing overtones in your ensemble.

Now remember this tasting profile as we compare to unprocessed leaf and my own processed Izmir. . .

My supply came from the 2017 harvest, so probably the same as the C&D we are comparing here. C&D Izmir is a little darker than mine, at first I thought maybe it was lightly toasted, but I suspect it was probably just picked a few days later than mine, and/or sun-cured a little longer. It is also finished in a fine cut, whereas as mine was put through a 1.5mm broad cut shredder. Important here is that the aromatic profile is noticeably different, so I’m happy to have both. That right there tells you that 90% of what we smokers are responding to has to do with casing and how the tobacco has been processed, not so much the natural inherent character of Izmir. Before I do my own processing I always evaluate raw, so I definitely notice the transformation. I’d say the pH tempering and secondary processing (cold or hot) even overrides minor factors such as harvest conditions, or if the buyer has paid extra for top selection versus bottom of the barrel selection. So my version is not as penetrating on the palate, and has a sweeter finish, but one might say it is also a little simpler in flavor profile, and not as ‘interesting.’ Both have their uses depending on the blending needs (mine is less problematic with Perique).

The real interesting reveal for me was how much the unprocessed leaf has changed. After light hydration to make the leaves malleable and not break into pieces, I destemmed the lot, most put through the ribbon shredder, but a few leaves I simply did a rough cut with the chopper and put away untouched in a mason jar until today’s session. Yes, the first few minutes with the tingle on the tongue I could tell this was raw leaf, but then it settled down nicely and displayed a malty, creamy, nutty, buttery sweetness, with no mustiness, no bitterness, and completely smooth retrohale with zero spicy pepper. Most curious is that it has none of what I’m calling the distinctive C&D palate penetration (some kind of salt or mineral additive??). I went back and forth trying to decide which was better, but they are completely different experiences! Tomorrow I’ll probably try combining them but this review is getting long enough already.

I can only summarize with two thoughts: 1) Turkish varietals do develop nicely at least with short-term aging, and 2) the differences in processing (cut, pH tempering, casing and additives) can utterly transform the character of the natural leaf. I think it is quite misleading to talk in general terms about the character of Izmir or Basma or Virginia, when we really need to be talking along the lines of “the Izmir as processed here tastes like this; the Virginias processed this way and with this age taste like that.”

That’s the deep dive. Time to come up for air and shake it off!

Age When Smoked: Fresh, 1 year, 4+ years

Nobody has rated this review yet.