Tobaccos Cornell & Diehl - Bourbon Bleu (Cellar Series)

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JimInks (3047)	2016-05-28		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

The grassy, citrusy, slightly floral bright Virginia is the main component. The red Virginia is tangy, dark fruit sweet, woody, earthy, lightly bready as it plays a strong backup. The dark fired Kentucky is mildly spicy, woody, earthy, dry, herbal, and nutty as a condimental addition, though I seem to notice it just a little more after the half way point. The raisin, peppery, plumy perique is couple of shades more obvious than the Kentucky. The light bourbon topping is very mild, and hardly intrudes on the tobaccos, doing little more than lightly underscoring them. The strength and taste levels are medium. The nic-hit is in the center of mild to medium. It’s an easy to break apart krumble kake that burns slow, cool, clean and very smooth with a mostly consistent, rich flavor from top to bottom. Has no dull, weak or harsh spots, and won’t bite even if pushed. Requires some relights. Leaves very little moisture in the bowl, and easily burns to ash. Has a very pleasant after taste that lingers just a mite. Not quite an all day smoke but it has enough strength to hold your interest and attention.

-JimInks

24 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Old German puffer (106)	2015-07-12		Mild	Mild	Mild	Pleasant

My friend Michael was kind enough to send me two tins of Bourbon Bleu to taste test and give feed back. I spent a week and smoked half of the first tin. I understand this is ment to be cellared but right out I could only smell a old summer hay smell. I broke off a corner chunk and rubbed it into nice soft rough cut. Then I just dropped it into the pipe lightly using my thumbs to finish the fill. The tin description states the blend is bright and red Viriginias mixed with dark-fired Kentucky and Perique, and a visual inspection of the stuff, predominantly gold, speckled with flecks of dark red and black, suggests the red VAs, dark-fired Kentucky, and Perique are present mostly as condimental ingredients, that the star of the show is the golden Virginia leaf. It took several tries to light before I could get it going good. The grass smell comes out right at char. For me it tasted salty and more like Amaretto than bourbon. With short sweet puffs this try to open up. It really has to be smoked slow and the sweetness of the blend comes out. In the end it left little dottle and a very nice gray ash. After a little thought I ordered 10 tins and will add a few more each month. In all it was a very good smoke and the age will I hope make it better.

Pipe Used: Comoy

Age When Smoked: fresh tin

Purchased From: WASH. DC

14 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	StevieB (2081)	2016-04-29		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant

Cornell & Diehl - Bourbon Bleu (Cellar Series).

I received this on a trade with Gentleman Zombie, I hadn't expected it but the blends I requested were shipped including a free sample of this, which he very kindly forwarded to me, many thanks Franck! It's so good when I noticed one of my regular dealers have started stocking it I just had to order a tin!

I find the Bourbon really weak at first; more of a nebulous alcoholic addition rather than a definite Bourbon casing. It remains fairly weak over the duration of the smoke, but becomes slightly clearer as the bowl burns; slightly clearer, but still really mild.

Moving on to discuss the taste of the tobaccos now: I find the Virginia leads the pack for the majority of the smoke; occasionally some of the Perique or Kentucky will rear its head (the Perique more so) but most of the time it's more of a top quality, slightly cased, Va.

The nicotine is very medium in this, it's more like the amount I'd expect from a blend that's prominently Virginia.

This, in my opinion, is a four star blend; thanks for sending it Franck!

Highly recommended.

Pipe Used: Peterson Donegal #03

Age When Smoked: Three weeks

Purchased From: Included as an extra on a trade with Gentleman Zombie

13 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	TallPuffO'Burley (633)	2016-04-15		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Tolerable

I bought a couple of tins of each of the cellar series blends around the same time they were released and have had to fight every instinct to open them as I am hoping to attain a little age on them beforehand. Well, I can't tell you how happy I was when Smokingpipes.com offered a free .5 oz sample of this with an order I placed. Finally, I would get a chance to try one out fresh.

The immediate impression of the blend is how golden the little crumble kake is. C&D does a great job on crumble kakes, btw. And my little .5 oz. sample look just as good as a 2 oz cake of briar fox. Tightly packed, but easily crumbled.

The blend is heavily Virginia. This is something I expected as Virginia is highly regarded to be the most benefitted from any appreciable aging. The perique content is nice to my palate which might make it a little heavy to the average palate. Nice sweet and spice. I don't think the Kentucky plays a strong role in this blend, perhaps it is there to mellow the perique a bit, I don't know.

Finally, the bourbon. I don't think I directly tasted anything that tasted like bourbon in this. It was, to my tastes, more of a VaBurPer reminiscent of Old Gowrie. Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed this blend fresh and look forward to trying some of the tins after they have aged a bit. I am putting three stars down on this now and will revisit.

7 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	SteelCowboy (685)	2016-06-27		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Bourbon Blue is a good looking crumble cake that crumbles with ease. The scent is a little earthy, tangy and a bit sour. For whatever reason it took longer to dry than I expected and smoking it right away made for a difficult time keeping it lit. It burns cool and offers little to no complexity. The bourbon isn’t very noticeable. There is some spice too, but I wouldn’t call it an overall spicy blend. The red Virginia offers a nice background tang, but the bright Virginia’s take the lead. The Perique is ever present, but seems to be well done. Bourbon Blue is a decent enough blend, but for me, most C&D Virginia's need some time in the cellar so I don’t find the “cellar” moniker to be little more than a marketing ploy. Especially since the vast majority of Virginia blends improve with age anyway. If you’re a fan of C&D Virginia forward blends, this one is worth a try, but for me there are so many other Virginia forward blends that I would prefer to cellar that this one isn’t a keeper. Two and a half stars.

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	DrumsAndBeer (217)	2016-02-29		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I recently smoked through two half-ounce samples of this and I enjoyed every moment of it.

Bourbon Bleu is a densely pressed krumble kake of Virginia, perique and dark fired Kentucky. The pouch note is very similar to Briar Fox, only kissed with a bit of bourbon. The flavor is on the brighter side of the spectrum. The Virginias are sweet and grassy, the perique and dark fired add depth and a bit of spice but they are minor players in the overall taste. The bourbon works wonderfully, providing a delicate sweet whisky flavor to the outer edge of the finish.

I can’t help but comparing this just a bit to GLP's Virginia Cream. They have similar flavor profiles, only Bourbon Bleu is milder, sweeter and smoother. Virginia Cream has a bit more body and perhaps more personality, but I like this better and I have to admit that I found myself wondering what Virginia Cream would be like as a krumble kake. Anyhow, I am sure this was mulled over by Mr. Pease at some point.

Cellar Series? A novel marketing concept but I prefer tobacco that’s good to smoke now. Thankfully this blend is.

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Tantric (321)	2015-09-18		Medium	Mild	Medium	Tolerable

A good Virginia/Périque blend, with some Kentucky and a bit of bourbon whiskey that doesn't really spoil the natural tobaccos' taste. It is quite dry (krumble kake) and it has a sweet/sour denoument. It is very smooth but for my palate a tad monochromatic and predictable. Nothing exciting, but a good, reliable smoke of a very traditional kind.

Pipe Used: Comoys

Age When Smoked: N/A

Purchased From: N/A

Similar Blends: Most American Va/Per blends.

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pipestud (1829)	2017-01-28		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

It has been a couple of years since I've posted any C&D blend reviews and I have smoked nearly 100 tins of their various offerings in that time. So, it may be awhile before I get to all of them. I absolutely loved Bourbon Blue. I thought the quality of the leaf was very good and the flavoring was misted on with care. And, unlike a lot of aromatics of this nature, it did not burn hot and thanks to the Kentucky, actually had a little kick.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	pappymac (10)	2016-05-19		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

(The following are my impressions and opinions. I don't care if you agree or not.)

I smelled the hay.

I smelled something reminiscent of a vinegary BBQ sauce. (This was the Perique component)

I fell in love with the smell when I opened the half ounce sample pack and stuck my nose into it.

Next step was to light it. Light it. Light it. Light it. For a tobacco that felt fairly dry the Bourbon Bleu just didn’t want to stay lit at first. After the fourth attempt it caught on and rewarded me with a steady cloud of smoke.

And I smelled the hay. It took me back to fresh cut hay fields and early fall hayrides. Bourbon? I’ve read that it is supposed to have bourbon in it but tobaccoreviews.com says it has no flavoring. If there is it is so subtle that the only time I tasted bourbon was when I sipped the Knobb Creek that was in my glass. There was some sweetness but I attributed this more to the Virginia than anything else.

Anyway, I found it to be a slow burning, cool smoke. Every once in a while I would pick up a hint of pepper which I attributed to the small amount of Perique in the blend. Then when I got down to about a half of bowl, I started noticing less hay and more of that Perique aroma I remember from a tour of the L.A. Poche Perique in October. It was a rich, sweet fruity aroma that slowly gave way to the hay smell of the Virginia.

Other reviews I’ve read has the Bourbon Bleu as a mild-to-medium strength smoke. It may have been because I smoked it on an empty stomach, but I feel it’s more of medium-to-strong. As I got closer to the bottom of the bowl, I could feel the nicotine hit building. I recommend not smoking this on an empty stomach but after a good meal.

All this being said, my personal opinion is that this is a good Virginia based blend that I enjoyed but it probably won’t find its way into my daily rotation. I will buy a tin or two and tuck them away in my cellar though.

Pipe Used: MM Shire Cob

Age When Smoked: new sample

Purchased From: Smokingpipes.com

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Planet Scott (66)	2015-10-08		Mild	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

Another update: This has gotten much better after a longer wait. The over the top grass/hay that I first noted is absent. It is now a real nice Virginia blend. The bourbon is absent as well, however, the base Virginia makes up for it. Still not the best, or my favorite Virginia as it is on the mild side. Worth adding to my rotation and buying more to age for a year or so.

3.3 stars. --------------------------------------------------------------- UPDATE:

It got better as it got older/not so moist. However, it still lacks the bourbon note it advertised. As a basic, straight Virginia, it's not bad, but I've had much better. This is not a horrible blend, but it's not great either.

I may update this as I smoke more of it. ---------------------------------------------------------------- The tin aroma is grass, hay and a sharp, tangy alcohol. It is one block of pressed tobacco with a mottled color of light gold and dark brown.

After pulling some off the cake and drying over night, I anxiously packed a bowl. It was difficult to light and keep lit. Because of that, I got some hot, grassy flavor and slight tongue bite. After several re-lights, I gave up and went to bed. The next day, I tried again. This time with fewer re-lights, but the same hot grassy flavor and tongue bite.

Rather one dimensional in flavor of grass/hay. Not much natural sweetness or perique. I would not guess there was any bourbon had it not said so on the label, and of course the tin note.

I'll keep at this. I may to come to enjoy it, but for now, I have many other blends that please me.

Age When Smoked: Over a year old.

Purchased From: Brick and Mortar(Puff N Stuff)

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2017-09-21		Mild	Extremely Mild	Mild	Pleasant

I received a tin of this as a sample in an order, and recently got around to smoking through some of it. I am a big fan of navy flake, Va/Per, and have liked virtually every variation I've tried so far. I was intrigued to try a similar blend in cake form, with bourbon to boot! I am also a big fan of bourbons, so this seemed like a win-win situation.

Tin Note: Despite all the other reviews stating that there is some type of bourbon aroma in there, I can detect none of it whatsoever. I have had my nose in a variety of bourbons from every tier of the shelf, and if I ever had one with an aroma similar to this tobacco I would probably think someone was playing a joke on me. The first thing that comes to mind when smelling this, is old fashioned spiced fruit cake(the kind people joke about around Christmas time). If I were to try and separate the aromas, I smell the spiciness of the Perique, followed by an almost sour note which reminds me of very over-ripe fruit. A strange whiff indeed.

Prep: Breaking off a chunk of the cake and rubbing out thoroughly, produces what looks like a broken shag cut. It is probably the finest I've ever seen in tobacco actually meant for pipes, not the RYO crowd. The tobacco was very moist, and took about 30-45 minutes to get to a point where it wouldn't stay in a wad when pinched. It packed easily as expected given the fineness of the cut.

Light/Burn: First light was somewhat challenging, I think due to the fine cut, as it expanded like a magic-snake out of the top of my bowl. I had to stop mid char to get it tamed back into place before finishing the light. It seemed to stay lit very well, and burned evenly without issue. No bite for me at all, even when pushing it; however, the flavor when not sipped reminded me of a cigar that had been over-humidified(steamy, acrid).

Flavor: The flavor is not what I expected at all from the tin note. I detect no fruity or citrusy flavors common to other Virginia dominate blends, and I surely do not taste bourbon at any point during the bowl. What I do taste pretty uniformly throughout is the Perique - it dominates the palate, and I feel that the addition of the bourbon may be muted by this(although Frog Morton's Cellar is supposed to have whiskey in it as well, and I can't detect it either). Every now and then during the bowl the Virginia sweetness would poke it's head out with a "Hey Y'all", but in an instant it was gone, making me question if I had tasted it or just imagined that I had. The after taste was pleasant enough, like white pepper, and did not overstay it's welcome.

Obligatory, "burned to the bottom/left no dottle/dry bowl/white ash" comment here..

Summary: Overall this was not an amazing smoke, nor was it a terrible one. It was a pretty flat, Perique forward smoke which doesn't offend any of the senses, but also doesn't really tickle them much either. Perhaps with long term cellaring the Virginia flavor would improve, but if you are going to smoke it fresh I would personally seek out other blends.

Pipe Used: Nording Classic, Dr. Grabow Grand Duke

Age When Smoked: Fresh

Purchased From: Sample from paylesscigarsandpipes.com

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Gentleman Zombie (729)	2016-08-08		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

This is a really good smoke. Led by the Bright Virginias and ably backed up by the Reds, it's nicely sweet and tangy with some hay and fruit. The DFK adds a little earth and depth. The Perique adds just a touch of spice and little else. I can just barely detect the topping and can't tell that it's bourbon, it's just a sweet note with some depth to it. All in all, a nice pleasant smoke.

Mild to medium in body and taste. Flavoring is extremely mild. Burns very well.

Pipe Used: MM Little Devil Cutty, Little Devil Acorn

Age When Smoked: fresh

Purchased From: pipesandcigars.com

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	cajomu (80)	2016-06-18		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I received a sample of C&D Bourbon Bleu with a recent order from Smoking Pipes.

I smoked two bowls one evening before looking to see what were the constituent tobaccos. I had no trouble determining that the blend consisted of Virginias, burley and the Perique. I did not taste any bourbon.

BB is a plug tobacco. The moisture content was perfect, making it quite easy to crumble the tobacco for packing. It lit easily and burned consistently, meaning no need for relights. The tobacco burned to a light grey ash.

From the first light until about half way through the smoke, the Perique was dominant with the Virginias and burley peaking through occasionally. During the last half of the smoke, the sweetness and grassiness of the Virginias prevailed and, by the end of the smoke, the nuttiness of the burley was the predominant flavor component. However, the change in taste was modest and I would call this a fairly monotone blend. The description says the burley is dark-fired Kentucky but I did not taste much if any smokiness, so I assume this is a fairly minor component in the blend.

I enjoyed BB but would probably not smoke it again, as the flavor is relatively mild and not especially intriguing. IMO, it would benefit greatly if it contained some Latakia or a larger amount dark-fired Kentucky.

If you're a fan of mild VaBur blends and like a fair amount of Perique in your smoke, you will probably enjoy this tobacco.

Pipe Used: African meerschaum

Age When Smoked: Just received

Purchased From: Smoking Pipes

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	LivingFreeinTN (24)	2016-05-21		Mild	Extremely Mild	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

Got a free sample of Bourbon Bleu with a tobacco order. I love C&D blends but this was disappointing. C&D makes other quality Va/Pers that puts this one to shame. No bourbon detected and it tasted more like a straight Virginia. Save yourself from a huge letdown and pick up a tin of Kajun Kake or Bayou Morning instead.

Similar Blends: Tastes like Orlik golden sliced to me..

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	LightMyBriar (18)	2016-02-25		Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Tolerable

I received a sample of this, a little square nugget. I sliced a bit off with a knife and crumbled it up. It breaks up very easily, and burns very evenly. It has a pretty unique taste. The Virginia and perique is balanced well, and there is enough Kentucky to add body without adding harshness or intruding. What is supposed to be a bourbon type flavor, to me at least, ends up producing a grape-soda taste. I hate grape soda, but this type of flavor in the background of the tobaccos is actually a very pleasant change-up. I don't know if I'd ever order this for myself, but I do know I will enjoy all of the sample I received. It is very well done. If my memory is correct, this tobacco reminds me ever-so-slightly of sixpence by G.L. Pease.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Mhulsey (36)	2015-12-14		Medium	Medium	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Bourbon Bleu is an absolutely wonderful Virginia and Perique blend, with a few other special ingredients that have been added, such as a smattering of Dark Fired Kentucky, and of course the lovely bourbon topping. Popping the lid off of a fresh tin dated 4/15, I am greeted with a wonderfully sweet, yet strong smell of bourbon, and a nice compact 2 oz cake of tobacco. It is obvious while looking at the cake, that the tobacco is of high quality and due to the presentation, there will be no twiggy or woody bits mixed in the tobacco. The tin note is rather enticing, with aromas of sweet honey and vanilla coming from the bourbon, and I can detect a sweet grassy or hay like note coming from the Virginias. As for the Perique and Dark Fired Kentucky, I have a hard time finding the nuttiness or smokiness usually associated with them, but the bourbon is rather strong, making it difficult to detect much else. The moisture level of this particular tin is much drier than any of the other tobaccos that I have smoked from the cellar series, however, it is still on the damp side, and will require a short drying time before being smoked fresh out of the tin. I imagine that this moisture level is intentional, as the tobaccos in this series are intended to be aged, and at their best in ten to fifteen years. In order to help with the drying process, I took my cake and cut thin strips off of one end and then rubbed this out into a thin ribbon, setting it aside for thirty minutes to dry. After allowing the tobacco to set out for a spell, I packed the pipe easily enough with the thin ribbons, and lit the pipe. The first flavors that I notice are those from the Virginias, the sweet straw like or hay like tastes, but they are followed rather quickly by the sweetness from the bourbon with mild hints of honey and vanilla. The Perique is definitely in the mixture, but it is more in mouth feel than in flavor, at least in my opinion. As for the Dark Fired Kentucky, there does seem to be a slight nuttiness that I am able to detect, but it is rather thin and I only taste this by mid bowl or beyond. As for burn characteristics, I have had to tend this blend quite frequently with relights and I can only assume that this is again due to the moisture content. Maybe, one should let this dry overnight before having it as a morning smoke, if relights and constant tamping bother you. When finished, the tobacco did burn down to a fine white powdery ash which made cleaning the pipe rather simple, only requiring that I run a pipe cleaner through the stem and around the inside of the bowl to remove any remaining moisture. As for the room note, those around me made mention that the tobacco smelled rather sweet, so I take that to mean that it is tolerable. Overall, I have been very satisfied with Bourbon Bleu, and can only imagine what it will become with ten years or more of age. My best guess is that the Virginias will continue to sweeten, becoming more fig like as time goes on which will marry well with the bourbon, which I imagine will mellow out to some degree itself. Hopefully the nuttiness and smokiness that I associate with Dark Fired Kentucky and Perique will deepen and begin to show themselves a bit more, and if the bourbon does mellow out with age, I am sure they will become easier to detect. With this in mind, I purchased several tins so that I could smoke a tin now, and cellar several, comparing my notes later on down the road. I would recommend this blend to anyone who enjoys a good Virginia and Perique blend but also likes to spice it up a bit.

Pipe Used: Italian Briar

Age When Smoked: fresh from tin

Purchased From: PipesandCigars.com

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Capt (339)	2018-07-26		Medium	Very Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

Tin date 04-10-15 The tin aroma reminds me of fresh split red oak firewood. Beautiful crumble cakes comprised of mostly medium brown tobacco with some light colored specks pressed in. Moisture content is on par with most offerings from C&D. Rubs out very nice and loads equally well. Initial charring light give off that spicy Perique aroma, only to be followed by the VA. The Kentucky is in there, I can tell by the added strength. The bourbon top note is barely noticeable. I smoke mostly Lat blends in the fall, but if I decide to switch it up, this is a great change of pace. The blend offers quite a bit of depth too! Zero bite, but it can become a bit harsh at the end of the bowl if puffed too hard. If sipped, this is a terrific blend for winding down after dinner. Burned clean and dry to the bottom of the bowl, with nary a relight. Paired well with my evening glass of Grand Marnier.

Age When Smoked: 2 years

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JJ Sir Emmitt (40)	2017-05-29		Medium	Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

This blend comes as a nice looking easy to handle crumble cake. The tin has a sweet bourbon and raison smell. For me this blend did not offer a whole lot through the fist half of the bowl. The bourbon flavoring was the dominant flavor accented by some mild earth and hey notes. Thankfully this blsn became more interesting about half way down the bowl. The bourbon taste was still present along with some earth, chocolate, green pepper, and a nice savory herb note. The smoke had a sweet character throughout. Bourbon Bleu did tend to burn hot a wet, leaving moisture in the bowl. It needed a couple of relights. I didnt find the bourbon to be overbearing, but a times a little distracting.

Pipe Used: MM Freehand

Age When Smoked: 1month

Purchased From: Tobaccopipes.com

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Silent Soliloquy (17)	2016-09-10		Medium to Strong	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Pleasant bourbon + VA smell out of the tin. Easy crumble and packing, consistent burn. Smoke taste is dominated by hayish VA dominated and with the peppery notes of Per. Bourbon doesn't play much of a fiddle and remains a subtle background note of sourness. Easy to keep lit and the smoke is thick. A little bite on the tongue is present. Nic a bit above average like with most of C&D stuff. I'd not classify it as aro. I can smoke it, but I won't buy it. Needs drying, otherwise you'll get a wettish smoke. Burns hot.

Pipe Used: neerup briar bent and straight

Age When Smoked: ~1 year

Purchased From: Smokingpipes.com

Similar Blends: Cornell & Diehl - Briar Fox.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	pinko (52)	2016-07-08		Mild to Medium	Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I’m not sure how long you’re supposed to cellar the Cellar Series but 1 year is not enough by any means. Everything tastes raw. The Perique is far too forward for my taste, although fans of C&D’s strong Perique application probably like it just fine. The Bourbon flavor is too heavily applied. The DFK smells like DFK but it has a flat, cardboard Burley taste - Latakia would have been better. The Virginias are young and rough.

Bourbon Bleu likes to smoke hot, which doesn’t help its flavor any. It also doesn’t want to stay lit, although it’ll behave better if you fully rub it out. This might have something to do with the heavy application of the sauce.

BB comes off like a low-rent version of Sixpence, with lower quality VAs backed by too much Perique and surprisingly flat KY. A definite miss. Smoke Sixpence instead, or Triple Play, and drink your Bourbon on the side.

Pipe Used: meerschaum

Age When Smoked: 1 year

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	hiltanzil (7)	2016-04-16		Medium to Strong	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant

Ok this is my second review in a day. I receive this tobacco as an sample of a half oz from smokingpipes.

The bag note that i receive is very hay-ist and grassy a typical of virginia based. I always love the form of plug or kake and take the preparation as a ritual.

Ok, the first light i notice very hay note that coming out, a slightly hint of bite, my tongue are in sensitive mode and i can feel it if i puff it wrong it's gonna bite my tongue apart. It light easily and give a pleasure smell after a couple puff. A nicotine kick is medium and give a nice bourbone smell (for the first time i think i smell resin or gasoline smell) i like it.

I think i'm gonna buy this in the future. Recomend it for those who like virginia base.

Pipe Used: savinelli primo fumo 626

Purchased From: smokingpipes.com

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Rustedrailsmokes (293)	2020-08-01		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I bought a couple of tins of Bourbon Bleu and like some others, I'm letting one rest in the tin the suggested time and decided to give the other a try.

The tins were from 8/2019 so they have a year of aging on them now. They come as crumble cakes which are easy to break apart. My tin had a full brownie and a piece of the other one to get to weight.

The tin note was very very slight booze along with some "hay/grass" Breaking off a few chunks without drying and loading a radiator bowl, I found them easy to get lit. A little bit of "sizzle" in the bowl, so I'm thinking a little drying time might help.

The Bourbon Topping is not over the top but I can taste it through the entire bowl, The sweetness of the virginias is there all the time too. I personally haven't gotten much in the way of lower notes from the darkfired/perique but I can see them in the cake for sure. About midway through a little bit of spice on the tongue but once again, not overpowering by any means.

The Radiator pipe forces me to slow down my smoke which I really think benefits this blend. I'm guessing it could get hot if freight trained. But sipped, the bowl and frame remain cool enough to handle.

I'm interested to see how this one ages in the jar vs. the tin and I might pick up a couple more the next time on sale for the cellar.

Pipe Used: Radiator Pipes

Age When Smoked: 1 year

Purchased From: Smokingpipes.com

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	MrKovacs (6)	2020-01-23		Very Mild	Mild	Very Mild	Pleasant

Took me some head scratching to review this blend. Tin note is almost identical to king cake but less of the throat scraping sweetness and a little more spice. I've smoked this blend both filtered and unfiltered and concluded that this is a "Thinking tobacco". First third of the bowl it's almost unflavored and tasteless but it gets Fuller throughout the bowl. The flavor is mild, subtle but complex. Not headed in one direction like a VaPer but not obnoxious like a dark fired Kentucky. It's somewhere in between, the condiments seem to take turn, but never overpowering each other. Never any rough edges, tongue bite or aftertaste. While it's an aromatic, besides the subtle "rum candy" flavor no other topping is detected.

Burn quality: burns well when crumbled or sliced off the block, doesn't need much relights especially after drying, but it's smokabe as is.

Pipe Used: MM Cob, Butz Choquin unfiltered, Filtered biliard.

Age When Smoked: 2 years

Purchased From: Local B&M

Similar Blends: King Cake.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	HeavyMetalPiper (64)	2019-09-15		Medium	Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

I've decided to review to cellar series blends from C&D upon purchase (or thereabout) and after the recommended amount of aging to see the changes. I intend to update the review after that period of time has elapsed.

Now:

Bright, citrusy, VaPer smell.

Smoky influence from the Kentucky. Bourbon undertones, feels more like a Rye at times. Minor spice, more of a "kick" than spice. Overall, a "light" VaPer.

You can find my video review o this blend here:

Aged:

Stay tuned.

Pipe Used: SMS Meerschaum Skater

Age When Smoked: 14 Months

Purchased From: Smoking Pipes

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Ian K (30)	2016-04-13		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Pleasant

I got a 1/2oz sample of this from pipes & cigars along with an order...not a blend I would have normally tried, However I enjoyed smoking it immensely .

Having tried various forms of Virginian tobacco in their condiment form Bourbon bleu seems to pick out some of the best aspects of the leaf whilst subduing the unfavourable ones like tongue bite and bitterness, lovely bright hay like flavours with the kick of Perique at the end, came to me almost perfect on the moisture front (was however in a sample bag not tin) and the crumble cake broke down and packed easily, great quality tobacco smoked wonderfully right down to the drottle. A Satisfying smoke unlike base Virginias which I find leave me always wanting something else after could maybe attributed to the dark Kentucky... Would I buy more? Definately

Pipe Used: Falcon

Age When Smoked: Fresh

Purchased From: Pipes and cigars

Similar Blends: Macbarren roll cake, Orlik golden slices.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JaWiBr (561)	2022-11-14		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Tin note of tangy stewed figs, liquor, and Rasins. The orange, tan and brown marbled Krumble Kake easily breaks apart and rub out. The tobacco is quite moist, drying is needed. Burns slow with a few relights. The strength is mild to medium and nic is mild. I can't detect any Bourbon. Taste is medium and mostly consistent, with notes of lemon grass, sweet bread, wood, earth, tangy raisin, floral, mild dry nuts, mild baking spices, and a moderately peppery retro. Virginias are leading with Perique playing backup. Dark Fired Kentucky is supporting. The bourbon is upwind somewhere. Room note is pleasant to tolerable, and aftertaste is good.

Pipe Used: 2016 XX Ashton Pebble Grain Lovat

Age When Smoked: 4 years

Purchased From: smokingpipes.com

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	BCarter (6)	2021-03-04		Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild	Tolerable

Bright Virginia’s have lovely almost floral note to this blend. You can get nice notes of bright and red Virginia’s. Some real tangy and some sweetness to this. The dark Kentucky’s add a fair bit of woody and spice to the finish for me. Finishing this blend with bourbon enhances the sweetness to the finish. Perique adds a nice, rich touch of tangy fruitiness to the balance of Bourbon Bleu. This Krumble kake nicely rubs apart making for a good fitting pipe tobacco. Overall there is a lot going on in this blend for me. I smoked a few sessions of it and put the remaining kake into a mason jar that I’ll revisit sometime in the future. It’s a pretty good smoke and the room notes are nice, but complex blends need perfect balance for me and some of this just seems like they tried to incorporate too much of too many different types of tobacco. Listen, I enjoyed this blend and I’m from Kentucky, so I am usually always biased toward anything Kentucky or bourbon for that matter! But this just isn’t my style. I would recommend this to anyone though as I believe discovering your perfect blend is experiencing a bit of everything and I haven’t ran across many if any like this. Give it a try! Once dried a bit it holds an excellent flame and smokes pretty cool. Definitely a change of pace blend. I am very curious to how this ages! I think some time could add a great deal of balance to this blend overall.

Pipe Used: Dunhill

Age When Smoked: January 2020 - 1 year

Purchased From: Fat Ash Cigar lounge

Nobody has rated this review yet.