Cornell & Diehl Star of the East Gold

Good simple smoking tobacco not as flavorful as say plum pudding bit has a more balkan taste than other blends, reminds me of balkan sasieni and is a much better price point, a bit dry though and is cut in thinner ribbons than most.. definitely a simple smoke for the afternoon or morning.

Thought it would be somehow similar to, better or worse than “star of the east “, which I love, yet found it very harsh, hot and lacking any pleasant flavor. To be fair it could be the pipe that it was smoked in. Plan is to put it up for a while maybe a month and revisit in a different pipe. Hopefully I’ll see an improvement. Thanks

[Tin/bag - Little bit of new tire smell in the Latakia department. Some faintly sweet old shoe leather. Fine small ribbon cut and a good portion of dust in my bag as well. On the dry side but still ready to go.] Tiny peppery spice tingle in the nose and middle of tongue along with a little sweet leaning towards orange side of sweetness spectrum on false light, which continues on relight. Some dried brown grass/earth from ? red Virginias, all being melded over with very light Latakia playing along. Some small faint floral in the retrohale, and mostly in the nice after taste exhales before a puff. A little more zesty-jaggedy smooth than silky smooth that grows along the way, at times quite spicey over orangy sweet. Good amounts of smoke and fullness of mouth feel. About medium taste level. Burns cool and behaves nicely with a few boost lights along the way. Little to no moisture at the end of bowl. A morning smoke for me today and could be enjoyable any time of day, as well as all day long. 6.5/10

I am a huge fan of English blends and this one is great. It is definitely in my rotation now.