Cornell & Diehl: Bijou 2oz Pipe Tobacco

A nice change of pace from my usual dark and quirky english fare. Delicate, floral, and a little like graham crackers from time to time. This will be a great summer smoke. My tin was about a year and change old. Been looking for something like this. It was quite good with a tea, but this summer I think it will pair well with a bourbon on the rocks. Glad I tried it. I'll be getting more I think....Read More

Pretty decent smoke fresh but definitely on the spicy side. Better with some amount of age to mellow it out, even just a few months does wonders. Not my all time favorite blend but it is in my top 20 and I plan to keep cellaring some to see how it is with differing stages of age on it

I bought 2 tins of this almost a year ago. One to try right away for experimental purposes, and the other to age as it’s intended to be. I opened the first tin, packed a bowl and jarred the rest. That first bowl (at least for me) was SPICY boy! Man oh man I realized why it needed to be aged. I came back only 6 months later and WOW. The spiciness went down tremendously and the orientals were already shining through. Floral and raisin sweetness with the perfect hint of spice. I now come back to it every few weeks and it has become one of my favorites. Every bowl is better than the last. Also super easy to break and pack and it stays lit very nicely. Super excited to see what serious age does to it. Highly recommend....Read More

Yes, it requires some time to to mellow, tried it fresh out of the tin. It's strong, but fragrant, put it in my new Big boy cob # 3 , and it has my tongue feeling like I chewed sandpaper, but it leaves your pipe smelling good. This might also be more suited for a Churchwarden pipe. Run it out fresh, put it in your favorite Churchwarden, I put it in my Salem Woodsman and it was nice, right now I am enjoying it rubbed out in my Silver edition MM Cob, really delightful, experiment with it and see how you like it!...Read More

If you read the article in the Daily Reader section of this site, you can find an article about after the end of McClelland. Bijou is listed as an alternative to some of the McClelland blends. They also discript how it is processed. The 2003 Red VA and Bright VA go through a steaming process before being blend with the Katerini. That steaming process helps add to the honey with a dark caramelized sugariness along with the natural flavors and aroma of Katerini. Without the steaming process, you will have a blend that will be on the harsh side of the spectrum. With steaming, any unwanted harshness is removed and the dark sweetness is amped up. This is why I say Bijou is smooth and delicate. Occasionally, a spiciness will come through. I don't get any of the overbearing oriental "wang" or "funk" and brightness that I highly associate with Izmir. If Katerini was more available than it is, I would enjoy oriental tobacco more than I do currently.

Bijou is a very nice smooth and delicate blend. The honey really helps to bind in the flavors of the steamed virginias and Katerini. I prefer Bijou with less than 5 years of age as I find it mellows out too much for my tastes. If you haven't tried it, I'd highly suggest getting a tin. This is one if not the very first one of Jeremy's blends with C&D and it made a high impression for me....Read More

There's something bitter in it that doesn't go away with age. In fact, it gets more pronounced as the other flavors fade. I don't think another five years will help, but we'll find out because all my stock is going to the bottom of the cellar.

My tin of this molded over in its jar before I finished it. Had about an ounce left. It was pretty disappointing. If not for that, I would rate this a 3.5, above average. When you crack the tin, the orientals tend to dominate the bowl. I've encountered this with a lot of C&D blends. Initially, fresh out the tin, the condiment tobaccos tend to dominate the taste profile in the bowl, start to finish, it's very noticeable sometimes. So with Bijou, the spicy oriental poked it's head out and really reminded me of a kretek or bidi. The VAs were there, but way in the back and playing a supporting role. With just a few months in a mason jar, the VAs and topping take the front seat and the orientals become the 3rd and the 5th instead of the root note, rather, the "other" notes in a chord. The chord though, may not be a simple a major, I suspect we are not playing Canon in D but something rather more ominous. The VAs are a dark, raisiny, figgy affair, this is not bright, and where there is tang, it is sour, vinegar, not citrus. This is fairly heavy and redolent for a VA blend. It smokes very with a thick, luxurious feel despite lacking tobaccos that usually give a blend that character. Maybe it is the orientals....Read More

Update: A few packs have been really heavy on the honey and sweet to the point where I don't really pick up on anything else and it kinda feels like my mouth gets coated in the sweet. Don't really love that, so I probably won't have as big an issue letting that next tin cellar. I'm still really looking forward to seeing how it goes! Probably going to pick up a few more tins for the cellar. Definitely not going to be the new go to the first couple packs had me thinking it would. -----

[Original] I think I found a new go to! The date on the tin is only 3 months, oh my lord, I'm going to have some serious trouble not cracking my second tin, I'm going to need a bigger cellar..

A light, natural tasting sweetness and a touch of spice over a medium bodied earthiness. First pack felt a little light on the nicotine, but I was also kind of fiending. I might just need to pack more, oh no!

The aftertaste leaves more of the sweetness forward, earthiness in the background, spice becomes almost undetectable. (I was drinking a sweet iced tea at the time, so that could have changed the aftertaste toward the sweet side.)

I can't wait to see how this ages!...Read More

Siempre me llamó atención el mundo de los virginias y, como fumador novato, amante de las inglesas y sus típicos orientales, le di el chance a esta mezcla. Tremenda sorpresa. Comencé a apreciar la sutileza de las virginias cuando son fumadas lenta y suavemente: panela, galletas, papaya, miel y ligeras reminiscencias cítricas. Compré 3 latitas. 1 para consumir y 2 para guardar, pues sospecho que este tabaco tiene las barbas largas para convertirse en un viejito muy interesante el algunos años. 100% recomendado....Read More

I love this blend it’s amazing a lil spicy and sweet absolutely perfect.