Cornell & Diehl: Blockade Runner 8oz Pipe Tobacco

Name: Blockade Runner 8oz
Brand: Cornell & Diehl
SKU: 003-016-0229
Price: 41.225 USD
Availability: InStock
Rating: 4.31 (8 reviews)

Product Number: 003-016-0229

C&D's true Navy Cavendish crumble cake is made with hand-stoved red Virginia and golden Virginia, soaked in a premium rum for seven days, then lightly stoved again, pressed and cut. The seven days are the time it took our seagoing forefathers to sail back to New England from the Islands with the tobacco in their casks soaked with rum. The ship on the label is the Advance, the South's most successful blockade runner.

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Blockade Runner 2oz

Components: Virginia
Family: Virginia
Cut: Cake

Customer Reviews

Overall Rating:

3.7

51 reviews

Sort Reviews:

Not supposed to be a rum aromatic.

June 11, 2025

By: Virginia_guy

Product: Cornell & Diehl Blockade Runner 2oz

It's not a big deal and it's not to bash anyone or break anyone's balls, but a lot of people miss the point on a tobacco with rum. A pure tobacco with the addition of rum or really any kind of alcohol is not going to have much if any aromatic flavoring at all. But if you remove the rum from the receipe then the blend will taste different. When tobacco was being shipped from the colonies to other parts of the world, it had a high tendency of going bad. So what they did was soak the tobacco in rum or in a sugar to preserve it from spoilage or from just turning into dust. But during transportation, the rum or sugars would transform the tobacco into something way more enjoyable. This was essentially the precursor to casings. I completely understand if people get put off by the lack of rum flavor in Blockade Runner. But to me the point of BR is not to have an aromatically weak blend, but to showcase and pay homage to how it was traditionally done in the past. Blockade Runner is what I look for in a traditional style navy blend. While the tin note is boozy, the booze note doesn't translate to the flavor. Instead you get a light sugary sweetness, molasses, and a very very light fruity note from the fermentation. I don't notice the flavors that stoving imparts on Virginia's. Maybe just a touch of breadiness, but the base Virginia's have your typical flavor profile with an almost black tea profile. Not much spice or any kind of complexity, but I get no harshness either. I imagine if no rum was added to this blend and it was not pressed, it would taste similar to Yorktown as they both seem to have similar stoving proccesses and the same tobacco base. I like it. I think it's enjoyable straight from the tin. I had the opportunity to purchase a 25 year old tin just to see what it was like back then but i waited too long. A similar blend (kind of) is Afterhours Flake but it's alot sweeter. This a nice all day blend that I recommend....Read More

This ship is sinking🚣🏻

May 17, 2025

By: Brett E.

Product: Cornell & Diehl Blockade Runner 2oz

Ok. I smoked this twice just to see if I had the same experience twice and I did. This tobacco came slightly damp. Not too dry. Not too wet. You can definitely smell a hint of booze/rum in there. Not overpowering. When smoking this I can not detect any rum flavor whatsoever. The only thing I taste is the Virginia leaf. And it’s not a very high quality Virginia either. It seems to have a decent flavor at first but gets pretty rank and ashy by mid bowl. I got this originally because it sounded unique with the rum added but I honestly don’t think it translates to my taste buds. I’d rather smoke a high quality Virginia or an aromatic. Not sure what to do with this but dump it. I won’t be buying anything from C&D anymore. Everything I’ve bought from them has been a let down....Read More

Tasty but temperamental

May 14, 2025

By: Kodi P.

Product: Cornell & Diehl Blockade Runner 2oz

Opening this tin smells like cracking a bottle of really good rum. You’re presented with an attractive, wet brownie that breaks apart easily. I don’t typically dry my tobacco, but this one it is a requirement. Since it is so moist you really have to pay attention to your smoke as it is liable to bite. Go slow and keep a steady cadence and you will be greatly rewarded. I can tell the virginias will only improve with age....Read More

Incredible smoke

March 25, 2025

By: Todd C.

Product: Cornell & Diehl Blockade Runner 2oz

I personally love when I find a good rum that I can sip like a whiskey(They are few and far between). Blockade runner is a big hit for me. One sniff from the tin and you can tell that you are not dealing with a fake rum flavoring, but rather the real deal. Plenty of sweetness and a lot of zest as well. Notes of vanilla and caramel. I am not sure where the caramel comes from, the rum or the stoving of the tobacco but it is there and it is great. This is my first crumble cake and I like it. The pressing of the cake definitely mixes the flavors really well....Read More

Amazing !

December 31, 2024

By: Joe

Product: Cornell & Diehl Blockade Runner 2oz

Simply amazing! Wonderful tin note, the taste is truly amazing too, nice bite, sweet, zesty and wonderful, I can't really describe it any other way, definitely getting more. "Upon opening the tin , I was greeted by the smell of rum and Golden raisins, now that I'm halfway through the tin, the smell is more like wild honey, and the taste is excellent, really sweet, a bit spicy, but all round great, to me, it's so good you want to puff like a freight train, but sipping it is good to....Read More

Great voyage in flavor!

April 19, 2024

By: Eric B.

Product: Cornell & Diehl Blockade Runner 8oz

Tin note is very nice with hint of rum. Crumbles easy needs a little drying time maybe 1/2 hr. Easy with the packing and sip. You’ll fined the Virginias sweet with a hint of rum. Room note is not over powering and nic hit is medium. Very enjoyable for an all day smoke.

Green virginia soaked in rum

November 13, 2023

By: John V.

Product: Cornell & Diehl Blockade Runner 2oz

The tin I received tasted very fresh indeed and was positively soaked in rum. Wet tobacco that needs at least half an hour to smoke and at least 2 years on the shelf before I put it back in my pipe. I hope age tames this tongue searing sea beast. 2 and a half stars.

Just okay

June 30, 2022

By: Joseph D.

Product: Cornell & Diehl Blockade Runner 2oz

I try different Navy Cavendish styles and really enjoy Windjammer and Navigator from Pease. Blockade Runner didn't really do it for me. I'm generally not a big fan of crumble cakes, but this one breaks apart easily enough, and it may have been drier than intended. But it does burn a bit hot which leads to biting, and the others I mentioned are "better behaved" in my pipes. Nice, but not a repeater for me....Read More

AVAST YE RUM RUNNERS!!!

June 27, 2022

By: PIRATE PIPER

Product: Cornell & Diehl Blockade Runner 2oz

Aye might be plunderin every last ounce of this rum soaked cargo! A truly delicious treat! Alright, I’d probably smoke yer filthy boot if ya soaked it in rum first! Haharrr! This really is a great blend though, I absolutely love it! It smells amazing in the tin, like sweet dark rum! And it is an absolutely delicious smoke, smooth, cool, mellow, and the sweet flavors of the Virginia’s and rum are ridiculous! Sooo good! I might like Black Frigate just a tiny bit more because of the Smokey Latakia, but both of these are some of my favorites! Grab a tankard of grog and a bowl of Blockade Runner and set sail! Cheers!...Read More

Wonderful

July 10, 2022

By: Todd K.

Product: Cornell & Diehl Blockade Runner 2oz

I'm a light smoker. I'll smoke once a week or less. When I read the reviews of these tobaccos I often can't relate. I don't pick up on the nuances that these other pipe lovers pick up on. That being said, I can tell you that Blockade Runner is the best pipe tobacco I have ever smoked. Really good. Perfect. Wow. Thank You C&D!...Read More