Cornell & Diehl: Shelbyton 2oz Pipe Tobacco

The C&D Bulk Library Project

Shelbyton
Smoking Pipes Rating : 1.7

This ribbon cut aromatic is comprised of Virginia , Dark Fired Kentucky, Burley and Black Cavendish.

I sampled it with three bowls smoked in a Missouri Meerschaum Missouri Pride , with filter removed.
>Plentiful white smoke, but lacking in “oomph”. Never in three bowls noted the Dark Fired Kentucky - a component I love but was hidden here. Could tell if pushed hard it could be a little “bitey”.

From the bag it was earthy, slightest hint of tanginess, and sweet - like a spun sugar sweetness.

Flavor was lite to lacking ; not any attention getting standout , but also not offensive.

Honestly if sold in a tub and labeled “Grampas Codger Bucket” it would be aptly marketed.

Probably a good starter blend for a new piper who wants to steer clear of strong blends and avoid overly fruity aromatics. Could also likely be used to temper stronger blends pretty acceptably.

My rating : 2- meh. It’s ok but I won’t mind never having it again, but I’ll smoke what I got.

(This was blend 1 of the 101 C&D Bulk blends listed on smoking pipes when I started this project. )...Read More

A low score for something that should be a lot tastier. There's an awful lot of not a lot with this smoke. I can just about make out the port but there's so little of it, and the tobacco mixture that predominates is pretty bland. The tin is in the bin.

This crap has a justifiably low rating - smells of burning chemicals, and tastes like burnt peanuts. Definitely does not taste like port wine! Don't waste your time👎🤢

I was intrigued by this blend because of two words I saw in the description (1) TAWNY and (2) PORT. I’m a firm believer that nothing pairs better with pipe tobacco than A fine tawny port. This blend is very good, it gives you a rich creamy smoke that burns down to a fine ash. It’s not overpowering and there’s a nice level of nicotine. The tawny port adds a nice note to the bag, very subtle undertone to the smoke that gives the flavor of raisins and stone fruit. Frankly, I wish the tawny port was more pronounced in the flavoring....Read More

I have to start by saying I ordered Shelbyton by mistake getting it's name mixed up with Shandygaff. I didn't mind, I'd never had either of them and I'm sort of addicted to trying new blends so Shelbyton still met my requirements. I like Black Cavendish blends usually, and I love Virginia and Dark-fired Kentucky, especially together, but I was not expecting the “tawny port”. Whoa! “What the @$%# is this”, I thought. It was like a really good mixture that someone had liberally added cooking sherry to. Joking aside, it's not that bad. It was fun for a while. I don't think I'd order Shelbyton again for myself...maybe, but I know that it's not a bad blend by any means, just way different than what I expected. For what it is, it is rather unique, and I'm sure this is someone's favorite tobacco for it. I'm not terribly experienced with port flavored tobaccos, but one I did enjoy (which I reviewed) was Comoy's Cask No. 2. The composition might be a similar recipe, but where Comoy's Cask No. 2 was balanced and thought out, Shelbyton seems more like a “Hey y'all, watch this!” captured moment that may seem funny at the time, but has the potential to be a regrettable memory someday. Still, to each his own. One man's meat is another man's poison, right?...Read More

In my quest to find favorite tobacco blends, I have tried a lot of aromatics. To me they are sickening sweet or just produce hot, tongue biting, perfumed air. The closest I have come to liking an aro is Erinmore Mixture. It would appear that I need to forget aro's all together.