Today I'm here to talk about the long-awaited return of Cornell & Diehl's Small Batch: Palmetto Balkan. Palmetto Balkan is, for me personally, one of the more memorable English blends that Jeremy and his team at C&D have put out in the last couple years.

There's a handful of aspects that make Palmetto Balkan particularly interesting and not your average English. As somebody who considers himself more of a crossover smoker — I'm predominantly a Virginia, Virginia/Perique guy, and I only reach for English blends occasionally — this one really fits the bill.

Components & Latakia Proprietary Process

It has a little more complexity and intrigue, and I think it's more approachable as far as a medium English goes. There's a lot of very interesting stuff, both tobacco wise and process wise that goes into Palmetto Balkan.

The base of the blend is formed by three different grades of Red Virginias grown in the Carolinas: 2013, 2019, and 2023. To that, a couple of very interesting Oriental tobaccos are added. There's a 2019 Basma and a 2022 Prilep tobacco from Macedonia, which is a very rare varietal of Oriental tobaccos. Then the Latakia component is actually a mélange of several different sources of Latakia — Cyprian and Turkish Latakia — with some special proprietary processing by C&D to emulate the feel and flavor of the old bygone Syrian Latakia. I think what Jeremy's been able to do here is take Latakia in a direction that even surpasses this nostalgic reminiscence that we all have for the Syrian leaf.

The Turkish leaf was processed in Turkey through their Latakia process, involving the Dark-Fired smoking of the leaf, which is done to a very highly technical degree and, in my opinion, produces the most consistent Latakia that I think we've ever seen on the market.

The first time I tried Palmetto Balkan a couple years ago when it was originally released, it felt like it was a tailor-made English for my preferences. I would say it is a tobacco-forward English mixture, not just a Latakia-forward English mixture.

Tin Note & First Impressions

It's very rich, even in the tin. The tin note hints at some of the fruity elements that you're gonna get, those wine-like elements, a bit of warming spices, and a little bit of a barrel character in a good spirit, like vanilla and oaky. It's deep and complex, and it is not campfire forward. I think that's one of the reasons that Palmetto Balkan has appealed to so many of us out there, myself included.

Really great tin note, and I think most of that comes through in the smoke pretty immediately. Moisture content right out of the tin is absolutely perfect. I didn't even give this any drying time. Maybe a little bit of aeration, but really you can just pack and go right away.

The cut is a uniform, standard C&D ribbon. I find that it works well in a variety of sizes of pipe chamber. You can smoke this in a small pipe for a quick smoke or you can load up a big bowl and have a very consistent experience across a bunch of different sizes of pipes.

Because of the cut and the perfect moisture content, it loads up and takes to the flame really really well. What you get is a really intense burst of flavor immediately.

Right off the bat, there's a lot of smoke and density on the palate. It's basically the perfect medium-to-full English for me. I think where this one really shines and becomes special is as the bowl develops, that complexity comes through and I start paying more attention to the smoke.

A Reliable and Approachable English

If you just want a reliable and comforting English that you can enjoy pretty much any time of day, in any pipe, Palmetto Balkan fits the bill. It's very approachable, balanced, and I think that's where I struggle with most English mixtures in general.

Normally, striking that balance between the Latakia forward, which is very woody and smoky, and then the rest of the nuance that Oriental leaf and Virginias tend to provide is very difficult. A lot of Latakia blends, to me, feel Latakia forward. If that's a flavor that you love, amazing. But if you're looking for more complexity and if you want to appreciate the base tobaccos in the blend and the supporting Orientals, then something like Palmetto Balkan just makes it easier to understand the way that all of these tobacco intersect and support each other.

I can pick up on a fair bit of sweetness, even in the first third of the bowl or so. Definitely some of the earthy notes, some of that incense-like quality, a little bit of nuttiness, and the Oriental components come through. They're not just in the background or in a supporting role; at various points, they're the star of the show. Really what comes through the most to me is the Latakia component, and it's because it's so different from a typical Latakia.

Incredible Latakia & An Elegant English

What Jeremy's been able to do, combining a couple of different sources of Latakia and a little bit of extra processing that he does that's proprietary to Cornell & Diehl, is create something that, in my opinion, was intended to be reminiscent of the old Syrian leaf, but — I've said this since the original iteration of Palmetto Balkan — in my opinion, it's better than that.

I've been fortunate enough to smoke old tins that had Syrian leaf in them even years and years ago when they weren't that old yet, and while many of those blends are legendary for a reason, and the Syrian Latakia was absolutely very special, this feels, again, more balanced and more nuanced.

There's very little of that woody and campfire smoke. Like I mentioned in the tin note, in the smoke, I get more of the barrel character from an aged spirit, almost like vanilla and oaky, with a little bit of spice.

Since the volume of the smoke on this is also heavy, that creaminess that you get from a lot of English mixtures is amplified. I get some berries, dark-red fruits, a little bit of a wine-like quality, and some warming spices. If this was a dessert, it would be like a custard with berry compote on top. It's that rich.

You still have the sweetness, the maltiness, and even a little bit of that bready character that you get from the Virginias. Along with the Basma and the Prilep, there's a lot going on here that ranges from malty and bready, and even almost like an amber ale to something that is a little more dry, like marzipan or peanuts. Then you've got those fruity notes as well. It really is just like the Willy Wonka Three-Course Dinner Chewing Gum that was like a whole meal in one bite. There's just a really wide array of flavors, simultaneously.

This is not an in-your-face tobacco. It's very elegant and very balanced. It can definitely fade into the background and be an all-day smoke, even for the casual English smoker. But if you dig a little bit deeper, it's hard to beat Palmetto Balkan's complexity as far as an English blend goes.

Palmetto Balkan: A Perfect English

Today I am revisiting Cornell & Diehl's Small Batch Palmetto Balkan in a little bent Dublin by Claudio Cavicchi, one of my favorite English pipes. If you are nostalgic for the old Syrian blends, or if you're just a fan of Englishes in general, Palmetto Balkan is worth a try.

I think it definitely has long legs and is worth cellaring. In my opinion, the Turkish Latakia and the proprietary processing of this source and 2004 Cyprian Latakia that Jeremy has used for this blend far exceeds any of the other Latakia that I've ever smoked. I think Palmetto Balkan is a perfect English blend.