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Tobacco Selections: Cornell & Diehl Palmetto Balkan 2026
Cornell & Diehl's latest Small Batch, Palmetto Balkan, returns, and Jeremy Reeves, Head Blender of C&D, shares some insights about the blend and the unique varietals utilized to achieve the experience of smoking long-lost Syrian Latakia.
Note: The following transcription has been edited for clarity and brevity.
Cornell & Diehl Palmetto Balkan will be available in limited quantities on March 31 at 6:00 p.m. ET.
Many of us over the years in the pipe-tobacco hobby have at least heard about, if not actually been able to enjoy, Syrian Latakia. Through all sorts of circumstances, the Syrian source of Latakia, which was the original and sole source for a long time, went away. Production and growth of Latakia moved to Cyprus. There was a time where these co-existed and then eventually Syrian was just completely off the market and was totally unavailable. At that point, Cyprian was the new Latakia source.
Syrian vs. Cyprian vs. Turkish Latakia
There were differences between them. The Syrian Latakia had a dry red wine character. There were fruity elements, but it was also delicately smoked in a way that the Cyprian was not. That fruity note was not present in the Cyprian leaf and the smoke character was actually quite intense, and so some people either loved or hated Cyprian Latakia but eventually that became the Latakia source.
Through more complicated happenings over time, the Cyprian crop has become inconsistent and inconsistently available to boot.
A few years ago, we and a few other companies started working with a Turkish producer who was looking at the ecological and sustainability aspects of Latakia production, which has been much of the downfall of Latakia over the years.
They began producing Latakia in more controlled ways and in ways that produced less loss, and also in shorter periods of time, with smoking ranging around two-to-three months instead of five-to-six months. The design of the barns helped burn less wood; rather than consuming roughly 400 pounds of wood a day for the fires to smoke the Latakia, they are able to use pelleted forms of the wood less than 50 pounds a day per barn. It's much more sound and partnered with the Turkish government as well.
Cornell & Diehl Palmetto Balkan will be available in limited quantities on March 31 at 6:00 p.m. ET.
Proprietary Latakia Process at C&D
I think Turkish Latakia is the future of Latakia, and we have been on that train for a few years now. There are elements of the Turkish leaf that are reminiscent of the Syrian Latakia that I've been able to smoke. They're not identical, but there are characteristics that I think are comparable.
C&D has a proprietary process that we've used to shrink the gap between the flavor profile of the Turkish and the flavor profile of the old Syrian leaf. That's been the goal with Palmetto Balkan in the past: to pay homage to the original Latakia from Syria using Latakia that I think is going to be available for a long time to come.
This year we also had the opportunity to put our hands on some very old Cyprian Latakia from 2004. We combined our Turkish leaf and this vintage Cyprian, and both went through our proprietary process.
Paying Homage to Long-Lost Syrian Leaf
You've got the new generation, if you will, of Latakia and the most recent last generation of Latakia coming together to pay homage to the original leaf. That is the story with this year's Palmetto Balkan. I am not saying that they're identical, but I do think that there are a lot of characteristics in this blend, along with beautiful Orientals and some very nice older Virginias.
I think the blend really comes together well to accentuate those notes that are most close to the old Syrian leaf. I hope you guys enjoy it. I hope others of you find, as I have found, joy in seeing the progression of these things, but also being able to look back and see that the old aspects are not gone. They're still attainable, it's just different.
Cornell & Diehl Palmetto Balkan will be available in limited quantities on March 31 at 6:00 p.m. ET.
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Comments
Just curious if there are any plans to bring back an old dark fired or bold Kentucky blend, I sure miss those spectacular tobaccos, keeping my hopes up.
Actually have you tried the cascadia vertical limit? I find it comparable in many ways to bold kentucky, now its got some sort of casing or topping, however for me personally it scratches the itch... also, now I've found that st Bruno flake really reminds me of old dark fired... its weaker in strength and flavor but... anyway I'm keeping my hopes up too...