Cornell & Diehl Steamworks | Small Batch | rich & complex aged tobacco

This video is my second attempt (1st recording lost) to share my thoughts on this excellent rich & complexed blend that i only smoke on special occasions due to its unavailability. So i suppose that sharing my thoughts with you on this blend is indeed a special occasion😊 Blend info: Cornell & Diehl's Small Batch: Steamworks is a complex Virginia/Oriental flake that explores the deep, natural sweetness of six exquisite flue-cured grades — ranging from deep Mahogany to brighter Lemon/Orange crops — enhanced by two distinct steaming processes. Presented in unsteamed, partially steamed, and blackened formats, these top-tier Virginia grades combine with a selection of vintage, heirloom Orientals, including Black Sea Sokhoum leaf from 2005, and genuine Louisiana Perique from C&D's exclusive farm in St. James Parish, to create a naturally sweet, subtly spicy, and exhilarating smoking mixture with a rich, matured flavor right out of the tin. Further in-depth info by Cornell & Deihl Steam provides a marriage of flavors and a softness that contributes to an irresistibly creamy mouthfeel," says Jeremy Reeves, Head Blender at Cornell & Diehl. Just as steam can smooth wrinkled clothing, it smooths tobacco flavors. Steaming helps to mute the potentially shrill notes of high-sugar-content leaf, and Steamworks is a complex blend that takes advantage of two separate steaming processes of different durations to leverage the best qualities of its components. "Steamworks is a Virginia/Oriental/Perique blend," says Jeremy, "but the components are very special. The Orientals include vintage Black Sea Sokhoum from 2005, Turkish Izmir grade AG [the most expensive grade of Oriental tobacco, from the very top of the plant and with the most pronounced aromatic complexity] from 2005, and Katerini grade AB [also from the highest and most prized stalk position], it, too, from 2006. Then we have six different steamed Virginia components and one unsteamed Virginia, plus a decent little dash of 31 Farms' Perique. I think the blend is delightfully nuanced, and it's especially slow-burning, an attribute that provides the most condensed and enjoyable release of flavors." Two of the Virginias are steamed together for a longer time, and four are steamed together for a shorter time," says Jeremy. "The black-leaf portion, which is steamed longer to get that color, is from a Virginia-grown Virginia from 2017 and a grade of tips and leaf that range from Orange to Orange/Red to Lemon, grown in NC in 2019." The four Virginias steamed to a lesser degree include a Red Virginia from North Carolina grown in 2021, an Orange Virginia grown in North Carolina in 2020; a North Carolina Orange and Orange/Red Virginia from 2019; and a Georgia-grown Orange Virginia from 2019. The one unsteamed Virginia component is the same Georgia-grown leaf and is particularly important. "When you steam tobacco that has high-sugar content, you remove some of its natural sweetness. Its brightness and vibrancy are toned down, but including some unsteamed leaf drives that sweetness back up a notch. You still have the steaming effect with significant mellowness for the majority, but with Steamworks, the unsteamed Georgia leaf bolsters the original sweetness and takes it to the next level." Different Virginias have different flavor profiles, and blending different styles of Virginias can create a very pronounced and nuanced, individualistic Virginia flavor. As can be imagined, a tobacco of this complexity takes considerable time to develop, even when knowing, as Jeremy does, the flavors of each component and how they interact.