4.5 😋😋😋😋.5 Great one to end the year on! Aroma-plum, figgy, latakia forward, some sweetness probably from the stoved Red Virginia. cut - seems like rubbed out flake; rough ribbon. moisture - dry but perfectly fine; packing - some big chunks but packs ok; burn - slow, steady with some relights. taste - mellow latakia balanced by red Virginias sweetness, campfire; pine needles, tangy, nice retrohale, smoky flavor well balanced blend, full flavor. strength - medium; really an excellent very interesting blend. very much enjoyed this fine blend.

❺ out of ❺: I’m generally a seasonal pipe smoker (through the cooler months). This past year I decided I wanted to explore more English blends through the 2017-18 winter. Online I read this blend came highly recommended so I bought a couple ounces bulk. At first it seemed like a generic English blend but after only a few bowls I found myself marveling at the flavor, the smell, the overall experience! I’m sold on it and though I have some other English tins in my cellar to try, I will be going for a larger tin soon. I’m also interested in the C&D SotE flake. I encourage anyone to give it a try. Happy Piping!

🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂 Star of the East is a excellent English. Smooth, cool and light on the palate with no bite. For a blend that is 50% Latakia it definitely doesn't smoke that way, it really compliments the other leafs and enhances them. This is a blend every English fan should try or even those getting into English blends. Top notch stuff 😎

😋😋😋😋😋 I really like this blend. Love the Latakia especially as I always do. Bowl after bowl was delicious and satisfying. I’ve tried Penzance now and this makes a good substitute if you can’t get the Esoterica blends. I reach for this even though I have the Penzance in fact. So I went out and bought a large tin of this blend in the flake. Really have enjoyed Blend Club this year and looking forward to continuing next year with you. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

😀😀😀😀😀 This is one of my favorite blends. I just put a pound in the jar last month. Nothing but goodness.

Smoking this for the first time right now. Thank you for the video!

😀😀😀😀 I thought that when I first smelled this tobacco it was going to be to strong but as I loaded it up into the pipe and started to smoke it ... it wasn't at all strong it was really good.... this was my first time trying this type of tobacco and I really enjoyed it ... I will definitely be ordering this one again.

* * * * 4 Stars. I am a new piper (3 months) so this is my first review in Blend Club although I have smoked some of the other months' blends and will try to fill in those I can. I coincidentally purchased a tin of the Flake version recently and as it just arrived figured i would share my first impression. GL Pease's Quiet Nights is my favorite blend to date and I purchased SOE based on reviews recommending it as similar to QN. Overall, I very much enjoyed my first bowl of SOE and can see the parallels with QN but find it just a bit lighter. I enjoy the Latakia and Oriental combo and feel each component shared the spotlight with the Latakia moreso in the first half and Oriental moreso in the second half. I look forward to more bowls and may edit my review with more experience. I give it 4 of 5 stars in the context of this flavor profile/blend type being a 5/5 for me and QN would be a 5/5 blend for me as a reference point..

🤩🤩🤩🤩. First wanted to say this is my very first blend club review. I have been pipe smoking for just a few months. I was mostly smoke cigars. I saw the wonderful reviews on the tobacco so had to give it a try. Wow what a wonderful complex smoke for me the latakia is definitely up front and agree all of a sudden I get a hit from the orientals and is a very pleasant suprise for me. For my pallet not being as refined this blend is such a treat. Mostly have being smoking aromatics like cherry or something with vanilla or Irish whiskey. They have a tendency to be straight forward. This blend is not for me. It throws me a surprise here and there. I am putting this in my rotation. Very enjoyable blend. I do get some nic hit but I think that is just from my experience with lighter tobacco blends and sometimes I smoke on an empty stomach. It's not a bad thing for me. So if you are new to pipe smoking and want to step it up I would recommend this blend.

☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️ In the spirit of full disclosure let me start by saying that this is just about my favorite every-day blend and I can’t think of anything negative to say about this one, just a great all around English/Balkan blend with lots of Latakia and Turkish tobacco that reminds some smokers of a very hard to find blend that starts with “Pen…” While this is not that blend, and lacks some of the depth of that blend, it is a close cousin and worth adding to you rotation if you enjoy English tobacco. Highly Recommended .

Star of the East 👍👍👍👍.5 Cool burning, no bite, well rounded experience despite the higher than average latakia content. Excellent video and choice to puff. I will say C&D has a special latakia that has me spoiled. Da vinci, Pirate Kake, and Star of the East are my top favorites. I'm never going to back to McClelland's latakias as it has made Frog Morton, Balkan Blue (Bllue Mountain), and even my old favorite Cyprian Star, taste like air. F&K Lancer Slices has a similar excellent latakia as well that has me wondering if it's sourced from the same fire.

Just had this for the first time.And my first Latakia I've ever had.Very smoky and very good! Might be tough to go back to my Captain Black!

Great reviews. Some have said that Star of the East, Esoterica Penzance, and GL Pease Quiet Nights are similar to one another. I am very new to pipe smoking and was hoping that some of you could speak to that? Thank you.

😀😁😀😀Great review, I do love Latakia though, it's the Turkish that gets me in general but , the virginias is totally what makes this sing.it is velvety and not to heavy handed in any way this is good. I love the club. Nice video.

🙂🙂🙂 Star of the East has that creamy, velvet smooth taste that the latakia brings, but for an English it is very well balanced. I like the balance and it definitely has the the smokiness from the latakia. I am a virginia and VaPer smoker mostly, but I will enjoy this when I smoke an English. The cut of the tobacco was a little rough, and mine was received pretty dry but smokable.

I haven't smoked too many tobaccos so I don't want to go all in and give a 5 out of 5 but I love this blend. Such a great flavor with random surprises of a darker sweet quality of flavor. The flavor is comforting, which is why a lot of other reviews say it's a good winter smoke or some other comfy setting. It's robust and almost sweet in the way that a good smoked brisket has that sweet-meat hints. But rather than meat it's a nut, maybe if smoked brisket and a cashew had kid. Anyway, robust like the sky with a big hint of sweet, the name Star of The East is actually a good name for it. I use to think these names are all crazy but I think I'm starting to understand. Screw it * * * * * 5 star

🚂🚂🚂🚂🚂 Sorry, I forgot; are we using a four or five star rating system? Review: This has been a wonderful companion during the recent cold snap. There's just the right amount of Latakia, and it gives way to a clear taste of Turkish Izmir (possibly my favorite tobacco). Stoved red Virigina adds just a bit of natural sweetness, rounding out this excellent flavor combination. It's such a great balance, as all of these flavors blend together seamlessly---smokey, spicy, tangy, and a tiny bit sweet. Its room note conjures up dreams of the Eastern World, as if I'm passing through a spice market in the Orient with earthy aromas and frankincense wafting through the air. Absolutely no bite to this whatsoever, and none of that dry/cold tongue I get from too much Latakia in the mix (like Quiet Nights). My tin is only 3 months, so while it can of course be cellared, it doesn't _need_ time to get better---it's a winner fresh off the wagon. SOTE flake is another superb offering from C&D, and a great pick for this chilly time of year. Thanks again for pickin' another winner Muttnchop, and I wish you a Happy New Year!!

😀😀😀😀 Very good tobacco. Perfect winter smoke. The orientals complement the smoky latikia just right. Mine came a bit dry but that's how I like mine

Beauty review MCP !! Need to pick some of this up, anyone here know how this blend ages ? Thanks in advance

Great video..enjoyed it

:) :) :) :) : 4,5 out of 5. This is a great bkend and one of my go-to lat mixtures. Smooth, smoky and perfect for an evening smoke outside on the porch during cooler weather. I have both the ready rubbed and the flakes. Give SotE Gold a try too.

@@@ I liked the taste. It was smokey and earthy. The cut was different than I have experienced before and I had a hard time keeping it lit. (Maybe I packed it incorrectly) I did detect a strong nicotine buzz and had a slight headache for a few hours. I will finish what I have on hand however I don’t think I will buy it again.

I like Star of the East by Cornell& Diehl .No complaints from Your Truly.

I know this is old, but I heard you say Lord of the Rings was an inspiration. so fun question. What blend would a dwarf smoke? I mean if you had to make a blend that you would say is for "Durin's fok" wha would you say?

😋😋😋😋 I bought it in bulk , it came pretty dry just perfect to smoke right away I don't see 50% Latakia but maybe it is the smoke is very very oriental forward and is a pretty sweet smoke and I hardly get any Latakia but it's there probably just enough so it wouldn't over power the orientals. Very nice oriental forward English.👍👍👍👍👍

😊😊😊😊😊 It's better than frog morton in my taste. love some cumin like spicy taste , perfectly balanced.

🙂🙂🙂🙂 great smoky flavor great price

😃😃😃December 2017 Cornell & Diehl Star of The East - Tin Note: smells like hickory smoke, very rich - Presentation: broken flake but not rubbed out very nice - Taste: molasses very smooth very good - Notes: I will buy this again

🇳🇴🇸🇪🇮🇸🇫🇮 Big Balkan flavor in this one. Strong latakia but it doesn't mask the orientals. Subtle sweetness in there as well.

:), :), :), :); medium smoke; peppery, earthy flavor; nice lat hit, burns well. Unmistakable fragrance of Latakia. Great blend.

🦆🦆🦆/5 It is a decent blend for me. I have had worse and I definitely have other Latakia heavy blends I prefer much more like C&D Pirate Cake or SPC PlumPudding. However I can see myself reaching for this from time to time.

🙂🙂🙂🙂 this was my first English Blend as I have only been smoking aeros and non-aeros since I started pipe smoking about 6mo ago. Tin note is strong, all I got was a campfire aroma, I’m sure that’s the Latakia. I was initially regretting my purchase figuring it would taste like it smelled; however, the smokeyness is def in the background once lit. There is a distinct spice to it reminiscent of old, seasoned cedar. There is a subtle sweetness as well. The tobacco was a little dryer than I’m used to but again I’ve only smoke aeros up to this point. It required a bit more attention to stay lit but it burned extremely cool. Zero tongue bite. I had two bowls this morning with a few cups of dark roast coffee and I instantly became an English blend advocate. Of the tobaccos I’ve smoked so far this is my favorite. Only reason it didn’t get 5 emojis is how much attention it required. I highly recommend this blend to aero smokers who are interested in trying out an English blend. It certainly made me a believer. Thanks for the review Muttnchop!

Great video MuttonChop Piper. If you don't mind me asking, what pipe are you using in this video? Also Is the blend club a series of videos you do or is it an actual club that sends you tobaccos like a subscription?

😀😀😀😀

😐😐"Star of the East Gold" is not as Lat heavy and much more enjoyable for me. I blend in some yellow Virginia to tame Star of the East.

** Just not a fan of this one. For some reason gives me lip burns and a nasty sour taste ..kinda blue cheese ish??! I do use it as a blending tobacco and add a wee bit to my Irish Flake on occasion.

4/5 This particular blend does not get the attention that it deserves given its flake sibling. C&D SOTE is a savory grab and go Latakia blend.

This one was not for me, not really sure why.