Haunted Bookshop takes its name from the 1919 novel by Christopher Morley, a story about a second hand bookshop in Brooklyn that doubles as a refuge for people who love books more than the world outside them. The blend was created by the late Bob Runowski, one of Cornell and Diehl's most beloved blenders, and carries his sensibility throughout. It is a Burley forward ribbon cut with red Virginia added for sweetness and a touch of Perique for depth and pepper. Burley is an air cured leaf that brings a natural nuttiness and earthy weight that flue cured Virginias cannot replicate, and it is the dominant voice in this blend. The Perique is present but restrained, doing more to enhance the Burley's character than assert itself independently. It is a straightforward, unfussy smoke that has developed a loyal following among Burley enthusiasts and those who find most Virginia blends too sweet for daily use. For a blend named after a novel about quiet pleasures and comfortable rooms, it delivers exactly what the name suggests.

Grousemoor takes its name from the British field sport of grouse hunting, and the blend has been in production in Kendal for over two centuries, making it one of the oldest continuously produced pipe tobaccos on record. It is a pure Virginia ribbon, but the production process is more involved than most Virginia blends. The flue cured leaf is hand stripped, steamed before cutting, stoved a second time to develop the tobacco's characteristic golden color, then rested before the final stage, which is the addition of a melange of natural essences that places it firmly in the Lakeland aromatic tradition. The topping is floral and seasonal in character, the kind of essences associated with the Lake District landscape rather than the fruit and vanilla toppings more common to American style aromatics. Reviewers have described notes ranging from lemongrass to wildflowers to orange blossom depending on the tin and how long it has been aged, which points to how well the blend develops over time. It is a tobacco that divides opinion in the pipe community, not because it is poorly made but because the Lakeland style itself is polarizing. Those who find it, tend to keep finding it.

The King Street Emporium

Happy Accident