Cornell & Diehl

Cornell & Diehl (C&D for short) is regarded as one of the most prolific names in American boutique pipe tobacco blending. Started by Craig and Patty Tarler as a retirement pursuit, the firm is known for its small-batch approach, an unusually wide range of blends, and hands-on methods. The brand name comes from combining Craig's middle name, Cornell, with Patty's maiden name, Diehl.

Founding and Growth

The firm was born in the early 1990s — sources give the founding year variously as 1990 to 1992 — through the purchase of the inventory of a closing blending house called Amar Blending Company. Production first ran out of the Tarlers' garage in Pennsylvania, then, after 1994, out of a garage in Morganton, North Carolina; the brand did not get its first true production facility until 2005.

Following Craig Tarler's death in 2012, the company merged in 2014 with Laudisi Enterprises, the parent organization of Smokingpipes.com, and moved to South Carolina. The brand moved to its current facility near Longs in 2023; the company's history notes that production volume grew many times over under Laudisi, without the small-batch approach being abandoned.