Hermit Tobacco Works Co. Antique Pressed Syrian Cake

(2.75)
For years, pipesmokers have lamented the loss of old style Syrian latakia. Hermit Tobacco is proud to introduce it newest blend, Antique Pressed Syrian Cake. Syrian cake is hand blended, stoved in antique containers, and then pressed into one pound cakes using an authentic antique tobacco press. Rich in red Virginia, perique, Turkish, and real Syrian latakia, Antique Pressed Syrian Cake is for the true latakia lover.

Details

Brand Hermit Tobacco Works Co.
Blended By  
Manufactured By Cornell & Diehl
Blend Type English
Contents Latakia, Oriental/Turkish, Perique, Virginia
Flavoring
Cut Krumble Kake
Packaging 2 ounce tin
Country United States
Production No longer in production

Profile

Strength
Medium to Strong
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Extremely Mild -> Overwhelming
Flavoring
None Detected
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
None Detected -> Extra Strong
Room Note
Tolerable to Strong
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Unnoticeable -> Overwhelming
Taste
Medium
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Extremely Mild (Flat) -> Overwhelming

Average Rating

2.75 / 4
3

1

3

1

Reviews

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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 Reviews
Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Feb 25, 2016 Medium None Detected Full Pleasant
This is one of my all-time favorite heavy English blends and I miss it greatly. Deeply rich Red Virginia, velvety spice from Turkish leaf and the dash of Syrian Latakia that is made the way I like it, hand pressed and dried and then shredded into Krumble Kake form with its complimentary leaf. Leathery yet sweet, strong yet mellow, earth shaking yet soft... just a delight!

Pipestud
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Feb 05, 2012 Medium Very Mild Mild to Medium Pleasant
I've been smoking from a 2004 tin as well; not sure when this went off the market, but it's a shame. I lucked out on Ebay finding this. I have had a couple blends with Syrian Latakia before, but this is the first to really show me the difference from Cyprian: winey! This quality is enhanced I'm sure by some kind of lightly applied fruit topping here, but it is very light. Not an aromatic. The other tobaccos are in perfect balance. Puffing this (sometimes quite heavily!) is a great change-up from my mainly Virginia rotation, and I like it much more than the "average" English blend. Pretty obvious that C&D pressed this cake for them: it has all the characteristics one would expect from a C&D cake, and C&D cakes are among my favorite productions from them. I am really putting a dent in this tin, but it makes me kind of sad, since more of this will be hard to find. All in all, a unique taste, a great showcasing of the Syrian with sweet Turkish, mellow red Virginia, and just a smidgen of Perique (nice touch), and highly recommended to those who can score a tin. Funny, others seem to get "strong" out of this, but I smoke it like a furnace and don't notice what I would call a real nicotine punch!
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
May 22, 2011 Medium to Strong None Detected Medium to Full Tolerable to Strong
I have been smoking this from a 2004 tin. This tin has been a real treat and if I can find other tins of this I will buy them all. The main player in this blend is the syrian latakia followed by the orientals and then the virginia. From the smell of the tin you would expect this blend to be very full in flavor however when smoking the taste is medium to full and not overpowering. The tobacco is presented in a crumble cake form and is quite easy to prepare to your tastes. A previous review mentioned this as bearing resemblence to Pirate Kake and in appearence wise it does. I prefer this to Pirate Kake because there is much more of a variation of flavors while smoked - the syrian latakia is always at the for front though. If you love syrian latakia and can find a tin of this I highly recommend this!
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jun 17, 2005 Medium to Strong None Detected Medium Tolerable to Strong
I'm glad I got this as a present and did not buy it. This is very high priced and very low quality.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jan 13, 2005 Strong None Detected Medium Strong
Despite the very strong odor in the tin, and the menacing blocks of solid black tobacco - I found this blend quite easy to smoke and in fact, somewhat mellow on the taste buds. This smoothness helps lull the smoker into a false sense of security. Once it begins burning, the nicotine content really hits.

It is certainly a high quality tobacco and perhaps the real appeal comes from the antique form of manufacture. But were I to rate this say against - Pirake Kake (which it bears similarity to...though less flavorful) - I would have to say that even the syrian component does not provide enough interest for me to run out and purchase more.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Mar 06, 2004 Medium to Strong None Detected Medium Pleasant to Tolerable
My second experience with Hermit Tobacco and almost as good as the first which was Ten Russiansthan the first. Wonderful medium latakia flavor that is even better than the smell of the tobacco in its can. Burns evenly and stays lite through the pipeful. I actually expected a stronger flavor but this was in the medium range and provided no bite. Yum!
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
May 20, 2003 Strong None Detected Medium Strong
As one who loves balkans and latakia dominated blends, this one was an unfortunate let down. The tin aroma was very good with the latakia very apparent. It comes in a crumble cake which breaks very easy and packs the same. The first light reveals a clovey odor at first but after the relight the tobacco settles down. The flavor is only of medium strength and is not complex.It never developed much more flavor down the bowl, it kept me waiting and waiting, but left me nothing but a mottled gray ash. For the price, I can not justify this blend. There is nothing outstanding in the flavor and tastes "average". I much rather spend the money on Mc Cranies "Old Syrian", it has much more flavor.... P.S. This has a nicotine kick that made me have to wait an hour before I could drive. I did not like that at all......
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jan 11, 2003 Medium to Strong None Detected Medium to Full Tolerable to Strong
Hermit's Antique Pressed Syrian Cake comes in krumble kake form and is rather dry as it comes, in typical Cornell & Diehl form. I don't know what relationship C&D has to Hermit, but C&D is shown on the labels of several of the Hermit blends I tried. The tobacco itself is rather small flakes and there was quite a bit of tobacco dust in my sample.

The aroma from the can smelled of cloves, which I have never experienced in a tobacco before. This taste did come come through in the smoking. Being a dry flake, it packed and burnt well. The tobacco is somewhat dominated by the latakia, but there are other tastes coming through, mostly the turkish. The perique is there, but only as a hint, which is fine by me. The taste remains pretty much the same all the way down the bowl.

I found this to be a good, though unexceptional latakia blend. One problem withh all the Hermit blends is they are pricey, $12 each for 50g and you must buy three at a time. Available at pipestyle.com
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