GQ Tobaccos Askwith Kake

(3.41)
Most VaPer (Virginia & perique) tobaccos are made using sweet, grassy, flue cured Virginias and a sprinkling of perique. The resulting tobacco has a lovely grassy flavour with a touch of an acidic twang from the perique. These blends tend to use about 5% of perique, and this is considered the magic amount! For our Askwith Kake we opted to use a few different Virginias, flue cured and less sweet steamed Virginia for the base. The use of the steamed Virginia takes some of the heat out of the tobacco and creates a smoother smoking experience. Then comes the part which Glynn usually goes over the top with, perique. As we said earlier most use 5%, we however like to push this "condiment" leaf as far as we can, so 20% can be found in this blend. The use of so much perique really gives this blend a punchy spicy flavour, which is not a hint as found in other VaPers, rather more a main player in the flavour-scape. With such contrasting variety in the tobaccos, we opted to press this tobacco into a Kake. The 7 days in a cold press, allows the flavours to meld much better than loosely packing into glass jars and balances the smoke out! Created for Chris Askwith of Askwith Pipes (UK).
Notes: As of July 2018, Glynn Quelch sells the individual components and recipe to customers so they can make their own version.

Details

Brand GQ Tobaccos
Series Pipe Makers Selection
Blended By Glynn Quelch
Manufactured By Glynn Quelch
Blend Type Virginia/Perique
Contents Perique, Virginia
Flavoring
Cut Krumble Kake
Packaging Bulk
Country United Kingdom
Production No longer in production

Profile

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

Average Rating

3.41 / 4
10

4

3

0

Reviews

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Displaying 1 - 10 of 17 Reviews
Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Oct 06, 2014 Medium to Strong None Detected Medium to Full Pleasant to Tolerable
The flue cured Virginias are grassy without being dull as some lesser grades are known to be. They also possess mild tart citrus and a couple of honey notes. The steamed Virginias offer light stewed sugary dark fruit, some earth and wood. A minor herbal hit shows up here and there from the Virginias, which are supporting players. With a 20 percent perique content, one might think it’d knock you off your feet, but that doesn’t happen with this blend, though a small to medium bowl is recommended. The perique is plumy, raisiny, and spicy, and is a lead component only by effect and not percentage. Many blends with this much perique would have a little harshness, but not this one. In fact, I found this kake to have a little creaminess that tames many of the rough edges. The strength is a couple of steps past the medium mark, while the taste is in the center of medium to full. The nic-hit is a hair past the medium level. Has no dull spots, and won't bite. It’s easy to break apart and load, and burns cool and clean at a moderate pace with a very consistent sweet and savory, spicy flavor that translates to the pleasantly lingering after taste. Requires few relights, and leaves almost no moisture in the bowl. Despite its strength, it's repeatable during the day, though I wouldn't say it's an all day smoke.

-JimInks
13 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Sep 13, 2014 Medium to Strong None Detected Full Pleasant to Tolerable
Tin Aroma: Subtle grassy knoll with tangy perique goodness, sour notes with nice sweet grass almost sugarcane husk notes. This one fools you in thinking that its a mild blend and the perique hides well as a plummy scent until you light your pipe and go WOW this is insanely awesome.!!

Charlight: After rubbing and airing the tobacco for 15 minutes, the initial light lights up the blend like a charm, if you are in a humid environment you might have to do a quick relight and a tamp.

The First Layer: Subtle play of grassy sweet VA along with the spicy perique, the sweet and spicy taste caress your palate and nose, one word of caution, dont sip fast or you might end up with a scratched throat or nose, the blend really has some muscles thanks to perique. The after taste is quite good, reminding me of sugarcane and hay. Oh my I love the farm life, the hints of plum in the smoke is just so delicious. I'll be bordering on adultery if I keep enjoying the baccy till the end.

Mid Bowl: The smokiness changes from subtle to a little more prominent, giving the tobacco a little more strength, the VA now completely married with the Lord P resulting in a more prominent room note, flavor and strength. The hay flavor is still prominent along with the major periqueness, the spicy straw. I do advice you to keep some sweet ice tea or water handy to refresh your throat as perique will slowly make you thirsty and it helps clean up the tongue for a more flavorful taste.

I clenched my Rick Black freehand sitter and sipped on it in-sync with my breathing cycle, perfection !! the perique tingles the tongue like a sensual mistress, edging you on for more. I must note that by this time your nicotine urges are quite satisfied. Being an ex-cigarette smoker the Kake helps me get my daily dose of nicotine in a slow progressive manner.

If you are using a big bowled pipe like me I would advise you to keep tamping the ash a little instead of dumping the ash, this is a high quality blend which burns gracefully into a pinch of white ash.

Climax: By the time you reach the end of your smoke, you will be in awe of this amazingly creamy, smooth, stout, lightly sweet and spicy blend. The flavors after maturing just a little bit after reaching the mid bowl are now at their full strength. The classy seductive dance of the Virginia and Perique will take over all your senses and in the end after you're smoked your pipe you will be craving for more. A very satisfying smoke. I will give it 3.8 stars out of 4.

The Nitty Gritty

Pipe used: Rick Black Freehand Sitter Poker, Relights: 2, Lighter used: No Matches: Yes, Tamper: Steel Metal Pipe, Companions: Cold water for first and mid bowl stage. Sweet black tea with half a lemon squeezed for the last portion of the bowl to help soothe the plummy spiciness.

Tobacco Components: Steamed Virginia (flue cured) and Perique Age: Fresh Cut: Crumble Cake Moisture Content: Balanced, does not require airing for more than 5-10 minutes depending on the humidity of the environment you are in. Taste: Full Strength: Medium Room Note: Tolerable

Will buy again? Hell yes!
Pipe Used: Rick Black Freehand Poker
PurchasedFrom: www.gqtobaccos.com
Age When Smoked: Fresh from the pouch and air dried for 10 mins
6 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
May 09, 2016 Medium None Detected Medium to Full Pleasant
Kakes are just a lot of fun. This one is mostly chestnut brown but mottled with lights and darks. A nice spicy dark fruit bag aroma (25 gram baggie). Breaks apart as easy as any kake I've smoked, and a lot easier than a lot of them. Knives not required.

With 20% perique, you know upon lighting up how this one will start, and it doesn't disappoint. It's perique heavy at the start. Not too heavy, but I do like a perique-rich VaPer often. The perique is not peppery but more of the typical dark stewed fruit variety, even when snorked I noted no real nose tickle. It takes at least a quarter-bowl for this to settle in for me, where the Virginias come calling. As the blender notes, there is a Virginia base that is predictably basic, but eventually some citrus notes shine through and some welcomed sweetness emerges. About mid-bowl this blend really starts to pop! If the top half smoked like the bottom, this would be a four star blend with a bullet, but each bowl was consistent with its reticence to evolve. Pretty fair nic hit with this one but nothing like a standard burley or a G&H flake. Bottom half of the bowl is nothing short of excellent, with the Virginias equal to the task of the perique and helping this blend reach some equilibrium. A relatively complex blend, this one shows off various bread and toast flavor with a little jelly that changes from plum to burnt raisin. I don't much care for the term "grassy" when it comes to Virginias because I don't wanna smoke a lawn! But the Virginia definitely leaned to that side of things, which seemed proper because too much citrus or earth would mar the experience. An easy recommendation! Again, I just wish it didn't take so long to develop. For that reason, big bowls worked best for me (as usual!). 3.5 stars.
5 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Apr 01, 2016 Medium to Strong None Detected Medium to Full Pleasant to Tolerable
My fairly large piece of Askwith Kake, came apart with ease. I can’t recall smoking a VaPer with 20% Perique that is this smooth and sweet. As mentioned, the Virginias offer some grassiness and a good amount of sugar. There is a definite tang to the Perique, but in a good way. I don’t get any sour notes and not a lot of raisin that I would associate with an aged VaPer. The flavors are very “bright” in this blend as they really pop with a lushes, rich, boldness. The Perique offer more spice in the second half of each bowl. Mindful of another review, I too found this best smoked in a smaller bowl. There is quite a bit of nicotine here, and it wasn’t overwhelming, but I am accustomed to smoking stronger blends. It is stronger than most VaPer blends, so if you don’t get along well with Lady N, proceed with caution. In the final stages of each bowl, there is almost an incense quality to AK. There is no bite, but it will get a tad too spicy for my personal taste if pushed. With that said, the extra spice isn’t enough to keep this from being a four star blend for me. I can only imagine what a few years in the cellar would do to this blend! It is a shame that it isn't available in America or I would have pounds of this cellared as it is a unique and delicious VaPer!
4 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Mar 21, 2016 Medium None Detected Mild to Medium Pleasant
Okay, I admit the Perique was a little over the top for me, smothering the fine Virginia leaf that I detected. A cool, long lasting blend in the original GQ line-up. The mottled leaf tells me there are a variety of Virginia grades in this tobacco, but again, hard to get the various nuances due to all the Perique. This one carries some strength and depth. It will load easily due to the KK presentation.

Pipestud
4 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Mar 12, 2014 Medium to Strong None Detected Medium to Full Pleasant
A strong (20%) perique mixture, pressed into a cake, which can be easily crumbled in the hand. The large proportion of perique means that it is not a tobacco for wimps, but it isn't as overpowering as you might expect. It has a marked perique tang, but less of the fruitiness also often associated with perique, perhaps because the Virginias used are different from the usual.
Pipe Used: Askwith morta Liverpool
PurchasedFrom: GQ
Age When Smoked: New
4 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Sep 19, 2016 Strong Strong Very Full Very Pleasant
Nothing more to add that JimInks, DK, and Pipemonk haven't said so well already, EXCEPT that this GQ Tobacco Vaper blend is one of the most magnificent, almost magical, alchemy of tobacco genius ever made - now, never to be made again due to granny state regulations, we will mourn a great great loss. Thank you, Glynn Quelch, for Askwith AND Burper Kakes, and so many others - you raised the bar to Mt. Everest heights.
Pipe Used: Nordic Nickel Apple
PurchasedFrom: GQ Tobacco
Age When Smoked: 1+ year
3 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Apr 25, 2015 Medium to Strong None Detected Medium to Full Pleasant to Tolerable
Askwith Kake; I think this could be the start of a long-term relationship. We are already on first name terms, on each other's Christmas card lists, and there has even been casual talk about us holidaying together with each other's families.

This is an outstanding tobacco, blended in the city of Nottingham, home of the infamous Sheriff and his heavy taxation policy, a tradition that continues to this day for anyone purchasing tobacco in the UK.

Tradition dictates that there is a saviour at hand to take from the rich and give to the poor, and although his archery and thievery skills are unbeknown to me there can be no doubt about Glynn Quelch's ability to blend first-rate tobacco.

The pouch aroma is as you'd expect from a VaPer, hay, figs and plums, but perhaps the keener nose will detect the added aromas of honey and citrus. The consistency of the Kake is perfect, with enough moisture allowing it to hold together well, yet being easy to break enough off and rub out like a flake.

It can be smoked straight away but I prefer about 10 minutes airtime before loading. With 20% perique you might be a little nervous but rest assured this is a well balanced sweet smoke with minimal amount of nose tickle. I have tried a variety of pipe sizes and my advice would be to go for the biggest you have, this is a smoking experience that you would never want to end. As a previous reviewer has stated, just lie back and grunt.
Pipe Used: Preferably a pot billiard.
PurchasedFrom: GQTobaccos.com
Age When Smoked: New
3 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jun 27, 2016 Medium Extremely Mild Medium Pleasant
Got a pouch of this in a trade with StevieB. Thanks bro. Much appreciated.

These Virginias are grassy. A little too grassy for my taste. The Perique is spicy, but mild in flavor. To me, the end result is a mildly fruity, mildly sweet, very grassy, spicy smoke. There is an almost floral note in the background which is nice. Not much more to say except that I can tolerate smoking this one which saves it from a one star rating.

Medium in body and taste. Burns well even when moist.
Pipe Used: MM Little Devil Cutty, Little Devil Acorn
PurchasedFrom: acquired in trade (Thanks Steve)
Age When Smoked: fresh
2 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jun 29, 2014 Medium to Strong Medium to Strong Very Full Very Pleasant
Askwith Kake is a great tobacco. Hay-like in appearance, light, golden-brown with darker/lighter flecks throughout. Wonderful, grassy aroma, very fresh Virginia smell. It crumbles and fills the bowl easily. Pleasant feel and perfect moisture balance. First light and the taste hits in with both that Virginia grassiness and then the spiciness of the Perique. Quite powerful, piquant, some pepperiness there too. The fresh tastes that hit the tongue are quite unique and there is a lingering sensation of that peppery tingling, with a sweetness from the Virginias that complements the spicy richness. The smoke is creamy, rich, clean. After the charring light, very few other lights are required provided you sip this tobacco rhythmically and carefully. The room note is clean, hay-like and aromatic. As the smoking continues, these flavours meld together gradually to combine into a mellow, roundedness. All the above flavours are still present, but more mature and, if anything, gentler and calmer, more solid.The adolescent smack of taste develops into an adult and you are left with a soothing, very pleasant latter smoke which is satisfying and extremely comfortable. There is a nicotine kick here but not heavy or hard-hitting. I love this tobacco and have just ordered (and received) a larger amount for cellaring. More will be added soon. I can very firmly and confidently recommend this blend.
Pipe Used: Falcon, bent, Algiers' bowl
PurchasedFrom: GQ Tobaccos
Age When Smoked: New
2 people found this review helpful.
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