Pirate Kake is an interesting smoke, providing a full serving of Latakia. I do not find it as strong as many other reviewers. The smoky flavour is nice and develops a slightly salty, mineral taste. A tongue numbing iodine note remains after smoking. There's no finesse nor subtlety here. Recommended for Latakiaphiles.

Not for everyone, and cake tobaccos require some rubbing out, but all in all a good tobacco. Makes you earn it's respect. I enjoy it with a strong black coffee.

A word about the aroma, I always thought this would send people running, but the other day I was with three other guys smoking cigars when I lit some PK, they all said how great it smelled. I guess aroma is all relative to your surroundings. I really don't think I will buy again as this is very one dimensional.

Updated 11/2/11- Well after a few months to breath and a different pipe ( if that is what one calls an Ozark Cherry Wood, original review was with a cob ), this blend is complex, without heat, creamy , cheezy and a keeper. It must be sipped , that way you bring in the Turkish as a minor player next to the Latakia. I don't notice the Burley at a sip, which is fine, since I'm not a Burley fan. I'm still not a fan of the Krumble Kake as stated above, but it does burn at a sip.

I had just finished some Orient Express and I noticed in the description that it was 50% Pirate Kake and 50% Odessa. OE was suppose to cut the heavy Latakia of PK , but one thing it does is bring the Burley slightly into play, that I don't like.

I still don't see this as an all day smoke , but I will buy again. I will now compare this to Engine 99, Odyssey & Ten Russians blends for my Lat bomb fix. Stay tuned for the results

Updated 8/10/12 I've just tried, Engine 99, back to back with, Pirate Kake, both bulks, and I find PK better . You had better have a liking for Latakia with both of these blends, more so with PK that gives an almost oily taste. E99 is not as sweet and doesn't bring much Oriental and is very one dimensional. I've decided I would rather put my money towards PK.

Updated 10/13/12- I ordered another Bulk batch of this blend, rubbed it all out, let it rest for about a month and I have to say, "this is outstanding". Everytime I try this tobacco, it's a new experience. It has a lot of similarities to Penzance (including the iodine note identified by reviewer," GSTQ 12/27/2011" ). It has a smoked bacon with sharp provolone flavor !!! I also detected an unusual Oriental scent when snorked, hold on....., it's a freshly split oak log with shellac coating scent ( Turkish?, Burley?),. I wouldn't even argue with reviewer,"Ecdycis 07/29/2012" on his "Menthol sensation", I know, it doesn't sound good but it's different and wonderful. I believe I detected the same oak scent in a tin of Dunhill London Mixture . I want to give this 4 stars but I will hold off as everytime I try this, I detect something diffrent?

A beautiful cake, so easy to handle and pack, the room note for me was acceptable, I quite like the smell of latakia and can never understand when there is so much comotion about it. What I do like also is that with the cake form, there is far more tobacco there in that cake than you'd think, once prepared you need much less than you originally thought.

I'm taking to C&D's blends really fast and have yet to sample anything I have not enjoyed to the fullest. Remarkable. But whether or not I continue to explore their blends, ofcourse i will, I will also make certain that I have a good supply of PK on order and in my cupboard before the rest of the smoking world wakes up to this blend, if they havent already. Easily four stars with pleasure.

I got a one ounce sample, and loved the look of it: brownie-like cake (ok, a brownie left out in the sun!) that is dense and smells...of Latakia. Not much to say beyond that. Of course, I smoked some before ordering a half-pound, but this is just a straight out Lat bomb. Sometimes, I like that, though I smoke Virginias most often. I'm an experimenter, though, so I try all styles. I could give four stars for the presentation; it's about the coolest cake I've ever seen, but since it is almost straight Latakia, detract a star. I don't know how long it will take me to smoke all this, but since I like to do a Latakia mainline once in a while just for a change, I will not mind having this in my cellar. Very pretty to look at, and I enjoyed carving the "big brownie" into "little brownies" with an Alaskan chopping bowl blade. It was almost worth the price just for that. This cake should hold together nicely as it ages in the Ball jar.

The little black clump of tobacco you get in the tin is relatively easy to work with, but that’s small redemption for the Latakia overload that follows a crumble, a load, and a light. If this were my pirate ration, I’d have tossed myself overboard before the thieving and pillaging even started.

However, 70% + of Latakia makes this blend unidimensional.

I would not recommend it on its own, but mixed with some VAs or more Burleys to get the best out of it.

But I wouldn't smoke this on a regular basis. Such a concentration of LAtakia becomes unidimensional after a while, so it would gain to be mixed with something else to bring variety to it.

Of course it is hard to keep lit and everything, there's over 70% of Latakia in there!

And the bricks were pretty cool, I must say.

It has not been a nasty surprise this buy, otherwise. I agree with many of the previous reviews that have described sensations, taste and flavor to the extent that I myself find.

Say no more, but something that seems really important, this mixture has smoke very slowly, leaving cool as possible, but it is not difficult to smoke.

Who would you recommend it? Surely only a real lover of Latakia!

Be that as it may, I was fixated on finding the ultimate Latakia fix and when I started ordering from C&D, I worked my way through several less Latakia-heavy blends until I reached Pirate Kake. At which point, even I had to admit that this was as intense flavor-wise as anything I had ever smoked.

Needless to say, the Latakia dominates from beginning to end, but it is not entirely one-dimensional. I think I smoked PK as regularly and for as long as I did because it does reveal subtle flavor-facets over the course of both a single smoke and repeated smokes. Once you are habituated to it, you are pleasantly surprised from time to time by the sweetness that comes through, possibly as an artifact of your palate adjusting to the overwhelming flavor of the Latakia. At other times, you may also detect an almost perfumy fragrance, possibly a synaesthetic hallucination. There's something about the experience that's like drinking neat tea.

This is a blend I've since left behind but of which I have fond memories.

PS: I've rated it mild because nicotine-wise it has no perceptible kick.

After trying a few Latakia blends I thought I might be up to the task of trying this tobacco. I should never have waited so long to try it! Its a great product. It burns cool, rich tasting smooth flavor and a delightful smokey aroma. C&D got it right with this one.

four stars.

I love this stuff: It's rich and stout with a dash of sweetness -- and of course, it delivers a cannonade of smoky Latakia goodness. After reading some of the reviews, I was expecting a monodimensional Lat Bomb, but I was pleasantly surprised at its relative complexity; the burley and Turkish helps it maintain my interest and I actually enjoy this rustic style more than many other full English blends. It's really an American English on steroids -- a juiced-up Engine 99.

PK pairs exceptionally well with Cognac or other amber spirits. (After several subsequent pairings, you'll also feel pickled and smoked yourself.) PK also delivers a pleasant dose of nicotine, and can be a bit mouth-numbing, as reported.

This one's an outdoor smoke, as you've probably surmised. It was winter in the MidAtlantic when I wrote this, so I can't vouch for its capabilities as a mosquito repellent. However, I can assert confidently that it is a wife (and daughter) repellent, so proceed cautiously (or strategically).

Recommended for all me hardy mates.

Once I got it going I found it to be packed with flavor right from the get go. Powerful, smooth and very rich. Sweet taste and slight reminiscence of coconut. It can be a bit tough to get lit though. This is a real acquired taste.