Wilke Pipe Tobacco Rumcake

I'm surprised that, after looking over previous reviews, there was not much said about the Vanilla extract added to the Rum in this outstanding blend. I could sure taste it (as well as the rum), and the lighter Virginia in the compilation of leaf added a somewhat bittersweet tang to the presentation. Not a heavy aromatic, but one that when sipped slowly, will be richly rewarding to the palate of those who gravitate toward quality aromatics with Vanilla and/or rum flavoring.

Maybe my imagination is working overtime, but I get the taste of rum raisin ice cream with this blend. (It's my favorite ice cream, although those yokels at B&J have stopped making it.) At the beginning of the smoke it is more rum than raisin, but as the bowl burns down, the slight sweetness of raisin takes over. I assume it is the rum burning off that allows the sweetness to emerge to the forefront. The flavor is not overwhelming by any means, it's just there in the background. I also don't find much tobacco flavor, so the total taste sensation is lacking. And to me, it does have a nicotine kick near the end. It has all the smoking characteristics I demand in a tobacco (stays lit, burns cool, white ash, no dottle). I won't be adding this blend to my rotation, but I think I will order some for the winter months. It just seems to me to fit the cold weather, maybe because I enjoy rum during the snow season. Rest assured when I do order it, I will order it shipped in plastic jars, for as others have mentioned, if left in the plastic baggie the rum dissipates as time goes by.

I have been smoking this blend for over 5 years. I ordered Rumcake a couple of weeks ago, the first batch from the new blender that bought the recipes from Carol.

When I opened the bag to smell the tobacco, I was overwhelmed with the topping on this batch. It was incredibly strong, stronger than I've ever experienced with this blend from Carol.

The tobacco quality itself was top-notch, great quality tobacco. Nothing has changed there. I was just overwhelmed by the smell of the blend and the taste of the smoke. In fact I couldn't smoke the entire bowl. The taste is hard to describe.

Edited ( May 21, 2018 ) - The initial, overpowering smell has seemed to taper a bit after sitting for a couple of months.

Cheers.

pipe works has a hit with this one. I could really taist the rum.this one is a winner in my book.

It smells great in the pouch and has a nice aroma when smoked. It comes a little on the moist side, but thats because it is fresh. I find the flavor mild, nice, but not necessarily definable. What is unmistakable is the sweet sugary taste on the tongue and palate. Because it was so moist I anticipated some gurgling, but there was none. It took just a little work to keep it lit but that was almost surely because of the excess moisture. An easy thing to correct. Just let it dry out for a bit. It is about as bitless as a blend can be and still be burning. However, the very end of the smoke looses its sweetness and becomes ashy tasting. Thats not a problem unless you are breaking in a new pipe and want to smoke it to the bitter end the first few smokes. From the moment you light this blend you are struck by the absence of an overload of chemicals and are immediately rewarded with the blends sweetness. This is really a great blend for a new smoker. While I have not tried them yet, I have a feeling that, like this blend, all the Wilke blends are made from quality tobaccos. It is light on the nicotine side. I only wish the blend was a bit more tasty, as opposed to just sweet. Nevertheless, I would have to say this is one of the better aromatics out there. I prefer Lane's RLP6 which is also half the price.

An aromatic that I can actually enjoy. Though I found that those around me seemed to enjoy it even more with compliments like, "Smells good enough to eat" and "Damn, that tobacco is making me hungry."

I always dried it for about an hour and then loaded up. Not much attention required and burned away to nothing but the lingering room aroma of desert or pastries freshly baked. Just be prepared for the frequent interruptions from those wanting to know what it is. Perhaps smokers of Rumcake should be provided with some P&W flyers to handout, for less bother!

I have been craving a aromatic and needed a change from my usual flakes & plug tobaccos. Also needed a non smoker friendly room note since I was getting comments like what crawled in your pipe and died 😉

This fits the bill and gets a strong 3 stars since I reserve 4 stars for legendary blends.

I’ve been toying with this for the past 18 months, trying to come to grips with the rave reviews. It was at its best when I first tried it: although muted and muddled it had a suggestion of blondie bar and rum, and was an overall satisfactory three star experience at the point. But even then I noticed that if I sat the pipe down and returned later much of the flavor had been lost. Now, even though the ambient aroma smells pretty good, the flavors themselves have faded to the point where the effects of heavy PG has altered the flavor profile to something more savory and somewhat funky.

In preparation for this review, and at risk of losing even more flavor, I left some out on a paper plate for 12 hours (!) to see if drying out would help. While this reduced the stickiness to the fingers, I was nonetheless able to form the tobacco into grape-sized clumps, and they stayed that way without unfurling. Yep, too much humectant. My last bowl started out tasting of pan-scorched brown gravy with a slightly unpleasant undertone of butyric acid, the once pleasant sweet-cake and rum flavors nowhere to be found, now, if any flavors could be described, tasting vaguely of stale Corn Flakes.

I have no idea if Carole might have prepared this blend differently than John, as I’ve only come to know the Wilke blends since John took the helm. And I have several glowing four-star reviews coming for his non-aromatic blends. But I suspect the real issue with the aromatics is that most smokers are not perceptive to the taste and effect on the palate of these additives. I myself never use additives in my own home blending (processed from natural leaf), but blenders continue with this practice as a safeguard against mold, or to control burn rate, because they mostly don’t get any negative feedback.

I’m going to go ahead and give this three stars based on how it tasted when all the flavorings covered up the hidden flaws, but strongly advise enjoying it while fresh. It aint gonna get any better!