Hearth & Home Anniversary Kake

Upon opening the tin I was stunned by the wet, liqueur-sweetened sight and smell. I was used to VaPers that were dry flakes. In fact, my first reaction was, "how could the tobacco reviews have been so good for this obviously aromatic VaPer?"

And, to be clear, my first three bowls of this were hard to understand. The unnatural wet feel and smell of this blend made itself known.

BUT... a couple of weeks later I tried again. I left the tin open here and there to see if it might dry some (it didn't). I loaded up and surprisingly enjoyed it.

Since my change of heart on AK, I have continued to enjoy it almost against my will. The flavor really is something. And the topping is a joy and (almost inconceivably) not that abundant during the smoke.

I still don't understand how this can be considered an all natural VaPer, like Solani or others, but it's good, really good, in its own right. I would probably buy this occasionally Simply because I can't say I've tasted anything else like it.

To many flavors for my taste, also slight tongue bight. I would recommend this tobacco to aromatic smokers.

You must dry for quite a while to be smokable

Received a sample of this, a little aged and drier than from the tin I assume. It was a good long smoke, Had great flavor and a hint of spice. I am new, and for a VaPer I have Comoy's Cask 7 to compare it to. I do enjoy the Comoy's a bit more right now-but time will tell. Overall a great smoke, and it seems to have a good following. Probably not in my regular rotation, but I would not turn it down either.

I really wanted to love this, got it as a part of a sampler from p&c and all the other baccys in the sampler was excellent. This one ive tried in meers and briars and cobs but it still doesn't work for me. It burns cool enough and does not bite easily, love the crumble cake form. However the taste does not tickle my tastebuds the right way, not for me but would recommend trying it. Gonna stock up a macon-jar and let it age some years, the review will be subject to change after that.

Not what I had expected nor anticipated, though certainly not a bad smoke, either.

To set the Record straight, I had previously been smoking a full bodied Turkish blend, strong enough to cause headaches and make my 18" fez tassle spin like a propeller on a beanie-copter. Having finished the Turkish blend, I decided to smoke this blend. It was like listening to a Germanic operetta sung by a tenor barritone and suddenly going to the alto soprano of Tiny Tim, singing "Tiptoe Through the Tulips".

The strength is very mild with the typical Virginia-noted tongue bite characteristics of unaged tobacco. Sipped, relatively no bite remained, to cause alarm. The Room Note, is nice. The flavor, bizarre. Maybe my tastebuds are finally shot after 45 years of smoking a pipe, because what I taste is, sweetened brewed tea (no milk), and toasted bread. Not bad, but definitely not what I expect in a pipe tobacco blend. This is a softer blend which I will venture a guess, that has been aimed towards a younger/newer pipe smoking audience, and there is nothing wrong with doing just that. I rate this blend at 2-stars.

Bear in mind, I love full bodied, robust blends. Latakia, I am immensely fond of. All lovers of lighter blends, or if you simply desire a lighter blend in your rotation, sipping this one is important, to avoid the Virginia tongue bite issue. I would think that aging/cellaring this blend for about three years minimum, will render a thigh-soft smoking experience. As for me, I will continue the Southwestern Orient blends, and Balkan blends, in particular.

I agree with Modelman; I think I got a bad batch. Judging from all the wonderful reviews I was anticipating a sublime smoke from this tobacco. Unfortunately, I did not receive one. I enjoyed cutting and rubbing out the kake, but the taste was just bland. Nothing at all like the reviews on this page.

I must have gotten a bad batch but I'm reticent to purchase more to find out if I did or not. Giving it two stars for merit alone.

Good luck.

I guess I am missing something here. When I received the 2 ounces that I ordered I was excited at first. Interesting, rich smell and very dark. It was from a bulk supply and partially rubbed. I wasn't sure if it was chewing tobacco or smoking tobacco...VERY moist. Too moist. I smoked 2 pipe fulls today and I really can't get a sense of the flavor or the room note. I realize that Perique is supposed to be a big part of this but not with this batch. Very bland and dissapointing. I'm honestly wondering if I got a bad batch. I rely heavily on our reviews to obtain new frontiers. I also live in New York and have to pay the usary tax that is so ridiculus. So, when I saw the popularity of this blend I had to try it. Maybe it will improve with some drying out. I for one would like to experience what eveyone else seems to. I'm drying out the balance of the batch for a day or two and we'll see. If you live in NY, it's not worth the taxation levy...

Extra mild with a slight spicy/sweet perique essence. I was a bit disapointed with the mildness of the blend. However, someone who likes perique blends, but finds most of them a bit too strong, may like this blend.

Good news: Unlike other reviewers, I got a sample which came as a genuine cake: a 2 oz. block of fine red ribbon pressed into a solid mass. The smell is wonderful in the pouch. The flavor is great; very sweet with lots of perique raisin/fig/prune flavor.

Bad news: This stuff bit me very baddly over and over. Drying, less rub out, and smoking slowly all help, but in the end I had to cut it 50/50 with a very heavy Balkan. Surprizingly, the AK ended up as the dominant flavor in the mix, which I enjoyed very much.