Hearth & Home Anniversary Kake

What a complete disappointment. I was very excited to try this blend. This velvety, wonderfully fragrant cake showed a lot of promise in the bag. It reminds me of Prince Albert or Carter Hall. In the pipe, it falls way short. It may pack well, but it smokes hot and the flavor is synthetic, and somewhat chemical. Tastes like burning tires smell. Reminiscent of spilled diesel. I tried it in several pipes: a Ben Wade Danish, an Ehrlich prince, a John Bessai poker, a Peterson System 315, and a cob churchwarden. The only pipe that it was remotely tolerable was the Savinelli Trevi 626 using a balsa filter. Even with the Sav, the finish was sour. And it bites, even gently sipped. Leaves the pipe in a hot gloopy mess. I expected more from Mr. O. And the Burley Kake isn't all that great either.

In spite of the fact that I have smoked two pounds of this stuff I have never reviewed it. With over 100 already posted I suppose one more doesn't matter, mostly though it's because I am at a loss to understand why I like it. Let's start first with the fact that I did not ry this blend until right after H&H switched it's manufacturing to Sutliff so many of the descriptions I have read about large dark and dense cakes are not what I have got. In fact not a single tin I've opened has ever had cakes in it, it is instead a fluffy rough cut. It is rich brown in color with no visible sign of perique. It smells in the can of a hint of rum and must. The must is enough for me to say why do I like this but I do, inspite of my disappointment in the lack of cakes to break up I filled that first bowl with low expectations. A subtle sweetness flowed from the first light and the perique wafted in and out throughout the smoke. It has an almost buttery quality and I was soon finding myself craving it and it became a daily smoke for awhile.

I don't smoke as much of it these days but I still have another two pounds (in 8oz. cans) and will buy some more in the future. It is a bit moist, as some have pointed out, but not problematic.

Anyhoo I like it, maybe after a few more pounds I will be able to express more eloquently why. But I doubt it...

I'm giving it four stars but you should probably not use my review as a reference.

I had read so much about this tobacco and was anxious to try it. I'm a big fan of Hearth and Home tobaccos and when I placed my last order I got an ounce sample. In the bag the tobacco has a wonderful spicy aroma. But upon lighting it none of that spice came through. I found the tobacco to be very bland and it burned hot. You really have to smoke this one gently to the point of letting the pipe go out or you'll get a bad case of tongue bite. Although the tobacco packed well, stayed lit and smelled wonderful in the bag I found it to be a big disappointment lacking in flavor and burning much too hot for my taste.

I've been an Aro-Smoker for over 35 years. This year I found out that you can actually TASTE your pipe tobacco and not just Smell it! Latakia and other Orientals have been on the menu in several variation,s and I really like the subtleties in flavor and taste. However, I saw some very positive reviews on a group of blends of tobaccos called VaPers (well, it was new to me anyway!). This was my introduction to H&H Anniversary Kake. So, I ordered four ounces to see if it could actually be "that good." IT REALLY WAS! I love this stuff!!! Tasty Sweet Virginias (whatever Russ found to mix in) and the Perique...Oh, the Perique. Sweet Cinnamon Bun Spicy Goodness! And, when I came back to re-order, it appeared that everyone else had discovered it too! THEN CAME THE FAMINE HIT: Backordered!!!

So, for the past three weeks I've been on an ordering rampage !my wife DEFINATELY thinks so! I've been trying desperately to find a Virginia/Perique blend to fill the void in my life since the H&H AnniKake famine began; From PS Luxury Navy Flake to Luxury Bullseye Flake. McClellands 2015, Escudo Navy Deluxe and even Dunhill's Deluxe Navy Rolls. (They seem SO similar!) Please don't misunderstand me. I can honestly say, these tobaccos I've sampled over the past couple of weeks are very good. Some of them are Extremely Good...BUT, none of them Ring my Bell like the Anniversary Kake! Please tell me that Russ has this stuff ready to ship. I'm having AnniKake withdrawals.

I have nothing new to add except that Russ told me he makes Ani Kake 9 pounds at a time and he has sold huge quantities of it. I save Ani Kake for when I can sit quietly and really appreciate the flavors as they evolve down the bowl. This, and Rolando's Own are my favorite tobaccos lately. They both are lovely blends...but Ani Kake is worth my full attention as I smoke a bowl lest I miss a wiff of spiciness or the evolution of the french-toast-like caramelization of the sugars in the Virginias....do yourself a favor and just get some and try it.

I ordered a few ounces in bulk from Pipes & Cigars. It's a great predictable smoke and came in the bag as a rough ribbon cut with some loose clumping. I enjoy Virginia-Perique blends and appreciate the flavors of Anniversary Kake. If you don't like to work with flakes, this bulk VaPer might be a good option. I enjoy it more than Elizabethan Mixture.

There was no production date indicated on the tin, but I'm pretty sure the blend was made this year.

The appearance is that of a finely chopped tobacco blend pressed into an easily crumbled cake. Component colors range from straw to bitter chocolate. The different varieties of tobacco are fairly easy to distinguish. The moisture content of the blend appeared to be excessive. The tobacco is easy to pipe and light, but I recommend a little drying.

The flavor is, to describe it in one word, "luxurious." When I opened the can outside, I smelled two bright notes - mocha coffee and cream and hazelnut. In reality, however, it turned out to be much more complex. Beneath the rum topping, which I mistook for a hint of hazelnut, was hiding a whole ensemble. First of all, the aforementioned chocolate and coffee, with cinnamon and a light peppery set next to it. The citrus duo - bitterish lime and sweetish mandarin - played the second role, but not inferior to the leaders. In the background lurked a light note of stale hay, dried fruit (a little prune and pear), some wheat bread and barely perceptible saltiness. The whole bouquet unfolded very gradually - after a couple of minutes, in general, quite reminiscent of a rum-soaked biscuit cake. The only thing left to do was to taste it.

An equally complex set awaited me. Baked sweet dark fruits, citrus, a creamy chocolate note, sweet biscuit, a bit of walnut, pepper and spices, and all generously topped off with an alcoholic dressing. The blend lived up to its name. Fruity and citrus notes played together with the topping the main melody, biscuit, cream and chocolate were in the secondary roles, the rest created the shades. Surprisingly, the main notes of flavor and aroma almost switched roles, without destroying the overall composition and idea of the author.

The tobacco smokes softly, slowly and quite cool, but the overall flavor and relative lightness of the blend provokes you to take longer puffs. In this case, it, because of the excess moisture, can bite the tongue. Of course, you can protect yourself from this by taking a pipe with a filter, but then some of the nuances of the blend will probably be lost. The strength of the tobacco is below average, but the XL pipe can remind you with a weak nicotine kick that it is still a vaper and not a light flavoring. The tobacco burns into a light gray dust, leaving quite a bit of moisture in the pipe. The aftertaste is sweet and spicy, with a slight sourness.

The smoke from the tobacco has the flavor of caramel and allspice and, being light, it is easy to disperse.

Bottom line: the blend is definitely not made for every day. Again, it has a great smell and a great taste, but it can get boring if you smoke it all the time. If you indulge yourself with it as a tasty dessert, it is a lot of fun. The only disadvantage is the excessive humidity, but this little thing can be easily corrected. It remains to add that if the Golden Triangle blends were a vape assignment for beginners, this tobacco is a real test. I hope I passed it.

Back in August of 2018 I was able to get a nice sample of this. There was one catch, the tobacco was like railroad spikes. I was given two and a half of these spikes. It appears it was a bulk buy and somehow was compressed rock hard. Not sure if by misfortune or deliberate. I probably smoked some there and after two years decided to smoke more and leave a review. The ‘spikes’ had an unsweetened licorice smell or best I could make out though it says it has a rum topping to it. I crumbled some off and loaded small chunks of this into my pipe. It is definitely an aro to me and was not bad but nothing that I would write home about. A few days later I smoked some more with pretty much the same results. This does seem that it could burn hot if pushed. Not sure if something happened to this blend the past year but this one racked up 3 one-stars and one 2-star. I do not have any fresh and can only review what I was given. Okay but guess I expected something spectacular being that it is an anniversary blend. Try some, you may like it but for now my sample will go back into hibernation.

3rdguy

I am in the underwhelmed group with this one. Perique is barely present. Cased to the point it is wet to touch regardless of dry time yet smokes and burns nicely. Just not enough interesting anything in this blend to make me want to try it again. I smoked 2 ounces on a trial. First blend by Russ that I found so so.

Not a bad blend just average for me.