Hearth & Home Anniversary Kake

After reading others reviews of this blend I feel a little guilty about writing this review. While reading my review please remember that all tastes are different and one mans trash is anthers treasure.

People absolutely rant about this blend, and many very experienced pipe smokers list this in their top Virginias. I first purchased this many years ago after hearing the soaring praises, and have tried many times over many years to get to the bottom of this enigma, but alas I have finally thrown my hands up in defeat. I just dont get this blend. It does nothing for me.

I am a Vaper lover, and I have enjoyed some other of Mr. Ouillettes fabulous concoctions, but I cant for the life of me get this blend to perform.

The tin note here is really nice. Raisin and fig. The one thing I did notice in the tin was this was very moist for a Vaper. This had an almost aromatic stickiness to it. I suspect that this is due to some sort of humicant. I must admit, I get very little flavor off of this blend but I think I do detect some sort of humicant taste.

For some reason this one does not strike a chord with me, but others just love it. Give it a shot and decide for yourself.

Every bowl of Anniversary Kake that I have smoked has been a two-part story, one that that doesn’t get very interesting until part two. When lit, the taste is somewhat flat, and almost entirely lacking any of the initial burst of flavor that I would expect from a perique rich VaPer.

Around mid-bowl the smoke gains some body but the flavor is still reserved and seemingly held back. Eventually it improves but it sure takes its own sweet time in doing so, and I have continuously found myself enjoying the richness of the back half of the bowl, simultaneously puzzled as to why it had taken so long to develop.

As far as flavor is concerned, I am hesitant to call Anniversary Kake savory, especially after smoking through and sizable amount of Dunbar. However, I wouldn't exactly categorize Anniversary Kake as sweet either. It sits somewhere in between; more of an earthy tobacco taste with a spicy, semi-sweet rum influenced finish. The room note is okay, but I wouldn't categorize it as pleasant.

This as an okay VaPer with an attractive price point but it doesn't have the balanced flavor, intensity or the sweetness that I prefer. It does have a decent spice kick, and those looking specifically for that may enjoy this.

As a few other reviewers have mentioned, this mixture does trend toward burning a bit hot. As far as Hearth & Home VaPer’s go, I prefer the cooler smoking Virginia Spice, which is a blend that fires on all cylinders right from the beginning. AJ's Vaper is also good.

I bough this in bulk, and it arrived very moist, loose and clumpy. It smells delicious in the jar, with a wine-like, fermented aroma, and smokes surprisingly light and fairly sweet -- so much so, that it can't stand up to a smoky dram paired with it. After the midway point, I've typically had enough.

The biggest drawback to me is . . . Where's the nicotine?

To me, this smokes like a typical light, bulk C&D blend, which is not a bad thing, but I was expecting something more given all the laudatory reviews.

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.

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.

Read all the great reviews, had to try it, did. In fact, I bought three tins on ebay at 5.00 each, about 3 yrs. old. I used to like VaPers more than I do now. This is good stuff, but I found it bitey if pushed, and unlike many bitey blends it burned my mouth, not the tip of my tongue. It also bites if I have more than one bowl a day. Also had a tendency to get harsh at the last of the bowl.

Having said that, the figgy tin note is nice and very promising, and the taste is good, a very refined VaPer, though not much strength. The room note is very VaPer-ish, I like it, others not so much. Very good tobacco indeed, just not a great fit for me, chemically speaking. I had to buy three tins. Two stars.

I've had these blocks in the cellar for 8 years now and, by George, it is still too wet to smoke! After drying out for a few minutes I'm a bit underwhelmed at first light.

Citrusy-sour Virginias are well-accordant with perique and I could swear I detect a hint of Cavendish. Halfway through the bowl a toastiness gradually rises and flavor intensifies - slightly.

The Perique comes into its own during the final phase of the bowl and I am a bit more encouraged.

Images evoked: Three blind mice constructing a miniature bidet with lemur-femur Lincoln Logs and tinker-toys made of rat skulls.

My review is pretty much an echo of KinnScience's- Anniversary Kake is fine, nothing to complain about really. However, it certainly does not wow me at all. Solid Virginia flavor without too much sweetness, with varying degrees of Perique spice as the bowl progresses. This varying amount of spice is the only thing that saves this blend from one-note mediocrity. Using Gawith St. James Flake as a yard stick, this blend comes in somewhere just shy of 1 ft. Worth smoking in of itself, but it pales dramatically when compared to some of the other great VaPers out there.