Cornell & Diehl Kajun Kake

The Tin Art is pretty good. Kind of funny. I do appreciate good tin art. In the tin is a pretty firm crumble cake border line plug. It did not want to crumble so I cut it with a knife and rubbed out the chunk. In hind sight it is a little wet and could probably stand to sit out for 15 minutes after you rub it out. Used a general 3 pack method and it packed easy. Tin note was way different than anything I’ve put my nose on this far. Some of the hallmarks of virginias: hay, grass, lemon like essence reminds me of pine needle scent. In addition to that a vinegar like odor maybe reminiscent of wine as others have noted. Also stewed fruit, something less tart than say blackberry more like plum. Lastly a serious vegetal earthy boggy odor I have to assume comes from the perique.

Was a little hard lighting and took more relights than usual to keep lit. It wasn’t over packed so I’ll attribute this to moisture. Once I got it going it smoked like a champ and even though I pushed it hard due to the extra moisture there was no bite that I could tell. Taste wise the Virginia’s were easy to pick out. Again hallmarks of what I think Virginia’s taste like. Grassy hay subtle sweet and a piney lemony taste. There is also some vinegar, spice like black pepper in a way and that boggy fermented ness but I’d mark this as positive. An earthy quality in consistent in it. Does leave moisture in the pipe especially at the moisture level I smoked it at.

Taste is medium to strong for sure. Strength and Nicotine is noticeable in this one for sure. Not off putting but easily detectable. Might consider food before this one. Room note has been described as tolerable. Don’t think it’ll be a crowd pleaser at the bar. I definitely enjoy the diversity this offers and the strength. Does leave a distinct after taste that must be the perique.

Overall I’d recommend to new comers for the experience and lack of bite and suspect perique lovers would enjoy themselves as well. Will not be an all day smoke but will enjoy bowls in the future.

I’m in the midst of rediscovering pipes in a post-McLelland’s world. A world in which both Gawith marques are as elusive as Bigfoot.

I basically cut my teeth, in a pipe smoking sense, on English blends. I eventually found that I prefer Virginias and VaPers. And a little Burley here and there.

As long as it’s flavorful. And as long as it’s at least a little bit strong, Vitamin N-wise.

To be honest, I only recently discovered the wonder of Full Virginia Flake and St. James Flake. Love ‘em both. Especially the latter.

You see, to me, too many blends (especially Virginia and VaPer blends) on the market just don’t pack enough flavor ...for me.

I’ve been searching the landscape for a readily available alternative to St James Flake. Escudo is good, but it’s not quite what I want. Fillmore reeks of Latakia to me. I know. I’m hyper sensitive to latakia. Haddos is just an abomination in my eyes.

Bayou morning is in the ballpark of right, but it’s not quite as flavorful as what I seek. Sutliff Crumble Kake Va Perique is a solid contender, but it seems to fade late in every bowl. Which is disappointing.

This review is currently under construction. I’ve honestly just discovered Kajun Kake, and need more time with it to properly understand and explain it.

After having smoked roughly half a dozen bowls, I find I like it a little less each time. I think I’m finally starting to get what some other reviewers on here mean when they complain of blends being too perique heavy.

And, at this point, both Kajun Kake and its sister blend Bayou Morning are a little too Perique forward for my liking. So I’m reducing this one to three stars for now. I simply prefer VaPers in which the Virginias are clearly the star of the show. Certainly that’s not the case here.

To be continued

Cornell & Diehl - Kajun Kake

Bayou Morning, also from C&D is my main "go to" va/p.  Compared to that one, this one is more earthy, more spicy, and less sweet.  With any C&D offering, I find it just seems to work out better to hold back for at least about three months before opening the tin.  A fresh tin of Kajun Kake strikes me as potent in perique spiciness and nicotine power, while after several months in a jar the Kake is more mellow, the perique comes out with more flavor than spicy mouthfeel and the virginia brings an almost coconut-like note.  Kajun Kake has a certain "old timey" vibe about it, both in regard to taste and ritual that I really enjoy.  More a 3½ star blend than 3.

This review is based on a 1 oz sample that I received at the New Orleans Pipe Show. Kajun kake is a mostly dark brown-to-black krumble kake, which has a great tin note and great flavor. It is, from my estimation, mainly stoved red Viriginas and a healthy proportion for Perique, with a bit of unflavored back Cavendish thrown in. The flavors are of smoky Virginia and fruity, musty Perique. It starts out as a medium strength blend, but as it progresses, it can get pretty stout with Perique and Virginia developing in the bowl.

I have to admit, I enjoyed this tobacco quite a bit. I'm just not sure that I will order it again very soon, as there are so many others that I smoke that are similar and I actually like better (Bayou Morning) and are available in bulk. When I do purchase some of this, it will most likely be in the 8 oz tin, where I can smoke a bit of it and also jar the rest to see what aging will do. I may actually revisit this and rate it higher. Only time will tell, but we will see.

My mama always said life is like a tin of tobacco: You never know when you'll be getting cancer.

I remember when I was drafted to serve in 'Nam. I had to go through training first. On the bus to camp, I sat next to a fella named Bubba. So Bubba was from Bayou la Batrie, Alabama, and his mama cooked shrimp. And her mama before her cooked shrimp, and her mama before her mama cooked shrimp, too. Bubba's family knew everything there was to know about the shrimping business. I had always thought that he looked like an angler fish, but it didn't matter to me. He was a friend.

Now for some reason I fit in the army like one of them round pegs. It's wasn't really hard. You just make your bed real neat and remember to stand up straight and always answer every question with "Yes, drill sergeant."

When I was training, Bubba told me everything he knew about shrimp. He said he was gonna get into shrimping business himself. One of the secret recipes he taught me was to wrap shrimp in tobacco and steam it and then sprinkle Louisiana Perique on it. But the secret wasn't about eating it, it was about smoking it. We were gonna get some tobacco shipped from Bayou, but we had finished our training, and we were shipped to 'Nam.

There we met Lieutenant Dan, and we helped him look for a fella named Charlie. We couldn't find him most of the time, because we kept being shot at. One time it got real dangerous. Our platoon got split and so I ran. I ran as fast as I could. Then I realized I was alone. I had to go find Bubba. He was my best good friend.

Every time I went to find Bubba, I found someone else who needed help. After I saved them all, I went to find Bubba. Then I found him and took him to the shore. He was hurt pretty bad. Lt. Dan activated the flare, and purple smoke filled the area. It was a flare, but it smelled like Bayou Shrimp and Tobacco. It was Kajun Kake.

If I'd have known this was gonna be the last time Bubba and me was gonna talk, I'd have thought of something better to say. But then, Bubba said something I won't ever forget: "Forrest, I wanna smoke my secret blend."

Bubba was my best good friend, and even I know that ain't something you can find just around the corner. Bubba was gonna be a shrimping boat captain, but instead, he died right there by the riverbed in Vietnam.

I got interested in Vapers about a year ago (normally a Virginia guy), and I've done my best to try a lot of different takes on this delicious combo. Some work better than others, no doubt, and this one from Cornell & Diehl is a perfect example on how well the two types of tobacco can get along.

The amount of Perique is as it should be (according to MY taste). It's not completely overpowering, but it's still very present with its weird spicy character and almost fruity hints. Plus, yes, it gives a certain boost in the nicotine department.

The (red) Virginia is really what makes the blend special though, largely because it has been turned into Cavendish. That, I believe, was a clever move. The softness of the Cavendish (with the still lingering red Virginia tricks) is amazing when it gets in action with the dark and playful Perique. The result is an earthy but very well rounded smoke that casts a deliciously sweet shadow.

First off, the packaging of this tobacco is great. Two small, slightly moist cubes wrapped in wax paper and looking perfect, ready to smoke. A small chunk can be taken off each cube and rubbed out very easily. I let it sit for about 10 minutes before packing. The burn is good and the initial taste typical of other C&D vapor blends. With that said, I like it, and others might too, and I have a few tins stashed, but I wouldn't go out of my way to buy more.

This is a standard C&D crumble cake. A nice black brownie that comes at perfect humidity for smoking. Smells like spoiled milk. There must be some Perique in here.

It's hard to call this blend a VaPer. When compared to all the classic blends this one is very different. I feel like the Virginias are there to compliment the Perique rather than the opposite. Also with all the virginias being stoved (I think) the range of flavors are very different. This one apparently contains less perique than bayou morning (which is 25%), however to me I feel like I taste much more spice, and get even more of a buzz.

Charry, toasted grain (not unlike a stout, but more like a black lager, or schwarzbier) earthy, bready, woodsy, creamy, lots of black pepper spice, tangy pickley/fuity notes, & savory finish that builds up. Also a bit of a licorice/anise note. A darker VA experience without much bright/citrus notes and overall a very dry smoke despite the addition of Cavendish. Pretty strong nicotine content. burns dry and at an average pace.

Although it's pretty decent, I feel like this one is just lacking a little something to bring it all together. Maybe it's sweetness, or some brighter, citrusy notes? I'm not sure. It's still not a bad smoke and despite my small disappointments I will probably still be buying an 8oz can for aging purposes, I'm just too curious how this would be in 5 years or so. I feel like it has all the makings of a great sleeper blend. Pretty interesting smoke, and can't think of much exactly like it.

Those who read my reviews know I'm a lush when it comes to VaPer blends. I never seem to have enough of that Louisiana spice. I love the range of complexity to simpleness, the plummy to spicey, sweet to bready taste you can get from a good VaPer. So when I saw C&D had a VaPer in a cake format I knew I wanted to try it.

As is often the case, the tin art on this can is fun and interesting enough to make me pull one off of the shelf. Opening up you will find a typical C&D crumble cake mostly shades of dark brown in color. The tin note is tangy from the Red Virginia, and plummy and musty from the Perique. Every now and again I get a hint of barnyard; cigar smokers will know what I mean. The tobacco is easy to peel off and rub out, and it takes a light really well. I find that this blend can benefit from a light drying time but it will light fine without.

Once lit, this blend is fairly simple and straight forward. The Red Virginias are bready, woody and tangy. They add a slight sweetness but not too much. The Perique offers raisin and plum notes, but not too much spice. This has a tremendous potential for aging. The blend is fairly mellow because it's pressed into a cake, but with some time this could be smoother still.

The taste is a medium, and the aftertaste is pleasant with Virginia sweetness hanging on your tongue. Adding Perique often increases the strength of a blend, but I still find this mellow even after eating a light breakfast. I'll give the strength a medium. Room note is up to you, but I think it won't win any non-smokers over to our side of the table. Is it the best VaPer I've had: no. Is it a decent blend for a light it and leave it, working in your shed kind of experience: yes. It's quite simple and is good at what it says it is. I give this three stars.