Cornell & Diehl Kajun Kake

So much potential here. Great smoke. Tastes sweet and spicy. Refreshing. A little brown sugar and tang. Fresh cut grass. Delightful strong nicotine "hit." But something seems to be missing- the perique! Where is it? There is no musty, oak whisky barrel flavor that I can detect. A little spiciness, but no funk. No backbone. All treble and no bass. Burns mighty hot, too. So hot that embers fly out of the bowl and burn my hand. This is truly a diamond in the rough.

This tinned tobacco comes in one of my favorite formats, the krumble “kake” hence the name. I’ve had good experiences with each of these tobaccos from Cornell & Diehl in terms of how well the flavors marry together and the moisture content.

I had to carefully sip this one as the flavors were a bit harsher with stronger puffs, especially at the start of the bowl. Plus with some nicotine, a slower pace is probably a good idea anyway.

When I settled in to a steady pace, the flavors were fantastic with a mix of spice, dark fruit, and touch of bread and honey on the finish. I had to relight a few extra times because I was trying to smoke cautiously to keep the burn just right. I’ve managed to smoke a 2oz tin in a few weeks because I just had to keep it in my rotation. I will buy again.

Smells like tea spirit! Ain't no joking, and this baccy looks & feels very similar to black tea. And I am talking about loose black tea, not those bagged varieties. Though it doesn't taste much like black tea, I noticed similar tongue-tingling acidity there which dances on the verge of turning to acrid/bitter. That said, I am not sure if the cause for this is cavendish or Virginia used here. Whatever the reason, I found this blend a nice change, and I can overlook that slight bitterness & dryness it leaves in the mouth. Not in my top 5 vapers but FUN to crumble! 😀 would buy again.

No tongue bite, sweet and smooth, I cannot personally taste the perique but the label says it is there. As with all non-aromatic VaPerCav blends, this will give you a pleasant and unique break from the smoky latakia. Worth a try for a non-aromatic VaPerCav smoke with no Oriental or Latakia.

A decent Va Per blend from C & D. The Virginias are slightly sweet, hay and grass that finish slightly rich.

The perique is mostly pepper, but does not overwhelm. Not an outstanding blend, but still a nice lighter Va Per.

3.3172289 stars

Well, my experience was restricted to one 2oz tin minus some bowfuls shared with friends, which stayed in my cabinet for some 5years. Enough for adding my 2c, if only because I will not be able to get another tin that soon…

No much tin aroma upon opening, just some natural tobacco, on the musty & earthy side of things, and … yes, I feel the Perique but not in your face. Round cards removed, the brownie shows up, black & brown. It’s dry and brittle , but still pliable. This boy fires very easy. Smokes very cool and unbitey. The combination of the tobaccos is something familiar to my palate, but more in the way of a VaKy than a VaPer, if that makes sense. Pleasant, satisfactory, but not very exciting. Not the sweetness one expects from a red Virginia (OK, it’s cavendished) and … I don’t feel the pepper, but that’s not a bad thing per se. I would call this a dry smoke. I strongly suspect that years have smoothened the edges a bit too much. Lady N is well past the medium mark, and that’s perfect to me.

Recommended.

One of C&D's best known and most popular offerings. And fully justified, I think. Its a dense brick...not quite a full on plug...somewhere between a krumble kake and a plug. There is something about perique treated this way that seems to bring out the earthy sweetness of this variety of tobacco. There is a cavendish bottom and a lot of sweetness from the Virginia. Its very easy to smoke right out of the tin. No dry time required. The nic hit is medium, or a click past that. Its not a mild blend by any means. And that strength is part of the appeal of this blend. It has real body and punch. Someone said it reminded them of a cigar and that's true in a sense although that would be a very sweet cigar. its a relatively complex smoke and keeps its flavor right to the bottom of the bowl...which is one of the best qualities of this tobacco. It is hard to argue with its popularity, this is among the best C&D has to offer.

Good stuff but consistantly smokes too wet for me, even at the absolute slowest puffing rate possible. for that reason I just couldn't be bothered with it any longer.

Oh to give this 3 or 4 stars. I settled on 3. It's a really really VaPer. Just not quite as good as Bayou morning, in my opinion. Plus, a little more nic would help. Otherwise, it's an incredibly complex and tasty blend for the advanced pipe smoker.