Cornell & Diehl Kajun Kake

Greetings, Well just popped a fresh Tin of Kajun Kake. On first light, the sweetness of the Virginia and Cavendish were right up there in the front, after a few puffs the earthy tones started to come through, Tastes of peat, Moss with the sweetness fading in and out. I have read of this having a Fine Cigar like experience, I myself ready don't get that, After a let sit and relight, it's still a real nice earthy,peat taste. I do get the perique, but not spicy, I think due to the Cavendish, its toned down some, Almost smooth, but not silky. I won't say this hit me strong in the Nic department, But I have spend a lot of time smoking Old Joe, and 1792, So nothing really seems strong any more. Not a Bad smoke at all, It had everything it described.

The virginia in this blend is strong, not at all what one might expect after smoking virginias in the Danish style. In general, sweetness is low, but present. The flavor reminds me of rope tobaccos in a pungent, somewhat fermented kind of way.

Plain and tasty good ol' fashion virginia with a very noticeable amount of perique. Full flavored, for sure, and not boring at all.

Definitely worth a try.

I can see why some smokers might like this blend, but it's just not my taste. It has a pleasant, sweet tin aroma, but I detect no sweetness after I light it. I agree with the reviewer who described the aroma as dry. Like another reviewer, I also found it to be somewhat bitter for a while after being lit. Nonetheless, it's not a bad blend, but it's not what I'm looking for in a Va/Per.

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.

There is alot to like about this blend. A little different to shake the unopened tin and hear that brick rattling around. As other have said, a dense, heavy pressed dark brownie that takes some prodding to crumble - it does break into quite small and fairly dry crumbs. Reminds me of the texture of pressed dry peat moss in how it breaks apart.

Lights, burns and smokes easily with rich thick smoke. Real perique kick and lots of dense virginia flavour. I enjoy it in a smaller bowl in small doses, an after-dinner late night summer smoke that can stand up to bourbon, whiskey or a robust red wine. Fair to strong nicotine.

It is just a bit of pipe-smoking fun to have an open tin around and press towards the stronger limits of a va/per. This is not a subtle smoke - the Kajun tag says it - strong, spicy, sweet, tons of character. Too strong a room note for indoor smoking in my man cave. Perfect on the deck looking up at the stars.

Would never be an all day smoke for me, and filling a big bowl with KK might lay me out horizontal, but a wonderful change of pace from my usual lighter va/per tastes.

Sweet, like strong dark coffee with a big dollop of sugar. Pleasant aftertaste, no casing ghosts discernable.

Highly recommended as a change of pace treat and flavour bomb for those of us who shy away from the orientals and latakia.

I love this stuff and find that it's perfect for the golf course. I just knock off a piece between shots, stuff it into the bowl and enjoy the great english flavor for the next few holes. I even shaved a few strokes off my handicap since smoking this on the course. It relaxes me and should be endorsed by the PGA as a training sedative for those who swing too fast!

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.

The review below is part of a VaPer Showdown that I conducted between several VaPer blends:

C & D Kajun Kake

Well, I smoked about three bowls of this yesterday. I had had this before but wanted to see if my opinion on this had changed. This is one of those blends that I really, really wanted to like but I just don't and I can't really put my finger on it.

These come in small brick-like cakes that are wrapped very carefully and placed in the tin. The pre-light aroma is awesome. The cakes smell like chocolate brownies!! This is one of those blends where the smell doesn't match the taste. The cakes arrive right around the right moisture level so I only let these dry for about 20 minutes before I packed my pipe.

The main components in this blend are Red Virginia Cavendish and Perique. Now you might be fooled into thinking that since it is a cavendish then it is going to be sweet. You would be far from the truth. It is not sweet at all and that may be why I don't really like it. It has a very dark taste similar to unsweetened chocolate or bakers chocolate to me. Someone on Tobaccoreviews.com likened it to smoking a very dry cigar. I would agree with that. There is also quite a bit of Perique in this blend but the virginias and the perique never seem to blend to me. Not to say that this is a bad blend, it just wasn't the taste that I was expecting. I think that the care of packaging and overall quality of the tobacco makes this an above average blend but you have to like the taste of it.

Overall, like I said above, I think that this is a quality blend but it just wasn't my cup of tea. I will probably trade this one out with someone who either wants to try it or really likes the taste of this one. If you're interested in a trade them PM me. I have 1 whole cake and about half of the other one left.

Overall Standings:

1) Escudo 2) Dorchester 3) Luxury Bullseye 4) Kajun Kake