Kane's of New Zealand Lamb Cake Slices

The first thing I noticed upon opening the tin was the mint. Truly a testament to the master blender's use of a restrained hand. I also detected something else in the scent...similar to the McClelland "ketchup" smell but this was more like KC Masterpiece BBQ sauce. Spicy goodness!

The moisture content was more than I am used to as the slices seemed wet. Once I removed a couple of the slices I saw that the cause of the excess moisture was the beige water-like substance pooled at the bottom of the tin. This is more than likely the lamb juice. What a grand presentation!

The flakes are easy to compress and fill the pipe with. I used some of the juice to put on the top of the bowl for "kindling". At first match the lamb introduced itself (its name was "Lambchop") and soon the mint joined in. The room note was pleasant and my wife commented that she kept thinking it was Easter Sunday. This is definitely not your drugstore variety, but very top shelf USDA Grade-A lamb!

The bowl ended in a small pile of grey ash with no dottle or bone fragments. Very nice smoke but certainly not an all-day as I was too full after smoking one pipe that I skipped dinner and went to bed.

On a side note, I understand that Greg Pease is working on a lamb blend as well but his will incorporate Cyprian Latakia, some dark rum, Latakia and more Latakia. It is to be the first in the new "Muttons and Maidens" series.

I was fortunate enough to come across this in bulk, so I bought a half-pound to smoke right away, and had the other half-pound freezer wrapped. I found it was very difficult to rub out, and in the end used the coffee grinder method. The taste was fine and meaty as others have noted, with a minty aftertaste, (think menthol cigarette). Unfortunately I was interrupted by animal rights activists going door to door. When I invited them in, they commented on the delicious room note - I didn't have the heart to tell them what it was. A word of warning - if you choose to DGT this, be sure to refrigerate because it starts to develop a funk after only a few hours at room temperature.

Good stuff, but you can't smoke it unless you dry it out quite a bit. The oven method works quite well. Then depending on the cut (which you actually have to do yourself) you can get quite a bit into a good sized bowl. Then, depending on how long you keep a flame on it, you can get billows of savory smoke. Quite a full flavor here...the mint is way in the background. Mom used to buy this regularly, and everyone in the family loved it, sitting around the old kitchen table, smiling their way through their bowls. What memories! Now, my wife won't have it in the house. Doesn't like the flavor OR the aroma I guess - plus she used to raise it herself and it breaks her heart to see it smoked. I'll give you all a good tip - take a whole clove of garlic and stuff in right in your bowl before lighting...or better yet, add the garlic before that oven heating thing. It may sound crazy, but it really, really works!

I was excited to find that both A. Wolff?s and M. Haddaugh Little?s carries this blend here in the States. My wife found the room note so severe (pace the other reviewers) that she sent me packing out of the house with a ?if you?re going to smoak that stuff, go out in the pasture!? Being a regular reader of the reviews on this site, I am amazed at how widely varied opinions are as to this blend?s strength. My hypothesis is that aging will mellow this stuff remarkably--I?ve bought a few extra pounds to age in the freezer. Aging should also eliminate the ?springy? packing I?ve experienced?it practically jumps out of the bowl (the air-pocket method helped a bit with this). When I opened the can it was very, very moist. The "ketchup" smell of McClelland's is nothing compared to this stuff. A few hours at 325 degrees fahrenheit in the oven brought mine down to the correct moisture level, although to me it still has a bit of a ?wooly? taste. I don?t know that I?ll put this in my regular rotation, but like some of the other pipemen, it just feels right to be smoaking this stuff in the spring. UPDATE: I've sent a photo of the tin which should appear soon (?)--it actually comes in 200g cans & carries the Kosher symbol--perfect for those about to begin Passover this weekend!

Pipestud and I rarely agree on blend ratings, but this one is different. Maybe it is nostalgia or just the surprise that Lamb Cake is again available, but I am sure happy to have this again after being so long denied.

I am baffled that I missed this in the Kane's catalog. I have been mail ordering their famous dip for more than a decade. Cheeky monkeys to not widely announce their chief triumph's return.

I would recommend ordering this in the Spring, as the flavor just seems milder to me than at other times of the year. It is sold by the pound, of course.

Bon Appetite!