Hearth & Home Classic Burley Kake

It's been mentioned already but this really has an absurd amount of stems. Other than that the Kake is very easy to work with. A little dry time helps keep this lit and I recommend packing this very loose.

Toasty Kentucky Burley is the star here. The earthy and sweet red Virginia is in the background. Cocoa, molasses, cinnamon, nutmeg, and a small amount of maple, rum, and anise are what I taste in the topping. In a Meerschaum chocolate and wood dominated. CBK makes a great all day Burley blend I've smoked it sunrise to sunset without losing my taste for it. It's not my favorite Burley blend but it's solid.

This cake does taste as good as it looks. If I had a choice, I would prefer a bit less flavoring but it is without a doubt a good burley blend. Someone likened it to ESB. There are similarities but this is not Edgeworth. I say that only to keep others from expecting a copy of ESB.

This burley, like others blended with rum, refuses to bite. I pulled pretty hard (which is necessary if not dried a bit) and received no teeth from this delightful blend.

Upon lighting there were hints of a smooth nutty flavor beneath a mild semi-sweet to lightly sweet chocolate chip flavor. I did not taste any anise, and my wife did not immediately detect such a note. About halfway through the bowl I noted a mild nutty flavor that was a bit different than the usual Burley-Nutty flavor. I can best describe the flavor as "toasted sunflower seeds". The "full-on" "roasted-nut" flavor was detectable beneath the other flavors, but did not dominate as with other burley blends.

This tobacco must be well dried in order to ensure a dry smoke.I filled a bowl a day previous to smoking in order to ensure this. This is reasonable since it does come in broken cake form and so probably retains much of the moisture that develops during processing.

I gave this 3 stars because I would maybe have preferred slightly less flavoring, but I also will say that as the bowl continued it became much better. Also, my second bowl was better than my first, and the third better than the second. From this, I conclude that this tobacco is a very good "all day" smoke that could easily become a "go to" blend in time. I ordered 7 lbs all told and will see how it ages over the years. Thanks Russ!

I'll report back in a year.

Nice tobacco. I am learning how to prep "Kake" to smoke so the bit of over heating and bitterness in my first few bowls I chalk up to a learning curve.

After I figured it out this smokes nice. Tasty notes of nuts and vanilla. I really enjoyed it. Seemed different from the other burley I have had. I think if you like burley it is worth a try. I think as I get better at the prepping and packing this will get wven better.

This is a solid smoke, sweet and tasty throughout the bowl. Although cased with Rum, Cocoa and Anise I would not describe it as an aromatic. I could not detect any of those flavors in the pouch aroma nor the smoke, yet an added sweetness was obvious. Not being a big fan of Burley dominated blends, I do enjoy this one. I would give this four stars if not for the looong lingering aftertaste. Finished a bowl about an hour before dinner one day and could still taste it after dinner. Some people enjoy this type of long finish, I do not.

It took me a fair number of bowls to get past this blend's aromatic pretensions, and then ... In a word, excellent, although purists who can't stand the thought of a flavored tobacco passing their lips will probably hate it. It consists of top-notch burlies sweetened with Va and a sublime mixture of flavorings. The burning characteristics are superb, and it's one of the most bite-free smokes I've had the pleasure of trying. My one complaint is that it burns a bit hot, but going slow tends to curb that tendency. If the idea of a sweetened tobacco appeals to you at all, this is a must-try blend. If not, give it a shot anyway -- you might be surprised! Four stars as an aromatic, 3.5 stars as a burley mix.

This is a very nice burley blend. The cake is fun to break up and pack into the pipe, I've found it's best to avoid overpacking. The first few puffs produce a somewhat weird mixture of tastes but it quickly settles down into an almost sweet, cocoa like flavor that has hints (at most) of anise. Slower burning, very cool and dry. Definitely aromatic but in a quieter kind of way. I think this will be a good hot weather, summer smoke. This is not your usual sweet/goopy aromatic smoke but something more muted and refreshing. Every burley smoker should try this once, the burley in this is wonderful.

This is 1 of the best Aromatics I have ever smoked. Please do not confuse this with Uhle's or Peretti's Burley mixtures. NOT even close!This is a full aromatic and should be thoroughly enjoyed as such. There is a wonderful flavor of sweet chocolate backed up by Anise. This is absolutely delicious without being cloying or goopy. If you like P&W Bohemian , you will like this. My only reservation is it starts out a little hot before calming down. After 10 minutes though it is all smooth sailing. 3.5 of 4 aromatic stars.

A very interesting burley with a different trio of flavorings. Considering this trio, there is very little in the way of moisture or goopy dottle at the end of the smoke. I was able to taste two of the flavorings in this blend, and fortunately it was not sickeningly sweet. The anise was predominant upon lighting and then the chocolate kicked in. These two danced with one another throughout the smoke. Depending on the individual kake I prepared for smoking, at times the anise was the dominant flavor, and other times, it was the chocolate. I would have preferred the chocolate to be the more forward of the two each and every time. Sometimes with the anise, it is way too harsh when forward in this blend. I couldn't honestly taste the rum, but it burned like most other rum blends - hot. I'm not talking bite, just a very hot smoke which detracted from the overall enjoyment for me. Even with slow puffing, my mouth (especially the hard palate) was always aware of the heat, but not in a scorching way. This was, for me, a major drawback. Even slow smoking did not eliminate this. As far as a solid Burley taste, I found it lacking. My favorite Burleys are Solani's Aged Burley Flake, Wessex Burley Slice, the long gone Edgeworth Sliced, and Mac Baren's Burley London Blend, so now you know where I'm coming from taste and strength wise. Packing (the Kit Kat-sized cakes crumble very easily) and lighting are relatively easy and the blend stays lit for the most part. Due to the trio of added flavorings, what tobacco taste there is remains way too far in the background. The overall Burley flavor that I was looking forward to was greatly masked and a bit harsh to boot. It didn't remind me at all of Edgeworth Sliced, and only similar to Edgeworth Ready Rubbed topping wise (rum and chocolate); although ERR (the original, not Lane's) was a cube cut, slower burning, less heat, and sweeter tasting. The taste of CBK can be a little cigarette ashy at times. This is very noticeable if you return to the bowl after letting it go out a spell.

The room note, at first, is pleasant while it is being smoked. However, the room note, after a few minutes, can become cigarette-like. It is very ash-smelling, reminiscent of wet ashes, occasionally translating into the taste.

I waffle back and forth with this one. It has stuff going for it that I classify as 3 star, but with the heat factor and that awful cigarette presence, makes it at best no more than a 2 star blend. I have tried to smoke this one by taking one of the brownie-like cakes and put it into a pipe with a bowl to accommodate its length and breadth. It smokes a tad cooler but there are times when you are greeted with a burst of anise which is way too much for me. You still need to keep from puffing too fast to keep that heat factor turned down! I'll give it a recommended - just for its nice chocolate presence, although I wish it were more pronounced. Overall...2.5 stars.

UPDATE 7-29-13: Definitely smoother with age on it. I still have nearly a pound that's well over 3 years old. While puffing on it today it really reminded me of Mac Baren's Honey & Chocolate, but more subdued. Didn't detect the cigarette-like presence as previously stated. Actually, the room note upon returning to where I was smoking it was quite pleasant. The Anise is more pepper-like this time around...perhaps there is a bit of Perique (actual or artificial I can not tell)? I'll bump my personal rating up to a solid 3 stars; although this will most likely be an occasional smoke for me for when the mood strikes.

Classic Burley Kake is a good example of the need to really take your time to spend time with a blend. I did not like this blend at all initially. It bit me, didn't burn well, and despite the amazing tin note, did not have an appealing flavor at all. I didn't buy into the whole "old-time blend" story and I immediately regretted getting it. By the end of the tin, I completely changed my mind.

The tin note is one of the nicest that I've ever smelled. Chocolate with a bit of vanilla and floral note, smells like a really nice chocolate cake.

Much of that translates into the smoke as well. The Burley leaves aren't overpowering, but give smooth cocoa-chocolate flavor, on top of the actual cocoa-chocolate flavoring. I wouldn't have guessed that there is Virginia in it, but now that I do, I can sense a tiny sweet fruity note. Same with the alleged Rhum topping, I can potentially sense it in the far background. However, I think that the Rhum is unnecessary and that the blend would be better without it. No traces of Dark Fired Kentucky nor the anisette for me. Flavor is maintained throughout the smoke. Very good balance, no harshness or flavors take over the others.

I initially struggled with the mechanics of this blend. It seemed to moist and the crumbled pieces too big for a nice packing. Therefore, it worked best to fully crumble the whole thing and give it some drying time. It doesn't lose much flavor and it becomes far easier to work with. However, unlike the standard American OTC blends, this still requires a bit of work. If I stuff my pipe with Prince Albert, Half & Half, or Sir Walter - I have no issue at all. These are cube cut and very easy to smoke and keep lit. Classic Burley Kake, even after crumbling and drying time, is just a step away from those. Keep a moderate smoking pace, otherwise it can bite. Can definitely be an all-day smoke.

Mild-medium in body, mild in strength. Not a boring blend but not very complex either. If I smoke it in either a small bowl or a large bowl I miss some details. Medium-size pipes are best for this one.

This is a great update on the old U.S. blends and deserves a good score. Some people compared it to Carter Hall because of the chocolate topping. For me, this is far better than Carter Hall and deserves a nice 3 stars rating. Why not 4? The Rhum takes a bit away from the sweetness of the chocolate, the blend is just a bit too mild for me, and I prefer to go for one of my favorite old U.S. blends over this because they are more straightforward and easy to smoke.