Hearth & Home Classic Burley Kake

You know, it is not like I am some pathetically diseased TAD fiend, mind you. No, actually I am merely contented by the conviction that one can never have too much pipe tobacco. Am I right or what? Of course I am. So, when all those tantalizing and flashy Black Friday promotions flooded my inbox a couple of weeks ago, well truthfully, I showed not the slightest ounce of proper restraint.

Given the 350-plus assorted blends that occupy my present cellar, rational thinking and well-tempered logic graciously came to my rescue. Thankfully they compelled me on the suitability of expanding the limited selections featured on the existing house menu, so to speak. Just a few more my good sir and let us not forget the bargain deals secured in the process, double bully!

Therefore on this morning, here I now sit, confessing to you once again my frivolous act of wanton negligence, diligently watching for texted updates from the obliging souls of UPS. For you see my design is to stealthily intercept the coming deliveries before my wife catches wind of this latest exercise in gluttonous financial misappropriation, ha- ha! Afterall, it is only money that is correct, and besides, I always dislike finding those dejecting lumps of coal in my stocking on Christmas morning.

Nevertheless, I was so courteous as to leave a few of these smokeable goodies for you all, for it is the Christmas season my goodness, is it not. Yet, there is one particular blend that, in hindsight escaped me, but hey there’s always tomorrow, said the optimist. And on that very note, let me tell you all about that one if I may. Break out your best Burley smoker my friends, for it is the right time to indulge yourselves in one from a legendary blend master, the corrupting Mr. Russ Ouellette. Long in development as I understand it, for your enjoyable consideration I offer at this moment the tasty crumble cake delight, Hearth & Home’s Classic Burley Kake.

This mild-medium processed cake enfolds a quadruplet of choice Tennessee and Kentucky Burleys spanning a range of wholesome grades to present a celebration of classic Burley exuberance. Selectively laced with a conservative volume of fermented Red Virginia, this soft-textured crumble is then dosed with a portion of hearty rum, a dusting of real cocoa, and a congealing splash of seasonable anise. Optimally dry, the loosened matrix of chubby chunks, hairy wild slivers, and exaggerated ribbon musters a weighty girth of variegated colors ranging from distressed tans, tawny, caramel, russet, to warm chocolate browns. Quite the impressive spectacle by my vote.

Technically deeming this tobacco a semi aromatic in nature and codger-like in spirit, Classic Burley Kake projects a standard fragrance of inviting sweetness that is presumably relaxed and gentle of impressions. Thick within the center of this essence is a most pleasing refrain of mixed nuttiness and progressed timber. On the bottom lacing, there is standing evidence of modest sour-tart, combined sugars, malty-buttery spice, and a darker easygoing fruitiness.

Unless you are totally clueless, then I think it suffice to say, the signature feature of this blend is of course Burley, Burley, and yes, more Burley. Well okay, maybe just a dash of Virginia to keep it politely egalitarian in nature. With that clear understanding, prepare yourself for a prime declaration of flavor that is centered upon the succulence of sweet roasted walnut stacked with a healthy cord of toasty oaken wood. By comparison, its standard character is delicately peaceful in presentation and decidedly mellowing in the achieved effects in truth.

What is more, this big buttery note of Burley marvellousness shines brightly with tinged secondary nuances of darker tart earthiness and a cruciferous herbal quality not unlike kohlrabi actually. Furthermore, the crumble cake goody brings forward an expanded complexion with tasteful accents of mild sourness, a sugary thread of proper molasses and an obliging but gentle native cocoa. Still, the registration felt a bit tannic and zesty in undertone to me as well. The bottom-line is, if you marvel in the simple splendor of traditional American-style Burleys, then this one might tickle your fancy.

As with the frugal parceling of Red Virginia leaf, the Classic Burley Kake endowed a garnishing tail of dark, fruity seasoned wood principally. It tenders with a lovely, tapered disposition. Supplementing this common notation, I recorded a pronouncement of greenish floral, a minor hint of Virginian tart, and the tendering influences of caramelized natural sugars. And as to other notable contributors the rum flavoring added a modest impression of spirited spice that moved in concert with a softer vanilla fringe, subtle maple, brown sugar, darker legitimate cocoa powder notes, and the sweet bitterness of the anise much like the thrill of an oily licorice.

Producing a generous volume of lush grey-white smoke, Classic Burley Kake kindly extends a warming aroma of smooth sweetness and that classic “pipey” Burley combination of soured sugary nutwood and mellowing earthen spice. Just like the tobacco’s standard tastefulness, equally I found its identifying essence to be simplistically pleasant. Further, I do suppose that most would deem it not too pushy with its relaxed demeanor but rather charmingly reminiscent of that gentlemanly piping fragrance of old.

The observed mechanical properties of this blend demonstrated first level performance in regard to mildly cool temperatures, consistency in burn, and a comfortable incurrence of optimum moisture. Moreover, given its heavy constitution, Classic Burley Kake showed no evidence of that frequently occurring mid-tongue thickening common to the properties of this particular leaf. Still, I would definitely rate this one on the higher medium scale in terms of felt nicotine impression but again, it is Burley, so you get what you get naturally.

Taking all gathered trial results into consideration, Hearth & Home’s blend stands as an easy day-long option especially if you enjoy the savor of a semi-aromatic, high-quality “codgeresque” experience. I would say that, overall, the encounter was along the lines of a Match Ready Rub, Peretti’s TDay, and the many other comparable products, just as a further reference. Unquestionably the objective assessment of Classic Burley Kake proved to be of admirable merit. As to my own personal opinion, well honestly, I liked this blend especially well. And with that subjective remark, excuse me now, for I see that UPS is on path with the first of my newly acquired wonders, oh goody! Isn’t Black Friday just grand. 3.5 Pipes

Now that Lane Limited has revived Edgeworth Ready Rubbed, I can compare my old favorite, Edgeworth, with my new favorite, Classic Burley Kake. They're pretty close, have the same virtues--but I'm hard-pressed to decide which I like more. The Ready Rubbed has just a little more...let's say, "edge." The Burley Kake is a little more mellow, and is a little more aromatic. They're both beautifully smokeable. Mixing them, or packing the pipe parfait-style with alternating layers seems an experiment bound to have a pleasurable result.

I really enjoyed this blend. The cut is so fine that rubbed out it is really a fine granular cut. A light pack is all this blend requires, pack it too tight and it smokes hot.

The flavors I get are pretty much what it says on the tin. Cocoa, nuts, and a lightly creamed coffee. The liquor comes through a little more towards the end, but never becomes unpleasant.

My only consideration for this blend is that it smokes SLOW. I got nearly an hour and a half out of a pretty standard sized bowl, even in a light breeze.

A solid aromatic burley that I may get again.

Update6/8/20 I need to update this to 4 Stars as I keep finding myself reaching for this more and more. This is certainly going to make the rotation. Also. The red Virginia ages beautifully in this pressed format yielding additional sweetness. Highly recommended.

This firmly pressed crumble cake initially smelled oddly like vaguely fruity play-doh. I'm not kidding, fruity play-doh. Over time the 'doh fades and a more traditionally sweet burley tobacco aroma emerges. This stuff crumbles easily and fills the pipe without effort. There are several different shades of red-brown evident in the blend. After rubbing out, there is reliably a fine dust left over. While strange, this dust makes perfect kindling to crown your bowl. This blend gives simple, consistent burley flavor that is clearly enhanced by the cocoa and anise. Each of the aforementioned toppings ebbs and flows to the forefront, while always complementing the quality burleys. The red Virginia does lend some sweetness which truly became notable once or twice each bowl. This is the ultimate "anytime tobacco."

Smoked same batch a number of times over the course of 3 years. When fresh, it was sweeter and really more of an aromatic. Now that it has aged, the aro sweetness is still there, but it seems to take more of a back seat, allowing the burleys to emerge a bit more from the faded casing with their own bold statement. A welcome development in my opinion. Stays lit, good mouth, thick smoke, good body, no burley bite, complex and interesting due to mix of different types of burleys and the punch of the burley backbone. Mild-medium nicotine. The listed flavorings make sense to me, but my blindfold test of the aged tobacco yielded a burley dominant mustiness that included a faded nutty-scorched-windmill-almond-cookie undertone. The body and boldness reminds me of why I love good burley tobacco. Smoked in corn cob, which I recommend for this particular blend (and most burleys). 3 stars fresh, 4 stars aged.

If you love heavily syrup laden, chemical drenched aromatics you will not enjoy this blend. This is of the old school aromatic persuasion, ever so subtle. I do catch the rum and cocoa, anise not so much, but then again that's not the point of this tobacco. The flavorings are just to make it a little interesting. Burley is naturally nutty (and a little bitter) but the small amount of VA sweetens it up just a little and the flavorings cancel out the bitterness and add a little something extra. Really a nice tobacco. In my opinion what an aromatic should be.

*edit* With so many blends on the market, it's difficult to wade through them all and build a profile of different tobaccos to try and find your true "keepers." I guess a lot of us gravitate towards the blends that are a bit more sensationalized, which is fine by me as it leaves some others forgotten and readily available. This has become my comfort food tobacco. One of the few that I crave. Weeding through my reviews will leave you bewildered as I tend to hit all over the map, but I can honestly say I love this stuff. It has one of the most unique smells in a tin or bag of all the tobaccos I've tried. It's different. It runs a wide range of flavors from nutty to cocoa and sweet but not overly so. I primarily smoke in the mornings with coffee and for that it's a perfect companion.

Classic Burley Kake was on the market for a while before I ordered a sample. This is unusual for me as I am a confirmed burley-phile and would normally ordered soome a lot sooner but I had several other blends to try and had to smoke them first. I finally ordered my 4 oz. after it had been on the market about a year and these are my opinions.

CBK is a good looking tobacco in the pouch with a nice medium brown color and comes as a broken flake, although it is advertised as a flake. It has a very nice aroma in the jar, too. As with most broken flakes, I gave it a quick one second spin in my old coffee grinder that is reserved for this purpose. For most of this test I used an old favorite burley pipe, a Savinelli Bing's Favorite that seems to love burley blends

CBK lights easily and often doesn't need a charring light. It burns slow and cool, which is really nice because Bing's Favorites tend to burn hot because their walls are thin. CBK also needs a minimum of relights. The taste is that of chocolate mixed with a very mild burley nuttiness. I love the taste and my wife loves the room aroma, which she says reminds her of chocolate (she is a chocoholic). I REALLY like this tobacco!!

Scores for CBK?: flavor- 18 of 20, lighting and burn- 9 of 10, value- 9 of 10. That gives Classic Burley Kake an outstanding score of 36, for a high **** review. This is the highest score I've ever given a tobacco and a lb. of CBK will always be in my cellar.

Addendum 4/30/2015 I've been horrible the past couple of years and relapsed into smoking cigarettes but I'm rediscovering the pipe now. One tin I had on hand was a half tin of classic burley kake. It had dried out quite considerably but was far from mummy dust or dry leaves, as a matter of fact it was perfect and smoked with no gurgle whatsoever, a problem the newly opened tins have sometimes. It is my opinion this is not Edgeworth, nor was it ever ment to be, it's something else, a fine burley that you wish you could buy in the corner store.

Original Review 3/10/2011 From the moment I opened this bag I knew I had a winner. Got it as part of a sampler from pipesandcigars.com as I was looking for something more cost effective than Wessex Burley Slices.

The bag aroma is a nutty high quality burley smell with cocoa and a hint of something else in the background. This is not low quality cocoa but more like Ghiardelli Cocoa. Very rich and full on the nose.

Packing was easy as my kakes had broken into a ready rubbed in the bag. Took a char and light immediately and decended into smoking bliss. The flavouring is not overpowering but lingers on the nose and in the room note. Definately cocoa with perhaps anise and unmistakable good quality burley. The bowl burned down with little tamping and only 1 relight and the flavour remained consistant until the final 1/3 when the burley dominated.

Room Note was like freshly ground coffee... even hours later it left a faint coffee/cocoa smell.

Overall this is a winner, far better than what Wessex is offering at a fraction of the price. Is it Egdgeworth? I think the flavour is close, but I can't say for sure since it's been years that I tasted Egdgeworth.

So you say you like Prince Albert? You like to drink coffee with your smoke? You like lots of voluminous clouds of smoke? You like a really excellent tobacco at a great price? Look no further, my friend. I received a sample of this blend recently, and next thing I knew, the bag was empty. I promptly ordered 8 ounces more, and that amount is rapidly dwindling down to nothing. Classic Burley Kake is my new favorite blend. It has performed superbly in every pipe I've smoked it in. Easy to rub out, easy to load, easy to smoke, easy to enjoy.

I must admit, I love a mild burley. PA, Granger, Mild Kentucky Club, Boswell's Premium Burley all trip my trigger, but this blend takes the Kake. I've tried a number of Cornell and Diehl burleys, and they are all too strong and harsh for me, with the exception of Habana Daydreams.

This blend is smooth, completely bite-free, lots of pure flavor, with a touch of flavoring that I can't quite pin down, but is the ultimate complement to a cup of steaming black coffee. I can't wait for the cold weather, so I can sit outside wearing my favorite wool sweater, drinking hot coffee, and enjoying many bowlfuls of Classic Burley Kake. I think I'm in love.