Hearth & Home Classic Burley Kake

I'm a burley guy, for the most part... I do love my Virginias and occaisional English mixtures, but the bulk of what I smoke contains burley in them at some level. Anyhow, I really wanted to like this tobacco and I figured that I would. I mean, I smoke the codger burleys that have an anise topping (SWR, for example) and cocoa containing burleys and I enjoy them. CBK, however, is not for me.

For my part, I feel that the Anise, Rum, Cocoa overwhelm the tobacco and do not lend themselves to it or add support to it. The burleys used in this blend also seem quite tame compared to some of the other burley blends I smoke. I just don't get any of the nutty, earthy burley in this. All I can taste are the casings poured over them. The only way I finished the tin was to mix it with C&D's Cube Cut Burley or with some Pegasus.

Did I get the right tobacco? I mean, from the other reviews I read, I should have loved this stuff. Some of the reviewers whose opinions I respect gave this blend 3 or 4 stars... I bought it in the 1.5 ounce tin, so I doubt I got the wrong thing. I don't mean to Poo-Poo a blend, but this just did nothing for me. I found myself looking for anything else to smoke even when it was out. The tobacco in this blend feels "soft" when being broken apart. Does that make sense? It is lighter and "fluffier" than any other burley tobaccos I smoke. Very low nic hit on this one, too. It just was wrong for me on just about every level. These are all just opinions, of course. Your experience may differ greatly. Wish mine did...

I had to laugh when I opened the one ounce bag I bought. The cut they use causes the leaves to clump up... in a very similar fashion as an ounce of some more intoxicating green leaves (wink wink).

The pre-light aroma is light and filled with a pleasant spicy/nutty/dusty scent. Sort of reminded me of spiced cookies before they are cooked. Once lit, you get an easy smoker that is soft on the sweetness and offers little resistance.

For being an aromatic with a dozen flavors in it's description, it is surprisingly sublime without bonking you in the head. I also enjoyed the cut. It made packing a bowl easy. It's tight enough to not require much compression and not too dense to need breaking up.

EDIT: The blend quickly became boring, perhaps after airing out a bit it lost the great cookie scent and just ended up being pretty meh.

Tastes like tree sap and ash. Room note resembles cigarettes, although less acrid. Burns well after being dried properly, doesn't get bitter at the bottom of the bowl and doesn't bite. All in all not a bad tobacco but too bland and ashy for my tastes. I much prefer Russ's Trout Stream. And so would most non-smokers.

There's a really strange apprehension when I get a new tobacco that's been well reviewed. I often wonder if I won't like it and if that means I have an unsophisticated palette or poor packing/smoking technique. In this case, I ordered Classic Burley Kake because it seemed to be a decent, all-around tobacco. I was kind of let down by it and won't be buying any more. Maybe I got a bad batch or something different from everyone else?

This tobacco comes in dry, flat chunks that have a sort of...smell to them. You get tobacco and the casing together and it's not offputting, but there's no real distinct scent I can detect. I packed this by rubbing it out then stuffing three charges into a mid-sized generic 9mm filter briar I use for trying new tobaccos. I did NOT use a filter for this test, as I expected the burley to not bite.

First Third: Good draw, easy to light and keep lit. I get a sort of lightly mentholated or sweetened cigarette flavor, here. There was also a strong hint of candela wrapper from cigars...The smoke is fairly cool, but I can't detect the rum, anise or cocoa flavors advertised on the tin. Tobacco flavor is OK and the room note isn't so bad.

Second Third: Cigarette flavor intensifies, as does the casing. I can detect faint liquor or rum notes, but it's mostly like Camels with casing. As the casing got stronger, this got hotter on me, but I was able to manage it well enough to keep the temp down. Strong kick on the tongue present at this stage. No pepper in the throat. Room note still OK.

Last Third: I got about halfway through this then quit. There just wasn't much more to be had other than more intense cigarette flavor. The ash was coarse and dry, with no fouling. No goop in the pipe, afterwards.

Verdict: If you are a cigarette smoker, you'll like this blend. IT's got good nicotine and plenty of burley flavor with just a hint of casing that makes it sort of like expensive cigs from fancy places. As a pipe tobacco, though, I can't really see how this is better than any other burley blend, especially without any Latakia or definitive casing to at least make it stand out. Kind of a disappointment, but not in any way an inferior tobacco. Just not to my taste.

2 stars.

Having read the reviews here, I bought 2 ounces of this in bulk and was looking forward to the smoking experience. I have to say it: something is out of whack.

Either it's a case of smell and taste perceptions can and do vary widely; or I got a bum batch; or my senses are suffering from old age, as I am.

I found no powerful pouch aroma. No powerful taste sensations. In fact, I found very little of anything.

Classic Burley Kake had a very mild aroma of something sweet when I opened the baggie.

When smoked, I found the mixture to be almost tasteless. Some hints of something sweet on occasion. Otherwise, just a general burley taste that was very mild. Which is okay if that is all you are looking for. On that score, it was a passable burley smoke.

The main negative, aside from very little aromatic flavor, was that the smoke got somewhat hot at the end.

I don't want to rate this on my disappointment, in which case I'd give it one star. On the other hand, IMO, there are better smokes out there than this.

Unless I find a pipe in which this shines, or my tastes buds go through a wonderful transformation (I'm hoping), I can only go 2 stars.

This could have been exactly the type of blend which I enjoy; it packs and burns well without any fuss, doesn't bite, and starts out very pleasantly. Unfortunately it contains the same poor kentucky leaf found in several other mixtures from this blender which tastes like the shank of the pipe is burning. This makes the bottom third of the bowl a loathsome experience. I give this a 2-star rating as there are some smokers who seem to like this sort of flavor.

When I first opened the tin I was taken aback by the intensity of the casing. I really did not like the aroma at all. To be honest it turned my stomach.

I was likewise surprised by the appearance of the tobacco itself. Mid brown strips of compressed fine cut tobacco. It has the texture of coarse particle board.

After this not very auspicious start, things, thankfully, started to improve. The tobacco rubs out to a very fine, quite dry, powder. It is easy to load and light. Once burning, the tobacco improves (imo) markedly. The tobacco flavours integrate with the casing to produce a woodsy, herbal aroma. Still a strong aromatic, but not the bakery or confectionery assault of the tin note.

This tobacco has a lovely creamy mouthfeel. It is gentle on the tongue and easy to handle in the bowl, burning cool and steady. There is a fair amount of interest in the tobacco itself, I especially like the dark Kentucky that opens up a nice smoky quality as the bowl progresses. There is a consistent and pleasant sweetness on the tongue. If you can get past the casing, and clearly many find it attractive, you might make a friend of this baccy. Unfortunately I found the tin note too much. Not a deal breaker, but I can't recommend it without reservations.

Tin note smells strongly of clay, even play doh. Pretty unique.

Burned perfectly with only an hour or so of dry time. The smoke is rich, as advertised. First few puffs were a bit harsh but opened up nicely in short order. Leather and cedar/pine with a sweet top note. Periodic sour notes; one of them had a nice stone fruit taste to it, the others felt like it was bordering on burley's sour tendencies, but it didn't go too far in that direction. Occasional notes of toast, and toward the end, a strawberry jam/burnt toast flavor that was very nice. Solid slug of nicotine, as expected, given the components.

Room note varied between smoked cigarette (not good) and a nice, old-fashioned pipe tobacco aroma. Despite the complexity of the blend (within its somewhat narrow focus), I found it a little two dimensional. I find C&D's Gentleman Caller to be more enjoyable. But I think Russ O. got what he was looking for with this one; it does have a very old time aroma and flavor. If you're a burley and a nicotine fan, you'll probably enjoy this. I won't buy more of it, but I'll smoke what I've got!

I have not noticed any hints of cocoa or anise. This is really a basic burley blend. It is nutty and warm with a nice room note and some sweetness on the tongue. Overall I find this blend a bit dull.