Hearth & Home Classic Burley Kake

My problems with aromatics (and I would consider this an aromatic) is that they tend to be too gooey in the pipe, too mild in taste and too overdone on the aroma. This one is guilty of none of those things. The only thing this one does that I don't appreciate is it has a short burst of foul taste on first lighting. It's a soapy flavor that is very disagreeable, but it goes away within a few seconds.

Once I'm past that initial soap taste, I'm treated to a wonderfully clever combo of tastes that somehow meld into a harmonious whole. Rum, anise and chocolate sounds like a recipe for disaster but this is a lightly flavored and lightly scented blend that allows the true taste of high quality burleys to come through with that speck of virginia sweetness. I needed to find a good aromatic for when people are around but something that I don't smoke just because I'm trying to please others. It's gotta be personally satisfying; otherwise why bother? This is the finest aromatic I've ever smoked. I gotta try some more of this guy's blends - if his other stuff is this high quality, I may be missing out!

Lord knows this blend has already been well reviewed, so let's just hit the high points. As a reference I like burley nuttiness, but also enjoy lightly aromatic English or American. Think HGL or Sutliff Aromatic English. What pleases me most in any blend is its harmonious qualities and its balance, with no one component dominating.

This one does exactly that. Yes, it is indeed a burley, but the touch of Virginia and the chocolate/cacao/rum tones balance it beautifully to provide a lovely rich, creamy, thick burley-forward (but not dominant) smoke. If this were a food, it would be a rich smooth pudding. All you read about rubbing out, a bit of drying (if any) and a gentle cadence will all pay off pleasureably for you.

This is not an expensive blend (purchased bulk, a test ounce), but I would absolutely order this one again, perhaps after I also test the Solani ABF that so many have spoken of here. One other very important note:

In an interview with Russ Ouellette, he noted that CBK is one of his personal favorites, but also that it was one of the hardest blends he'd ever made. His reason? That it was his goal that an aromatic blend's taste should closely match its tin aroma, which is rarely the case with most other aromatics. To achieve his goal, he states that it took him nearly two years before he finally developed the method to cause the flavors (cocoa, etc.) to permeate the tobacco. He clearly succeeded.

Addenda (3 mos later): Lovely, lovely, lovely - even better, add another 1/2 star. Couple more observations. Call this a modern, fit grandpa tobacco. Please - pack it light and tamp lightly, if at all (it will burn much better and avoid those relights you may read about), and smoke it sloooow. Tamp lightly. No, not because of bite, but for me because it is so warm and rewarding that if you're like me, it's too tempting to forge ahead. Please don't - a little restraint will result in a LOT of pleasure. And modern memories of your dear Grandpa who loved you unconditionally...

If you like burley blends, I would give this a try. The Virginia is a light touch. The Kentucky gives it a little more strength and flavor than the average burley blend. I like this enough to have pipe dedicated to it, and I enjoy it. I do not like it enough to smoke it every day when I have other options.

There is a whiff of rum or something, but it is really tobacco flavored. The taste is not what I would call delicate or nuanced. It is a basic smoke that satisfies.

CBK is an exceptionally rich offering from Hearth and Home. The cocoa topping is the dominant flavor but it is supported by a nice tobacco base. The rum is there but not overpowering and there is a very subtle spice that shows itself every now and again.

Due to the generously applied toppings, aromatic fans should enjoy this one. Also, the codgers out there will likely find CBK to be in the same vein as some of their favorite OTC classics. I largely smoke Va's and found this blend to be a nice change of pace.

The cake is a little freaky, but the flavors are nice. It crumbles easily into near dust with some thin pieces of leaf in various sizes. Burns pretty well in spite of that. I can taste the Burley and Kentucky, but not much from the Virginias unless all of that maple-like sweetness is coming from them. It's fairly pronounced and I have trouble believing it's all from that leaf. The added flavorings of cocoa and anise come through nicely. Can't get the rum. It's a very nice tasting blend.

Mild to medium all the way around. Burns fairly well. May need two or more lights to get going.

This is a friendly all-day easy-going kind of smoke. I know this was modeled in the tradition of some of the American favorites, but I haven't smoked a single one that tastes as good as this. Me and burley are usually a bad mix. Typically, a couple blends aside, it really does my tongue a harsh disservice. Classic Burley Kake is one of the rare exceptions. As long as I take it slow I find that I can keep the bad chemistry at bay and amazingly this blend will give me ample fair warning to slow down.

For me it's best enjoyed after popping the tin, putting the lid back on and letting it sit in my tobacco cabinet for a month or so. At that point I jar it up and gradually work my way through the jar. The tin note is down right funky. To me it smells like Pla-Doh. When lit I get a soft, slightly-sweet and extremely mellow smoke. The room note is terrific. It's got that perfect quintessential "pipey" aroma. The flavor is a straight ahead affair with no curves, turns or big surprises. As far as nuances go, every so often and mostly when I smoke it in my garage, as opposed to outdoors, I get a slight taste of the rum and cocoa casing. Aside from that, it mostly tastes sweet and nutty. I have smoked this in a number of pipes and it leaves each one smelling nice. However, I find it tastes best in a large wide bowl model.

Sometimes a simple dependable, affordable blend is all one needs. Classic Burley Kake fills that role perfectly. It also pairs nicely with tea, coffee or a good pint of ale.

Russ Ouellette did a nice job of selecting and balancing the right Burleys to reveal their finest attributes. The red Virginia sweetens it, and the cocoa and other flavorings add a delicious finishing touch. This is a flavored blend, but more like a non-aromatic that satisfies a taste for something sweet. Good body, whole mouth feel, creamy smoke volume, strength, and a smoothness that makes this an ideal smoke to start the day with a cup of coffee.

Downside: I don't trust the aluminized cardboard container. So, while I have high praise for the blend, I have to soften my recommendation.

When I see blender's notes that use words or phrases like "old-timey", "your grandfather's blend", "main street aroma" and the like my brain has my eyes read "OTC, drugstore, toothless, hacking wheezer." Moreover, I don't know if my grandfathers smoked but, if they did, it was a De Nobili root from the old country. So, enough sociology and on to this most pleasant of surprises. Coming from this smoker who's neither an aro nor a burley fan, I liked my 1-ounce sample enough to order 2 (I think) 8-ounce tins. Despite the list of strong-willed flavorings, I tasted more of a note of natural sweetness and flavor, much akin to H&H's Louisiana Red and Anniversary Kake. More like a tasty tobacco that was given a little spray prior to aging, pressing and curing. Whatever the process, the result is so natural that even non-aro fans (me) have no great leap of faith to make in order to enjoy this tobacco. Breaks easily, packs well, lights and smokes very well and evenly (a bit of airing as noted by others may be required based on your pipe's bowl shape and your own individual puffing pace) and gets richer in taste rather than deteriorating as you smoke your way down the bowl. Nice balance of the 3 component tobaccos, accentuating each others' better attributes while masking any lesser characteristics. It's one of a few tobaccos that I have on hand that I reach for and smoke while thinking about what I want to smoke -- stupid, right? Reminds me of John Lennon saying that life is what happens to us while we're busy making plans. So, go make some plans and remember to have a bowl of this cooking while you're doing so. Nice smoke.

H/H Burley Kake… When I popped open my fresh new tin of this blend, I was surprised to find a tin full of mostly rubbed out tobacco, a few sliced flakes of various sizes, with a fluffy texture that reminded me of lint. I couldn’t wait to try a bowl.

The moisture level felt about right, so I stuffed my pipe and gave it a try. What I found was a cloying and annoyingly hard to keep lit smoke, not at all what others described on this site, certainly IMO not a 3 or 4 star blend. So I did the obvious, I removed the lid and let it air out overnight. Doing so did the trick as far as I’m concerned, the aromatics dropped down and the harshness turned into a smooth tasty smoke. Just as advertised, it was now a lightly aromatic OTC America type burley plus blend that I was hoping for. Cooler burning, bit free, satisfying and a typical OTC blend burn. I can see myself buying this product again, only next time in a larger quantity.