Hearth & Home Classic Burley Kake

This blend really surprised me. I didn't think I liked burley's/burley blends (based upon my previous experience with them) and I don't typically like aromatics, though they are nice when the mood strikes once in awhile. Anyhow....

Cake.....that word best describes what this tobacco looks like and smells like. A big chunk of tobacco. Smells of sweet caramel, vanilla, rum with hints of chocolate come from the bag. Smoking it is easy and effortless. The smoke smells and tastes sweet. Caramel Rum flavors with hints of light tobacco here and there as well as chocolate making an appearance now and again. It's a very delightful and enjoyable tobacco to smoke. I've been so impressed by it that I'm sending off a few ounces to my smoking buddies that enjoy aromatics a lot.

It also has almost no tongue bite and leaves the room smelling amazing. Another great job P&C!!

Wonderful sweet but not overpowering aroma when opening tin. This is a sliced cake mixture, but soft enough to be a true "crumble cake." Physically feels like Penzance, although not like it at all to smoke. Quality of the tobacco is good, light and medium Tennessee and Kentucky Burleys and some Mature Virginia. Lightly cased with cocoa, rum and maybe a little anise overtones. An aromatic, but not much lingering effect on the bowl. Bone dry bowl at the end, no wet heel. Good all the way down, gets more complex throughout the smoke. No perceptible tongue bite. Nice slow smoke. Mild to medium strength tobacco and suitable for an all day smoke. Heath and Home delivers again. I love this tobacco, as I do most H & H Mixtures. Just a note that I like it better in the tin than bulk, seems to preserve the soft crumble cake slices better. Bravo to Mr. Russ Ouellette, the blender.

While I am fairly new to pipe smoking, I have tried a variety of kinds of tobacco blends, and I have enjoyed much of what I have tried. Having said that, for me, Classic Burley Kake is the closest thing I have found to date that puts the best of pipe tobacco in a single bowl (with the exception of Latakia, of which I am fond).

While this is, in a way, a simple blend, there is a lot going on here for me. To clarify, there are many components here that work together to produce one simply wonderful product. There is some bold burley flavor that is balanced with the mellow sweet tang of the Virginias. There are hints of chocolate and licorice, but they do not strike my pallet as flavoring (like in a typical aromatic) but more like seasonings that make the natural character of the tobaccos shine. The effect is not unlike adding a pinch of salt to a recipe-- not to make it salty, but to bring out the natural flavors of the food.

In short, all the components of this tobacco blend work together in harmony to produce a smooth tobacco flavor that is at once earthy, nutty, tangy, and sweet without being too much of any one of the four. At times, the flavor reminds me of dried fruit. At times, it reminds me of maple and nuts. At all times, it is delicious.

Finally, it burns well and leaves essentially no tongue bite (at least in my experience). And it, like many of the Hearth and Home blends, is quite affordable and available in bulk.

All in all, I would say Classic Burley Kake just about perfect for me (as long as I also have a great English blend around for my Latakia fix).

Absolutely delicious, right now my #1 favorite Burley. I'm smoking lots of Burley these days and this tops them all. Smooth, full flavored, slightly sweet, with that full round, nutty, cereal, classic Burley flavor. Pressed into fragrant chunks that crumble easily CBK has the perfect moisture content. It packs and lights up and continues to burn easily. I'm happily puffing away on it now. CBK seems to work out well in any pipe from a 9mm filtered Design Berlin to a unfiltered Stanwell to the old funky Magic Inch I'm smoking as I write this. The flavorings are mild and harmonize with the delicious blend of tobaccos. I wouldn't call this an aromatic. You can merrily puff away without fear of any tongue bite. If you love Burley don't pass this up. Highly recommended.

Classic Burley Kake, what a delicious treat. The flavors are well melded: Oats and a rich cocoa/molasses sweetness, slight nuttiness, earthy/tangy sweet red Virginia, the rum and anise are an after thought and I didn’t find them overpowering at all. The Mrs. likes the room note, and it burns clean all the way down, with the first puff of creamy smoke tasting just as good as the last. After reading the reviews I feel that this is more of a niche blend, for those that enjoy light, Danish style aros and burley blends. I personally love this blend and enjoy it best with a cup of coffee. Bought 6 ounces when I saw it was available. Highly recommended.

Oh yes!! This is what a Burley Blend should be. The flake or "kake" cut on this is 3.5 inches long, 1 inch deep, and 3/8 inch thick. The flakes are a deep coca brown with a wonderful aroma. One especially notices the cocoa, rum and anise top note upon opening. The flakes are not overly moist, although I have found that some drying turns up the flavors. This flake "krumbles" easily for filling the bowl, but can be left in large chunks if desired.

Burley Kake has a nice room note, and the flavor is very consistent from top to bottom. Some may find this boring, but I enjoy its uniform flavors which I find mild and subtle. This flake does not bite or burn hot. There is a basic Burley taste - not very sweet - with hints of cocoa and rum. It does not get bitter at the bottom of the bowl (which speaks to the high quality Burley leaf used) and stays lit easily. Although Burley is not noted for improving with age, I plan on lay more of this away.

As a codger burley lover, this blend really drew my attention. I'm half way through the tin now and can say that I really do enjoy the blend. I would compare this to an upscale Prince Albert in taste, with more of a sweetness to it that does not get bitter at the end of the bowl. Tried it in many different pipes, but like a true codger burley it does best in a cob. Does not like to be packed tight. A loose pack and careful tamping will get you through the bowl with a couple lights.

Presentation is tightly pressed cake. Despite the use of several burleys and some Virginia in this blend, the color is of generally uniform burley brown.  Pouch note is largely neutral, slightly sweet, with a hint of molasses. Caked tobaccos, all things being equal, tend to hold a bit more moisture more than ribbon or shag and this blend is no exception. But the moisture content is not excessive and while it might benefit from some dry time before smoking, Classic Burley Kake can be smoked immediately after rubbing out. 

The charring light reveals a touch of sweetness on the tip of the tongue that dissipates within the first third of the bowl. The true light brings classic burley flavors predominately of sweet and salty nuts.  As the first third continues, I detect a light, sweet rum topping applied with an easy hand. But despite being usually sensitive to anise,  I'm not picking it up so far. 

By mid-bowl the blend presents a woody note that is balanced against the nut flavor. Not "woodsyness" mind you, but more literally a wood flavor akin to basswood. I interpret this as a more extreme version of the parchment flavors common among good burley blends. While the rum begins to flicker in and out by the end of the middle third, I finally find the anise, but it's very mildly done: to my taste buds, this is a positive. It's not that I dislike anise, just that it's a flavoring that can easily overwhelm the more delicate tobacco flavors if not applied conservatively.  

In the final third of the bowl, the light, sweet rum flavors reemerge along with a raw, dark chocolate note that takes some of the saltiness out of the blend. I also begin to get an ever-so-slight hint of the light cocoa and parchment notes I associate with a top-shelf burley.  Near the end of the bowl the sweet cocoa and parchment fully reveal themselves, balancing out the salted and sweet nuts (visualize a blend salted cashews, unsalted walnuts, and sweet macadamia), resulting in a final crescendo of the full range of burley flavors.  

Overall another excellent creation by a master blender. Room note got the seal of approval from Mrs Perique. This blend is extremely cool smoking, even when inconsiderably puffed and has absolutely zero bite. The burley lover could do much worse for an all-day smoke, but there are enough flavor nuances and changes throughout the bowl to make it a good early-evening blend as well. Though I find a few other burley blends a bit more complex with gentler cocoa and parchment nuances, I have nothing but compliments for Classic Burley Kake: a delicious, lightly aromatic blend that any burley lover should try. I can see this edging out a few others as my preferred all-day smoke.

Update, Jan 2015: This has earned its place among my favorite all-day blends. I just ordered another pound. An outstanding daytime blend that will satisfy both burley and aromatic smokers.

Russ has created another fine tobacco in Classic Burley Kake. The aroma of this tobacco is mouth watering and the thick flakes crumble easily. This is an excellent burley/VA tobacco that has an excellent nutty flavor, smokes cool, and has not bite. I would call this tobacco an aromatic, but the flaovrs stay in the background and don't interfere with the taste of the tobacco. I guess becasue the flavors are steamed into the tobacco.

If you like burley and burley flakes, this will be a real treat. Stonehaven was my favortie burley flake until smoking Classic Kake.