Cornell & Diehl Pirate Kake

A sweet char in most puffs with strong Latakia. Delicious. That is, if you like English blends.

Break it up and give it drying time. Puff slowly. The room will fill with goodness.

Oddly (given the percentage of Lat) this is not a Lat-bomb. Well balanced. Not an all day smoke but great early or late or in between. When I smoke English blends I go reflective or pensive. The taste in the mouth is pleasant, even joyful. Like visiting with a good friend.

I think reviewing this "blend" comes down to one thing: Do you like latakia? Yes? Get some. No? Don't even think about it. I like latakia, but usually not this much. I really enjoyed my first pipe of this though, its quite a full bodied and smoky experience. There is a little bit of spice in there but the latakia overpowers most of it for me. I'll probably buy a tin again in the future, but not for a while. Smoking this helped me start picking up fainter latakia taste in other blends. Every latakia lover has to try this one at least once.

When trying to describe this, Latakia/Turkish makes sense. I don't really get any burley influence. The Oriental mellows out the Latakia without diminishing it, the perfect distance for me from unmitigated Latakia. This is almost exactly what I'm looking for in a powerful Latakia blend, minus a bigger nicotine kick.

This is the classic lat-bomb English blend.

It lends itself well to smoking out of a cob, in my experience. Heavily features smokey, leathery flavors along with a little bit of sweetness to it.

Pirate Kake delivers a whopping dollop of 75% Latakia in the blend. Now, that sounds overwhelming at first, but Cornell and Diehl have managed to pull off a masterpiece. The Latakia is certainly noticeable, but somehow does not completely take the bowl over.

Another aspect that makes it great is the fact that when you pack a bowl, it does not have the tendenciy to spring back up. Unlike Cornell and Diehls Tuggle Hall which you have to keep re-stuffing back in there.

Great blend.

Éste es un tabaco para los Latakialovers.

En toda la fumada el protagonista indiscutible es la latakia. Le acompaña el Burley y dicen que Orientales, que no puedo apreciar, excepto en el carácter de ésta labor.

Tiene un sabor profundo, muy terroso, ahumado, pero nada agresivo a no ser que le des mucha candela. No amarga nada, y el sabor propio del burley solo se puede apreciar por su aporte de madera y terrosidad a la fumada. La latakia, su marcado sabor ahumado, y quizás unas notas algo dulces, protagoniza una mezcla que puede llegar a saturar a quien no adore la latakia. Los orientales, sin poder notarlos en si, se puede decir que aportan ese toque de equilibrio y aromas, que permite saborear con gusto una mezcla que por su cantidad de latakia debería de ser de difícil fumada.

Viene con cierta humedad, así que después de desmenuzar hay que dejarlo un buen rato para que se oxigene y adquiera el punto óptimo. De vitamina N va justita, no me resulta para nada agresiva en ese aspecto.

Aunque no es una mezcla mordedora, si he notado alguna aspereza.

Un tabaco digno de un Maestro Sith

I am not quite sure how to fully describe this tobacco. I know I like it, but I am not sure if it will always be in my stock. I like how it smells while burning, and I enjoy smoking it. Its toasty, slightly nutty, with a mild briny tartness underlying everything. There is also some sweetness to the blend, but the factor that I can't quite describe is almost a menthol sensation. Its reminds me of taking a handful of fresh basil and stuffing your mouth (but not as extreme,) and once the flavor has left your palate there is still a certain feeling present. This is what is left in my mouth while smoking this blend, an odd cooling sensation not unpleasant in any regards, just unexpected and strange. I find the blend very relaxing and I am still working through the sample ounce I purchased. It could very well become a regular, but for now I am unsure. Maybe I will try mixing it with something.

Appearance is a pressed briquette ("krumble kake"), rubs out to a coarse mixture of pieces and ribbon. Smells of smoke and creosote. Tastes smoky with mineral overtones.

Pirate Kake is an interesting smoke, providing a full serving of Latakia. I do not find it as strong as many other reviewers. The smoky flavour is nice and develops a slightly salty, mineral taste. A tongue numbing iodine note remains after smoking. There's no finesse nor subtlety here. Recommended for Latakiaphiles.

All the reviews are very complete, so I will just add my few points. I have some difficult lighting and smoking (a feeling of weakining burning) more than other Latakia blends. The good point is the concentration on Latakia, with no corrections, and this is also a weak point, since it flattens the experience. Since a long time I can not find Penzance, that stands in my mind as the best one. I appreciate GLP Maltese Falcon and Odissey, that I find more enjoyable and round than this. But this still is a good and rough almost pure Latakia island for Pirates!