Cornell & Diehl Pirate Kake

“Not all treasure is silver and gold, mate.”

-- Captain Jack Sparrow

Just yesterday I had some Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramels, and I immediately thought of those when I emblazoned a bowl of Pirate Kake for the first time (“Buttery smooth caramels, drenched in Belgian dark chocolate, then sprinkled with crunchy rock salt from the Dead Sea”). While I didn’t pick up any dark chocolate from Pirate Kake, I did indeed find it to be “buttery smooth” (and slightly sweet, just like them caramels) and I also found it to be delectably salty some (and so the name, “Pirate Kake” perchance -- the salty)? Of all the C&D blends I have sampled, this one indubitably stands head-and-shoulders (in the crow’s nest, matey) above all the rest.

Yo-ho – Latakia La Bamba! If 75% Latakia doesn’t make for a Lat-Bomb, then I don’t know what would (100% Latakia perhaps)? For three years now I’ve been reading about “Lat-Bombs” in countless reviews, and I kept scratching my head: “I’ve smoked lots of blends with Latakia – so what the hell is a ‘Lat-Bomb’? Is it a Lat-heavy blend that explodes your palate in such a way as to make any and all future Latakia blends unpalatable?” The expression “Lat-Bomb” has always been tossed about in such a disparaging way, I always assumed the term to be a pejorative one. (In appraising Arango’s Balkan Supreme for the first time, I remember thinking: “Jeez, if this is a ‘Lat-Bomb’, then I must love me some ‘Lat-Bomb’ blends”). Arrrr -- shiver me timbers -- Pirate Kake is the second blend I’ve smoked in as many days that has bewitched me into thinking there were Virginias mixed into it (apparently, based on a couple of other reviews, I wasn’t the only one to be so fooled). Pirate Kake is fantastic: I could smoke this stuff every day, all day long. I find PK to be a charmingly enjoyable blend, smooth as butter, rich with wood, earth and leather, along with some sweet coupled with sea salt (and a mineral-like element that I can’t quite put my finger on – it’s not quite soda-like – but it sits right behind the salt). I love the full-on tastiness of this tobacco – I’m going to bury (cellar) a ton of this treasure. PK: Highly recommended. 4-stars.

I was able to smoke a bowl of this. Even though I only like Latakia in very small doses, I dared to pack a small clay bowl full of Pirate Kake. To my suprise the unburnt aroma is quite sweet, nutty and not overly Latakia-ish.

In the smoke the Latakia - even though being 75% percent of the blend - really smooth and silky. It's really not what I consider a "Latakia Bomb" with an obtrusive Latakia aroma! There's enough sweetness and nuttiness to mellow out the high dose of Lady L.

Pirate Kake offers leathery notes, smoky and woodsy tones and a grain of sea-salt, as well as some nuttiness and toasty, honey-ish sweetness. The orientals also sport some etherealness, a few sour peaks and a herbal character.

I guess this blend works just as Motzeks Black & Gold Krumble Kake, which also holds 40% Perique, but is mellowed out with a lot of Cavendish. The Cavendish mellows out the obtrusive, musty aromas and settles the blend for smooth smoke - exactly as in Pirate Kake.

Wonderful blend, and certainly a 4-star blend!

So like the typical guy I started with aromatics and over the past year I've tried tons of different types of blends finding myself settling into VApers and Balkan blends.

I kept seeing this in all the pipe smoking groups so I thought what the heck, I'll give it a try. So I went ahead and ordered it. Now as excited as I was about all the hype I jarred it as soon as I opened it and promptly rubbed some out and filled my bowl.

It comes in a crumble cake and like all the C&D cakes I've tried this one is easily breakable and crumbled nicely. Easy stuff and no problems getting it lit. It is sort of goldilocks for me right out of the tin in terms of dry time.

I open the tin and bam you are smacked in the face with the leathery campfire smell of the Latakia. Upon lighting, I was pleasantly surprised. I thought that such a high volume of Latakia would overpower the blend but not so. The smoke is never hot, so no issue with tongue bite even if you puff like an train getting it lit.

If I could describe this blend in one word it would be creamy. This is like an Autumn bonfire made of leaves in my mouth. It brings back good memories. Needless to say this is something that I now smoke daily and I encourage you to as well.

Original review from 2011:

This one is just not for me. It does produce a decent amount of smoke. Just too much Latakia for me. As always YMMV. I give this 2 stars because it does seem to be a quality mixture.

Update 2/27/2018:

My have times changed, and so has my taste in tobacco blends. I rediscovered this blend over the weekend. We got ourselves reacquainted. I've readjusted the ratings and highly recommend this blend very much. The components come together quite nicely and gives a nice load of nicotine in this offering from C&D. The room note may scare away some people that would normally sit by when you smoke this one. For me, the moisture level was right on from the opening of the tin until the bottom of it. The tobacco came apart quite easily when loading up the pipe. Definitely recommended.

English lovers unite! This is the single greatest Latakia blend on the market. The smoke is smoothe and leaves a cool yet warm creaminess on your palette for hours afterward. C&D style; this blend smokes down to the last puff leaving a fine volcanic type ash that won't plug up the bowl. Highly recommended for lovers of Latakia: over 75% and yet not over powering. A classic pipe room note scent that will turn bystanders into tokers.

The very epitome of lat bomb. I was told that this blend is 70% latakia, and I believe it.

Presentation is a firm cake, pitch black with a few brown flecks. Breaking off a chunk and rubbing it out with your fingers isn't difficult at all, but you might want to wash your hands afterwards. Moisture level is perfect for smoking. My kids' comment on tin note - "Ewww! Stinky dirt!" I concur (but in a good way).

Flavor - Yep, that's latakia! I won't attempt to break this one apart - the descriptions say it's got oriental, burley and cavendish. Whatever. I can't really pick them out. The flavor to me is straight up latakia, smokey, earthy, dark, bold and rich...but surprisingly smooth and creamy. It lacks that hint of perique spice that Nightcap has, but is darker and more smokey. I don't get much sweetness, but it's not astringent either. Not terribly complex, almost one dimensional, but quite good at what it does.

It took two matches to get started and required only one relight. Smokes slow and cool. Very well behaved in the pipe. Room note? IT STINKS. When you light up some Pirate Kake, nobody is going to be happy except you. Perhaps this is why pirates didn't have wives on their ships with them.

Recommended. I'm not quite ready to stock up on this one, but I will certainly buy more in the future.

First off, I love latakia-from blends with just a hint to full blown blends like this wonderful smoke from C&D. If you don't care for latakia then definitely steer clear of this one, but I for one can't imagine a piper not enjoying this smoke. Despite being 75% latakia I was easily able to pick out the oriental tobacco. Not just the tongue tingle that spicy orientals give but a solid oriental leaf flavor under the latakia. I found a retro-hale was the best way to truly get the smokey leathery flavor of the latakia to shine. I have no idea what the room note is because I smoke on the porch but I imagine it would be very potent. This is a fine smoke for a snowy winter night, I will be ordering up the one pound bag very soon, this one is a winner

Beautiful Latikia Kake. The strong Latakia flavor basically wipes out any hint of the other tobaccos. I suppose the nicotine kick comes from the burley. While perhaps one dimensional I love this rich Lat bomb in one of my English billiards. A favorite for special occasions, definitely not an all day smoke for me.

Finally another Latakia forward mixture without any Virginia. It’s not easy to get over here so I’m glad I got some friends overseas who are willing to help out.

Cold smell is very smoky - woodfire and leather dominant. Look is rather dark and one can see the 75% Latakia in this one. It crumbles apart easily and after some drying it packs very well and is burning even and steady.

Other than many expect, Latakia is a very low in nicotine and tongue friendly tobacco which is very strong in taste, though. Pirate Kake starts very spicy with pine smoke and leather flavors and supports only a minimum of sweetness. Not much ups and downs and very few acidity. Once you puff it very slow it will reveal beautiful oriental spices - peppery cardamom and pine needles - never overpowered and with a nice complexity. The character turning more dark and spicy in the second half so a sweet drink (coffee, tea) goes great with it.

Very well blended leaf of good quality. Maybe not an all day smoke but a great choice if you’re searching for a characterful, spicy but not too strong mixture.