Kramer's Pipe and Tobacco Shop Blend for Danny Kaye

The first review by thedstnguishdgntimn hits the nail on the head with his observation that this is very similar to English blends made by another famous old pipe shop, Peretti's of Boston. It has the look and feel of a Peretti blend. Danny Kaye is an “old school” American English that is balanced with just the right amount of Latakia for my taste. It also has an underlying sweetness that serves as a nice addition to the blend, but it isn't an aromatic. Each component tobacco plays well off of the other, without any particular tobacco dominating. The rough cut is easy to pack and it's clean burning. I enjoy it well dried as it seems to bring out the best in the blend. Danny Kaye isn't the best English blend I have ever had, but I would have no reservation in recommending it. Three and a half well deserved stars.

Kramer's Pipe and Tobacco Shop - Blend for Danny Kaye.

The blend is coarse, it includes an equal amount of each constituent, has a good amount of moisture, and sadly a good amount of twigs, also. The aroma is easily one of an aromatic.

The smoke: I like the quantity of topping in B.F.D.K., it only gives a mild embellishment, rather than a smack in the face of falseness. Neither does the Latakia domineer the flavour with acrid smokiness, but more of a rich woodiness. The sour Orientals take charge, and as a bowl progresses seem to become more sour. The burn's good, even if it's a little fast, and I only get a smidgen of tongue bite.

The room-note: nice. The nicotine: medium.

This is a nice smoke, falling just shy of four stars.

Recommended.

With Kramer's Blend for Cary Grant having already overcome my reservations about the Irish Aromatic component, I decided to also give Blend for Danny Kaye a try. I expected the blends to be more similar than they actually are. Mr. Kaye's blend is more Oriental-forward. Oddly, though, I feel that the grassy Virginia leaf stands out more at times than in Blend for Cary Grant. The Latakia and Irish Aromatic are, to my taste, somewhat less prominent relative to Blend for Cary Grant. The tin label says there is "[a] little Perique" here, and it must be only a little. I was never sure I could pick it up in the flavor.

In terms of nicotine, this blend is very mild in strength. The taste is medium on account of the heftier Oriental punch. The blend burns well but requires some relights and leaves some dampness in the heel.

Like Blend for Cary Grant, this will not be a routine smoke for me. I do recommend it, though. I plan to buy some in bulk to keep around as an occasional smoke.

I had the pleasure of sampling this while in California and the once again at the Chicago Pipe Show.The best way to describe this blend is very Peretti-esque.An extremely old timey English blend. The Irish aroma is what I would call a lot lke the Belmont Mixture by Peretti. Not sweet but aromatic. The Latakia is noticeable and the oriental/Virgina components add a smoky/bready taste. The room not is pleasant while smoking but turns a tad rank afterwaards. No Bite and absolutlely lovely. Well worth a shot for those who remember Wilke & Barclay-Rex.

Certainly an English tobacco on the lighter side, perhaps the added "Irish Mist" softend things up? I will attest that some flavoring has been added to the typical spicy/charcoal English mix, what it is I can't say, but it reminded me of a Carmex (chapstick) smell livened up with a "wet mist" air freshener. It was a curious take on an English I was eager to try.

The moisture was great out the bag, filled with a medley of light and dark ribbon bits. There were some occasional blobs (nickel sized leafs that passed through the shredder and wadded up), which caused some air flow issues and relights. The smoke had a milder Latakia and Oriental taste than most Englishes I've tried and the added flavoring produced a mild soapy flavor I quite liked. Not much bite and a mild/medium nicotine hit.

The complete package might wear on the buds as an all day smoker, but it is certainly a great occasional smoke. English fans should enjoy this well crafted blend for changing up the usual profile.

Second blend I tried from Kramers after Father Dempsey. I liked this better. It has a noticeable latikia taste with some natural sweetness. The added Irish Mist topping nails it. A great semi-sweet English blend.

Ok. I read the other reviews and it's time to add my two cents. I've come to love Kramer's blends. Father Dempsey is my favourite. This one is a close second. This to me is a English aromatic. I'm always trying to find a tobacco that I enjoy but passes the sniff test with my wife. I love English/Balkan blends they're damn near perfect for me. This is a winner. I'm not going to bore you with a bunch on inane flavor details. It's good English blended tobacco with a touch of flavouring

Of the small number of us who have both smoked and reviewed this blend, about half of us believe this to be an American style English mixture and I don't disagree. However, for me it was more of an American style English gone slightly wrong mixture. I bought a 10 oz jar of this blend last May, smoked a bowl and put it away for future scrutiny. I took it out recently for a closer look and this is what I found. The bulk appearance is of a uniform brown to darker brown to real dark brown nature in a broad ribbon cut. I reached in the Mason jar with my fingers and pulled out a "wad" big enough to fill a bigger pipe. In that amount were eight woody sticks of various sizes and I join reviewer StevieB 2017-06-27 in my complaint. The bulk aroma was interesting and my sniff test revealed Latakia and Perique among other tobaccos. The Irish Mist infusion must have partially evaporated over the last five years, as it's presence was a mere suggestion. The overall impression was that of a fairly strong mixture. On light up some confusion entered the picture with the smoking taste and aroma being rather mild. This is in strong contrast to the blend's very noticeable, and sometimes approaching harsh, feel on the tongue combined with it's strong bulk aroma. This blend never actually bit, but did nip persistently all through the top half of the bowl. Now for something positive: the best part of each bowl occurred in the bottom third. The blend took on some added taste strength and the aroma approached that of many medium English blends we have all smoked and enjoyed. So, in the final analysis, I join the small crowd of three star reviewers and recommend Danny Kaye mixture as a somewhat exotic American smoke.

You know, there is something really enjoyable about these Kramers blends, and much to my surprise, the one that everybody seems to rave about (Father Dempsey) is the blend that calls to me the least. Don't get me wrong, it is an excellent blend, but there is not much there for me to separate if from a whole category of similar english blends, so while it is good, I can think of many I would rather smoke. But these two "Actor" blends.....Danny Kaye and Cary Grant...they have something that for me sets them apart.

The three Kramers blends that seem to be talked about the most are Cary Grant, Danny Kaye, and Father Dempsey. In terms of their taste, strength and gravitas, I would put them exactly in that order.

Danny Kaye is the in between. It came a bit moister than the other two so I gave it some air time. Mostly lighter colors with some light sprinkled in. A nice solid latakia smell from the bag.

After drying it packs and lights easily. Upon lighting, the latakia makes itself known. It is a steady presence, but I would not call this blend a lat bomb in any sense of the word. The perique is also present and noticeable here, gives me that lovely little tingle on the retro hale.

Here is the thing about this blend. The more I smoke it the more I like it, and it usually takes me until about mid bowl until I am reminded how much I do enjoy it. Truth be told, I think what makes this blend so interesting for me is the little bit of influence the aromatic gives. Do not get me wrong. This is not an aromatic blend, and if I did not know the description, I probably would not have picked up on it in the bag note or smoke. I don't even know what the flavor of Irish Mist is anyway. The thing is, there is this subtle sweet underlying, that kinda plays games with my head. While I smoke this blend, a little voice in my head says "is that the aromatic I am tasting? Or is it just a naturally sweet component of the blend? Is the aromatic notion all in my head because it is in the description? or is it really there?" In the end, it matters not. It offers something a little different, that differentiates this blend from many others, and I really do like it.