Cornell & Diehl Chenet's Cake

Cornell & Diehl - Chenet's Cake (Cellar Series).

The tin contains a big block of kake with just one small piece sat next to it. So it isn't like some krumble kake blends where the tin contains lots of kake slithers. It's easy to fill the bowl with, just a very gentle rub results in the tobacco becoming fine and shag like. The consistency of the blend makes it very easy to over pack the bowl, without realising. Make sure you load the tobacco so it's still fairly loose in the bowl otherwise you'll never establish a good burn.

The smoke: lots of Perique! Throughout a bowl the smoke's rich, deep, fruity, and spicy, but toward the end any light, citrus qualities are replaced by much heavier tasting fruit. Up to here the Virginia's a definite addition, but after halfway the quantity of flavour from it gradually abates, until the Perique completely monopolizes the smoke. Although this is a smoke that's governed by the Perique at no point to I find it seems vinegary, or acerbic. It burns steadily needing very few relights. I get no bite.

Nicotine: medium to strong. Room-note: not nice.

Chenet's Cake? A very good blend but think of it being like a very rich dessert, although you enjoy it if you had it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day you'd feel sick! Recommended:

Three stars.

Nifty looking square cake of mottled and pressed tobacco. Easy to break off and smoke but I recommend a nice sharp knife, as when I simply broke off pieces, I tended to get even more perique from a blend that already focuses on perique. But once cut, it rubs very easily. Tin note is perfectly awful, smelling like old socks and spoiled food.

My sensitivity to perique is on the low side. I can usually taste it when its lightly present but it doesn't start to get too interesting for me until quite a bit is included. With this one, I learned that I have a ceiling on the level of perique, and this one went thru that ceiling with force! It started out spicy and faintly sweet, with the Virginias providing more earth than sweetness. C&D's Virginias seem to be heading in that direction, more of a burley taste than traditional virginia. I would have preferred more natural Virginia sweetness to offset the heavy perique with this one. But balance isn't this one's forte - this is for the perique-aholic, not for someone who prefers a bit of delicacy in their smoke - even their richer blends. In that sense, it seems to pass with flying colors. 3 stars for this one... 2 stars for my personal taste (and I doubt I'll ever revisit this one!) but 4 stars for appearing to meet their design goals. Try this one if you like perique on top of your perique. Stay away if you want to taste something aside from perique.

I have to agree with Zombie gentleman in regards to this tobacco review and his description of the aromas of the tobacco here. Upon opening the fresh tin of Chenet’s Cake I am greeted with a 2 oz crumble cake that resembles a small brownie, and the aromas that come from the tin are that of sweet fig like or raisiny notes from the Virginias although they are much milder than those of the Perique, and there is definitely a bakers chocolate sweet smell that is produced by the Perique in my tin as well. I do not detect any citrus notes that were described in some of the other reviews, however everyone experiences the tobacco differently. The crumble cake that I received is a little on the moist side and I suspect that this is to help with the aging process as these cellar series tobaccos are intended to be aged for ten years or more before being considered at their best. Before smoking, I broke off a small portion of the cake and broke it up and set it aside so that it could dry for about an hour. Once the tobacco had dried out a bit, it packed easily into my briar and took a light with little to no fuss. I would describe the flavors of the tobacco as a medium VaPer with a bread like taste coming from the Virginias and a smoky yet slightly nutty note coming from the Perique. The Perique definitely lets you know it’s there by mouth feel as well as there is a slightly spicy tinge that can be felt on the tongue as this blend is smoked. I can only guess as to what this will be like with ten years of age on it, but we will see as I have set back a few tins of this to cellar as well. My best guess though as to what this blend will be like in ten years is that the Virginias will continue to sweeten giving more of the raisin taste rather than the bread like taste that it has now, and the Perique will begin to become much milder and smokier than it is now. Either way, I am sure that it will be as good then as it is now, and I am happy with what I have in the fresh tin. As for burn characteristics, like I said before, the blend is a bit on the moist side and due to this it has a tendency to go out, thus there were several relights involved during each smoke. Room note is rather mild and those around me did not seem to be bothered by this in the slightest, so I would label this one as tolerable. Overall, I would recommend that any lover of Cornell & Diehl VaPer blends pick up a few tins of this to put in the cellar, and you may even want to crack one open now as they are rather tasty fresh.

This stuff is a perique powerhouse! Upon opening the tin you can smell fermentation and slight dark fruit tones mixed with tangy sweet grass. Smells earthy and slightly sour and fermented. It's a brick of shag that is easy to break off and rub out the varied brown ribbons.

Easy to load and light and takes the normal couple of matches or lights to get it going. Once it's going it's easy to maintain with simple light tamping.

The smoke, at least for me, is strong in flavor. Lots of earth and wood tones here rounded out by a bit of tang and slight sweetness. The perique takes center stage and delivers flavors of raisins, slight tang, and some spice. The flavors from the perique are deep and dark...I don't know how else to explain it. There are hints now and again from the VAs that are sweet a little grassy and also add some sour/bread notes, but very faint. The flavor profile is good, but very strong and a bit too harsh or much for me. I think this may be because of the less than one year of age on it. It's good, but I'm sure with age it'll be even better.

This is a good tobacco for those that love perique. I imagine that it will greatly improve with age and I look forward to sampling the tin I have packed away in a few years.

This is one I tried a few weeks ago. This tin is dated 042219. It is a nice pressed crumble cake, smells great, sweet, very light spiciness. I rubbed out a small amount, loaded my pipe and fired her up. First few puffs I could tell this is a stout Perique blend. Almost wondering if I should not be smoking this with coffee on an empty stomach. Puts out quite a lot of smoke and almost caught myself coughing a few times which as stated before is my Perique O’Meter. Not as strong as Picayune but starts out like Dr. Jekyll and turns into Mr. Hyde throughout the bowl for want of a metaphor. Good strong stuff. After smoking too many bowls. “As I looked there came, I thought a change - he seemed to swell - his face became suddenly black and the features seemed to melt and alter...” ― Robert Louis Stevenson, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. I would give this one a try.

Hot damn! If you are having trouble detecting perique in blends give this one a shot.. it is most definitely center stage.. I was gonna let mine age more but I was getting worried about the seal- these c&d tins tend to bulge quite a bit.. the second I popped it and heard a popcan like whoosh I instantly regreted it... oh well.. nice to try anyways.. I can certainly see why you might want more age.. the Virginia is kind of buried within the very generous dose of perique.. a little time would help bring the Virginia forward I suspect.. very nice.. slightly complex.. but at least in it's young state it's almost too heavy handed.. all in all, another nice flavorful va/per from c&d.. as a young tobacco I would definitely prefer bayou morning flake.. but cellaring potential is interesting indeed.. spicy and sassy

Although C&D accomplished their design goal of a 'perique powerhouse', this one is just over the top for me. However, I successfully blended it with VA/Per flakes to work it away. I wouldn't reorder but if you like perique, this one is loaded.

Tin note sweet musky chocolate and spice. Moisture level is perfect. I rubbed out a piece and let it sit for 10 minutes. Perique forward with spice and chocolate right behind. Needs to be smoked gently. Gets hot on the tongue if puffed hard. I would not consider this an all day smoke but a nice change once and a while. I suspect it will age very well. Nic hit is a bit past the medium mark. required a few relights. For the Perique, chocolate lovers this is a great blend.

If you like a VaPer on the tangy/figgy end of the scale, medium N but strong (and sometimes rough) flavor, you might like this. Despite being 5 1/2 years in the cellar, this tastes like it needs some more age. Currently a C+/B- but it still might improve with age. Be careful rubbing out the cake, it turns v fine v quickly.