I decided to wait a while to review this one because I kept bouncing back and forth from loving to hating it. I even find myself occasionaly inhaling this, something I rarely ever do when smoking a pipe. A velvety, and almost full bodied, smoke with a strong taste of Latakia-woodiness, thats perfectly balanced by the creamy sweet, buttery burley and cavendish. Bought a ton of this 2 years ago and after the first bowl immediately turned around and bought a pound. Once the pipe is lit, the flavor is very rich and its sweetness catches my attention, since despite having a smaller amount of virginia, it is sweeter than other English of its kind and this is something that I like in virginia/ latakia. Si sente un eccellente Latakia, un vecchio camino acceso in una grotta, per spiegare la torba e laffumicato. For me, this is my favorite Lat. the 75% latakia will stomp you; like being taken prisoner by blackbeard himself. I just ordered more of this cake and can't wait to see what age does to its already perfect cake!!! It got more pleasant towards the end of the bowl but the overall 'smokey' taste just seemed to dominate this blend. En toda la fumada el protagonista indiscutible es la latakia. I think the blend meets the goal of a fine tobacco that is easy for most to enjoy. Hadnt been a fan of too many english blends but after getting this in the mail today, i have to completely agree with these other comments. I can't truly call it an English blend (even a Lat-Bomb English), but I like what it does. An occasional excess has its place in life, and Pirate Kake is an excess. I take back ever wanting it as a broken flake, I love the ritual of breaking chunks off the black bricks and rubbing them out individually. Latakia forward for sure, but I absolutely love the flavors I get off of this Blend. While I love it now, I did not enjoy my first bowl. I buy i Pirate Lake is a full body English bend. . Holy crap this stuff is intense. It's exactly what I have in mind when I think "strong tobacco" and that's a good thing. The Latakia is pretty much is the main driver, and the orientals do give some tea like qualities. I have not had the need to dry mine out and it smokes exceptionally cooly and dryly. How ever you choose to consume it, PK is a GREAT blend. I'm paraphrasing here, but I don't have a better description of this aroma. 56g tin. in this blend that it tended to be rather 1 dimensional. The Latakia is always front and center, and to me, that is not a bad thing. It gets better and better with time. I taste at least three different alternate flavor notes as different sized chunks of tobacco burn. If your looking for Latakia, then search no further, this has it. To order by pound, use multiples of 16. $10.99 Save 2% +-Add. The quality is there, no questions asked. Dont be put off by the 75% Latakia, as this smokes smooth as silk. I legit felt like a pirate after I opened the tin - imagined sailing the high seas pillaging a town with my trusty briar packed with this fragrant english beauty. Since a long time I can not find Penzance, that stands in my mind as the best one. I kept seeing this in all the pipe smoking groups so I thought what the heck, I'll give it a try. Lighting up the bowl I was greeted by smoke rolling from the bowl and a rich, heavy, sweet smoke that I found very pleasing and that dominated this smoke. This is awesome. . They're almost like little bars of hashish, which of course, I never inhaled. I took this to mean that the Pirate Kake was very moist - and that is the case. I thought that such a high volume of Latakia would overpower the blend but not so. Highly recommended to the lat bomb smokers. (shipping weight 1 lb) Home Customer Service Contact Us Customer Reviews Think a peaty scotch and some nuttiness for the most part. Flavorful and super relaxing. Not a rush but a steady buzz- nice in this dept. Yes, it is for the latakia affectionato but there is so much else going on in this one. But I didn't throw it out and instead kept the small plastic bag in a drawer. Initial Flavor: Latakia! The burly and Orientals are there to round it out a bit but the star is the smoky lat. I guess this, is in part, due to solid balance with the orientals and burley. Cornell & Diehl Pipe Tobaccos include hundreds of blends made in the US with top-quality leaf from all over the world. If you're a latakia fiend, you have to try this. Although extremely high in Latakia, its flavor is quite well rounded and delicious. Pirate Kake is really three-dimensional. A full bowl of Pirate Kake burned slow and consistently. Forgiving when my cadence changes; a mellow carpet of Latakia on my tongue and palate without bite or sour. Enter 48 in quantity box for 3 pounds. Pipe Used: John Middleton Oyster Rusticated Author, Nice. The room note, of courseahem not spouse-friendly. Still, it's a pretty impressive cake and it pairs best with a cup of two day old black coffee (which I'm also fond of), or a guinness. The Turkish and burley add a good amount of body. Flavor - Yep, that's latakia! Similar Blends: Boswell Northwoods, Dunhill Nightcap. #1. For me, however, Pirate Kake is nothing short of a ridiculous, unbalanced mess. Intensified if you will. Be that as it may, I was fixated on finding the ultimate Latakia fix and when I started ordering from C&D, I worked my way through several less Latakia-heavy blends until I reached Pirate Kake. This is neither a tobacco for noobs or for those who like aromatics. I took a long filet knife and cut it into 1/4 pound bars. Final thoughts: if you get bored with all the medium strength english blends, and want something a little stronger tasting then pick some of this up and throw it in your rotation for the nights when you feel you just need something extra. The savory flavor isn't too strong as to where you can't use this as an all day blend. (I dont pickup room note myself when I smoke but my wife said it smelled like hind end FWIW). Of course, I smoked some before ordering a half-pound, but this is just a straight out Lat bomb. Very smooth with little, if any bite. The reason for this was a combination of my observations and the many warnings from fellow reviewers about its heavy-to-horrid Latakia content. Irish Breakfast tea goes very well with this. Relights are much less frequently on the bottom half of the bowl, in fact, it is burning quite well. There is also some sweetness to the blend, but the factor that I can't quite describe is almost a menthol sensation. Enter 64 in quantity box for 4 pounds. Yowza!!! A very straight and narrow taste profile with hardly any change. The present tin information report: A smooth, robust blend with LOTS (75%) of exceptional Latakia accompanied by Turkish and Burley. It is surprisingly smooth and easy on the palate. Not just the tongue tingle that spicy orientals give but a solid oriental leaf flavor under the latakia. If dirty harry smoked a pipe pirate kake is what he would smoke no room for wimps here. It's my go-to comfort smoke. Ron Swanson. 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. Pipe Used: MM general, royal meer, savinelli 616, I guess I must be a real Lat fiend too. This is primo condemental that is extremely smooth and creamy with smoke so thick you can eat it. The unlit note gives more than a suggestion of lots of Latakia, so on with the actual smoke: It comes as no surprise that the leading flavour's the smoky Latakia. I assume because it is in a crumble kake that the moisture content can initially be high, so maybe dry it a little before smoking to avoid steam/tongue bite. Mainly because it had to do with pirate. It smokes very cool with no bite whatsoever. Updated 11/2/11- Well after a few months to breath and a different pipe ( if that is what one calls an Ozark Cherry Wood, original review was with a cob ), this blend is complex, without heat, creamy , cheezy and a keeper. I immediately thought of a bouquet of dried herbs. salted leather. It's not unusual to get a two hour smoke out of this combination. Easy to rate, easy peasy: highly recommended. I think I smoked PK as regularly and for as long as I did because it does reveal subtle flavor-facets over the course of both a single smoke and repeated smokes. The age has definitely blended the strong latakia toget her into the others. So ill be blending the reat of this kake w either the comoys or LNF as the blend was so good i was thinking about my next bowl before i was even halfway done w the first. A beautiful cake, so easy to handle and pack, the room note for me was acceptable, I quite like the smell of latakia and can never understand when there is so much comotion about it. Join over 18k members to reviewexclusive content. Reviews This is now the bar for me as far as taste and just a purely enjoyable smoke goes. Whatever. Other than that, I believe this to be the perfect blend for true lover's of Latakia, it showcases the rich, velvety, smokey, slightly sweet, delectability of Latakia, while offering a robust, yet silky smooth, full smoking experience. After rubbing a chunk of this smoky ambrosia out it looks like I repair diesel trucks for a living. I don't want to ever do with out this blend. I love the presentation, two little coal black bricks of latakia doom. I agree with earlier reviewers who think this is Syrian latakia. Great for late night or cool/cold weather smoking. A Latakia lovers stand by for me. This blend has a lot of charm. The tin I bought had perfect moisture and didn't need to let it sit out prior to loading up a bowl. Cornell & Diehl: Pirate Kake 2oz Pipe Tobacco Product Number: 003-016-0059 A smooth, robust blend with LOTS (75%!) I also like the fact that it is easy to load, no knife needed to cut as it crumbles in your hand. A Latakia lover's treasure. 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. I was expecting a one-dimensional experience, but I assure you there is more to this tobacco than many give it credit for. Okay, Have you every chewed on a bit of boot leather? I also found this blend seemed to pack a bit of nicotine when smoked in an MM General. It's my humble opinion that C&D has the absolute highest quality widely available Latakia on the market . Upon returning to my sun porch I was struck with the room note: as smoky as if one had spent all night tending a charcoal fire preparing a Carolina Pig Pickin'. That is the exact progression I went through smoking Pirate Kake. It wouldn't be the first tobacco I reached for, and I have doubts if I'd ever buy it, but I wouldn't refuse another sample. An ode to Cyprian Latakia if there ever was one. Smoke it slowly in a 9 mm charcoal Briar Pipe and you will be richly rewarded. It is not at all one-dimensional, even if it obviously is a Latakia forward blend, given its 75% proportion. Do the laws of physics cease to exist?? I have carefully read the reviews to get an idea, and I thank everyone for the excellent guidance and advice. At which point, even I had to admit that this was as intense flavor-wise as anything I had ever smoked. Have always loved the English blends due to the high Latakia and Orientals levels, which I love. One of my favorite after-dinner, sitting on the porch, watching-the-glaciers-move pipes is a "latakia parfait", constructed thusly: In a tallish bowl combine first Old Ironsides as broken flakes (bottom third), next crumbled Pirate Kake (middle third), and finally Commonwealth Mixture (top third of bowl). Pirate Kake does just that. PK has the reputation for being a Lat bomb, but it is actually a nice and smooth smoke. In the smoke the Latakia - even though being 75% percent of the blend - really smooth and silky. Wow, this is heavy in Latakia. Right next to SPC Mississippi River and Plum Pudding. There is this faint sense of a very dark chocolate that drifts through at times, so this stuff is not without occasional subtleties. The tobacco is a very nice krumble kake, with a very smoky and somehow musty or vinegar smell. Not quite balanced, but nearly so. My suggestion, as always, smoke it slowly,very slowly in little medium vintage pipes . The note is brighter and more lively than others,which serves to create it's own bold, lusty personality. The quality of the leaf is good, as are all C&D blends that I have had. The burley appears for a moment after lighting, then steps back to make way for full- force latakia with bits of tasty turkish aroma punctuating. Awesome stuff. Cup O' Joes :) Strength is mild to medium because you cant take a lot of vitamin N from the latakia or the oriental, maybe from the burley but I dont think its a lot of burley in this. It may get my additional half star again with aging. Not an all day smoke,. Fantastic blend! I usually cut it like I would a plug. Pirate kake is popular for a reason! It doesn't do anything that would keep me coming back to it. The bowl of my pipe is staying absolute cool to the touch. Initially very smoky, somewhat sweet, very smooth, but ultimately uninteresting. This blend is smooth and cool smoking all the way down the bowl and though I don't have a "sophisticated" palate, I know what I like and this is a great smoke! I will comment further when I smoke it again. Detailed segmentation of international and local products. Smooth and creamy may seem incompatible with aformentiond sensations, but somehow it isn?t with Pirate Kake. If you like latakia then consider this recommended, at least to try, it's an experience. However, to me, this blend is terrific. A mighty cake burley, for the lover of Latakia. Lucky me! The turkish and burley add nothing. That is a very good blend but its not a lat bomb. IMO it is a really good experience, not like a pure latakia, it has his own personality and delivers what it is suppose to deliver. As other reviews state, it is not for the light Latakia smoker, I believe this in on par with many other Latakia heavy blends, if not heavier. But I wouldn't smoke this on a regular basis. I hope I never take this masterful Blend for granted. I just pull it apart, load and light. Smoke it slow! I still rate it at three stars, and worth your consideration if you're into heavy English blends. HO-LEEE SMOKES, BATMAN!!! Overwhelming Latakia and the master of this blend. of exceptional latakia accompanied by Turkish and burley, Pirate Cake by Cornell & Diehl is a latakia lover's treasure. I received an neat little 1/2 ounce cube of this as a gift from Smokingpipes.com in an order that I had placed. Apparently, it's recommended to try mixing this with some Haunted Bookshop, however I have not tried that yet. Whether your tastes run to Virginia, Latakia, Burley, or Aromatic blends, you will find something to please you among the broad range of tobaccos they make. Taste is med to full and cons istent throughout. You may even liken this to a creosote and tar aroma. The smell in your tin is strongly smoky, as you would expect. It crumbles apart easily and after some drying it packs very well and is burning even and steady. As others have mentioned, Pirate Kake would probably blend very well with FVF, or other sweet, full bodied, predominately English or Virginia blends. I like Burley tobaccos as well, I just don't think this blend uses it well. 4 stars if you like lots of manly Latakia, 1 star if not. Once the kake is rubbed out sufficiently it does need a little drying time maybe only 30 minutes or so. I thought the smoke was gonna be the way it smelled, but to my surprise it was a soapy like smooth smoke that had a uniq ue odor without tongue bite. Just do us all a favor and don't smoke PK, then bang on it in a review for having too much Latakia; that's the whole point of it. This stuff is fantastic if you want to piss off non smokers. I get a creamy taste unlike any other tobacco I have yet tried. The smoke is abundant with each puff, and I guess some would probably find offensive. Or, at least I thought so. I did find drying it out a bit gave the best results and minimized the relights. However after I killed a 1/4 pound I realized that I was spot on. L, , My #1 favorite that titillates my taste buds. Details. This is the Tactical Nuclear Penguin of pipe tobacco - a joke that probably belongs in a Mountain Dew commercial and not in polite company. Ok Im on my river Roasting fish over a campfire. Reviewers on Leafly say this strain makes them feel relaxed, sleepy, and hungry. The room note is very ok with me, but Im pretty sure that it would smell like Hell for someone who doesnt like cigar smoke or cigarette smoke. It's like coffee---I adore a perfectly balanced cup of single origin SL24 varietal Kenyan, but at a certain point, it's about the transaction. The latakia is right in your face, yet it's smoothed out with the burley and orientals. Since in bulk I broke it into three big pieces and put it in a mason jar. Pirate Kake is a study in excess, and that is not a bad thing. I must say that I was surprised at the smoothness of this blend considering its very high latakia content. At first puff, you may think this will be a one-dimensional smoke, but soon the latakia smooths off to a very rich, heady, slightly sweet smoke. And on. Top Notch. Its smoky and leathery and smoky, and has some smoky taste. This and the pipe I used in smoking the "Lat Bomb" were given to me a generous friend and this smoke was an adventure worthy of the name "pirate." I love the slightly creamy and sweet flavor of this one. Quiet Nights as my favorite. Age When Smoked: Fresh off the Pirate Ship. I have come to enjoy Latakia mixtures for the most part. Have nice weekend ! Leaves more than average moisture and requires a few relights and smokes at a less than medium burn rate. The Cavendish doesn't moderate this blend at all, and the Turkish is AWOL. Not an all day smoke, but a must try for the latakia/english lovers. I took it up after having given up the pipe for a decade or so, took it up again, and wanted to recapture the intensity of the Balkan blend I used to smoke in my university days. Update 01/19/06- One thing that wasn't put in my original review is that Pirate Kake is a wonderful DGT tobacco, in fact sometimes I think I prefer to smoke it after a few hours left in the pipe. A Four Star blend, IMHO. Hey gang! My new favorite. For this reason in my personal system rating (from 1 to 10) my score is 3 and only a star. Choose Options. I get more flavor, sweetness and nuance from this blend then I do from other lat bomb balkans. If you like Latakia, then this should satisfy you. I taste at least three different alternate flavor notes as different sized chunks of tobacco burn. I love latakia. Break off a piece of this "dark chocolate" brownie, break it up, and stuff away. I find it creamy, smoky and wonderfully perfect. The generous amount of smokey Latakia (75%) combined with the sweetness of the Turkish and hit of nicotine from the burley really agreed with my taste buds. The process is something like consulting the I Ching each sip of smoke is a new slice of life, each new line builds a hexagram. In fact, it isn't fit to be called a blend at all since it is the same as smoking straight latakia, not a blend of different tobaccos. LATAKIA! That said though, I quite like it!