Pirate Kake observation

paulwansing

Lately I have been on a serious latakia kick, I like varying strength depending on the day from just a hint of lat to a 50% blend like star of the east.  I decided since I love the Star of the East blend that I should try out a 75% latakia blend known as pirate kake.  Here is a question for all of you, is there a trick to smoking this stuff?  I find the latakia is much more pronounced and "wooded" in the 50% star blend.  With pirate kake I get light latakia flavor on a regular puff (heavy, dense smoke but not that crisp woodsmoke I am used to) when I retrohale I get the latakia but I don't find it to be all that potent.  Is there a special way to smoke this blend to draw out the lat or are my taste buds just getting killed by this blend so the flavors are muted?  Again I like the blend and I'm glad I have some cellared but I am confused by the muddiness of teh flavors.

PappyJoe

A couple of years ago one of my sons gave me a blend he had made through Pipes & Cigars. It was 50% Latakia, 25% Perique and 25% Whiskey cased burley. Despite the proportions, I smoked it anyway and was surprised that I actually liked it. I jarred most of it and still smoke it on occasion. It also hooked me on Latakia blends.

I have not tried Pirate Kake. But I have tried some other Lat heavy ones and in my opinion having too much Latakia could overwhelm your taste buds and senses. Sort of like eating too many hot chili peppers at one time - you can taste the flavor at first but after the 3rd or 4th you aren't tasting anything but burning tongue.

IndyJG

I too enjoy Star of the East. Strong, but with variety and tasty. I smoked a tin of Pirate Kake a couple of years back. It was ok, but I found it one dimensional and not much taste. The extra latakia just overwhelms. Like both you and @PappyJoe mentions it just kills the taste buds.

paulwansing

@IndyJG have you tried the engine 99 from C&D? I read that they use the "leftovers" from making the pirate kake and incorporate it into the blend.  I find it hard to believe that it could top star of the east but I do wonder if it could make good blender

xDutchx

I have a little Pirate Kake in my cellar, but I have yet to sample any of it. If it were me, I would try smoking some in a variety of pipe shapes, as well as materials. In my experience, some pipes just don't do a particular blend justice. If you are smoking a calabash, or any of the reverse calabash/second chamber pipes, expect the flavor intensity to be dialed down a level or two.

I remember the first time I smoked Squadron Leader, I sampled it in a calabash, and I was disappointed. Squadron Leader is a great blend, just not full bodied enough to smoke in a gourd calabash. At least not for my tastes.

IndyJG

@paulwansing I have Engine 99 as well. I like it. Not as much as Star of the East, but definitely more than Pirate Kake.

Woodsman

I enjoy Engine 99, I don't find the Latakia overwhelming. I haven't tried Pirate Cake.

glohman

I've wanted to try pirate kake, can you compare it to dunhill's night cap?

paulwansing

I personally don't see any similarities to nightcap (which I smoke nightly) The pirate kake is very overpowering where nightcap has that crispness and all leaves make their presence known.   Pirate Kake is to me at least is super smoky and wooded-sticking your head right over the campfire kind of in your face smoky.  It is also overpowering on other blends, I have some atlas balkan that I find a bit light on latakia so I added a pinch of kake to the pipe.....the whole pipe ended up tasting like pirate kake.  I have found that taking a large bowl and filling it loose makes the pirate kake much smoother.  But as far as comparing to nightcap they are very different animals-nightcap is my favorite blend but pirate kake probably wouldn't make my top ten. 

paulwansing

Allow me to update this one, it has been a month since I first tried it and now that the pirate has rested a bit I find the flavors to be much more balanced and it is not nearly as one dimensional as it was at first.  I think pirate kake is just one of those blends that needs some air and some rest before it is ready to smoke.  I think I will buy this one again in the future but for me at least it is not a "smoke it the day it arrives" type of blend

xDutchx

@paulwansing, I can definitely see what you describe with the blend being a very real observation. Years ago, I realized that as I got closer and closer to the bottom of a tin, the tobacco seemed to get better and better. Now when I open a new tin, it is not uncommon for me to remove the lid, and expose the tobacco to fresh air over and over, sometimes for several months, before I smoke the first bowl. The process doesn't have to be drawn out that long, but I believe it allows the tobacco to improve, similar to the way a decanter improves wine before nosing and sipping.

Smoking a particular blend in the same pipe over and over, seems to improve the flavor as well. I believe it is because the cake that is built from smoking the same blend exclusively over and over, improves the flavor to a certain degree.

Then again, it may all be in my head, but as long as it is, I am having a better smoking experience, or at least I think I am.

Mangoandy

@paulwansing - Exactly my experience. I went to my tobacconist and told him I wanted to try a strong latakia forward blend. In other words, I wanted to try a "latakia bomb." He recommended that I try Pirate Kake, but he asked for my opinion out of the can and then again after one month. 

That was exactly my findings. Super smoky strong at first, but it mellowed and balanced with age. I dedicated it to a new cob, so really tried to do a controlled smoke study.

Great room note. Great smoke.