OMG, as the young folk say.
Based on recommendations and a generally cool name, I ordered some Cornell & Diehl Pirate Kake. Oh, wow. This is the best thing I've smoked in my (admittedly short) experience.
The tin note was accurately described by my six-year-old as "stinky." No kidding. It, like many Latakia blends, smells like my imagined result of using stale moose urine to extinguish a dung fire. How can something that smells like that taste so good?
After opening the tin, I worried that the kakes were too dry. There was no perceptible moisture at all, but I crumbled some up anyway.
The crumbling was not what I expected. It broke apart very easily, though I expected some resistance. I had even gotten a knife ready, assuming I'd need to cut it into chunks. Nope. it just fell apart in my hand. Is this normal?
Still felt too dry. Not that I know what too dry feels like, but it felt drier than I thought it should feel.
What the heck, I lit it anyway. I packed it kind of loose into my three dollar and ninety-nine cent MM Ozark Cherry. (I'm not a rich man, but I am willing to pay for quality!) Lit up, and was immediately struck by how smooth and cool it was. I meant to do a charring light, let it go out, then re-light, but I just kept on smoking.
The "stinky" smell became an earthy, rich flavor that I don't really have the vocabulary to describe, except to say, yum!
I didn't get any of the chemical-type burn that I was getting with some blends, particularly perique blends, but I did find myself puffing faster and faster until it started to burn really hot. OK. Cool burning but not completely idiot-proof. I let that go out, waited till it cooled completely, then finished the bowl. Smoked slowly it does seem to be almost completely bite free.
I waited until this morning to smoke another bowl, worried that my first experience might have been a fluke, but it was not. This morning's smoke was, if anything, more successful than last night's.
I leave work in three hours, then it's home to smoke some more. Dang, that's good (if stinky) stuff!
Based on recommendations and a generally cool name, I ordered some Cornell & Diehl Pirate Kake. Oh, wow. This is the best thing I've smoked in my (admittedly short) experience.
The tin note was accurately described by my six-year-old as "stinky." No kidding. It, like many Latakia blends, smells like my imagined result of using stale moose urine to extinguish a dung fire. How can something that smells like that taste so good?
After opening the tin, I worried that the kakes were too dry. There was no perceptible moisture at all, but I crumbled some up anyway.
The crumbling was not what I expected. It broke apart very easily, though I expected some resistance. I had even gotten a knife ready, assuming I'd need to cut it into chunks. Nope. it just fell apart in my hand. Is this normal?
Still felt too dry. Not that I know what too dry feels like, but it felt drier than I thought it should feel.
What the heck, I lit it anyway. I packed it kind of loose into my three dollar and ninety-nine cent MM Ozark Cherry. (I'm not a rich man, but I am willing to pay for quality!) Lit up, and was immediately struck by how smooth and cool it was. I meant to do a charring light, let it go out, then re-light, but I just kept on smoking.
The "stinky" smell became an earthy, rich flavor that I don't really have the vocabulary to describe, except to say, yum!
I didn't get any of the chemical-type burn that I was getting with some blends, particularly perique blends, but I did find myself puffing faster and faster until it started to burn really hot. OK. Cool burning but not completely idiot-proof. I let that go out, waited till it cooled completely, then finished the bowl. Smoked slowly it does seem to be almost completely bite free.
I waited until this morning to smoke another bowl, worried that my first experience might have been a fluke, but it was not. This morning's smoke was, if anything, more successful than last night's.
I leave work in three hours, then it's home to smoke some more. Dang, that's good (if stinky) stuff!
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