Need Some Advice

[fnord]

Got this brick of Ten Russians the other day and I've never purchased tobacco that came like this. It reminds me of the blocks of Days Work my dad used to chew when I was a kid.

What's the best way to break this up and get to smoking?
Thanks.
Fnord

 

[cigrmaster]

I would slice off a hunk with a sharp knife and then cube cut it. That is what I do with my plugs.

 

[jbbaldwin]

This plug tends to crumble without your having to do much in terms of slicing.
Hope you enjoy it - I think it's really nice.

 

[judcole]

It does crumble fairly easily. It's more of a crumble cake than a plug. Pretty nice stuff - lots of latakia. Not something I keep around all the time, but nice to open a tin now and then.

 

[fnord]

Some of the comments at tobaccoreviews.com were not very kind but I've still been intrigued by it for several months now.
So, what's the difference between a plug and a cake?
Thanks for the input, guys.
Fnord

 

[sergemoat]

Correct me if I'm wrong but plugs are large flat tobaccos (leaves or parts of leaves) layered and pressed while Crumble Cakes are broken up pieces of tobacco pressed together. So you can break apart a crumble cake but you'd have to peel apart a plug.

 

[jbbaldwin]

I think the idea is that a crumble cake is like a plug that hasn't been pressed as long or at such high pressure.
Don't the cakes usually have a lot of latakia? Ten Russians and Penzance, for example - they are similarly easy to break apart.
Are there VA or Va/Per crumble cakes?