G. L. Pease Lagonda Tobacco Review
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Kevin Godbee - Jul 15, 2011
- 6 min read
G. L. Pease Lagonda just shot to the top of my charts with a bullet! If you like Latakia blends or Oriental blends in any way, shape or form – I guarantee you will LOVE Lagonda. The flavor is full and complex, but in no way overbearing. I am experiencing my third bowl as I write this. I had my first bowl of Lagonda in my Ardor Giove Ninfea – 114 (YS), which is one of my favorite pipes. This was during the late afternoon, after having wine, cheese, pâté and crackers. My prior appetizers could definitely have an influence on my smoking experience, but that was the idea. I frequently enjoy those snacks just as I do my pipe and tobacco. (I don’t really think creating a "laboratory environment" is necessary for a professional tobacco review.)
I was so blown away by how amazing this new entry to the Old London Series tasted that I had to call Greg. This is my first tobacco review where my first bowl was being smoked while actually talking to the Master Chef himself on the phone. How cool is that? I told Greg that if Lagonda was a girl, I would marry her. He told me that eventually she would start complaining that we never do anything or go anywhere, and all I want to do is stick her in a pipe and smoke her. I then admitted that I frequently fall in love too fast … both with women and tobaccos … but in this case I think I’ve found a keeper!
My second bowl of Lagonda was smoked later in the evening after a hearty dinner of Wild Salmon with Pearl Couscous, Slow-Roasted Tomatoes, and Lemon Oregano Oil. This time I smoked it in my Brebbia 925 First Sandblasted Calabash, and drink accompaniment of Neisson Rhum Agricole Réserve Spéciale. Once again I was so blown away that I had to call Bob Tate, or Associate Editor and tell him how great Lagonda tastes.
My third bowl of Lagonda is at 10:00 am after finishing breakfast of a triple latte, poached egg, and cinnamon-raisin toast. I brushed my teeth and drank a couple glasses of water to cleanse my palate for this third taste test.
When I first opened the tin of Lagonda, I was a little surprised. I was expecting it to be almost all black since it’s been described as "the heaviest of the Latakia blends so far in the Old London Series". Along with the obsidian pieces of leaf, there is an attractive mix of reddish-browns, brunette, and a sprinkling of blondes. The actual tobaccos in the blend are: Cyprian Latakia, Red Virginia, Izmir, and Bright Virginia. (My guess is the percentages are in that order based on look and taste, but this is just my personal speculation.)
I asked Greg if he could divulge the percentages and tell me which Oriental tobacco is used, as the tin just reads, "oriental leaf". He said; "I don’t really want to divulge percentages, other than relatively. Westminster and Lagonda both have over 50% Latakia. Lagonda actually has a little more than Westminster, but the balance of the other tobaccos makes more difference than the Latakia percentage. Maltese Falcon has quite a bit less Latakia, but also less oriental. I don’t discuss percentages, usually, because it’s really meaningless. If you smoke two different tobaccos, one with less latakia, but more oriental, the other with more latakia and less oriental, MOST people, if asked to rate them by latakia content, would get it wrong. The oriental in the blend is Izmir, but, again, I don’t publish that sort of thing often, since it’s not as important what the tobacco is as how it’s used. There are blends claiming to have Syrian in them, and they might, but it’s likely at a lower percentage than the vermouth in a very dry martini."
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The cut is a unique old-style that Greg has brought back. He says; " … the leaf is layered, pressed and aged in cakes for several days in order for the flavours to integrate, and to sort of ‘jump start’ the aging and fermentation process. The cakes are then sliced and tumbled. Some people have referred to this cutting style (also used for Chelsea Morning and Meridian) as a ‘broken flake,’ but it’s really not that. It’s much more closely related to standard ribbon cutting, but since some of the tobacco strands continue to bind together, the result is somewhat denser than conventional ribbon-cut. It’s the way a lot of the old English tobaccos were produced. I revived the method, thinking that it would offer something interesting …"
There are definitely some chunkier stuck-together pieces and some more ribbon like pieces. I decided to rub it out a little. The tobaccos feel clean with a miniscule hint of moisture, and somewhere in between hard and soft.
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The tin aroma when the new tin is first opened is dominated by the smoky Latakia. I could even smell it when my nose was three feet away from the tin during photography. A half a day later, the smokiness is still strongly present, but some of the other aromas are now being allowed to voice their opinions. There is some immensely enjoyable tanginess and maybe just a background hint of tartness. Damn this stuff is good. My tobacco purchasing habits are usually rather subdued. I have never bought more than three tins of a single blend at a time. I think I just found my first exception. I’ll easily grab 10 of these. This first tin is going to be gone in another day or two.
Lagonda is round, bold, robust and full. It is slightly smoky, quite tangy with a little tartness in the beginning. On my first smoke I detected sweetness, but Greg says it is not sweet, and thought it odd that I would say so. Now I think what I detected as sweetness is the combination of tanginess and tartness. The tart flavor becomes more pronounced as the bowl progresses. Last night I accompanied this with rum. Now I am thinking it would go well with port or a cabernet sauvignon. They are both different flavor profiles, but Lagonda could work with either. It is bold enough to stand up to a cab or even a stout beer.
Tart apples and tart plums are being conjured up here. There is a tiny spiciness in the background, and oddly, not as much smokiness as I would have anticipated with the Latakia component being over 50%. I am even thinking of the tartness of a Jolly Rancher candy. Could you ever just stop at one of those? The flavor is so good that you have to keep eating them until you’ve had ten. Lagonda is the same way. I want to smoke this all day. This is like an old-fashioned aromatic. A long time ago, aromatics were completely different than what we call an aromatic today. Present day aromatic pipe tobaccos are usually heavily cased and topped with sweet syrupy stuff. In the old days, aromatics were created by using aromatic, oriental tobaccos. That’s what we have here.
At the half-way point, some more of the smokiness comes out, but it still doesn’t dominate. The finish is long and delicious. You get thick billows of smoke and the sidestream aroma is thick and rich. I caught a teeny-tiny, minute buzz, so there is a little nicotine delivery here. But if you’ve read any of my previous reviews, you might remember that I am a nicotine lightweight.
When this blend was first announced, some thought it odd that G. L. Pease would come out with a new Latakia blend in the summer. Many people say they prefer Latakia blends in the winter. I think this is psychological with the typical Latakia blend being reminiscent of a campfire or fireplace, like one might experience in the winter. Lagonda is a great summer blend and a blend you can smoke anytime of year. There’s enough smokiness there to satisfy the Latakia Lover, and the tart and tangy flavors are delightful.
On a 1 to 10 scale, Lagonda is an 11.
SPONSORED LINK: G. L. Pease Lagonda – Click Here to Order Now!
SPONSORED LINK: G. L. Pease Lagonda – Click Here to Order Now!
Written by Kevin Godbee
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When I first started with the pipe as a quirky and precocious teen, the only tutelage I had at my disposal were scenes from old movies in which a well dressed chap would stick his pipe into a pouch, scoop tobacco into the bowl and press it down unceremoniously with his thumb. Then, with great flourish, he’d strike a match and light the thing with all manner of cinematic excess, puffing up vast clouds of smoke falling just short of completely obscuring his visage. While it may look good on film, it’s a terrible approach to actually enjoying the thing. Somehow, though, this “technique” seems to have survived in the contemporary vernacular, at least to some extent, even with bit-loads of information handily at our fingertips that should dissuade us from the practice. But, at the time, this misguided approach was all I had; it’s no wonder my early days of puffing were fraught with difficult lighting, harsh, bitter smokes and tongue bite, all culminating in a fireproof mass of ye old soggy dottle in the bottom of the bowl. Ultimately, the resulting frustration made me give up the pipe, at least for a while. While the idea of it was still very appealing, the practice of it was not. It wasn’t until a few years later when, still full of curiosity and romantic notions of pipe smoking, I wandered into a real tobacconist’s shop, and learned my “method” was a long way from the techniques that would bring me to any sort of pipe smoking bliss. So, after my poor start, and under the guidance of someone who actually seemed to know how to do it right, I was given the opportunity to approach the process anew, this time with much greater success. 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Before we begin, I should tell you: this tobacco review is being written by an A.I. Not the fancy new GPTs or their ilk; no, this is last century’s meat-and-bone, all-organic model. To be fair, a large part of what we call knowledge is merely the accumulated perceptions and impressions gathered from a life wandered through, synthesized into a spongy mass of what-it-is-that-we-think-that-we-know. The algorithm for this prompt is simple enough: pump thousands of bowls of smoldering plant matter into a gaping maw, cross-reference the chemical sensations with all other matter previously ingested or inhaled, sieve it all through the diffuse and fractal twin lens of memory and emotion, and churn out a panoply of adjectives that attempts to convey the sensations to someone who hasn’t experienced it yet. Odds are that a diligently trained monkey could succeed half the time; if this reviewer nears fifty-one percent then that would qualify as an unrivaled success. There must have been some similar musings perambulating through the mind of Per Jensen when he began his mad scientist routine at Sutliff with the Pipe Force project, which brings us to the current mixture under the microscope—Sutliff’s Pipe Force: Episode I. Here again are the unusual ingredients that engendered the series, with the stoved Rustica being the defining voice in this composition. From the tin: The Latakia-forward English mixture offers plenty of smoky flavor from the fire-cured leaf, which is artfully harmonized with floral, earthy Stoved Rustica. A mixture of high-grade Virginias imparts a natural sweetness. Katerini, the sole Oriental component, offers herb and spice notes bringing complexity and nuance to the flavor profile. It’s certainly Latakia-forward, with the stoved Rustica doubling up on the rhythm section like a second bassist. A first whiff from the tin releases the aromas of shoe leather and hide glue in a base of clay soil with a campfire wafted over it like last night’s beach party. Once it’s been accustomed to oxygen again, subtle hints of sweetness poke through from the Virginias: lemon rind, light milk chocolate, the dregs of a peaty Scotch, and muddled cherry. Old regulars like fresh-sawn oak and tilled earth are there, of course, with distinct notes of truffle, creosote, damp peat, and pine bark mulch. As an aside, I’ve been re-potting my camellias and the similarity of aroma to the ericaceous soil mix is notable; the Katerini really brings the unique depth of its vegetal complexion when supported by the Rustica and afforded more voice in the mix. The smoky Cyprian Latakia, in turn, is backed by equal earthiness from the Rustica, which overall exhibits a profile similar to dark-fired Kentucky; it leans more toward the woody and vegetal end of that spectrum, echoing and amplifying those traits of the other constituents. The tobacco is presented pressed and cut into a couple of thick, hearty flakes in the tin, lightly moist and easily crumbled to prepare—I prefer mine with a bit of drying time. The out-of-this-world tin art for this episode in the series is Major O’Meara smoking a cavalier. In the absence of confirmation, I’m going to hazard a guess he’s of the Ithklur species. The first taste from the light is sweet, with hints of that milk chocolate dancing around the edges. The Virginia leads the smoke through the top of the bowl, and orchestrates it well. Thoroughly smoky with lemony, grassy highlights from the Virginia spectrum, it soon segues into the mid-bowl profile: heartier, smokier, with the flavor leaning to the mildly acrid and tangy tinge that is the campfire-esque signature of English blends. Caution advised, it can turn overly bitter if pushed—this is where one’s sipping technique is required to maintain the fullness of flavor through to the heel. I did tend toward a lot of relights, though it may have as much to do with technique as with the blend. Pacing is also important as the nicotine starts to manifest; though the Rustica’s contribution has been tempered well by the stoving, it can certainly upend an empty stomach. At the end of every bowl, the mouthfeel somehow gets better. The balance of sugars in the tobaccos would seem to be spot-on in this regard. I started out my tasting in cobs, then cut short an unpleasant bowl in a meer, and finally landed on my best instrument with the lovely Dunhill 4427 pictured, a quaint group 4 shell briar with a gentle curve and Cumberland stem supporting a perfectly executed acorn bowl. It surprised me here, as I’ve learned through the years that I generally have the best experience with English blends in large, wide bowls. With this blend it seems that to get the best out of the Katerini’s somewhat diaphanous influence the smaller bowl fared much better. Room note is very English, so the company you keep will either love it or hate it, and it doesn’t linger too much. I find it paired best with a strong coffee; Sumatran beans complement the flavors well, as do Ethiopian if a lighter brew is preferred. Overall impressions of the blend are that it’s a curiously interesting take on the English genre, almost a reductive reconstruction of the theme using the unique components. 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Wow. Blown away by the review! I live on GLP Westminster, and if this new blend is in any way reminiscent, then I’m on board.
Cheers,
Kashmir
Well, I just got a sample from my favorite tobacconist. It smells great. It will be burning tonight. Film at 11:00.
I tried this last night and it is wonderful. Highly recommended.
outstanding,I feel right now like I am entering 221 b baker street,wow and groovy what more can I say.
I burned up a sample last night and I am not a Latakia nut, but my heavens I really enjoyed that for the closing pipe of the night.
There will be several cans in my cellar in near future.
Good job, Greg.
@prairie59 – yes, like I said in the review, it is not a Latakia bomb, even though it has over 50% Latakia. For me the dominant tastes were tartness, followed by tanginess.
GL Pease’s Lagonda has become my number 1 smoke. I smoked GLP Meridian, which I also like, however, I have moved away from Meridian to Lagonda.
Great blend. I wonder why some people avoid latakia on summer heat.I smoke latakia all year long.On hot weather,i just change the briar for meerschaum or calabash.