G.L. Pease Ashbury

I received a tin of GLP Ashbury dated '07 from Rmbittner, thanks again Bob! I've smoked this in two pipes so far, a bent partially rusticated Eriksen and today in a straight saddle bit G.H.B. that Fnord sent me, thanks again Jim! I've found this blend to be a delicious light to medium Balkan. I suppose having several years of age has mellowed out the Latakia a bit but has also brought the wonderful VA's to the foreground. Their is a nice sweetness from the VA that balances well with the more tangy sour tones of the orientals, this is complimented by a solid smoked chocolate backbone from the Cyprian Latakia. This blend is very well balanced and no one element really dominates, but rather creates a harmonious mixture of flavors while still allowing the distinct leaves to be picked out. I found notes of citrus, truffle, chocolate, cinnamon, leather, and woodsmoke. This is definitely smokeable out of the tin, but 15 mins dry time seems to improve the taste and burning qualities. The ribbon cut packs very easily and takes only a char and true light to smoke all the way down. This has definitely been a very enjoyable blend so far for me and I will definitely add a tin or many to the cellar. Thanks again Bob for letting me sample a fine blend!

It's actually one of his fog city selections, part of the reason I cracked this tin first, I live in the Bay Area but will be moving in the spring so I figured it was a good time to try this blend.

I had heard this blend is good in a meer, so yesterday I set some Ashbury out to dry for about an hour and grabbed my lone meer. This meer has never produced a good smoke due to poor construction, it becomes clogged easily, but I figured I'd give it another go. I managed to keep it from clogging and smoked very slow. I was surprised to pick up a few flavors I didn't before. About a third into the bowl I picked up on a very floral character after really concentrating on the smoke I believe I can relate it to lavender but more closely to violet. If you have ever tried the old violet flavored gum you would know exactly the taste I am talking about. This flavor was prominent throught the last two thirds and lent an interesting sweetness to the smooth Latakia bass line ever present in this blend. I'm glad I decided to take the chance on my meer again as it smoked very dry and cool.