GL Pease Key Largo

Reading the ingredients of this blend, I thought I had a pretty good idea as to what it would taste like: Virginia sweetness with some Latakia, deep backbone from the cigar leaf, a little mustiness and sourness from the Orientals to round it out. When I broke apart the broken flake and let it dry for about 10 minutes, I took my first match to it and was immediately floored. Dark, deep, very chocolatey, latakia in just the right amount, and the cigar leaf was immediately noticeable and wonderfully earthy and a bit spicy. The Virginia gives a good base note but never overpowers, and everything melds to make a smoke that is very earthy, a little bitter, with a great campfire/leather note of latakia and the Orientals and Virginias fuse in such a way as to create a flavor that I have never tasted in any other blend, a wonderful flavor of smoked barbeque and meaty substance with a little hint of toffee and the cigar leaf lends a nice bit of pepperiness. The bowl mellows out about midway through, and the Virginias start to darken and take on a kind of maple, caramel type quality, but the cigar leaf and latakia cut through it and every puff tastes just a little different. Burns down to the merest ash and is not a moist smoke at all. Didn't bite when I smoked it in a Stanwell, but I made sure to take my time, so I'd be willing to bet that if you pushed it, theres a possibility it could bite a little. It is really easy to pick apart the components of a blend that give it merit, but Key Largo by far and above transcends all its ingredients and uses both the leaf and the pressing of the blend to help shape it into something that is a one of a kind taste experience. If you want a complex smoke with lots of flavor that uses the highest quality leaf, Key Largo is a must.

Im currently working on an experiment concerning the flavors in complex blends in big pipes vs. little pipes. My first smoke of this was in my Norwood Repaired No Name pipe which is a kind of pot shape with a pretty big chamber, so I am going to try it again tonight in a smaller bowl like my Prince or my Churchwarden and see how it fairs.

Great review Pipe Novelist! By coincidence, I happen to be half way through my first tin of Key Largo right now, and definitely concur with your review. To me, KL tastes similar to C&D's Billy Budd (which I absolutely love). Anyone who likes one will probably like the other.

Click to expand...

Been looking at trying some Billy Budd for some time now, and if it is even remotely like this I will have to place an order for some. Good stuff to be sure!

Just tried this blend in two small bowled pipes with interesting results. The first bowl lost quite a bit of the peppery, earthy cigar tones but held that deep maple barbecue flavor very well. Second bowl was about the same size but a bit wider and more shallow, and the cigar notes came through a little more, but still not as peppery as the first bowl of it that I had. Also, the second bowl had a bit more of the latakia taste. I only have about an ounce of this blend and am really digging it, and it will be interesting to see how the flavor compares in a couple of other different pipes. I wouldn't smoke this every day but it would be great for that rare, flavorful treat at the end of a work week or for special occasions. Mr. Pease has outdone himself with this one.