October Tobacco Crawl with Greg L. Pease

The Fall Crawl
Legendary Master Blender Greg L. Pease will be our Crawl guide for the Fall Crawl. He is very excited about the event and looks forward to the fun.
Greg also hooked us up with SmokingPipes.Com. SP has put together the sampler for the month at a price so low they don't want it made public. For pricing and order information, you'll need to PM me. I'll then email you the price and a secret skew number. To get the special pricing, you'll need to call the toll free SP number and give the sales rep the skew.
Of course, members are free to purchase from any other vendor or to tap into their cellar.
Greg and I had a heck of a time settling on the selections. Here's what Greg had to say on the issue.

Okay. Here's my lineup. I think it's a really good one. Sixpence JackKnife Plug Sextant Quiet Nights. Choosing only four has been VERY difficult. I'd easily add Key Largo, Union Square, Fillmore, Embarcadero, Piccadilly, Chelsea Morning, Ashbury. But, four. Only four.

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The Menu
Note: The order in which the blends are smoked might change.
Friday, October 2nd

G.L. Pease Sixpence

You enter the dark paneled room, its walls lined with ancient books. An antique table stands beside a leather club chair. Upon it, next to a small silver coin, an open tobacco tin entices you with an aroma deep, rich, authentic. You fill your bowl, strike a match. The first puff stops time as the smoky magic weaves its spell... Sixpence. The mystery continues.
Notes: First batch tinned October 15, 2014 and released November 21, 2014. On that date, Mr. Pease wrote: After a longer than expected wait, I'm happy to announce that Sixpence is now wending its way to tobacconists' shelves. A rich flake comprising a base of beautiful red virginias, a generous portion of perique, and just a bit of dark-fired leaf to add body and dimension. The tobaccos are delicately kissed with a special spirit, then pressed and aged in cakes before being sliced and tinned. The taste and aroma are deep, full and satisfying, reminiscent of traditional tobaccos from long ago. I'm very excited about the release, as I'm sure you can imagine. I've been working on Sixpence for a long time, and am beyond pleased with it. It's one of those rare moments when everything comes together and the final blend actually exceeded the expectations I began the journey with.
It's been a long journey. I had something special in mind when I began this project, something that would hold the smoker's interest throughout the bowl, developing increasing nuances with each puff, while not fatiguing the palate or building too much intensity. The leaf has been carefully selected and composed to perfect harmony from first light to the wonderful crescendo of the last puff. Virginia lovers craving a tobacco that is bold and robust, as well as devotées of latakia mixtures who enjoy virginias as a change of pace will find their reward in every bowl of Sixpence.

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Friday, October 9

G.L. Pease JackKnife Plug (First blend in the New World Series)

Dark-fired Kentucky leaf and ripe red Virginia tobaccos, with their deep, earthy flavors, are layered on a central core of golden flue-cured for a hint of bright sweetness, then pressed and matured in cakes, and finally cut into 2oz blocks. Slice it thick and rub it out for a ribbon cut, thin for a shag, or chop it into cubes. The choice is yours.
From GL Pease: This one has been a long time coming. I’ve had more requests than I can count to make a plug, and to make some stronger blends. There’s something about playing with the tobacco, cutting it, rubbing it out, preparing it for smoking, that connects us more closely with the whole process. A plug like this can be sliced thick or thin, so the smoker gains complete control over the way it will pack and burn. It’s quite rewarding.
My favorite approach with JackKnife has been to slice it very thin, about 1/32″, and rub it completely into a fine shag. Filling the pipe carefully, not packing too tightly, results in a wonderful, cool, effortless smoke, and the fine cut seems to enhance the sweetness of the virginias and bring out the subtle, natural perfume of the dark-fired Kentucky leaf.

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Friday, October 16

G.L. Pease Sextant (Old London Series)

Sextant is a classic mixture harmoniously married to a Navy Flake. Ripe Virginia tobaccos are first blended with Cyprian Latakia, fine Orientals, and a touch of dark fired Kentucky leaf, then infused with a hint of dark rum before being gently pressed, matured and sliced. The flavour is rich, bold and satisfying, the aroma an enchanting interweaving of traditions.

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Friday, October 23

G.L. Pease Quite Nights
This is the tobacco I recommend when folks ask for an alternative to Penzance.

Rich, deep, contemplative... Ripe red virginias, fine orientals, smokey Cyprus Latakia, and a pinch of Acadian perique are pressed and matured in cakes before being sliced. The sophisticated flavors and exotic aroma provide a wonderful backdrop for quiet moments of reflection, a good book, and if you are so inclined, perhaps a wee dram.

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How it Works

The Pax Tobacco Crawl is a combination of a pub crawl and a wine tasting. It could also be compared to a virtual pipe club. The crawl is open to anyone who has a desire to methodically explore the world of pipe tobaccos while enjoying fraternity and sharing experiences, opinions and the occasional joke with fellow members.
We will start the October crawl on the first Friday of the month (October 2nd), smoking the first blend listed for that week, in this case Sextant. Members drop in at their convenience and and report on their experiences, including details such as pipe used, beverage companions, flavors detected, room notes, etc. Reviews can be as simple or as elaborate as desired.
Greg will drop in when he can, hopefully at least weekly, and field your queries and offer his insights.
On the second Friday, we will start smoking the second blend on the menu and repeat until the end of the month.
All are welcome, old codgers and newcomers to the pipe alike. You can smoke as many or as few of the blends as you wish. Pipers with previous experience with a blend are free to helicopter in and sound off, even if they are not participating every week.
Remember, to get the special pricing from Smoking Pipes, you'll need to PM me to get the order information.
Pax
Note: Tobacco descriptions are taken from tobaccoreviews.com.

P.S.
The discounted sampler offer ends on the kickoff, Friday, October 2nd.

P.S.
The discounted sampler offer ends on the kickoff, Friday, October 2nd.

Greg tell me he will be logging in to say hello, soon.

I've actually tried all of them on the list at least once. JKP is one of my favorites, as well as Quiet Nights. In fact, I was introduced to JKP in our very first crawl. Going forward, I need to build a list of all the blends we've tried in the crawls, so as to prevent duplication. But JKP was so delicious, I didn't want to suggest an alternative. I'm very happy to smoke another tin.

I think you might find several blenders working booths at most pipe shows.I'm going to try to make one next year.