Ask G. L. Pease (Volume 29)
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Kevin Godbee - Sep 13, 2013
- 10 min read
G. L. Pease
It’s harvest time in the wine country, and I’ve been spending a lot of long days working with one of my favorite wine makers getting more deeply involved in the wonderful world of Vitus vinifera, and more specifically, the venerable Pinot Noir. Once again, I’m reminded of the beautiful parallels between wine and tobacco. Each is a product of nature, subject to her whims and follies, tended carefully at every step by dedicated souls with a deep respect for what they are doing. From harvest to processing to fermentation and aging, each crop undergoes almost magical changes before being ready to find its way into our glasses or our pipes.
Being involved so much more intimately with the process has brought to me a greater reverence for the wines I enjoy, but it’s also invigorated my appreciation for the hard work of the tobacco farmers who sow seed and tend plants, the skill of those who harvest and cure their beautiful, perfectly ripe leaves, the patience and care required to ensure that the fermentation and aging processes are carefully carried out to completion, all of which happens months or even years before blenders can finally select, condition, cut and combine the results of the farmers’ efforts into an enjoyable, fragrant mixture.
We blenders are the visible, the ones who get the lion’s share of the credit for what we produce. Yes, we bring our passion, our insights, our hard-earned skills to the table in the process, but without the growers, the processors, the men and women on whose backs our efforts ride, we’d be out of work, and out of smoke. Next time you fill your bowl, strike a light, and savor that first delightful puff of a favored mixture, take a moment to reflect on all that went into its creation, and join me in sending a wisp of smoke on the four winds in thanks to the farmers who made it possible.
On to the questions.
From Anthony: It seems in the last few years you’ve been cranking out blends a lot more rapidly than I remember in the past. That being said, I’ve only been in the game a little shy of a decade, so perhaps the speed is the same and I just didn’t realize it. In either case — Do you have a new blend ready? Updates to the site anytime soon?
A: In fact, the rate of development has been slower over the last few years than in the early years, with good reason. There are a lot of blends already in the catalogue, and with other blenders coming out with new things constantly, it has become a little more challenging to do things that are both interesting and good enough to satisfy my internal criteria for what will find its way into the lineup. I’m always researching and developing new things, which is a fancy way of saying playing in the lab, and some tasty things frequently result from the experiments—and a few, um, not so tasty ones—but interesting is a little harder to achieve.
Variations on a theme can be fun if they somehow showcase a specific aspect of the blend, like two different mixtures of the same tobaccos that exhibit very different characteristics. But, just to do variations for the sake of adding something new? As my current catalogue continues to grow, albeit slowly, it’s becoming harder to get those "interesting" triggers to click. But, yes, I am working on a couple of things that definitely flip my switch, one of which is nearly ready to be announced. Stay tuned!
Mike G: As of late I have noticed that many blends I smoke smoke "hotter" than others. I tend to smoke mainly Virginia’s and mostly flakes. If we assume that the blends chosen are at the right humidity and the issue is not over puffing, the question then becomes do different tobaccos burn at different temperatures, to the point it would be noticeable to the tongue and to the hand through the bowl? Or is what I am finding a combination of local summer hot weather and the blends I have chosen? If certain tobaccos do tend to burn "cooler", would you suggest some specific tobacco combinations that would smoke with less heat during these dog days of summer.
A: As this goes to press, the dog days are thankfully shorter in number, so it might be a good idea to save this for next year. It was furiously hot over the weekend, and I’m frankly ready for the sun to stop screaming at me every afternoon. Worse, it’s the humidity. That’s what they say, right? It’s not the heat, it’s the humidity. Oppressive, sticky days are the worst for some tobaccos, and great for others. Like cigars. Cigars grew up in semi-tropical climates, and it sometimes seems to me that they taste their best when the temperatures hit the century mark, the air is dripping, and I’ve got a nice cold mojito in my hand. Or two. But, this is about pipes and pipe tobacco.
Different tobaccos do react to environmental conditions in different ways. Latakia in large amounts, for instance, can become harsh and acrid when it’s both hot and humid out, but the same tobacco that’s unpleasant in the steam room seems to handle dry heat of the sauna with more grace. Virginias are sort of a mixed bag, in my experience. There are some that smoke like the business end of a flame-thrower in some climates, but become cool and elegant in others. Finding the right balance is the key. Speaking of keys, I actually created Key Largo as a summer blend. (How’s that for an awkward segue? That aside, I wrote something about this in my Out of the Ashes column a couple years ago. Check out The Blends of Summer for more on the subject.)
Some move to more burley based blends as the mercury rises, others go to gentler virginias. And, of course, there are those who live in relatively consistent climates that don’t divert their pleasures as the seasons change, or who isolate themselves from the weather in climate controlled environments. Ah, the luxury of central aircon. One day… I already predict a few will intone haughtily, "Bah! I smoke the same thing year round." Good for you. Those of us who are forced to suffer with climates less conducive to consistent smoking pleasure must look more deeply.
Unfortunately, there seems to be no easy answers, no rule-of-thumb formulae. It seems that preferred pipe size makes as much of a difference as tobacco choice does; I tend to like smaller pipes in the summer. For me, lighter latakia blends in the humid heat, fuller ones in the drier cold, and the fullest on those delightfully misty days and evenings that seem to be what latakia was invented for.
A query from Fr. Lawrence B: I have smoked Grant’s Custom Blend #2131 for about 35 years. The store has closed, and the promised online business hasn’t materialized. Since you (at least your tobaccos) suggest a Bay Area connection, do you have any knowledge about them? Failing that, if you know their tobaccos, what would you suggest I try? It seems that several of your tobaccos offer a similar blending schema (I do have a list of the 5 tobaccos in #2131). I think the best general description of #2131 is a mild English blend.
A: The closing of Grant’s was a sad event, as it had been a San Francisco institution for many, many years. I don’t know what’s become of their plans for an on-line presence. Maybe someone in the audience has some information they can share. I really don’t know what might have been included in their #2131, and unfortunately, there’s so much ambiguity in what a "Mild English Blend" might be, it would be difficult to make any sort of meaningful recommendations. However, if you’ll write me with the listing of the ingredients, I might be able to suggest something. Once again, I’ll call upon the readers; maybe someone out there has experience with the mixture and can offer some insight.
Breaking the moratorium put in place last month, we allow a Kevin to ask: What advice would you give to someone that has never smoked a pipe before, but wanted to try it? What would you advise them to start with for a pipe and tobacco? What would you not advise them to try? There are many different polarized opinions on this, so I want to know what the Master says is the right way to go.
A: It’s a really great question. I’ll start with the "what not to try" part first. Many tobacconists advise first time pipe smokers to go for something "mild," and especially something "aromatic." This misses the mark on two counts. First, when we first start smoking a pipe, we’re not likely to get the most out of the process. It actually takes time to learn to smoke slowly enough, carefully enough to derive the maximum flavor from the tobaccos. The newcomer generally doesn’t know this, and even if they’re told, they’ve not yet embodied the necessary techniques, so when faced with something that’s "mild" to begin with, they’ll start puffing more and more furiously in the attempt get it to taste like something. Lord knows I did. This, of course, overheats the tobacco, reduces the concentration of the good flavors, and amplifies the harsher side of things. Ultimately, they end up with a nasty case of tongue bite, and wonder why the hell anyone would subject themselves to this sort of voluntary torture. Pipe smoking is supposed to be a pleasure, and those early bowls are rarely that.
Granted, its counterintuitive, but I strongly suspect that more neophytes have been turned off of pipe smoking because of this well-intentioned but wrong-minded advice. Compounding this is the fact that few aromatics taste anything like they smell, and the new smoker who doesn’t grok this will likely be disappointed, again wondering why people take up this silly hobby in the first place. Instead, a fuller-flavored (not stronger) tobacco would be a better choice. Of course, I’d like to see more people explore the wonderful latakia mixtures that are available, and this makes some sense for the beginner. There’s plenty of rich flavor to engage the palate, the tobaccos, which are more likely free of humectants and adulterants, tend to burn more slowly with little risk of bite, and they are less strong than other commonly recommended tobaccos, so there’s less likelihood of the newcomer finding themselves taking an involuntary E-ticket ride on the Whirl-n-Hurl.
I also recommend smaller pipes, as they are easier to pack, light, and smoke. And, I recommend at least a few pipes in rotation. Nothing is harder to deal with when starting out than a soggy pipe, with its commensurate harshness and increased difficulty in keeping the thing lit. You don’t have to spend a fortune to have a nice rotation. Corn cobs make a lot of sense for the newcomer, as they’re inexpensive, offer a cool, sweet smoke, and if they burn out, which is likely to happen while the neophyte is getting used to the art of filling, lighting, puffing, another can be purchased without breaking into their kids’ piggy banks. For the price of a decent briar, a seven day set of cobs can be had. It’s not a bad way to start out, and briars can be added into the rotation as skill improves and the budget allows it.
With that, we reach the end of another edition. Keep those cards and letters coming, boys and girls, or I’ll have to start making up questions to answer, and that might be dangerous. "So, just what is the effect of gamma rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds?"
-glp
 Since 1999, Gregory L. Pease has been the principal alchemist behind the blends of G.L. Pease Artisanal Tobaccos. He’s been a passionate pipeman since his university days, having cut his pipe teeth at the now extinct Drucquer & Sons Tobacconist in Berkeley, California. Greg is also author of The Briar & Leaf Chronicles, a photographer, recovering computer scientist, sometimes chef, and creator of The Epicure’s Asylum. See our interview with G. L. Pease here. |
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. It was only because I was both perseverent, and fortunate to have a local shop staffed with knowledgeable people, that I’ve been able to enjoy the experience ever since. At least mostly… How many fledgeling pipe smokers have simply given up on an enjoyable pastime because of similar early mis-starts? Fortunately, today, it’s not hard to find helpful guidance at the press of a key or ten. But, at the same time, not all roads lead to Valhalla, and sometimes the advice offered might well be labeled with, “Here be dragons.” The other day, I came across a short video on-line in which a well-meaning tobacconist suggested packing a bowl of an “English” mixture “nice and tight.” Perhaps somewhat ironically, I was smoking, or trying to smoke a bowl that I’d filled on auto-pilot, packed too tightly, and not only was having the devil of a time trying to keep it lit, I really wasn’t enjoying the acrid smoke the tobacco issued during the brief periods in which it was actually burning. “No, no, NO!” I found myself muttering at my pipe, and at the figure on the screen, my protests joined by the guttural growling noises that sometimes accompany my discontent. Defiantly, I grabbed a pipe nail, shoveled out the dense, asbestos-like clog from the bowl, swabbed out the shank with a pipe cleaner, more out of habit than need since I hadn’t actually smoked enough of the mass to foul the shank, and started over, this time paying proper attention to what I was doing. (For as long as I’ve been doing this, I still screw it all up sometimes.) Much better. This got me thinking about a couple things that are so important to the maximal enjoyment of our pipes, yet not often enough discussed, namely how different tobaccos respond to variations in filling density, and moisture content; two separate but related parameters. Once I’d been shown the proper way to fill the bowl, or at least a proper way, everything had changed for me. I also began drying my tobacco down as a matter of course. Suddenly, there was greater cooperation between leaf and flame, the smoke was rich and flavorful, and it burned mostly to the bottom of the bowl with few relights. Given that, at the time, I smoked latakia mixtures almost exclusively, there didn’t seem to be a reason to explore beyond my “new” approach. It wasn’t until my attention turned in the direction of Virginia blends that I had to look a bit deeper. The same technique that worked so well for me with latakia mixtures resulted in bland, and often harsh smokes with Virginias. I attributed this to the tobaccos, convincing myself that I just didn’t like the stuff. At one of our pipe club meetings, I was talking with a friend who smoked Three Nuns exclusively. When he offered me a bowl. I thanked him, and told him that I just didn’t seem to get along well with Virginias, that they weren’t for me. “Maybe it’s the way you pack them. Here, let me fill your pipe for you.” I watched as he rubbed out a few coins to fine ribbons, moister than I was then accustomed to, and filled the bowl carefully in stages, pressing it tighter than I would have. 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Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 604. Our featured interview tonight is with Jon David Cole. JD is the Owner/Tobacconist at The Country Squire in Jackson, MS, and he is the former co-host of the podcast, Country Squire Radio, which ended their 10-year run last year. We’ll have JD with the “From the Country Squire” segment talking about all the new things happening at the store and in the business in general. At the top of the show, we’ll continue our audio tour of Brian’s pipe collection.
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. This blend, if nothing else, expanded my vocabulary of sense perceptions with the uniquely treated leaf. While the average human can distinguish approximately one trillion (1,000,000,000,000!) different aromas, multiplied by seven basic tastes, and wholly dependent on variables from body chemistry to atmospheric conditions, our overworked and underpaid simian brains can’t effectively catalog them all. Our pet adding machines are exceedingly good at this, however, and someday soon they’ll be the ultimate and unequivocal authority on what something tastes, smells, looks, or even feels like. Until that time, friends, revel in the moments that can be stolen to savor over a bowl of Pipe Force: Episode I.
Great advice to newbie smokers. I have always recommended a light English to them over an aromatic. They still plow ahead and get the aromatics, but at least they were warned.
Another great read, thanks Greg.
Your advice to the newbie is spot on. When asked I always recommend Escudo because of the full flavors. Yes it is a flake and that can pose it’s own set of difficulties, but with the advent of this site, getting the proper information on how to smoke a flake is not difficult. I say stat with something great tasting and let the fun begin. I came from being a big cigar smoker and Escudo was the blend that made pipe smoking attractive to me. I was looking for the bold flavors I was used to with my aged Cuban cigars and Escudo was the one. It reminded me of my favorite cigar( Partagas Serie Du Connaisseur No.1 a Gran Panatela) which is a spicy full flavored smoke.
Great questions, and great advice! Especially for the beginner. I remembered the first English I tried when I was starting out. I thought to myself, “I wished I would have started pipe smoking with this one!” (instead of Stanwell Melange, which, strangely, made me sneeze uncontrollably, and I hardly ever sneeze–in fact, I probably hadn’t sneezed for six years before trying the “Melange”–maybe it was a good thing).
It always trips me out, too, how many non-Latakia pipe smokers assume that because Latakia smells strong, that it will be strong (strong taste and strong reaction). I’ve found the exact opposite to be the case. Many of my Latakia blends are some of the coolest, most mild blends I smoke. To my tastes, Virginias and Burleys are the real tobacco powerhouses, and the stars have to align every so often for me to smoke straight versions of these.
And, oh yeah, thanks for the query about Grant’s. I loved their shop and their house blend,”Old Drum.” It was one of my favorite tobaccos (while I still had some) and I hope they come back soon. Have tried getting in touch with them but, no response. If anyone has any more info, it would be greatly appreciated.
Great column, Greg!
Great article & smashing photograph of vines. By the way any chance of a few tobacco field shots over the coming months and/or a recommendation of a good California Pinot Noir? Alas the ones that come to UK are mostly heavy and cheap or very pricey. The US Pinot Noir market leader in the UK is probably the sublime Domaine Drouhin from Oregon which, when funds allow, I adore even over the products of Beaune and would be fascinated to try an interesting California Pinot Noir.
As one who made most mistakes possible in my early days of pipe smoking I wish I had your advice then but thinking back to my few successes of those days I would add three suggestions. If you have smoked cigarettes before and/or have some nicotine tolerance go for a middle strength in nicotine as anything less can lead to over puffing (of course consult the pipe tobacco review site – there is a link on Greg’s website – where the overall summary of strength is surprisingly accurate although individual reviewers give remarkably varied assessments). Second from the very start have at least three tobaccos on the go as if you focus on just one at a time it is less interesting and, with all your eggs in one basket, you may well get too much of a roller coaster ride depending on your luck with your latest purchase. Three possible starters – GLPs Westminster (benchmark elegant English mixture), GLPs Laurel Heights (coolest Virginia with the faintest whisper of latakia) and GLPs Key Largo (for a deeper taste and, no doubt, summer barbecues although by next summer anyone starting now will be well away). Finally when you are ready to move on from Greg’s excellent advice on corn cobs I would suggest a very different sort of pipe, something much heavier. A Luciano, which are excellent value in my experience, might give a great contrast. It was only when I tried a heavier pipe that I started to get orientated on the sort of pipe I wanted; by the way I still enjoy my first heavier pipe – a second from the lamented and long gone Freybourg & Treyer shop on Haymarket in the West End of London which although poignantly only marked “REJECT” has outlasted the shop by decades. So after those early cobs it is never to soon to start seeing your pipes as investments!
Happy puffing to any new pipe smokers who reads this – there is a bit to learn at the beginning but it is surprising how much fun that is and how quickly rewarding.
Ed
Great comments, gentlemen! Ed, we should meet someday and discuss PN’s over a bowl and a bottle or three.
-glp
Great writing, great advice, great pix.
Thanks for the answers, Greg! I guess I was wrong about the speed of new blends, although, I maintain it feels like something new is often on the table! I’ll keep checking the site, I enjoy the teasing announcements you make (more so then the wait afterwards until the actual release, but there’s still some fun in that I suppose 🙂
–Anthony
Very good information, and advice. Thank you sir
Are you taking questions Greg as to whether the climate and terroir of California is capable of producing Pinot Noir wines that match the Burgundies we both love (as opposed to excellent but very different wines)?