G.L. Pease Windjammer Tobacco Review
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Kyle Weiss - Jun 18, 2021
- 6 min read
The year is nearly half over, and what a year it’s been so far. There’s lots of talk of life “getting back to normal,” yet even with the mechanics of things daily happening more regularly and predictably, “normal” is hardly a word I’d use, personally. What most people were hoping for over the last year wasn’t normalcy as much as it was a need to go back to the way things were, or at the very least, pick up where we all left off. I’m finding it more and more interesting how people’s lives have changed for better or for worse, but I don’t think anything is the same. This is a good thing, as it opens up new opportunities and possibility if we’re able to be flexible and adapt to what is rather than what was.
That’s why my journey with a more recent GL Pease release, Windjammer, began. I’m the first person to bitch and moan about Perique, as any frequent reader of these existentially-gonzo reviews probably knows. The problem is I don’t have a problem with the taste or function of Perique; I like the stuff. The tricky part is Perique really takes both a knowledgeable blender and a good recipe to make it do the things I want the tobacco to do for me. More recently, I’ve been enjoying a little bit more of the spicy stuff. I can’t say what changed, but I’m glad it did. Serendipity was a lesser factor than the dry-smoking, peppery and savory goodness that Perique is capable of, so often ruined (for me) by either too much or too little in the mix.
GL Pease Windjammer features Burley, Virginias, Black Cavendish and the star of the show, Perique. Adding to the nautical appeal, “A splash of rum ties it all together…” I’m the first person to whine about Perique, and the first to admit I trust Greg’s hand at making tobacco work. This interesting mix concept definitely made me want to give it a shot, if not for the old-school and simple recipe, but it seemed like a great framework for that Perique experience I have struggled to fully enjoy.
The smell in the tin is rummy without coming off as boozy. There’s a sour citrus smell somewhere in there, probably the Perique, which has a natural aroma all to itself. Not too moist and not too dry, the cut is what I think of as distinctly GL Pease: rough, loose chunky strips rather than full-on flakes or ready-rubbed ribbons. It’s so easy to simply grab a small pinch of them, ball them up loosely, and drop them one at a time in a pipe until it’s full. The draw always seems ideal. I used a lot of cobs for testing out this tobacco, because they seem to react better to the summer heat than my briars.
First lights are almost like getting a taste of a fresh cut of Serrano pepper. There’s a sweet tone to it, maybe even a little briny, but that tingle of spice is evenly distributed along the tongue. There’s a wonderful mouth-feel to the smoke, no doubt courtesy the Burley and the Cavendish, which lends a waxy, pecan experience. I’ve recently been smoking things with Latakia far too late in the year for my liking, and I enjoyed the fresher, livelier flavors of Windjammer right out of the gate.
The first half of the bowl continues much like it began, but a broadening and deepening of the flavors occur. The Virginias are well-rested enough to take the edge and grassy notes away, but I wouldn’t consider them seriously aged. Because of this, an apricot-citrus tone will occasionally tempt at the back of the nose, and the pecan-esque fullness from the Burley ties in the effect nicely. The Perique isn’t overwhelming, despite the descriptor on the tin saying it’s a “generous measure” of the stuff. I am not by any means a fast smoker, and this probably contributed to the repeated success of not allowing the Perique getting out of hand.
Mid-bowl, I found myself purposefully letting the pipe cool off and hang out for about five of ten minutes. This not only mitigated the potential of that tarry, burnt-rubber flavor I can get from too much Perique, but the relights were, and I cannot stress this enough, sublime.
The Burley takes on a richer poise and the unflavored toasted Cavendish truly tastes…well, toasted. There are tobaccos that can withstand a whirlwind puffer, one who may not have time for more than quick sit and a rapid smoke, but I think it’d be a mistake to do this with Windjammer. Granted, rushing time with the pipe is not recommended, as that defeats the entire reason why we all do this as a relaxation and enriching experience—but in this instance, go even slower. Put your pipe down and let the tobacco do something wonderful for a while, and get back into it. You’ll thank me later.
At the end of the bowl, I realize this is not a wimpy tobacco. The nicotine isn’t hiccup-worthy or overpowering, it more builds slowly in the body from head to toe and stays there. It’s a good feeling. It came as no surprise to me the end of the bowl consistently gives the same character as before: Serrano pepper freshness and spice, the nuttiness from the Burley and the nice stone fruit and citrus background as before. The added surprise waiting in the depths was a coffee bitterness which I thoroughly enjoyed. There can occasionally be a little bit of an ashy finish as the tobacco dwindles toward the heel of the chamber, but I tend to not smoke every last little scrap in my pipe anyway. It’s a good practice to finish when the tobacco is done, or you are, whichever comes first.
Windjammer’s tin notes suggested cocoa and black walnut as flavor components in its larger complexity, but everyone’s tongues are slightly different. I didn’t find these. The rum-splash is the only component that really didn’t stand out or do much other than make the tin itself smell great, and perhaps that was the point. While Perique in general can normally smoke very dry, the addition of Burley and the toasted plain Cavendish in Windjammer really delivered the whole experience pretty damned well. Nothing got in the way with anything else, and perhaps if rum splashes are indicating this is a sweeter tobacco, I would disagree. This is a very savory smoke, lively enough to capture the senses while not overpowering. I paired this tobacco with a basic Rittenhouse Rye whiskey (which is on the spicy side by itself) and what a great pairing it is. I drink a lot of gin in the summer, and I didn’t enjoy anything gin-like with Windjammer. Coffee was hit and miss, and tea was too delicate to do much more than give a reason to sip and put the pipe down once in a while for a later relight.
Overall I felt Windjammer to be a winner. I’ve had other GL Pease mixtures that featured Perique and had mixed feelings about them. I may have to dig in my stash and see if I feel the same way. Is it possible I’m becoming more of a fan of Perique? If Windjammer is any indication, anything is possible these days.
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G.L. Pease Windjammer Tobacco Review
Written by Kyle Weiss
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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. 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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. 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.
It sounds like a refined and dynamic blend, a lot going on, but all to the good.
Great review!
A very thorough analysis of a fine blend. It has that sweetness of yesteryear for me, without being cloying .
Thanks guys! ?
Great review! I just opened my first tin of Windjammer on Father’s Day, and your review is pretty much spot on to my palate’s taste as well. The recommendation to rest and relight is one I couldn’t agree with more. Leads me to get a bit of sweet fig and raisin in the retrohale too, like some of my favorite VaPers, but I’ve only been pairing it with water so far. Maybe my next bowl will have to go with some Bonded Old Overholt Rye. Thanks, and Cheers!
I haven’t grabbed a bottle of “old overcoat” in a hot minute. Being a fairly mild rye, it might be a good choice for focusing on Windjammer’s complexity