GL Pease Quiet Nights Review
-
Kyle Weiss - Feb 18, 2020
- 6 min read
I’ll be honest, one of the things I enjoy most about this job, besides the feedback, learning and discussions that come from it, is the freedom I have. My boss is cool, and I can sit anywhere and write about anything I like, as long as it focuses on pipe tobacco. I also enjoy choosing what I get to smoke. Sometimes I have space between manufacturer’s new releases to smoke and I am able write about something that comes from my heart, and my experience—not just flavor nuances and chin-scratching about what leaf may lay inside. Lately, and possibly due to members recently discussing “Quiet Nights” by GL Pease, I’ve had a proper craving for something familiar, something I can hang my hat on. Writing these reviews can be like shaking hands with one hundred new people, it’s all very exciting, however it’s nice to sit down and take a breather with a familiar friend you don’t have to explain yourself to, nor they to you. History is important.
Quiet Nights took me a long time to get to know. Some years back, exploring the world of tobacco, I was having a terrible time with Perique. I was concerned because I was getting completely opposite results from others. These “others” were often guys that had smoked far longer than I, and while I wasn’t obsequiously looking to impress them, I needed to know: could it be their tongues were dead or was I missing something? I couldn’t tell if it was my inexperience, a chemistry mismatch, or I flat-out didn’t like Perique. I was determined to find just one tobacco that contained Perique I liked, so I could finally get an honest take on it. Quiet Nights was in a Christmas “bomb” from a fellow forum member at the time, and I stared at it for at least two months after reading on the label what it contained. Some of the best Christmas memories I have are from the generosity of pipe forum members. They shared joy, and a lot of them appreciated my early, casual notes of trying new tobaccos. Even if the tobacco I was to try was going to be a steep challenge.
Upon opening the tin, Quiet Nights has a unique, spicy, smoked, and fig-like smell quality to it that I came to love. It was how I started to come out of my shell to experience Perique, because something that smells this enticing can’t be all that terrifying. The colors of the tobacco are all roughly the same hue, with some lighter leaf spots here and there. Some roughing-up of the strips inside the tin is a good idea before loading a bowlful, it makes it easier to manage and less prone to “snipers” which could clog the airway.
The first part of a bowl of Quiet Nights gives an equal representation of all that is inside: Cyprian Latakia, Red Virginia and of course, the Perique. For those wondering, any mixture containing Perique used to give me an acrid, bitter and burned plastic aftertaste which would stay on my tongue for hours or even days after. Toothpaste changes, diet changes, switching to acrylic stems from vulcanite—nothing seemed to work. Quiet Nights was probably the dozenth Perique-included tobacco I soldiered forth in self-determination to try. I was ready to give up on them altogether. This tobacco, though, began to give something else to me as I smoked. It was a pithy, slightly citrus and sour spice that tickled my tongue. It smoked dry, to the point it coated the roof of my mouth. It had a feeling and flavor I had not experienced before. Immediately I reached out to some of the Leaf Elders and confirmed I was, in fact, getting my first honest taste of Perique. It was being carried gently in the hands of two favorites of mine, Red Virginia and Latakia, all in very reasonable amounts, and I couldn’t be happier. The consistency of this remains to this day, and Quiet Nights will remain one of my fondest “eureka” moments of my smoking career.
It’s an easy adventure from the first light of Quiet Nights into the middle point of a bowlful, as the Red Virginia really comes through in its bread-like, warm and toasty way. The Latakia backs off the palate a little, and the Perique sticks around without becoming a nuisance. Unsweetened cocoa, grilled meat trimmings and the same pith-like qualities are joined in flavor in a wonderful way. The tobacco never gets too hot, and really chases the chills away when paired with a good whiskey. Some light tamping maintenance is a good idea through the middle of the bowl. It could be the way I tend to pack Pease-cut tobacco, but this is where relights are usually required. Putting down the pipe and revisiting it a half hour later at this point is highly recommended.
The end of a bowl of this tobacco is always a bittersweet experience, both in mind and tongue. It takes on much more of a dried fruit flavor as the ember nears the bottom of the chamber; the spice diminishes, and the Latakia comes and goes. The balance is a light quinine and citrus attitude, and it’s nearly perfect. It also lets the smoker know all good things must come to an end. One of the key points of Quiet Nights is though it is a mellower tobacco, the nicotine is there. It isn’t overwhelming, but leaves me often wondering: Am I ready to get up from my chair? The relaxing quality of this mixture is top-notch. In the morning, to get less-rooted in my seat, a high-quality Earl Grey tea has been my thing as of late, and Quiet Nights meshes with it nicely.
Greg Pease is an admirable man. He has a refreshing, playfully rebellious and caring nature; he is a sponge of information great and small about things in his world and the world as a whole. He’s direct, he’s generous, and he’s humble, and he knows intrinsic value. He’s the kind of man who doesn’t need to apologize for much, as he’s aware of the shortcomings and benefits of humanity, and he does his best not to put himself in a compromising position. His taste in his pursuits is broad and developed. He and I don’t talk as frequently as we used to, but I can always reach out to him and tell him of some serious life crisis and he’ll lend his empathy. I can send him a quick note about a Russian auto-mechanical watch I thought was cool and he’ll join in the excitement and geek out with me. He also introduced me to this place, where I’ve made my own little place in the tobacco world. Whether he’d care to acknowledge it or not, Greg Pease is a good man and I appreciate knowing him—as do all of us who smoke his creations.
This matters because in all creating, be it music or art, crafting and making, a person puts themselves into their work. These things speak, and there is no escaping it if one is willing to pay attention. It is an expression without words, but full of meaning. If you experience the work, you can know the person. Sometimes it jives, sometimes not. The tobacco we smoke is no different, and I’d say it has the added benefit of adding multiple layers to the experience, due to the uniqueness of our pipes as well. It has the potential to find a cohesive way to be a rare and wholesome experience. When Perique and I started to have a strained relationship, it didn’t mean it didn’t have value. Quiet Nights went from an ignorant fear to a long friendship—my favorite type. I simply needed to find out what language we were speaking, and how to come to a desired outcome. Being able to create, and hopefully create success, is a very gratifying experience in any capacity.
As a whole, I think Quiet Nights made me a better tobacco smoker, and who couldn’t appreciate a little more enjoyment in their lives? Whether you’re a long-time appreciator of tobacco or just starting out, those of you who have yet to throw a pinch of this tobacco in your bowl to try, I confidently encourage you to do so.
- Editor Rating
- Rated 5 stars
- Spectacular
- GL Pease Quiet Nights Review
- Reviewed by:
- Published on:
- Last modified:
GL Pease Quiet Nights is one of our all time favorites!
Written by Kyle Weiss
More Pipes and Tobaccos Articles
4 Responses
Smokingpipes.com Updates
18 Fresh Rossi Pipes |
6 Fresh Jacono Pipes |
6 Fresh Dunhill Pipes |
New Cigars |
10 Fresh David Huber Pipes |
Recent Posts
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 641. Our featured interview tonight is with Jeremy Reeves. Jeremy is the Head Blender at Cornell & Diehl and is featured in our recurring series, “Ask the Tobacco Blender”. However, tonight he will be the interviewee as we learn about how he became a pipe smoker and collector, when he got his first pipe and how he progressed from there. At the top of the show, Brian will have a review of the rare German tobacco blend, Tumblin’ Dice.
I remember the first time I heard someone else say it. “How many pipes do I need? Just one more.” It’s glib, sure, a bit of a joke, but it also rings a bell of truth, at least to me. I certainly have “enough” pipes, but pipes are seductive little things. Just when we think we’re all set, we have enough, another will come along that tempts us beyond any sense of reason. I suppose it’s the same way with any sort of collecting. There’s always another white whale we’re in pursuit of. When we finally track that one down, though, another will almost inevitably breach the surface, taking its place as the new object of our desire, enticing us to change course and set sail once again. But, there’s a potential problem with having a lot of pipes. Maybe. The more pipes we may have, the harder it can be to keep them in rotation. It makes sense. We tend to gravitate towards our current faves, the ones that most appeal to us for whatever reason, and sometimes, maybe they stay in rotation longer than they really should. The side-effect of this, of course, is that another favored pipe might end up too-long forgotten. That’s exactly what happened recently. Exhibit A: The Castello pictured is one that has been long overlooked. It’s a Trademark shape #55. It’s a really nice example of the shape. The red pearlized stem is beautifully done. The wood isn’t really anything special to look at, but it’s evenly covered, without any bald spots. When I look at it, I wonder why it wasn’t done in the more typical dark ruby-red finish that adorns most Trademarks. I’ve seen a great deal of variation amongst the grade over the years, including one really nice bent-bulldog that left the factory with a brown sandblasted finish. (For those who don’t know, Trademark has long been the lowest Castello smooth grade, usually finished in a dark red.) Was this a stamping/grading error, or is there just more leeway in the grade than we’ve come to expect? I might never know. This example is from the early 1970s, maybe even the late 1960s, identified by the upper case Ks in the grade designation. (On Sea Rock and Old Antiquari pipes, the Ks reflect the size, while with the smooth finishes, Trademark, Castello and Collection, the Ks represent the relative grade.) It has been living in a different rack than the one housing the majority of my #55s. I don’t recall why I put it there, but as many of us can relate to, rack space is often at a premium. I stumbled upon it while looking for something completely different. “Oh, you? Why are you there? I remember you smoke pretty well.” Yeah, I sometimes talk to my pipes – one of many quirks, I suppose. I won’t begin to worry until they start talking back. I grabbed it from the rack, dusted it off, and decided to give it a fill with a bowl of a slightly aged VA/perique blend, Telegraph Hill, from 2018. What a delightful smoke! At five years, the tobacco is expressing a lot of the complexities of aged Virginias and the perique adds a delightful fruitiness. When young, the composition is a bit brighter, maybe a little spicier, but time has polished any edges, and amplified the sweeter notes. Like the pipe, I’d forgotten about this blend for quite a while, but one evening in March, after chatting with my good friend Nate, who is quite a fan of it, I decided it might be time to revisit it. I got a couple of fresh ones, and excavated a couple older tins from the library. I normally reach for Fillmore when I want a VA/perique thing because of its boldness and depth, but in revisiting this one, I’m finding something soothing and comfortable about it that I’ve really been enjoying, both young and aged. Sticking with the theme of the forgotten, and as a perhaps interesting tidbit to the photographically inclined, I shot the pictures for this month’s column with my old Nikkor-O 35mm/2.0 mounted on my trusty Nikon Df. The last time I used this lens, it was adapted to one of my Fujifilm bodies, and I didn’t care much for the results, so I put it away and pretty much forgot about it. But, I’ve recently been exploring some of my old kit, deciding what to keep, what to pass along, and this one once again came to my attention, kind of like that old Castello. On the Df, there’s something about its vintage rendering that I find truly appealing. Another forgotten treasure, and just like with that old pipe, it seems that, at least today, everything old is new again. If your collection is on the large side, are there pipes or tobaccos that you’ve all but forgotten, only to come back to them one day to find yourself wondering why? Maybe it’s just another fun dimension to this endlessly fascinating journey.
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 640. Our featured interview on tonight’s show is with Ben Rapaport. Ben has been known internationally as an avid pipe smoker, antique pipe collector, and book author. His first book on pipes was published in 1972, and his latest book – his 10th – is out now in very limited quantities. The distribution has already sold out, but you can still get a copy of “The Wide World of Wood Tobacco Pipes. Two Centuries of Craftsmanship and Creativity” by contacting him directly at ben70gray@gmail.com. At the top of the show we’ll be turning the tables on our recurring Ask the Pipemaker segment. This time, Jeff Gracik will ask the questions, which Brian will answer as a pipe collector, and you can give your answers too.
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 639. Our featured interview on tonight’s show is with Per Billhäll. Per is the owner of Scandinavian Pipes, which is an online retailer of high grade pipes. He started smoking pipes in the 1960s. His first high grade pipe was made by Hans “Former” Nielsen, who is one of the living legends from Denmark. That led to Per becoming a huge pipe and tobacco collector, and show attendee where he became well known. Along with pipe book author Jan Andersson, they started The Pipe Club of Sweden in 1991. Then in 1999, Per started “Scan Pipes”. He is now one of the pipe retailing legends from Sweden. At the top of the show Brian will talk about holiday blends, and other special pipe tobacco blends.
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 638. Our featured interview on tonight’s show is with Fae “The Sassy Pipe Lady” Simmons. Fae is the owner of Tobacco Treasures, which sells new, vintage, & estate pipes, and smoking accessories on Etsy. She has been in business since 2017, and has been surrounded by pipes and tobacco most of her life. Her father and his brother smoked pipes, and so does Fae. Her husband is also a retired tobacconist that worked all over the industry from coast to coast for several different companies in the industry. She has a great story of how her business got started with a great inventory of unsmoked vintage pipes. At the top of the show we will have an Ask the Tobacco Blender segment with Jeremy Reeves. Jeremy is the Head Blender at Cornell & Diehl, which is one of the most popular boutique pipe tobacco companies in the USA.
Ok, so it’s that time of year, as we all know. Family feasts, houses, yards, and big trees festooned with lights and dangling ornaments, just high enough to keep the cats from reaching a paw into the greenery. It’s also the time of year when your pipe-smoking-significant other makes vast hints about a new pipe. That’s to be expected since he or she was a good boy or girl during the year. Yes, ladies smoke pipes, too. Oh, you want an example? Okay, try Actress Greta Garbo, Millicent Fenwick, Mary Frith, and my late grandmother (who died when she was 93) dipped snuff and smoked a cob occasionally. So now that we have settled that the gentler side of life will puff a pipe too, let’s move on to the upcoming biggest holiday of all. Of course, that huge event is brought to us by the hefty fellow in a red suit, puffing his pipe all the way in a sled filled with presents, being led by a reindeer with a red nose. Or some such. That’s Santa Claus, of course. Becoming a bit more serious, Christmas is such a wonderful time for families and friends. It’s also quite special for pipe puffers. For many of us, this brings up a nostalgic look back to our pipe-smoking or cigar-smoking friends who have died during the current year. A great journalist pal whom I often joined in a local brick-and-mortar pipe and cigar shop. I puffed my pipe, and occasional cigar, as he enjoyed a cigar. He died in October and will be missed. On the happier side of things, Christmas is also a time when mind workers of the world renew their collections with fresh additions. Pundit included. A French passion has overtaken Pundit, from reading more Albert Camus, a heavy cigarette smoker, as were many French intellectuals of a certain time. Instead of cigarettes many of us prefer the more relaxed enjoyment of pipes for that “calm and objective judgment” in the comings and goings of the world. This brings me to French pipes. While visiting France once in the long ago, I happened by a “Tabac” shop in Paris, Tabac Des Vosges. I purchased a beauty of a Chacom bent. I also later bought a Ropp made from ancient briar. To learn more about the dawn of briar pipes and beginnings, take a peek at a well-done piece by Davin Hylton in Pipe Line on April 12, 2023, on Saint-Claude, France, the birthplace of briar. Also in the long back when, on a cold Christmas afternoon, Pundit wandered into an Atlanta bricks and mortar pipe shop to look around. There, resting in an enclosed glass counter was an exquisite Comoy. An older gent, smoking a beautiful bent, asked me if I wanted to look at that pipe. It had a $100 price tag. A college student working for a grocery store chain to help with college tuition at the time, Pundit didn’t have one hundred cents, let alone a C note! I declined and found a $5 basket pipe. A Christmas tradition had just begun. Since that early time, Pundit has made it a holiday ritual to either reward himself, or a special friend, with pipe or tobacco. A Claudio Cavicchi would be nice. Just sayin.’ And now for a couple of December-born Pipe Smokers of the Past: Joseph Rudyard Kipling was born on Dec. 30, 1865, and died on Jan. 18, 1936. I always prefer to believe the best of everybody; it saves so much trouble—Rudyard Kipling. Martin Van Buren, born Dec. 5, 1782, and died July 24, 1862, U.S. President, 1837-1841 As to the presidency, the two happiest days of my life were those of my entrance upon the office and my surrender of it—Martin Van Buren. And one more note to recall a deceased World War II veteran who loved William Somerset Maugham, the author. Maugham, a pipe smoker, was born in Paris, France, on Jan. 25, 1874, and died on Dec. 16, 1965. One cool afternoon as the veteran and I talked while sitting in his backyard patio, he looked off into the distance as if studying something. Nothing in particular. Just looking. He turned to me and said if I wanted to learn about life, “read Somerset Maugham.” I did. It wasn’t until late in life that I discovered how easy it is to say, ‘I don’t know’ –W. Somerset Maugham And now a Parting Shot: Any day with an old friend with pipes and tobacco is a good day.
[FONT=times new roman]It’s always such a pleasure to discover how you transform a tobacco review into a personal experience, complete with background and reflection.[/FONT]
Greatly appreciated your thoughts, experience, photos, and trials on the journey.
I just finished a satisfying pipe full of one of my own tobacco blends and it lead me to search for G.L. Pease , Quiet Nights, which I’ve been meaning to try , and I found this review. I can’t put down the right words to explain how much I appreciate reading such a good review, and I’ve always had a time getting out the correct words to express what I think. I admire your skill to write such a great review from your own thoughts and make people feel what you write. I know that many people don’t even think about it they just do it. It actually takes me forever to even get a paragraph out like this. Thanks Kyle, I’m looking forward to reading more of your work !
Ron, I’m delighted my thoughts and ramblings are a good read for you. Thank you so much for the kind reply!
Quiet Nights always makes me smile just because of my trepidation towards the Perique angle, and fully admit I tried finding fault with it years ago. It’s funny how we as humans get a preconceived notion and try to stick with it even when all proof suggests there’s really no problem—and all we have to to is relax and enjoy what works.
❤️