Blend of the Week #27: G.L. Pease Navigator
Starting off with the tin note, it's a fairly punchy combination of barbecue pit smokey Dark Fired Kentucky aroma with a good bit of rum in the mix as well. Not enough rum to make it smell like a full on aromatic, but the rum scent is still quite strong, obvious, and unmistakable. The tobacco's presentation is that of short broken flakes, but stacked with care in the tin so as to keep them looking neat and tidy.
Considering the tin note just about knocks you over with Dark Fired Kentucky and rum aromas, I was utterly shocked when I first lit the pipe and tasted... a red Virginia flake. A fine red Virginia flake at that, but just a red Virginia flake nonetheless. Where did the rum and dark fired leaf I smelled in the tin go!?
Subsequent slow and analytical smoking over the course of the week would reveal that the rum and Dark Fired Kentucky flavors are indeed there, but they are very (and I mean VERY) subtle. The rum only appears as a faint ephemeral whisp on the aftertaste and the Kentucky is very so subtle that most of the time I was unsure as to whether I was actually tasting it or just imagining it because I was told it was in there. I am aware that Mr. Pease is known for subtlety in his blends and as a devotee of Gawith's full strength uppercut punch dark fired blends I might be a little more demanding than the average pipe smoker when it comes to my desire for dark fired flavor, but I do think Navigator might be a little too subtle for it's own good. A Gawith dark fired blend this most certainly is not!
However, it is a very tasty Cornell & Diehl style red Virginia flake! In fact, if someone handed me a pipe of Navigator without telling me what was in the pipe and asked me to smoke it and guess what I was smoking my first guess would be Carolina Red Flake. Not what I was expecting from from a blend advertised to contain rum and Dark Fired Kentucky, but Carolina Red Flake is a great blend so I can't complain too much about Navigator tasting like it! You get that dark earthy, "damp autumn leaf litter" flavor and plum-like fruitiness typical of C&D's red Virginia flakes, with the occasional touch of grass or hay from the little bit of bright Virginia somewhere in the mix.
What the Dark Fired Kentucky and rum do contribute to the blend is that they do a really effective job of neutralizing the acidity of the smoke from the Virginias, giving the smoke a very comfortable and gentle mouthful suitable for all day puffing. In Navigator you'll find none of the sharp edges common among the relatively young and uncased Virginias that Cornell & Diehl likes to use that often give their Virginias a slightly stinging mouth feel, the Kentucky and rum really tame them down to make for a comfy easygoing smoke.
Another trait enhanced by the addition of dark fired leaf is the blend's nicotine content, which you'll find to be noticeably stronger than a typical Virginia flake. On the mild to extra strong scale I'd put it at the very lowest end of strong, just a teeny touch above the upper end of medium. It's stronger than any pure Virginia flake I've had as well as most English blends, but a little milder than something like Nightcap or Irish Flake that I'd put towards the middle to upper end of strong and substantially milder than any of the extra strong blends like 1792, Dark Flake/Plug, Kendal Dark, HH Bold Kentucky, or War Horse Bar.
In practical terms that means I can smoke Navigator for about 45 minutes or so before the potential for nicotine sickness becomes a concern if I was to keep smoking it, but I do tend to smoke pipes with smaller bowls and after 45 minutes the pipe is usually pretty much done; so overdoing it really isn't something I have to worry too much about with this blend. I'd just recommend smoking Navigator in a small to medium sized bowl and don't smoke multiple bowls back to back, unless you've got an unusually high nicotine tolerance. Stick to those couple rules and I think most pipers should be able to handle this one perfectly fine, just be aware that it is a little bit stronger than your average Virginia or English blend smoker might be accustomed to.
All in all it's a delightful little blend. Not quite what I was expecting based on the contents listed on the tin, but it is a lovely red Virginia flake with a couple little extra nuances that make it stand out from the crowd. It's not going to replace Mac Baren's dearly departed Old Dark Fired or any of Gawith's dark fired blends, the dark fired leaf content is far too small for that and barely even registers on the palate, but as a red Virginia flake it's pretty darn great and has enough unique attributes to warrant the attention of any VA fan. If you enjoy Pease's other much lauded Virginia flake Union Square then you'll likely enjoy Navigator as well, and personally I think Navigator is the better of the better of the two blends since the teeny bit of Dark Fired Kentucky and rum add a lot more balance and smoothness to the red Virginias than the smattering of bright Virginias in Union Square do.
Now it's time for my personal opinion on the blend and whether or not it's a keeper though, and I'm sorry to say this one was the straw that broke the camel's back for me when it comes to Cornell & Diehl produced blends. I realized this week that every single Cornell & Diehl manufactured blend I've ever smoked has given me a sore scratchy throat and inflamed sinuses, whether it was a Burley, Virginia, English blend, or aromatic; if Cornell & Diehl makes it then it's sure to disagree with my mouth chemistry.
I've smoked quite a few C&D manufactured blends too: Carolina Red Flake, Interlude, Yorktown, Briar Fox, Winchester, Pegasus, Haunted Bookshop, Old Joe Krantz, Old Joe Krantz Blue Label, Kelly's Coin, White Burley, Dark Burley, Black Cavendish, Sansepolcro, Cordial, Autumn Evening, Corncob Pipe (and a Button Nose), St. Patrick's Day Reserve, G.L. Pease Union Square and Navigator, Low Country Santee, BriarWorks Peach Cobbler, and Kramer's Father Dempsey.
It took me smoking 23 blends made by C&D for me to realize that every last one of them gave me a sore throat and sinus irritation, and Navigator was the worst of the bunch since this one actually gave me a sinus infection that sent me to the doctor's office late last week; and now I'm not going to be able to smoke a pipe for at least a week or two until the sinus infection clears up! I don't know what exactly it is about Cornell & Diehl's blending style that my throat and sinuses just hate, but after this week's experience I'm done with C&D produced blends and have moved everything I had in my cellar made by C&D to the sell/trade bin and will not be purchasing or reviewing anything more from them in the future. I'm tired of getting a sore throat from their blends and I certainly don't need another sinus infection, so this is where C&D and I part ways.
On the plus side, that still leaves me with about 40 blends produced by Gawith, STG, and a couple smaller companies left in my cellar that I haven't reviewed yet so there's still plenty to explore! I'll be back in a couple weeks or so with a new blend of the week review once this darn sinus infection clears up! Until then, take care and keep your pipes clean.
I’d be interested to hear your take on C&D Opening Night, if you get a chance. It’s much like Union Square, but more focused on the red Virginias.
