Here you go my friend:
Since I particularly relish many pure Virginia tobaccos in my various assortment of pipes, and further have greatly appreciated many of GL Pease’s Virgina-forward blends, I was interested in giving his “The Virginia Cream” a whirl. Although the description mentions a light supplementation of vanilla flavor, I nevertheless, in spite of my disapprobation for flavored tobaccos, decided to give it a try based on Pease’s exemplary prominence among today’s tobacco blenders.
Pipes used for tasting include a Nording Freehand with a relatively large bowl, an excellent smoker which has performed faithfully for many years, a large-ish Danske Billard with a lovely sandblasted finish, and a faithful meerschaum which, although lacking branding, has been a very satisfying and successful instrument for extreme oxidation of various pipe tobaccos.
Upon lighting, it became obvious that the Virginia tobaccos in this blend were quite light, quite tangy, somewhat tasteless, quite underwhelming, a bit harsh, and tended to bite the tongue a little more than desired. An ashy flavor remained forward on the palate, the flavors completely lacking the profundity of flavor commonly associated with some of Pease’s other exemplary Virginia blends.
Additionally, the flavoring, although somewhat benign, was palpable, enough so as to become off-putting, since it manifested, as most aromatic tobacco blends do in my pie hole, as a chemical presence not unlike hair spray. I, admittedly, have never enjoyed the taste of hair spray and confidently maintain to this day that this axiom still holds true.
The physical properties of said tobacco blend were acceptable, providing copious smoke, very few relights, and a mannerly demeanor in the bowl. However, both the acerbic violence inflicted on my tongue and tastebuds, and the lackluster flavors of the tobacco itself militated against my personal tobacco tasting sensibilities, and I concluded that while one who appreciates aromatic blends may indeed find gratification in The Virgina Cream, I nevertheless will not be indulging myself any further, especially in light of the surfeit of great tobacco blends from which I can choose, including many from Pease himself.
Just trying to be a meaningful contributor! I appreciate your sense of humor!
