I've tried Westminster and love it. I'm interested in trying some other Pease latakia blends, but I'm looking for some input on where to start. I prefer opinion from experience to retailer tobacco descriptions, so what's your favorite and why?
G.L. Pease English/Oriental Recommendations
- Thread starter erichbaumer
- Start date
SmokingPipes.com Updates
Watch for Updates Twice a Week
PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor
Site Sponsors
PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor
PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor
PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor
PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor
- Status
Well, to be honest, you kind of started at the pinnacle with Westminster! But as someone who really enjoys the Pease English/Balkan blends, I'd recommend:
BALKANS
Caravan - A medium weight Balkan that, for me, has the perfect balance of latakia and orientals, delivering an amazing creaminess that can only come from well-blended Balkans.
Odyssey - Pease's most latakia-heavy Balkan. As such, the balance is a bit off between latakia and the other orientals. But it's still quite good, if you like latakia.
Charing Cross - Where Odyssey is a latakia-forward Balkan, Charing Cross is an oriental-forward Balkan. One of my favorites.
Ashbury - A lighter-bodied Balkan that features nicely balanced latakia/orientals, with a slightly stronger Virginia presence. (Typically, Balkans put the Virginias far into the background.)
ENGLISH
Kensington - For me, this is just okay, a lighter-bodied English that I did enjoy but haven't bothered to cellar.
Maltese Falcon - A solidly middle-weight English. At the time I tried this, I was a bit disappointed; Pease had said it was his revision of Raven's Wing, but with Cyprian latakia. Since I loved Raven's Wing, I had high hopes. . . which weren't entirely met. But maybe I was expecting more than this blend was designed to deliver.
If you're willing to spend the money for a "collectible" Pease blend, I would highly recommend trying, if possible, all of Pease's discontinued Syrian blends. For me, Bohemian Scandal is head and shoulders above any of the others -- and any of the others in the current line-up. It is an absolutely amazing and utterly unique Balkan blend. Raven's Wing is a strong second to it, falling into the English category. And Renaissance is also a wonderful English, although it features a combination of Syrian and Cyprian latakia. If you've ever had Syrian latakia, you may think these blends will taste like whatever else you've had. They don't. I've had a number of Syrian blends and no one has matched these Pease blends in terms of how well they showcase a particularly incredible crop from the late 1990s. There literally is nothing else like them.
NOTE: Because I have a bad reaction to perique, I can't comment at all on any of the Pease English blends that contain that leaf.
Bob
BALKANS
Caravan - A medium weight Balkan that, for me, has the perfect balance of latakia and orientals, delivering an amazing creaminess that can only come from well-blended Balkans.
Odyssey - Pease's most latakia-heavy Balkan. As such, the balance is a bit off between latakia and the other orientals. But it's still quite good, if you like latakia.
Charing Cross - Where Odyssey is a latakia-forward Balkan, Charing Cross is an oriental-forward Balkan. One of my favorites.
Ashbury - A lighter-bodied Balkan that features nicely balanced latakia/orientals, with a slightly stronger Virginia presence. (Typically, Balkans put the Virginias far into the background.)
ENGLISH
Kensington - For me, this is just okay, a lighter-bodied English that I did enjoy but haven't bothered to cellar.
Maltese Falcon - A solidly middle-weight English. At the time I tried this, I was a bit disappointed; Pease had said it was his revision of Raven's Wing, but with Cyprian latakia. Since I loved Raven's Wing, I had high hopes. . . which weren't entirely met. But maybe I was expecting more than this blend was designed to deliver.
If you're willing to spend the money for a "collectible" Pease blend, I would highly recommend trying, if possible, all of Pease's discontinued Syrian blends. For me, Bohemian Scandal is head and shoulders above any of the others -- and any of the others in the current line-up. It is an absolutely amazing and utterly unique Balkan blend. Raven's Wing is a strong second to it, falling into the English category. And Renaissance is also a wonderful English, although it features a combination of Syrian and Cyprian latakia. If you've ever had Syrian latakia, you may think these blends will taste like whatever else you've had. They don't. I've had a number of Syrian blends and no one has matched these Pease blends in terms of how well they showcase a particularly incredible crop from the late 1990s. There literally is nothing else like them.
NOTE: Because I have a bad reaction to perique, I can't comment at all on any of the Pease English blends that contain that leaf.
Bob
+1 on Odyssey, and also I enjoy and recommend Mr. Pease's Blackpoint
I'm with rmbittner about Raven's Wing, it was truly a great blend. Made moreso by it's tragically short availability. I have an unopened can of Maltese Falcon from 2011, waiting for a taste test next month...
Also, I have recently heard from an old smoking buddy that he believes he has an unopened 2004 can of Raven's wing in his cellar. I am waiting for photographic proof before I believe a word of it...
I'm with rmbittner about Raven's Wing, it was truly a great blend. Made moreso by it's tragically short availability. I have an unopened can of Maltese Falcon from 2011, waiting for a taste test next month...
Also, I have recently heard from an old smoking buddy that he believes he has an unopened 2004 can of Raven's wing in his cellar. I am waiting for photographic proof before I believe a word of it...
Along with rmbittner's recs, try Abingdon. It's got a distinct lemon-like flavor that I absolutely love.
I just finished up a tin of aged Samarra that I fell in love with. Just the right latakia hit, nice and smokey some unique sweet notes, deep and barbeque-esque, a little musty, an excellent smoke. Well worth a look.
- Status