I have for some time been curious about G. L Pease's VaPer blends. I am a big fan of his VaOr blends, including Cairo and Embarcadero, but I had not tried any of his VaPers. So, last fall when I was placing an order from Watch City (for either Rouxgaroux or Simply Voriental, I don't remember which), I tossed a couple of notable Pease VaPers in the cart, Fillmore and Haddo's Delight.
Now, one of the things that I like about ordering tins from a retailer that doesn't move stock quite as fast as SP.com is that often you'll end up with a tin that already has some age on it, and in this case, I was pleasantly surprised to receive a tin of Fillmore dated 9/27/18. Both the Haddo's and the Fillmore, however, were to take backseat to the plethora of seasonal holiday blends that were released in November and December, so both tins went into the cellar. Earlier this week, I decided to pop the Fillmore, and it's all I've smoked since then, which is extremely rare for me as I usually jump from blend to blend, and rarely smoke a single blend for more than a couple of bowls in a row. This is, however a highly compelling blend. Here are my thoughts after finishing about half the tin:
Tin opening: The tin has bulged a bit in the 2.5 years since being filled, never a bad sign! Opening the tin reveals the typical broken flake of a C and D produced blend, with quite a bit of sugar crystallization, again, never a bad sign! The tin note is really fantastic! Sweet, somewhat spicy, just plain delicious. I smell aromas of smoked peaches and over-ripe plums, along with a strongly figgy, slightly peppery presence from the Perique. There is also the unmistakable slightly smoky presence of Latakia, which is not mentioned in Pease's description of the blend, but is confirmed by reading some of the reviews of this blend on TR.com. This all combines to add a slightly smoky, very sweet BBQ sauce aroma to the mix. In short, a very complex tin note that really had me anticipating what it would taste like in the pipe.
First light: The first impression is one of sweet, bready, dark fruit VA, along with a tingly, slighly peppery presence from the Perique. The Latakia can't really be tasted, but definitely adds some bassy richness to the blend that, to paraphrase Walter Sobchak from the Big Lebowski, "really ties the blend together."
The remainder of the bowl is remarkably consistent, although very complex. The fantastic, and very rich Virginias, and the somewhat peppery, figgy Perique is present in every puff. The overall effect is sweet, very slightly smoky, and tangy spice. It burns down to a fine ash no matter how moist it is when it goes in the pipe. The nic hit shows up about halfway through the bowl and is just the other side of medium, a perfect strength for this type of blend, in my opinion. I've experimented with various dry times, and this blend is an anomaly for me; a VaPer blend that seems to be more flavorful and richer when it's a little more damp. Drying to just this side of crispy, which brings out more flavor in most Va/VaPers, seems to render this blend a little flat to my tastes, losing some of the richness and thick mouth-feel that makes it great. It's smokable straight out of the tin, but smokes a bit wet in that state. I found that a brief dry time of 10-20 minutes is about perfect.
In the last few minutes of the bowl, the perique fades away a bit, and I am left with pure bready, fruity sweetness for the last 10 minutes or so. Fantastic! I've smoked this in various shaped briars, and the flavors seem to be consistent in all shapes of pipes.
So, in short, a very successful venture into Pease's VaPer blends. This one has already moved to my top 10 list of VaPers, and I'd imagine that more age will only make it better. It's definitely worth cellaring. I've now ordered Sixpence and Windjammer, and in the future I will make it a point to try Telegraph Hill and Penny Farthing as well. The tin I have of Haddo's is not as old, so it'll be a few more months until that is opened. If this is any indication, Pease is a master of VaPers!
Now, one of the things that I like about ordering tins from a retailer that doesn't move stock quite as fast as SP.com is that often you'll end up with a tin that already has some age on it, and in this case, I was pleasantly surprised to receive a tin of Fillmore dated 9/27/18. Both the Haddo's and the Fillmore, however, were to take backseat to the plethora of seasonal holiday blends that were released in November and December, so both tins went into the cellar. Earlier this week, I decided to pop the Fillmore, and it's all I've smoked since then, which is extremely rare for me as I usually jump from blend to blend, and rarely smoke a single blend for more than a couple of bowls in a row. This is, however a highly compelling blend. Here are my thoughts after finishing about half the tin:
Tin opening: The tin has bulged a bit in the 2.5 years since being filled, never a bad sign! Opening the tin reveals the typical broken flake of a C and D produced blend, with quite a bit of sugar crystallization, again, never a bad sign! The tin note is really fantastic! Sweet, somewhat spicy, just plain delicious. I smell aromas of smoked peaches and over-ripe plums, along with a strongly figgy, slightly peppery presence from the Perique. There is also the unmistakable slightly smoky presence of Latakia, which is not mentioned in Pease's description of the blend, but is confirmed by reading some of the reviews of this blend on TR.com. This all combines to add a slightly smoky, very sweet BBQ sauce aroma to the mix. In short, a very complex tin note that really had me anticipating what it would taste like in the pipe.
First light: The first impression is one of sweet, bready, dark fruit VA, along with a tingly, slighly peppery presence from the Perique. The Latakia can't really be tasted, but definitely adds some bassy richness to the blend that, to paraphrase Walter Sobchak from the Big Lebowski, "really ties the blend together."
The remainder of the bowl is remarkably consistent, although very complex. The fantastic, and very rich Virginias, and the somewhat peppery, figgy Perique is present in every puff. The overall effect is sweet, very slightly smoky, and tangy spice. It burns down to a fine ash no matter how moist it is when it goes in the pipe. The nic hit shows up about halfway through the bowl and is just the other side of medium, a perfect strength for this type of blend, in my opinion. I've experimented with various dry times, and this blend is an anomaly for me; a VaPer blend that seems to be more flavorful and richer when it's a little more damp. Drying to just this side of crispy, which brings out more flavor in most Va/VaPers, seems to render this blend a little flat to my tastes, losing some of the richness and thick mouth-feel that makes it great. It's smokable straight out of the tin, but smokes a bit wet in that state. I found that a brief dry time of 10-20 minutes is about perfect.
In the last few minutes of the bowl, the perique fades away a bit, and I am left with pure bready, fruity sweetness for the last 10 minutes or so. Fantastic! I've smoked this in various shaped briars, and the flavors seem to be consistent in all shapes of pipes.
So, in short, a very successful venture into Pease's VaPer blends. This one has already moved to my top 10 list of VaPers, and I'd imagine that more age will only make it better. It's definitely worth cellaring. I've now ordered Sixpence and Windjammer, and in the future I will make it a point to try Telegraph Hill and Penny Farthing as well. The tin I have of Haddo's is not as old, so it'll be a few more months until that is opened. If this is any indication, Pease is a master of VaPers!
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