FOUR TOBACCOS

Quick reviews of four pipe tobaccos. Two of which are currently available, one of which is an experimental product that Thomas at Grant's is working on, and the last a blend which will probably never be available.



ODYSSEY
G. L. Pease

Black and red Virginia, Latakia, and Oriental.
Full-bodied

This product has a wonderful tin aroma, and smelling someone else smoking it is magic. Rich and peaty due to a heavy hand with Latakia, and it tastes good too. But it is not an everyday smoke unless you are a young man with a soot fetish. Rather, this should be in your stockpile, as it is indeed a worthwhile blend, and you should keep a tin in your rotation. It is somewhat reminiscent of the Dunhill Nightcap, due to the overall darkness, but it has less of the stoved black, and so is not as easy to keep lit. Evenso, damn good tobacco.



SAMARRA
G. L. Pease

A full spectrum of Virginias, Turkish, and Latakia, with a smidgeon of Perique.
Medium full-bodied

I am smoking a tin from 2004. So this may not be your experience of the blend..... Aged tobaccos taste quite a bit different than fresh tins, and this is just heavenly. The Latakia and Turkish have lost some of their edginess, the Virginias have developed ethereal fragrances. This is as close to an orgy as I'm likely to come. Ooh-wee!



THOMAS' EXPERIMENTAL ENGLISH
Grant's Tobacconists

Medium full Latakia, no Turkish. Over twenty percent deep flake with Perique, some blonde ribbon.

This is the second batch, with less bright Virginia. The first batch ended the bowl with a bitter note, the second batch has sweetness and a decent depth all the way down. Good stuff. A pleasant smoke at this point, I'm keen to see what this will develop into - I rather like the note of Perique under the woodsiness.



DARK VIRGINIA FULL ENGLISH
Experimental, version no. #3

Dark pressed Virginias, Turkish, Latakia. Plus red flake.

I must've done something right, because I like it, and have already gone through several ounces. But I'm not likely to make more due to one of the blending tobaccos no longer being available.
I probably should not have used old tins of dark flake from England for this.
It's actually fairly close to Butera's Pelican, and reminiscent of several of the fine English blends which are no longer produced. Roughly forty five percent Latakia, more than twenty percent Turkish.

The key seems to be use of well-aged Virginia, and good Orientals. That it was blended somewhat wet and then stoved at 225° Fahrenheit for half an hour will also have a lot to do with the end result - the Latakia tastes more rounded, the flavours have melded.
The red flake came from Cornell & Diehl.

TOBACCO INDEX


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