G.L. Pease Virginia Cream

[joshoowah]

As can be deciphered from the photos above, the blend is exactly what it says it is: red and golden Virginia tobacco (flue-cured) with a sampling of perique (i.e. "the rare condimental leaf"). The first scent one will catch when first popping a tin of Greg's new creation is that of bourbon (i.e. a light alcoholic vanilla smell). It is subtle and not overpowering like a lot of other vanilla and boozy aromatics. If the tin is left to air out, however, the signature GLP fig and raisin aromas will begin to show a bit more.

The cut of the tobacco is clearly ribbon, though it is a longer ribbon cut than I've seen from GLP in the past, which made it super easy to hand-load (the ole pipe shuffle in the hand technique).

The flavor of the smoke at first reminded me a lot of Two Friend's English Chocolate: sweet and spicy. The two blends, however, have two different spice characteristics, as one uses latakia and the other perique. Nonetheless, the two were so close that I had a hard time distinguishing which I was smoking at times. The earthy, grassy flavors are apparent throughout the first half of the bowl, as any Virginia blend worth its salt puts forth. As I crossed the halfway point, the spice began to come through subtly. The word I would use to describe the spice is pepper. It is not overpowering by any means though, as it is subtle and smooth throughout. The sweetness of the Virginias, and the mild topping to boot, meld extremely well with the spiciness of the perique. I imagine aging would do wonders for this blend, but as it sits fresh out of the tin it is a fine, everyday type of smoke that will give one an escape from the norm.

4/5 from me.

 

[Ozark Wizard]

You know, I got to sample some of that at a B&M around the new year, and it seemed to me to be a bit raw. I noticed no scent to speak of either, but the tin had probably been available for sampling for a while, and lost that fresh presentation smell....

I hear good things about it though!

 

[DrumsAndBeer]

I enjoyed the portion of the tin I smoked. I jarred the rest up for later. I do agree with OW in that it tasted a bit raw. For the most part, in a wide shallow bowl smoked slow, it was nice. Was it earth shattering? No. Just a solid smoke with good potential for aging and a bit of strength too boot. Overall I found it to be a good blend for someone that likes a forward flavoring to go with a firm tobacco flavor strength. It's like a bigger, meaner aromatic.

 

[eklektos44]

So, what is a good Vanilla aromatic. I'm confused. :scratch:

 

[joshoowah]

So, what is a good Vanilla aromatic. I'm confused. :scratch:

If you want a vanilla aromatic, this isn't it. Personally, I don't even consider it an aromatic. As said, after a few hours of being open the bourbon/vanilla scent is all but distinguishable. It smells nearly like every other Pease blend in tin at that point. I think it will age extremely well though.

 

[Anonymous]

Well, all I can say is I am glad I purchased two tins, as it looks extremely promising. Thanks for your review, mate.