Butera Pelican

The majority of the marvelous Pelican tins that I have smoked were produced by Germain and in Denmark as well. A very smooth, creamy and satisfying smoke with a lot of depth from the Virginia, cool spice from the Orientals and the light layer of Latakia that envelops the palate slowly as the bowl is enjoyed. A very smooth and easy to stay lit blend that arrives with the perfect moisture content. A true classic.

Pipestud

I am just finishing up a tin of Pelican that I bought two weeks ago at a pipe shop. Although I just bought it, I would guess there was a little age on this tin because there was a little sugar on the broken pieces of flake intertwined with the very thin ribbons. There was also some “leaking” into the wax paper indicative of a blend with some age. For me, the story of Pelican is all about the Orientals. The quality of the tobacco is very good and typical of Germain made blends. There is some sweetness to Pelican and the spice arrives about mid bowl and really builds from there. I get a little more Latakia later in the smoke too. It was more than I expected based on the visual appearance of the blend in the tin. With that said the Latakia is in a supporting role and it doesn’t really assert itself until the latter half of the smoke. Like so many blends, Pelican demands to be smoked slowly for the best result. I found it a bit hot if pushed and had my best results when sipped rather than puffed. By the last third of the bowl, Pelican always became a little muddled and it was hard to distinguish the different flavors. I think this blend has some merits, but given the fact that it is hard to find and it isn’t something I would envision in my rotation, my memory of this blend will be a short one.

The fairly floral Orientals offer earth, wood, vegetation, herbs, mild spice, light sourness, and slight butteriness. They take a little of the lead. They seem to gain a tad more prominence after the half way point. The smoky, woody, earthy, leathery, mildly sweet and floral Cyprian Latakia is a strong supporting player. The Virginias provide some tangy ripe dark fruit, earth, wood, bread, sugar, light tart and tangy citrus with a touch of grass and vinegar. They form the base of the blend. There's an extremely mild topping that's hard to identify, though it seems to be a little tangy and tartly orange-like. Here and there, I get a hint of vanilla, and I suspect a pinch of black cavendish may be present. The strength and taste levels are medium. The nic-hit is a step past the center of mild to medium. Won't bite or get harsh, but it does have a few small rough edges. Burns cool and clean at a reasonable pace with a mostly consistent sweet and savory, campfire flavor. Leaves little moisture in the bowl, and requires an average number of relights. Has a lightly lingering, pleasant after taste, and a stronger room note. Can be an all day smoke for the experienced smoker. Three and a half stars out of four.

-JimInks

Blend Name: Butera Pelican

Description on Tin: The second, after Kingfisher, in this special series of pipe tobaccos especially formulated to the specific priorities of Michael A. Butera. Simply, Pelican is the perfect Mixture, combining exact portions of the finest, most rare Cyprian Latakia, the spiciest, most zesty Turkish and Orientals, and the richest, most sweet sun grown Virginia whole leaf available today. Aged in cakes then fine cut to ribbon form. Pelican delivers multiple dimensions of sweet, mellow tastes, with a variety of contradicting rich and spicy room aromas. Return in time to those days and nights long since forgotten, when only the finest English Oriental style Mixtures would satisfy you.

Leaf: Cyprian Latakia, Turkish, Orientals, Virginia. Ribbon cut.

Tin Aroma: Slight sweetness, Latakia in the background although not overpowering. Very pleasant.

Taste: Not very complex. No sweetness. Could mostly taste smokey latakia, a little harsh.

Smokability: Dry. Took a few relights, but burns to a nice fine ash.

Room Note: Typical smokey English aroma

Thoughts: Was a little too strong for me. I prefer English's with a little more complexity to the flavor, such as slight sweetness or tangy flavor.

Recommend to: Experienced English smokers that prefer a strong blend or favor Latakia.

Summary: It didn't live up to the hype for me. There's other less popular English's that I prefer. This particular batch had at least a year of age on it. Smoked in a cob & briar.

My Background: I've been pipe smoking for 1 1/2 years, starting out on Aromatics, then moving on to English & Virginia. I favor VaPers. I'm not a Latakia fan but enjoy a well balanced blend. I've been doing Sutliff reviews for about a year. I have tasted at least over 100 tobaccos.

Without doubt, one of my all time favorites. An English blend that always keeps me coming back for more. So pleasant a smoke as to rank up there as a trusty friend, It's been said it reminds one of Squadron Leader, Penzance and Westminster. I agree. Possibly one of the most enjoyable smokes I've ever had. I get a hint of orange every time I try this stuff. Simply heaven.

This is my first review here on TR dot com, inspired by this tobacco. At first I was put off by the high moisture level of this tobacco when I first opened the tin. It made it hard to smoke properly, hard to light, and I had to leave the tin open for a few days to let it dry out. Even after two days, I put the lid back on and set it aside, it was still hard to light and keep lit. All this time, when I did smoke it, I knew I was missing something amazing, I just wasn't getting all of the flavors but I could tell they were there. Once I packed a bowl and my girlfriend demanded I go with her to go shopping (arrg). I ended up leaving the packed bowl in the pipe for another two days, then lit it up on the first warm Sunday morning of the year, and wow was I happy. The long wait from packing the bowl to smoking it dried out the tobacco until it was almost crunchy. This was the secret. The bowl lit beautifully, there was no moisture build up in the pipe, and the flavors really sang. There are notes of cedar, citrus, nuttiness and tobacco. This stuff is just as amazing as I had been told, I just had to treat it right. I highly recommend this tobacco, and also recommend drying sufficiently before smoking. You will not be disappointed.

Orange creamy tartness and citrus notes (Virginia's) are present in this blend, it's quelled however to a moderate level by superb orientals that are buttery and spicy, and finishes with a Latakia that is woodsy, smoky and a bit of earth and a mouthfeel similar to that of eating an animal cracker mixed with an Oreo and you have Butera Pelican! One of my favorite blends.. has some nice peppery bite to it if you push it / don't dry it thoroughly. But if smoked slow and given time to dry it's tame. Got 2 more tins coming! Rating should be much higher on here.. I think ppl are just butt hurt they can't find more of it. If anyone has any kingfisher I'd love to try it/trade/buy!

If you like Lat bombs this mixture is not for you. It is a balanced mixture similar to King Charles and Squadron Leader except it is a tiny bit sweeter. The sweetness of the Virginia, the spiciness of the Orientals and the smokiness of the Latakia are in good proportion. Good stuff.

Predominately dark in color, tiny ribbon in cut with a tin aroma of latakia and orientals. I picked this tin up some years ago and I'm not sure why I never dipped into it before now, but something else always seemed to bump this one back to the rear.

This seems to be a fairly typical English-style blend at first, with the latakia being the main player for the first dozen or so puffs before settling down and allowing the orientals to come forward. The problem for me was that the Virginias were extremely subservient, and this blend had very little VA sweetness and body. While it had a decent flavor, it seemed to have no backbone. Reminded me of Tashkent in that regard, except Tashkent truly does not contain Virginia, while this one is purported to. But it wasn't very noticeable and if I didn't know it was there, I'd be well on the way to believing it wasn't. Interestingly, this one exhibited a light menthol-type note somewhere in the final quarter-bowl. I've found that to occur in other blends and I assume it's some type of oriental tobacco merging with the latakia. Unfortunately, this didn't last long and in short order the blend became ashy tasting as it neared it's finish. As it stands, this one is fine enough but pretty unmemorable and, for me, not nearly deserving of the hue and cry over it's current state of unavailability. I finished the tin but won't buy more.

Woah.....pretty damn good!

Worth all the hype, and crazy price tags? NOPE!!!!

Really wet out of the tin. So dry it for at least 30min. I only did about 10min. And im already having my 3rd relight. Long strings of golden and black tobacco are incredibly easy to pack. And the aroma is amazing straight from the tin, It doesnt punch you in the face. The first half is very smokey with some mellow spice. Can get a burnt flavor if pushed, but nothing crazy. Smokes pretty cool too, which surprised me with the amount of relights.

The last 3rd of the bowl gets a bit more body, and really shines. With just a nice little head buzz. Nothing fancy, nothing out of no where, just a welcomed buzz. This stuff is smokey, with an even amouth of sweetness in the background, and a decent amount of tangy spice. Reminds me of Dunhill 965, just with more sweetness, and a gentle spice. But pretty damn close.

Im really happy i scored a tin of this, but i wouldnt go paying ebay prices. I would however, grab a tin every time i stumble upon this though, i think its damn good.