Oh, and be sure to try it with some age on it!

My thoughts are coming from the position of a relative novice in the ways of Virginias... so please, take this all with a grain of salt... but I have to say that Mr Pease's Union Square has been the most overwhelmingly positive experience I've had with a straight VA tobacco to date. I've enjoyed Tilbury, McClellands Brindle Flake and Gawith's Best Brown, but I've come to realize that these smokes have been, for lack of a better word, misguided and uniformed.

The beauty of US is that it more or less TELLS you how to smoke it. Everything I've read and been told about how to enjoy VA's has come to fruition in this flake. You do as you should and it yields immediate and wonderful results. It demonstrates all the rewards that slow, controlled and thoughtful pipe smoking can offer.

As far as flavor goes, zulujerk nailed it. The sweetness is sharper and clearer than more mature, dark flakes. I'd add turbinado sugar, the bready sweetness of whole wheat bread as opposed to molasses, caramel and stewed fruit. Fresh hay, toast and a pleasant tartness like Meyer lemons. The smoke is full and voluminous without being creamy.

The flavor is clean, concise and thoroughly enjoyable. The purity of expression is this tobacco's strong suit. I'd put this experience on par with that of drinking Elmer T Lee bourbon, or playing a Telecaster guitar. It's not flashy. It's not full of bells and whistles. But to the uninitiated, it is a formal initiation into the truest form. And for the experienced, a joyful foray into the simplest (in a Zen sense) distillation of what they love. This is kind of the sushi of tobaccoes, if you will.

But I'm waxing a little philosophical here. In the end, this is just a fantastic way to enjoy pipe smoking.

I'm curious to see how this ages and will be getting another tin or two for cellaring.

Thank you, Greg Pease, for the excellence.

I have not been fan of straight Virginias, preferring English mixtures recently, as well as Irish Flake, & Peterson 3Ps. Recently I tried Pease's JackKnife - the finest tobacco I'd ever smoked. I hesitated ordering a VA but wanted to try a flake from Pease.

Well, the first impression was certainly good - lovely, warm tin-note and easy to handle & pack. Smoking this straight out of the tub - I could feel the potential to bite, but nothing like Erinmore or MacBaren's or Dunhill Virginias. This is something entirely different. With other VA's I've tried you get told off for rushing. With this one, you are cordially invited to take your time. It's a far friendlier gesture. After two bowls, I now feel I've finally been given a good example of what a Virginia can be - dry, sweet, a great early-to-mid-day smoke. At £16-odd a tub, it's expensive, but you get slightly more baccy and the quality is worth it.

UPDATE 29 July 2012: Initially I was not able to discern the nuances of taste of this tobacco, but now, after some time with access of air, left the sharpness and 'vinegar', no gurgles and no tongue bite. Need to dry for 20-30 minutes before packing. Increased to 3 stars for this flake.

Sorry the tobacco in question. I had low expectations of pure tobacco having tried McBarens unflavoured tobacco (Nothing but Tobacco or some name like that) years ago and it was flat and dull. Interesting but taste, remember and dump the tin. Union Square is the opposite. Open the drum (drums not cans in Nottingham) and get a lovely smell of sweet hay. Charring light hot but then a cool near bite free smoke particularly notable for a pure virginia but perhaps the additives in most flakes are partly to blame. Then a rich deep smoke evoking layers of flavour including hot raspberry jam on the hot sponge my dear old mother used to make, with, more in the background, strawberries, figs, nectarines. Then a counterpoint of dryer but still sweetish hay. Great smoke now but I think with huge ageing potential - my tin date was 051612 - as the flavours deepen and become more focused. No mean praise from a smoker of English mixtures. Stars? Four even without the ageing potential but with it a very easy four.

Will I buy more of this deep fruity tobacco (which is very easily available in the UK at last) to taste now and lay down for the future? Of course.

Sadly, there's nothing truly spectacular about this blend. It definitely smokes better after the first third of the bowl as it begins to taste how it smells in the tin. There are definitely fig/raisin notes as well as a natural virginia sweetness, but the beginning of the smoke tastes too much like a cigarette. It would probably make an excellent base for mixing, but by itself, it remains underwhelming.

It's certainly a high quality leaf that any virginia lover, or someone looking to try out a pure virginia, should give a try, but I don't see myself buying another tin with so many other offers out there.

----Update------

After storing this blend for about six more months (total one year of age), the nuances of this tobacco really came through. The taste became more full and constantly progressed from spicy to sweet and earthy throughout the bowl. Still a cool smoke without a bite issue. I highly recommend this blend--greatly improved with age and airing out.

Upon opening you are overwhealmed with that lovely BBQ/ketchupy aroma that some love and some love to hate. I love it, but have learned to grow cautious of it, why? Because sometimes it just needs more maturity, durring this maturity i find that the ketchup mellows out over time, not completely, but subtle hints of other virginia earthy flavors win-out over time. Such is the case wth this blend in my opinion. And I didnt just come to this conclusion from the tin aroma alone, i've got less than 1/4 of the tin left after a trial an error period. While very smooth, and married, lacks depth of taste due to the robust middle-ground flavor. Not many high notes, or low notes usually attributed to the airy Hay-like sweetness of some bright virginias, or the dark muddy notes of a pressure firmented beast, this Union Square lies somewhere in the middle with the potential for subtle whisps of both high and low va tastes. But my tin, without a doubt, needs more age. She's too green for me folks, a little boring. I will let my tins age some more and update accordingly. Would I recommend this? Well yes to a fellow virgina smoker, and no, to anyone else, fore it's not what I would want anyone basing their virgina experiences on. Tempermental, and boring. But has potential to be great. Thanks for reading, hope it helps.

Agree with Zulujerk below

Updated 10/30/12 I'm a little disapointed with my second tin, it just doesn't have the sweet high notes I found in my first. It falls closer to Briar Fox than the others I called out. Maybe it's the age of the second tin but I need to take this down one star . Still a fine tobacco but more of a "Brown Flake"

This blend is packaged in 2 ounce tins, so there's 7g more than what has come to be, unfortunately, the more standard 50g tin. So, perhaps there is some justification for the somewhat higher price. But as I have discovered with other GLP blends, if you find one that you love, cost is a non-factor.

The blend is flawless, in my opinion. Deep, rich Virginias in sturdy flake form, sugary and natural, emanating that familiar smell of hay out of the tin, the flakes themselves velvety to the touch, whether beat up or in perfect form (I've seen both, from the samples I've purchased). The presentation is immaculate, the experience, exceptional from the pop of the tin, through charing light, to the last embers as they fade from glowing red to dusty white. If Union Square isn't the king of Virginias, it's certainly next in line to the throne.

Now, aside from my earlier intention, a comparison to FVF isn't particularly fair, as Union Square's intrinsic characteristics demonstrate that it is certainly no clone of any variety, particularly one that should be forced to fall in the shadow of a crowd favorite. In truth, Union Square is a different beast than FVF, its austere simplicity, counterintuitively possesses a complexity which rivals that of FVF. Whereas FVF is dark and creamy, unfolding in layers that modulate throughout the smoke, Union Square possesses a lightness of flavor with tremendous clarity, and ever present grassy undertones that shape and shift with subtlety to define the character of flavor.

Union Square is a sugary smoke, with Bright Virginias in front. The taste is so uncharacteristically sweet, that it's hard to believe there is no casing. I suppose the defining element of FVF is the hot press, which really caramelizes the sugars and brings a more molasses note to the smoke. Union Square sports a narrower flavor profile with a similar strength, sugar cane opposed to molasses. Both avoid the sharp corners of inferior leaf, entirely absent of any bite.

The blend is more than a tobacco, it's a kind of ethos. I would really like to see a trend toward natural tobaccos, an appreciation for the baser qualities of the leaf. Maybe a movement toward pure, unadulterated leaf could put forth a breed of higher quality blends, pure of unnecessary additives. I would think that advances in agriculture would propel the movement, and we have seen limited trials--C&D themselves experimented with a Virginia blend that incorporated Agave as a natural additive, utilized, I think, to impede upon the growth of mold. I know that Union Square does not approach that extent of commitment, but one can be hopeful of future developments.

The noble properties of Union Square demonstrate a higher appreciation for blenders like GL Pease, who strive to innovate in the face of those who cling to established ideals. In their clouded thinking, hoarders rush to past touchstones and fail to recognize emergent trends and product. They are intent only in stocking shelves and cheering each other on in their mindless quest for more and more of the same product. I find them similar to art snobs, intent on the masters and established schools, incapable of acquiring new references, which they deem unrefined and unfamiliar. They seek defined models, and fear exploration as it may devalue the stockpiles of loot they have amassed. As consumers, they care little for the product they collect, and only the prestige in displaying their wares, hence the ridiculous photos on the internet.

This is an exaggeration, I know.

I've likely angered a few people here, and my intent is not to create a conflict, but to demonstrate the changing tides. Union Square raises the bar for microblenders, and the larger houses that predominate. The more recent imperfect batches of FVF and the supreme quality of Union Square exposes the artificiality of demand, as it demonstrates a commitment to scarcity and a rejection of standards and novelty on the part of pipe smokers. Do we really understand our practice, or are we no better than those in the field of fashion, who take to the popular trends? But I suppose the more blatant, practical question remains--how much are other apparently natural tobaccos masked by additives? As all industries are guarded by trade secrets, the answer shall remain elusive.

Packing & Burning: It is frustrating the way the slices are packed. They are on edge, instead of lying flat. The slices were easy to rub between the fingers into small pieces. Although I smoked US without any drying, left out to dry, it was fairly dry in a few minutes.

Taste & Aroma: Something like a mild wheat, hints of leather, mixed with a grassy astringency(maybe due to lack of age), tangy and a little sour, with an occasional hint of cigarette.

Room Note: Pleasant and pleasing

Overall: I like the fact that it is pure VA. For this alone, it deserves 4 stars. Some elements of the taste and aroma are too off-putting. 3.4 Stars.