Over time the latakia has died off a bit, so the orientals and VAs definitely took the forefront. Fairly full flavored and very smooth. The friend who gave some to me said the flavored changes for him throughout the bowl, but for me it was generally the same, with only slight changes. Overall it was excellent, and the other good comments speak for themselves.

I love latakia mixtures, and I normally love how Pease utilizes it. But there were no fireworks here.... just a very bland, overly tangy muddle of flavors with only the faintest hints of the spicy, incense-like aroma that I normally associate with Syrian. I would like to provide a more detailed review in which I explained exactly how the various flavors work together, but there simply wasn't enough of a distinctive flavor for me to do so.

I suspect that aging hasn't helped this one. It might also be that I simply enjoy Cyprian more than Syrian latakia, although I'm a huge fan of Renaissance and Wilderness. Or perhaps my jaded taste buds are too blown away by years of smoking Balkans to appreciate the subtleties here... whatever the case, I woudn't buy this again even it were still produced, much less at the inflated prices seen today. There are simply too many great blends out there right now to mourn the loss of this one, I believe. YMMV, of course.

I got a tin on eBay a while ago and just finished it last night. I fell in love with it at first. It burns somewhat quickly, but never hot. I think that Syrian latakia tastes totally different from Cyprian and can't imagine how anyone could confuse them. This is a sweet, velvety/silky/wine-like full blend.

I was lucky enough to come across a few tins of this for a reasonable price ($40) at this year's Chicago show. I bought them as soon as I saw them, especially given the prices this stuff is commanding on eBay these days. I bought my eBay tin last fall for $60, and now it's 50% more than that. It's expensive, but if you want the best, this is it. I'm going to not open those other tins for a while, but if I had a decent supply of this stuff, I'd smoke it every evening.

Not a very coherent review, but I'm talking about the absolute best tobacco I've ever tasted. I've had the ultra-rare Balkan Sobranie Flake, but other than that, not much else competes. I really hope that someday this stuff becomes available again, but I doubt it will. It's a poorer pipe smoking community without it.

Packs and lights nicely. Burns super fast! Not hot, just quickly. Somewhat like an English blend -- is this what they USED to be like? Plenty of peppery notes and, yup, some wine-like flavoring. The oriental component seems to be top notch. There's so much going on in the flavor department, I just can't keep up. This must be for the pipester who sits around with friends and describes things. It's more of a distraction for me.

Maybe I'll get smarter . . . yuh, right.

Coming back to it after a gap of two years I find that the colours are largely brown with some darker shades. The tin aroma is muted. In the pipe it reminds me of one of Sullivan Powell mixtures - but a thirty year old memory of taste could very well be at fault. It has a kind of subdued richness of taste which is very appealing for its somewhat faded elegance. I think Bohemian Scandal is to Odyssey as Durbar is to Nightcap. It is good. It is very good.

09-17-04 Finally!

Disclaimer: I am a big fan of GL Pease blends, but to smoke this sublime blend everyday, would be a crime!

Appearance and Tin Aroma: Perfect medium ribbon cut with mostly brown to dark brown leaf. Smells delightfully spicy after the gasses leave tin after openning.

Packing and Lighting: Easy, moisture perfect out of the tin.

Initial Flavor: delicious! Reminds me of the initial flavor of a fine Russian imperial stout. Wine and clove undertones abound.

Mid-Bowl: A wonderful fugue of flavor, begs to be French inhaled through the nose (only I don't know how to do that so I just sniff it close to the bowl for the same effect, LOL!).P.S. the room note is absolutely delicious! (at least to those of us who love Balakns)

Bottom of Bowl: a nice spicy kick develops that approaches that of Perique, but more complex than that named weed and without the allergy triggers. Burns to the bottom without of fuss and have been suprised many times that I was done!

Overall: I smoked this blend in many different pipes, even a meerschaum, but my oil-cured ones seemed to smoke this best. This blend begs to be smoked slowly and methodically due to its sublime complexity and richness. The patient puffer is rewarded with an exceptional journey that leaves one satiated and relaxed. This blend does have a bit of a nicotine kick as well, so eat first! I am amazed at what Greg has concocted for us this time! A blend that truly surpasses anything else I have smoked, but because of that, it is better to smoke this blend when you have time to enjoy it and travel long with this "Bohemian Scandal" Also, I will dare to say, this is way better than Balkan Sobranie!

A blend worthy of the original "Bohemian Scandal", namely the reformer John Hus. Enjoy!!

If all you did was smell a pipe tobacco this would be the best Pipe Tobacco ever. Period. It has the smokiness of Latakia but none of the darkness and mustiness associated with the Cyprian variety. The smell also contains hints of clove, cinnamon and most of all, it is powerfull and pungent! What a delight.

In the bowl, however this blend is a major disappointment. First the Virginias can smoke hot, which is sadly almost habitual in most of Pease's blends: the virginias are too raw in need aging; no wonder they keep badgering us to stock up and cellar his blends (though we really shouldn't have to). Another letdown is the fact that the Syrian does not deliver in the smoke its olfactory promise --too bad. Of course, none of this jives with the almost reflexive and sycophantic praise of some in the internet community of pipe smokers regarding any and all of Pease's blends (usually the latest product gets the louder praise). I mean comparing it with a controled substance is a little much wouldn't you say so? Truth be told, some of the praise may be generated by what could be called a precious form of nostlalgia since though just released, this blend is now unavailable due to a fire!

This second Syrian Latakia shortage (for Pease belnds) in 4 years has created quite the frenzy on asp and ebay, since apparently Syrian Latakia will, once again, never be available!

However, I clearly remember reading that the suppliers wanted to insure there was going to be a constant demand of Syrian Latakia. Some have said that creating a demand for Syrian was part of the impetuous for the creation of Bohemian Scandal. So let me get this right: now that there is a demand, the suppliers bail? This is all almost too strange to be true my dear Watson. Perhaps overrating isn't the only thing that makes B.S. so scandalous...

In the final analysis, this blend needs a lot aging. It might be that in four or five years it will be worthy of all the fuss. Right now it isn't.

The flavore was full and rich, with the Orientals providing a mouth-filling spiciness, tempered only slightly by the sweetness of the Virginias. Being a Balkan, the Orientals outweigh the Virginia component. The Latakia was super smokey without the sweetness of the Cyprian variety. The combination was superb, but just a bit "edgy" for my palate. This was mostly because the blend was freshly packaged, with almost no time in the can. I was planning on getting more to cellar, but was too late. (Actually, I spent all my ready cash on a stash of Renaissance. That remains my holy grail of Latakia blends).

If you want a tasty, high quality Syrian Blend, get yourself some Solani 763 or FMAP.

Stay away from this stuff -- Bleck!