When I lit this up in my standard "English/Balkan blend pipe" I noticed the Latakia. If you know Latakia and like it then you will feel right at home here. It tastes great and definitely isn't afraid to show itself here.

A split second later comes the bitter buttery creaminess of the Orientals. They add a very nice heavy tang to the Latakia, and get along famously.

Finally, the sweet and slightly tangy Virginia leaf comes through and gives that nice harmony to the smoke, bonding it all together.

I have smoked my share of cigars, and I don't get what other reviewers have said about there being a cigar thing going on with Odyssey.

G.L. Pease, you are a boon to mankind. Thank you for this blend. Homer himself would have loved this when orating his literary classics.

First, I really like this. But it's hard to know how to describe it. It does not taste like any cigar, but I can see why other reviewers have compared this to a double ligero cigar. It's a full flavored bomb to smoke after a meal, and not in hot weather.

Some reviewers have called this tobacco "too much," and I think I know what they mean. This isn't a nuanced, delicate little blend of wispy flavors. This is, like, the opposite of that.

This is very full-flavored, and there's a lot going on. It's dense, sweet, smoky, savory, and it's all of those things at once. I can see how some might be ovewhelmed or put off by it. I wasn't.

It has a heavy mouthfeel and a thick texture to match its full flavor. I like it, and I might like it a lot, but not everyone will.

Very highly recommended.

The main word here is balance. This tobacco is (for me) a master piece.

Thanks Mr Greg Pease !!

UPDATE: Had ol' Odyssey for a third time (just one more after I initially wrote this review) and was very pleased at how it smoked. I moved it into a sealed jar and allowed it to sit for a couple days. I'm sure this had nothing to do with the way it smoked, but perhaps jumbling up the components made it more balanced: it burned beautifully, and the taste was exceptional. One of the best smokes I've had so far in my inexperienced tobacco journey. I save this blend for special occasions or weekends and find myself craving it often. I look forward to what more it has to offer.

I got a fever, and the only prescription -- is more cowbell.

So said Christopher Walken in that famous Satuday Night Live parody of the Blue Oyster Cult recording their ubiquitous hit, "Don't Fear the Reaper" with Will Ferrel on cowbell.

Well, for this review, G.L.Pease is the Blue Oyster Cult, Odyssey is "Don't Fear the Reaper" and Cyprian Latakia is that loveable/ despicable cowbell. There is a lot of it in this blend and you had better love that, or you'll never get anywhere with this self proclaimed "huge" mixture. Because my sample had perhaps a bit too much age for latakia, the tin aroma was of sweet fermentation, bordering on the trademark McClelland nose. The smoke however, was lat-rich indeed. The rest of the blend, the red, and stoved va, and other oriental weeds, do provide a nice counterpart, but I wish there was more of them. As it is, they shyly bob their heads up now and again, offering a glimpse, and then they are slammed down by the latakia cudgel like an overly enthusiastic game of "whac-a-mole" played by your odd uncle after he's had a few.

It's an assertive blend, that offers whisps of many flavors, but predominately one...cowbell. It can bite a little if you aren't careful, but I never had a problem keeping it lit, like so many others.

I would not recommend this blend to someone who has not tried other selections in the great hall of Pease's English. This has been my least favorite. And for someone who really likes a "lat- bomb," I'd sooner suggest Maltese Falcon, as it has its generous share of the stuff, but offers it in a more balanced and majestic way.

Odyssey is enjoyable, don't get me wrong. I have had several very nice smokes from this sample. It truly has its moments that make it unique. But I would like to try it new to see if it's better -- younger. If I had to give it stars, I'd say 3 of 5, but I am not the universal arbiter of tobacco.

It's just like the song; man, that guitar hook is awesome, but on occasion, it may be the cowbell jammin' loudest.

The tin aroma is absolutely delicious. Pease's website urges a light hand when loading, but I found my tin a little on the dry side, so I actually stuffed it in firmer than normal. Some of the veins and "sticks" are mixed in but I stuffed them right in, relying on them because I trust the blender's craft. Even though dry, it took two or three false lights to get an establish an even burn.

It starts off immediately with that mouth-filling richness I crave in an English blend, and it never ends. From first light the rich creaminess carries me off to that place I hope for every time I light a pipe. There's a certain something that happens when quality VAs marry quality LAT - that same something in Lancer's Slices, that same thing in Abingdon - that causes the whole to transcend the sum of the parts. That's Odyssey.

As the bowl progresses, the flavor and pungency get slowly but steadily stronger, which I think is what turns off some who are not purebred Latakia hounds. For me, that's the icing on the cake. To the bottom of the bowl it remains richly flavorful, never losing its smoky creaminess.

For the first half-bowl I puffed to my heart's content, but I have found with most strong English blends that the cadence and amount of heat applied should become steadily more gentle as the bowl progresses. This counterbalances the increase in strength and keeps the bowl cooler.

I have had Latakia blends that were over the top, but this one is immaculately balanced. The ash is fine and dark gray, and the aftertaste lingers like the glowing coals of a campfire that has been shared with good friends and good conversation.

For me Odyssey is right up there among my premium smokes. I have only tried three or four of Pease's English blends but I am looking forward to sampling many more. A very enthusiastic five stars out of four.

The cut is ribbon - which I prefer - and the tobacco is dark, mixing rich browns with hints of red and black into a color quite unique to itself. And when I smell the tobacco I am greeted with a slightly sweet scent reminiscent of an old leather jacket, broken in by years of wear yet promising even more years still.

When I load Odyssey into a pipe, I fill it loosely to the top, tamp it down lightly and without force, then fill it to top, tamp it down again, and finally overfill and tamp it down evenly with the rim of the bowl. It does take a few lights to get it going, but it isn't anything astronomically terrible. I just make sure that I have three matches instead of two or a lighter present. The reason for Odyssey taking longer to light is because it is an extremely slow-burning tobacco. I can literally fill up my Ser Jacopo and smoke it without break for almost two full hours; Squadron Leader in the same pipe will smoke about 30-40 minutes less time.

I don't think that any tobacco blend is perfect, but when it comes to Latakia-heavy blends Odyssey is about as close to perfect as is humanly possible. The smoke dances around on my tongue, giving me hints of old leather and spices from afar. The Latakia - as said on the tin - is a huge part of Odyssey. It gives this blend a deepness that in itself could be explored endlessly, but there is so much more to it than just Latakia. The Orientals are also huge, adding extra spice and life to this blend. But the most important part of Odyssey is what ties the Latakia and Oriental tobaccos together. Mr. Pease chose to use red and black Virginias to give a smoothness to Odyssey that a yellow Virginia just could not provide. It's the velvety touch that softens the edges of what might otherwise be an overpowering blend. And in the end, this is by far my favorite fall and winter smoke.

For me, this is a blend where I either love it, or I hate it... all from the same 8oz tin date stamped on the bottom as 9/05.

I love the smell of the actual tin itself, and I'll stick my nose there for a couple minutes just to savor the scent. Yet the smoking experience is quite different.

For me, this is one of those tobaccos that loves to bite. I have yet to smoke this once where it didn't. I've tried it in a brier, a cob, and even in a ceramic pipe. I've packed it tight, loose, and everything in between. Every single time, I get bit really hard, which then removes my ability to taste anything.

It is impossible for me to keep this lit unless I keep sucking and sucking, which results in more tongue bite.

The room aroma is quite pleasant though. It reminds me of a campfire with just a hint of spice.

So, if I despise it so much, why do I keep smoking it and why did I give it 2 stars instead of just 1? Because on the rare occasion where I can smoke it without a hard bite, I just love it!

I think the majority of my problems lay in the fact that I'm quite inexperienced. I have a hunch that to really enjoy Odyssey, you have to know what you're doing. This is not a tobacco for the new smoker.