And for a while, it looked like it could, with a nice thick broken flake cut to boot! Yes, because the tin aroma was lovely, and the tobacco seemed juicy, dark and "greasy".

Alas, my dreams were not fulfilled. I don't like Kentucky too much, especially in association with Latakia. And Kentucky is very much evident upon lighting the bowl...

Mind you, it's a good tobacco. But Mephisto was creamy and not too heavy, while Sextant goes on the nicotine punch side. Sure, I can slowly savour a group 4 bowl without too many hiccups... but I feel close to my personal limit. If you like/tolerate Kentucky, give it a try: it's a sturdier and earthier variation on Mephisto. Me, I'll pass: my rating reflects my personal taste only, not the quality of the blend which is very high.

This would be a good time to distinguish between a professional tobacco reviewer who knows his stuff (not me) and some guy who smokes a lot of tobaccos and jots down his personal thoughts on how well he likes the blends (me). I struggled mightily with this blend. The idea seemed right up my alley and I've enjoyed other alcohol flavored blends but nothing comes to mind that included latakia. Therein lies the problem for me, I think. I simply did not care for the taste of mixed latakia/orientals with rum. Going back in my mind, I think I drank rum while smoking a latakia blend once upon a time and now I can't recall drinking anything but single malt scotch with those blends.

At any rate, this was a well-behaved blend and seemed to accomplish what GLP set out to accomplish. But I tried drying out the mixture (it came fairly dry in the tin) and everything I could think to do and what occurs to me is that I simply don't like the flavor. The rum was very dominant, even when dried. A little less might have worked better for me. But the idea is an excellent one, and my "somewhat recommended" rating is simply because of my own taste buds. I highly recommend this to those who are curious about the melding of rum and latakia. As for me, I may try this one again sometime but for now I'll have to satisfy my booze-flavored tobacco penchant with Haddo's and my latakia/orientals with Samarra, Blackpoint, Odyssey and several other GLP blends, making sure to keep them separate from one another. :)

I have to say, that open tin of Balkan Sobranie was very alone for several days while I had my way with Sextant. It took a couple of days to plow through half a tin, and just another to finish it off, I'm sure I set a few personal records. At that halfway mark I was forced to take a day off to recuperate, my tongue nearly destroyed. It was a huge burden, but I made it. The struggle was worth it, as Sextant is my favorite Pease blend since Union Square. It is a sweet, full bodied smoke that can easily satiate one's desire for a nicotine fix.

The note emanating from the tin is pure Rum, rich and intoxicating. I've sampled other Pease blends with alcohol toppings, namely Haddo's, Barbary Coast, and maybe Cairo, if I remember correctly. In my experience the effect burns away at light, or lingers for just a bit, rather than imparting a heavy flavor upon the smoke. Sextant fits that description, it in no way interfered with my smoking. I know there are others with a more sensitive palate, so I will abide by their experiences.

This is the heaviest Pease Latakia mix I can recall, obviously a product of the Kentucky's inclusion. I smoked Sextant at various times before and after a bowl of 965, and I found similar strength profiles. I'm happy to see Greg incorporate Kentucky into the blend as an alternative to Perique, which is also often blended in to build strength. Because I do not have a handy supply of blending Kentucky, it is definitely difficult for me to place the leaf. It would be nice if blending houses made Kentucky available, I'm growing a bit weary of adding Perique to every last blend I smoke. Regardless, I'm thrilled to have my hands on another heavy hitting English like blend, as Nightcap can wear on a person over an extended time frame.

A few weeks ago I finished off a tin of Gawith's Navy Flake. In full flake form, the blend was quite beautiful, as I remember much darker than Sextant. It's a bit lighter, very medium in character, and also quite excellent, but the two are very different smokes. Sextant is notably heavier, and much sweeter, perhaps owing to a higher dose of Rum, but also the choice in Virginias, which play the main part. Sextant seems to push the Latakia and Orientals to the background and yet the mixture feels robust and very well balanced. Gawith blends can arrive water logged, especially those with a topping, and Navy Flake was absolutely soaked upon flipping the tin. Sextant arrives at a perfect moisture, there's never any fuss from packing to lighting and smoking through to the end. The blend showcases Greg's skill in such immaculate presentation.

I'm curious where Sextant will take us...will there be more adventurous blending experiments in the future? Different toppings, more blends with Kentucky, different sorts of cuts? I'd like to put in a request for a Lakeland like blend--a high quality aromatic with traditional British toppings. Russ has been playing this hand, I want to see where it goes.

Having departed from my ship, I'm left with an open tin of the new Balkan Sobranie. It feels so light...and boring. Time to order another ticket to sea.

I picked up two small tins of Sextant at the Chicago show this spring. I've smoked many of Greg's blends and overall, I've enjoyed them. Wish I could say the same for Sextant. Upon opening the tin, the aroma is almost nauseating. The taste is relatively mild considering the tobaccos used. I was rather surprised at this. The problem is that there just isn't enough kick to make it memorable. I should add that this was smoked in a large Larryson calabash that had never seen any other tobacco (got that at the show, too). Where this blend really loses out is in the room note. As mentioned, I smoke many strong blends (Odessey, Blue Mountain, Maltese Falcon, Spilman Mixture, etc). My wife is very tolerant. However, this was the first time she told me to put it out or get out (outside that is). After leaving the room and coming back (something I do often to get a good idea of the odor), Had to agree with her. This was noxious to the extreme. I have a bowl or two left in the tin and after I finish that, I will buy no more.

Without a great taste to make up for its other shortcomings, I simply can't recommend this tobacco. Sorry, Greg. Better luck next time.

As it's a cut flake it's takes a few charring lights to get going but smokes well from there on out. Right out of the tin it was at a good moisture level for me.

NOTE: The rum flavor will decrease quickly after the tin is open for several days and become the "hint" as described.

Presentation is in soft flakes which are easy to fold in or rubout. It lights easily, burns easily but slowly and is very good tempered - my tongue is a bite magnet but it has not nipped it in one and a half tins (generous 2oz tins not skimpy 50 gram Euro tins).

Sextant settled to its potential over several smokes giving a complex flavour - while not sweet it evoked the lovely dry plums you get in Germany in autumn, the sloes of English hedgerows and some lemon notes contrasting with spicy peppery flavours (possibly peppers, chilli, star anise - I am not well up on spices) mixed with some herby, grassy earthy notes. While it sounds a bit complicated the tastes are very integrated and the effect is very elegant like a fine wine in a great year.

Is the latakia noticeable? No, there are no campfire or creosote notes and, although the effect of latakia is noticeable in coolness, elegance and some toasted notes unless you are clinically allergic to latakia you could enjoy this mixture.

Is it an aromatic? No, the flavours are much more complex than a rum flavoured tobacco. Having said that I have no idea what category it is, if any, but certainly none I have come across - Dunhill had a rum cased English mixture with flake (My Mixture 620) but that was sweet and nothing like as complex - so I suspect only its maker can settle its category.

Warnings? My second tin was more recently manufactured (dated 030912) and needed 4-5 weeks air for the fruit flavours to kick in - it was originally just very spicy savoury even evoking chinese pork. But, like so many fine tobaccos patience was rewarded with a great full smoke.

Will I buy more. Reader, I have and I will unless you clear the shelves first! This is a wonderful, easy smoking, substantial, fun filled but complex mixture that I can not recommend highly or widely enough. Should appeal to those who love traditional flakes, aromatics, semi-aromatics, virginias, VaPrs and all sorts of mixtures (English, Balkan, Baltic) whether as an all day smoke, an evening smoke or a change of pace.

"on the natural flavours and aromas of pure tobaccos, without any added casings, sauces or top dressing"

What?

Well this is clearly not the case as Rum flavour is added to Sextant, as stated in the tin! This is odd. Well, Greg has now changed the definition of the "old london series" on his site, so the problem has been discretely "fixed". Sort of. The era of the internet permits that kind of subtle rewriting which goes pretty much unnoticed and certainly was not explained or announced. Perhaps this review will solely document this "change". Perhaps the series should be called the "Postmodern London series" -- it would be a more accurate name for it, but who would get that?

Speaking of history (or the lack thereof), this blend is supposed to be somewhat related to Mephisto -- at least with respect to the addition of rum. But that's about it. I found nothing else linking the two blends, alas.

Sextant is really atypical. Smoking shows this is a cross between an English and a navy flake. Notable elements are: (1) The presence of Burley. And boy, its there! One gets a powerful nicotine kick from this and the tell tale strong, rough and dry flavour pattern of Burley. It feels like that Kentucky burley that one sometimes find in Pease and C&D blends. It is inordinately strong nicotine wise. (2) The presence of Rum. Rum or any other flavouring usually signifies the blend is not an English one, until now I suppose. Here it is subtle, more so I think than Mephisto.

So it is an original blend. Imagine a navy blend with latakia in it! If it were a song it would be one of those poppy rap song that add bits of classic songs (that would be the Latakia, the english side of the blend) to their own (that would be the burely, the rum), I think it is called sampling. Some like it, I find it odd, unsettling. Taste wise, it is uneven though Greg blends the various elements as well as can be.

If you like blends that are odd, out of the ordinary, give it a try. I you are a traditionalist, you might want to give this a pass. I'll give the tins I had purchased to more adventurous friends.

I love many of the Pease blends, and I wanted to love this one all the way to four stars. But I don't enjoy the harsh edge that comes with a blend that's medium-to-full in the nicotine department. Sextant is in that category. It won't make you dizzy -- thankfully, there's no perique, and the burley is well balanced with the Virginias -- but there's still enough nicotine to be decidedly noticeable in the smoke.

I was also surprised -- despite what another reviewer has perceived -- that the rum is so much in the background as to be virtually undetectable on its own. Talking of rum and naming it Sextant made me naturally expect a navy flake. But I don't think it really fits that mold; there just isn't enough rum for it to be anything more than a hint, adding a slightly richer flavor than it might otherwise have. (I would have to say the same of the latakia, as well.) That's not a bad thing. It just wasn't what the label description led me to expect.

Sextant is very well-made, and the tobaccos are top-notch. The broken-flake cut is effortless to rub out fully -- something that can't often be said of more traditional navy flakes. It burns beautifully, usually requiring only a match or two for the entire bowl. It is a truly enjoyable and relaxing smoke -- recommended to anyone looking for a change of pace from latakia-focused English blends or straight Virginias; highly recommended if you especially enjoy a more nicotine-centric blend.

The rum flavor is very muted in this blend, lending a touch of soft sweetness, and complements the Latakia and Kentucky leaf quite nicely. A number of us felt there was Perique present in the mix, which Greg assured us was not. It is likely the Kentucky leaf (at least this is my guess) that gives this a bit of spiciness. This blend produces a very thick and luxurious smoke that does not bite no matter how madly I puff it. It has a generous nicotine kick, and I recommend sitting down for this one. I have cellared a few tins of this, and it is likely to become my after dinner smoke for the time being.

Although I like a lot of different tobaccos, GL Pease blends have become my overall favorites due to their consistent fantastic smoking qualities. Greg's experience as a master blender is very evident in everything he markets. This one is sure to please any lover of English blends.

A rich, rounded, partially broken flake which becomes fully rubbed by the time you have dug in the tin by half way.

The base is virginia and the other tobaccos are not too noticeable to me due to the rum topping, though you occasionally get a dark note of the latakia or kentucky.

When freshly opened, I felt I noticed more latakia at the outset of a bowl, but it was quickly engulfed in the rum which flavor becomes more prominant as you go on.

My test for this blend was in the keeping character of the rum, which quickly fades in some other blends (Aliester's rum topping was similarly strong at the start but after a few days it faded almost completely -- though that older tin was 15 years old when I smoked it). The first few days Sextant's rum is the dominant flavor, but after smoking the entire tin in 10-11 days, the rum mellows out some (not much) after a few days yet stays with the entire bowl to the end. If you will take more than a week or so to smoke a tin, you'll need to better protect the contents to maintain a solid rum profile. I did nothing special to preserve it but put the top folders back in and lid back on.

Although the base tobaccos make this blend rich overall, it is the rum profile that makes it taste delicious. The base alone would not do it for me (I smoked the remaining scraps after 11 days and it was -- exposed in a pretty much empty can -- rather plain by then). If you don't like rum or liquer flavors in tobacco, this blend is not for you. I didn't know I liked them so much until after a few bowls of this.

I was impressed as this is a full tasting blend (not as heavy as an English) with a tasty rum flavor (Master Please admits it's rum, but if there is something else to help it along, I do not know). The flavor is why I like it and I am not normally an aromatic smoker. A fairly consistent flavor. Not hot or bitey or wet to me, but a full sensory experience. 1 or 2 bowls a day was plenty for me.

This has more flavor, character, and body to me than either MB's or SG's Navy Flake. Of course, this is a deluxe navy flake with a virginia flake and light english mixture pressed and combined.

Highly recommended to the bold virginia smokers. Make it so.

Upon opening the tin I was greeted by a smell which was mostly smokey with a subtle hint of floral sweetness in the background. To my nose there did not seem to be any rum smell out of the tin that I noticed. The cut seemed to be a partially broken flake which can easily be rubbed out as desired, which I found very nice.

At first light this blend is quite smokey, in good way I might add. The flavor is rich with nice earthy tones to it. This continues until about halfway through the bowl until the floral sweetness that I smelled in the tin starts to come out. The flavors are quite complex and keep my pallet interested throughout the smoke. The leaves burn to a nice white ash as do all of the fine tobaccos that I have tried from G.L. Pease.

This blend is very satisfying and since the arrival of my first few tins it has seemed to be the first blend I reach for when I want a full, relaxing smoke. I have already ordered several more tins of this blend and expect it to age very nicely. Highly recommended.