Oh, I just noticed the Latakia listed in this blend, couldn't taste it? But now I know why the wife ran.

This reminds me of Telegraph Hill without the perique. It's almost as if Pease created this as a base and then added the perique to create TH. Very close kissing cousins. I prefer TH because of the salty perique but this one is still a 4 star blend. Does not mix with a single malt scotch because this one is too complex. It doesn't tire the smoker out with complexity but it requires too much of one's attention to mix with a complex drink. Goes great with a cola :). If you like virginias that are lightly sweet and perfectly balanced between light and dark, this is definitely one to try. Occasional rotation for me but something I'll enjoy when I do fire it up.

Tin finish, up to 4.

The reviews of this blend kind of show the same pattern--lots of 4 stars and 1 or 2 stars, I'm afraid I fall in the latter camp. I'm a big GLP fan, and I like all of the other blends in the Fog City line, but in all honesty this one didn't quite do it for me. I found the tin aroma flat and nondescript, and the favor followed suit. As straight Virginias go, I like the Union Square much better. But I'll revist after the LH gets some age on it.

Wow. What five years can do. This is a rich, confident, gentlemanly tobacco. I smoked it fairly well dried, still springy, but with a slight crispness to it. From the start, this was a real Virginia. The Latakia has mellowed tremendously over the past half-decade, giving the blend enough solid underpinning to allow the unstoved reds to sparkle. The smoke was gorgeous from first match to the bottom of the bowl. Laurel Heights, at five years old, is a creme brulee smoke. Water with this, though I think a decent cognac would be a good compliment.

Excellent, as every Pease I have in my rotation. I do have enough Laurel Heights stocked to do this again in another five years. Until then, I will thoroughly enjoy this tin. A definite four of four stars.

I found this tobacco to perform best when dried out extensively and packed tightly (ala the Frank Method).

This is a pleasant smoke, consisting, of course, of the finest quality tobaccos. It burns evenly and has a decent, satisfying nicotene content. And as for value, I got almost 30 smokes from it (compare that to around 15 in the same pipe rotation for Sam Gawith flakes).

However, to me there is nothing special about the composition. It is a fine example of a run-of-the-mill genre, in my view. Just a grassy, earthy, very slightly sweet flavor, with an added subtle smokiness from the latakia. That may be heaven to some smokers, but not my cup of tea. I need more sweetness, and especially needed is some spice and a rounder, more leathery flavor, or perhaps some brightness.

Aroma: The tin aroma is nice and mild, with a typical Virginia grassiness accompanied by a light sweetness that makes it very pleasant. I have read that there is a hint of Latakia in this blend, and I do notice what looks like a very few dark flakes in there, but I can’t detect it in the aroma.

Appearance: Many of Pease’s blends have this pseudo-ribbon-flat cut that is somewhat unique. The tobacco is a beautiful golden brown-orange, with the extremely occasional darker fleck of something…maybe the Latakia if it’s really in there? It’s somewhat dry in the tin which I very much appreciate, and which I am finding is quite typical for Pease blends.

Pipe 1: Meer Bent Billiard Pipe 2: Stanwell Billiard Pipe 3: Chubby Savinelli Author Pipe 4: Small no-name bent Dublin, a good Virginia flake pipe

Flavor: This one certainly has some potential. I’m beginning to believe that most of Pease’s primarily VA blends need some aging, and this one is no exception, but like barrel tasting an ancient vines Zin that won’t be released for two more years, I can tell Laurel Heights is a winner.

The primary characteristic is earth. This is back to nature tobacco with lots of – you guessed it – tobacco flavor. I can taste the dry grass on a south-facing November hillside, a very mild sweetness inherent in a good VA leaf, and the very earth which nourished the tobacco plants. It seems very temperature dependent, changing its flavors and characteristics with slight changes in puffing cadence. The flavors vary from earthy and musty to toasty and warm. There is a slightly unpleasant harshness in my nose and throat no matter which pipe I’m using, but that’s one of those things that will disappear with some age. The bottom 20% offers some very toasty flavors which I have experienced in the Meer and the Author.

If I were to compare this to Union Square, I would call Laurel Heights more austere and less forgiving (technique is crucial and it tends to heat up the briar a bit), but still slightly complex and at least as interesting. The website description states that it delivers a “long, clean finish” with which I concur. There is no particular residue or cloying, lingering aftertaste. But it also states that this is for lovers of “darker, unstoved Virginias.” Perhaps it is darker than some others, but this is not a “dark” tobacco by a long shot.

It’s got a good nicotine punch, and I almost never feel vitamin N. Other than a couple relights primarily due to my negligence, the light and burn are flawless, and it reduces to a pure ash. A very nicely done Virginia, and one I will buy more of for aging just to see if my premonitions are correct. Three stars, and the most enjoyable blend so far in this “Virginia – VaPer” chapter of the Pilgrimage. I’m hoping and waiting for Mr. P to come out with a dark, stoved, rich competitor to FVF or Wessex Brigade Campaign.

Most GLPease Virginias are high quality but I find them too mild, almost lacking taste. That is not the case with LH. Telegraph Hills is also tasteful, but this one is richer and darker.

Not only the best Virginia from GLPease, but also the only one that I've given 4 stars.

I used to really enjoy Mclelland #27 but this Pease blend is so much more refined and is ready to go out of the tin. Great for the much anticipated smoke break. If you have one of the peterson mini calabash pipes you need to put this in it. It gets you a quick nicotine fix even in that small dose.

I find Greg's tin descriptions to be dead on. This one is no exception. Some criticize him for being too poetic, I see how one could be inspired from these tobacco's myself. I do detect the grapefruit undertones- or is it orange blossom. Not overly complex but not one dimensional either.

The tobac also lights up easily and burns very well. I would reccomend this out of a 3/4" diameter bowl, or perhaps smaller.

The nicotine is potent and uplifting. Not really an evening smoke for me but a good mid day one.

Anyway I found something much more refined to satisfy my va cravings in this blend. This one is worth a shot for anyone who likes or loves rich red Va without the perique. I don't smoke this all the time but when I want something of the sort nothing else does it like this. I hate stoved Va- that kills the flavor and makes it bite, this is it's purest unstoved form.

Aparently Greg has simillar tastes to my own and maybe thats why I find his blends so intriguing. At any rate the man knows his tobacco's. Another plus is that the tins are ALWAYS sent at the moisture level that is perfect for the smoking, and the tins are so full they could not possibly hold more.

So I guess if you read this far you know I would reccomend this to a fellow brother of the pipe. Why risk a perfect chance to smoke on a less than perfect tobacco?

Should age very well and one day I will buy some tins for that purpose.

If the sweet-tart thing gets your motor running, Embarcadero's where it's at. This stuff is harsh on the throat and nasty, nasty, nasty. Avoid.

Packing & Lighting: One thing: it seemed to require several relights down the bowl, but develops almost no moisture in the shank or stem.

Taste & Aroma: Similar to Montgomery, but not as good somehow. I think perhaps Montie is sweeter. I can see malt or roasted oats, but like the term wheat. LH is a bit flat, or one dimensional. As soft and mild as Montie is, LH is even more so; yes, creamy, but a little too soft. I could just about inhale LH, something I rarely do with tobacco.

Nicotine: Oddly, compared to the very light creaminess of the taste and aroma, LH seems to be a notch higher in nicotine, mild to medium. This may be because of inhaling more second-hand smoke, due to the mildness. Subsequent bowls range up to strong, on average, rather strong.

Overall: Having smoked Montgomery before LH, first impressions lingering, if I had to choose, I'd stick with Montie, though I'm not sure in a blind taste test I could tell much difference, discounting LH having more nicotine. 3.7 stars