I think of this tobacco as a comfortable pair of slippers, your favorite robe or a well worn pair of jeans. It's certainly not fancy or "complex" but it is satisfying and relaxing.

In the tin I see cubed, dark and white burley with what must be a little darker unflavored cavendish and a small amount of Virginia that must provide the gentle sweetness. This blend has a nice gentle sweetness that perfectly matches the nutty burley and has the very slightest hint of cigar notes from the dark burley. It has a nice full oat like flavor at times that almost reminds me of cereal grains. The nicotine is squarely in the medium range and I would rate it slightly above Prince Albert (another favorite if that helps you with my take on the review).

The blend burns well and I would recommend a light gravity type load with a light tamp at the beginning. I also like to load up my pipe and leave it overnight. Although the blend already seems dry the cubed burley seems a bit moist and burns a lot better after drying out a bit. Tongue bite is pretty much non-existent although I would recommend a slow smoking pace since I seem to get the most out of this blend by going slow. No need to hurry!

Overall this is a wonderful that I will most certainly be stocking up on and dedicating a pipe or two to it. Pegasus satisfies, relaxes and is another winner from C&D.

As with a lot of C&D blends, the cut of this one is all over the map. As always, I'm amazed that it burns evenly but I blend on occasion for myself and I leave the blending for others to the professionals. If you enjoy a nice, lightly sweet, meaty blend that can be smoked all day and you've eschewed burleys in the past, this is one good place to start with burley blends. I doubt I'll return to this one very often but it was a nice experience.

First of all, Pegasus bit my tongue, something only cheap aromatics do to me. I can smoke McClelland Virginias all day without tongue bite; I'm a pretty slow smoker. While coming in perfect humidification right out of the tin, I let it breathe for 3 months with the plastic lid on. Finally I've transferred it to a Mason jar. Last night I finished the evening with a couple of bowls and this morning I've started my day with a few more bowls of Pegasus. In two of my coolest smoking pipes the bowls got very hot. While not terribly uncomfortable, this third bowl is causing my tongue some sensitivity that could get worse if I'm not careful. The burn is fair. If I pack it with care I can smoke through without a relight, but my pipe's bowl gets hotter than I prefer. Could that be caused by the wide cut of Pegasus? The taste is pretty good, perhaps a little sweeter than I prefer. My beef here is that I think the Cavandish is overpowering the burley's nutty flavor that I love so much. As one of the previous reviewers said Pegasus has a "chewy mouth feel" that I do like and a lovely room-note. Moreover, it's made of terrific leaf.

I will finish this tin and see if Pegasus grows on me. Perhaps I'll even get another tin. I would hate to miss out on the experiences my fellow reviewers have so adoringly described. I really am surprised this isn't more to my liking.

Sentiment: Every time I pack and roast a bowl of Pegasus I experience a moment of prideful sentiment of what it means to be a tobacco user and American. Although Washington has been a part of the union for quite some time now I feel rather misplaced; especially in the winter months when I smoke Pegasus. I believe this blend calls the front porches of the south home, but I am grateful it makes allowances for my personal geographical displacement. The warm summer day(s) in the Pac NW on the deck are the closest I come to achieving the ideal setting for Pegasus.

Dry Characteristics: Described as a ready rubbed, the leaves are unique among the thirty or so blends I have tried over the years. If one were to make a miniature model of a PA neighborhood in the fall, Pegasus would make the perfect raked pile of dried leaves. They are not flecks nor shreds, but small leaves of brown tones.

Packing: Pegasus is ready to go directly out of the tin. The tin-note is one of subtlety with a detection of dried fruit. Their is no need for moisture adjustments of any form and its burn qualities are very good. I prefer a larger bowl for this blend as the leaves cited earlier are too large to pack an ample portion without applying too much pressure in small or mid sized chambers.

Light: Lighting is an easy venture. One match to char and a second to get the light and you may not need another one until it is finished.

Smoking Experience: The flavors upon lighting represent the sweeter spectrum of this blend. you will be revisited by this sweetness on occasion as the bowl progresses but the overwhelming majority of the experience will be spent tasting quality burley. There are a few layers of flavor within pegasus but by and large my palate is stricken with that of a bag of walnuts. Within a bag of walnuts there are many flavors depending on the nut. Some nuts are sweet, some meaty, and some carry the sharp flavor of the shell. Every now and then the VA and Cavendish blend to convey almost a cornmeal or sweet bran like flavor but is not a theme.

Don't let the description of VA and Cavendish fool you. This is a Burley. Unadulterated glorious burley. If you don't like burley, leave pegasus alone. It does not deserve to be slandered by VA addicts looking for robust levels of sweet (I love me some VA too). This blend is nutty, woody, bran-meal goodness and I want more.

I must say that age has not made a great difference here. I have not noticed a change over the year that this tin has been opened. It has always packed well and lit easily. The taste has been consistent as well.

After a charring light, I am greeted by a stiff kick in the chops. Wow. You?d better be seated for this one.

Pencil lead dominates the taste, but the burley adds an almost perfect touch of sweetness. The Cavendish adds to the sweetness and the body. That being said, the finish is a little flat and bitter. How disappointing. Smooth out the finish and this would easily be a 4 star blend. Too bad.

UPDATE************

Age makes all the difference. It's like aging fine wine. Here she is. 1 year old and 4 of 4 stars.

I've had better tobacco, but I've also had a lot worse. The 50g tin was worth the price. I was reminded of days gone by - good ones, I might add - while smoking this tobacco. I think Grandpa would have enjoyed it, too.

ORIGINAL REVIEW: Every once in a while, you encounter a blend like Pegasus and why you smoke a pipe becomes very clear. I have to be honest right up front and say that initially, Pegasus was one of those blends that just didn't grab me. I couldn't point to anything wrong with it but it just didn't grab me right up front. But anyone that has smoked a pipe for any length of time knows that there are three kinds of pipe tobacco: Blends that are instant hits and you know from the first puff that you love (i.e. OJK and Prince Albert in my case), blends that you despise from the first puff and vow to never attempt to smoke again (mixture 79, Borkum Riff Cherry) and finally blends that you have no specific complaint against but they just don't grab you right off (i.e. Pegasus and Edgeworth RR). The first two categories are fairly straight forward, I love it and plan to smoke a lot of it or This sucks I'll never smoke this crap ever again. The final category is a bit more complex. These are the creeper blends that you don't get at first but suddenly begin to reach for more and more until all the sudden you discover a certain taste that is fantastic that it just took you a while to warm up to. This is where Pegasus sits with me. This process of exploration is one thing that makes pipe smoking as enjoyable as it is. A cigar tastes like a cigar, a cigarette tastes like a cigarette, but a pipe can taste like a million things and half the fun is figuring out what is good to you personally. Initially, I found nothing wrong with this blend but likewise found nothing very exciting either. But the more I smoked it the more I began to appreciate the interplay of the various component tobaccos and what a unique and exceptional flavor it really is. Very mild, very tasty and very simple to smoke. At the end of a bowl you are left with a pipe full of grayish white ashes and an anxious anticipation of your next bowl full of Pegasus. The black cavendish is largely responsible for the fragrant sweetness but lest you be fooled this is a good, old school natural blend through and through. Burley runs the show here. The trace amounts of virginia merely enhance the subtle sweetness and provide a bit of body and complexity. The black cavendish is an amazing touch of subtle sweetness and aroma but does it very smoothly and quietly without the goopy, soapy taste normally associated with more heavily cased black cavendish. Once again, Bob Runowski, The Guru of All Things Burley has delivered in fine fashion. The desert island blend is a distinction I rarely find appropriate but if I were leaving to be stranded on a desert island today I think Pegasus, OJK and a few four-digit Kaywoodies would be essential gear. If you are a burleyphile, this one is a must try but the lesson learned (at least for me) was that sometimes even great blends take some time and patience to appreciate. Don't expect immediate fireworks with this one but give it time, once you get it, it's well worth the wait.

Original review (09/15/2007): I was looking forward to this for two reasons. First, I'm a big fan of C&D burley blends. Second, based on the reviews on this site, I figured it would be something I'd really enjoy. But I found this just didn't have enough flavor for me -- it struck me as utterly nondescript and dull, and it also bit me. The quality of the tobaccos seems to be excellent, however, and obviously a lot of people like it, so I might just be the odd man out on this one. I would highly recommend this blend if you like Haunted Bookshop (another blend I find to be too bland), as this strikes me as a sweetened version of it.

Taste and Aroma: I have heard Bond Street praised in reviews of other blends and it must have been a tad bland because Pegasus is no effusion of taste or aroma. The subtle sweetness of the black cavendish is contrasted with a typical stale burley taste and aroma. Again, to its credit, Pegasus is not a cloying, mediciny burley, but feels natural. Smoked outdoors, there is some goopy moisture which drains out of the stem.(An anamoly? This didn't happen indoors.)

Room Note: Decent, for a burley, but still the typical light stale burley aroma.

Nicotine: Medium to strong, closer to strong. It is no more heady than the last blend I tried, an oriental-based tobacco.

Overall: One of the few burley blends I can appreciate, it doesn't have an overly heavy burley smell. As burleys go, good, 3.2 stars. Compare Pegasus to two extremes of flavored burley blends, Half and Half, a drugstore aromatic completely flavored, and Prince Albert, not nearly as cased as H&H, but having decidedly less natural taste then Pegasus. To a degree, I recant what was said about burleys being bland, having sampled a VA afterwards. Perhaps burleys are sometimes described as bland because of the way they naturally taste, and that there is less sweetness.

Now I have a pound of Pegasus, his rendition of the old Bond St. tobacco, of which I never partook. The thing that sets this one apart from its' siblings is the sweetness, which I believe comes from the VAs (although the Cavendish undoubtably has a small part in this, too). It's a delightful contrast to the bitterness of some burley blends. Behind that, though, it's still the toasted nuttiness of burley that runs the show.

Pegasus seems not to be picky about pipe size and lights and burns exceptionally well. For me this is an especially good early morning smoke, when I may not be ready to deal with the heavier notes of something like Morley's.

After significant increases in the price of tobacco, C&D have finally broken the $30/lb. mark on their bulk blends. This was probably inevitable and is not nearly as bad as the rise in (for example) gasoline prices over the last six years.

Scores on Pegasus; flavor- 17 of 20; lighting and burn- 9 of 10; value- 8 of 10. a 34 overall earns Pegasus a **** rating.

Add a star or two if you're a big fan of burley, as notwithstanding what I have said, as this is surely a quality blend.

Edited 11 Feb 2010:

Four years later and this blend has only improved in my estimation. The thick, silky mouth feel that the cavendish provides is what sets this blend apart from other C&D burley blends. And, at the same time, it maintains the nutty burley taste that I love and never seem to tire of. This one stays at four stars for me.

For a perfect hint of sweetness, so slight but so skillfully executed, we have the black Cavendish. Easily the finest example of black Cavendish that can be found, almost what I imagine the old Rattray's Virginia based black Cavendish to have been like, not that I am old enough to have tasted that particular leaf. Is this all that is required to achieve true tobacco perfection? So it would seem.

This is the blend, along with Prince Albert, of course, that turned me into a devoted smoker of classic American-style mixtures. I have gone through more than five pounds of the stuff so far and the gods only know when I will let up. Be warned, once Pegasus casts her spell, it is not easily broken.

Regards,

A. Morley Jaques