Having said that, I wasn't amazed by Odyssey. It's good. It's massively dosed with lovely, rich latakia. There are just enough Orientals to keep it from being boring. The Va's are almost a suggestion, a hint of a component. If you want a no-nonsense, smokey, woodsy tobacco that is large and relatively nimble for its size, this blend is for you.

However, as a fan of Pease's other latakia-laden creations, I found that Odyssey fell short of the greatness of Abingdon, which is as full but more classically structured. It lacked the up-front, exotic richness of Charing Cross's Orientals. And it could not match the finesse and interplay of componets which I found so compelling in Lagonda. And perhaps this is Odyssey's strength - it's single- minded delivery of Cyprian Lat flavor in a blend which enables you to actually finish the whole bowl without dying of tedium.

I might buy another tin someday... I found it more palatable than some of the Captain Earle blends, or C and D's Pirate Kake. But I'll definitely revisit some old favorites by Pease or try another one first.

As the bowl progresses rauch malt, rye, burnt popcorn, & strong Danish style licorice are some of the more prominent flavors I notice. The smoke is firm, complex and pungent, yet somehow still soft and fragrant. Nasal exhales and French inhale provides an intriguing cave-aged blue cheese like flavor and aroma. And like a strong blue, Odyssey remains full, sharp and flavorful but still soft and creamy. Any typical latakia edges are softened out nicely by the Orientals & Virginia’s and even through to the mid- smoke point the mouth-feel is still gentle and quite frankly, nothing short of "pillowy." When pushed Odyssey gets spicier & smokier, and pine pitch flavors accompany the heavy earthy overtones.

The thing that I love best about this mixture is that it has an absolutely amazing end smoke which reveals a slight Indian spice like flavor which is aromatically reminiscent of a staple spice mixture like Garam Masala. Layered within this is a zippy pepperiness that forms on tip of the tongue. I cannot convey how much I enjoy riding out the end bowl portion of this mixture. There is no bite whatsoever, only complex dark subtleties and nutty, semi-sweet wood smoke flavors. There's even a wee-little- bit of a fresh evergreen aroma I find similar to the scent of standard green Palmolive. Altogether this is an incredible tobacco mixture, and an absolute pleasure to smoke on a cool autumn or winter evening.

Odyssey stays lit out of tin okay, but does require a few relights both at the beginning and along the way. I would be somewhat reluctant to dry this tobacco, only because the flavors are so impressive without any dry time that I would not want to risk losing any complexities to moisture loss. With a bit of practice and with being careful not to tamp too much or pack too firmly, Odyssey is well behaved, user friendly and burns nicely for a Big Lat. This is an excellent full flavored Balkan. Lovely stuff. Highly Recommended.

The first third of the bowl yields a very decent blend of Latakia per Oriental. From my tastes so far, not much show from the stoved Virginias, which stay in mid background. I have a tradition of setting the bowl down every few relights to refresh my nose and buds, and for the tastes to develop further. Picking up the bowl after my first rest about 2/3's through, I noticed the flavors were amplified almost ten fold. Felt the stoved Virginia presence then, and even more of the Orientals. Though the flavor that was amped the most was the Latakia. The taste was still amazingly complex, I would picture it like a blazing cloth of many colors, but the Latakia was reaching my upper tolerance. Nearly had a quality like the fumes from a strong herbal remedy.

Thus I leave this with 3/4 stars for now, but I'll age it for a bit and try it in a few more of my pipes. Good chance the Latakia will lose some of its strength. If there's a drastic change, I'll update the review.

Strong latakia with just enough slight sweetness underneath, which is exactly what I've been looking for. This is going to be a regular for me. Highly recommend it - very full flavored, cool, creamy smoke, easy burn, no complaints. Prompted me to finally write a review, for what that's worth.

Tobacco in the tin is a mix of ribbon, broken flakes and coarse cut tobacco. Lights not so easy, white/gray ash.

It's a good tobacco; dense and smokey and oily. Tastes rather good but leaves me wanting more in nicotine department. And when I read how it's "huge, the biggest of Pease blends" I expected, well, more hugeness.

Nonetheless you can give it a try if you like latakia. Maybe you will find out what's huge about it.

This tobacco is the first from G.L.Pease i have tried. Quite a strong latakia tin aroma as expected.

It loads and lights very easily because of it being ready rubbed and doesn't need much if any drying out i find.

From only a couple of bowls i could tell that if one is not a fan of latakia this blend is not for you.

I find myself that the latakia is quite overpowering, a bit too overpowering if i'm honest. Not that this ruins the blend, but i guess i expected a bit more from the red virginias and the perique, i just dont really get them. It seems like they're just subdueing the latakia. The latakia does give it a kick but again i find it overpowering.

I will happily get through the rest of the tin, but unlikely i will be buying another.

Recommend the lovers of latakia but to those who aren't fans, wouldnt bother.

Many compare this to Margate. Here's the difference for me. Margate starts out as a lightly flavored, almost boring smoke. The flavor builds and builds to the bottom of the bowl and the nicotine kick is very noticeable. Odyssey starts with a fairly tasty flavor, and the flavor stays consistent throughout the smoke. Less of a nicotine kick.

The complexity is here if you want to look for it, but I simply take it as it comes and relax. Buttery smooth without a temper.

I bought and tried this during the same period I was testing Pirate Kake, DaVinci, and Ten Russians. This is by far the most smokeable and subtly complex of that group.

My first bowl from a fresh tin was a disaster. Dried out a bowl-full for about an hour and lit up. The only "complexity" here was the number of places in my head experiencing pain and discomfort. Coated tongue, sore throat, runny nose. Made perfectly good whiskey taste like molten licorice. But to be fair, I did put the open tin back on the shelf for a couple of months and tried again. This time the pain was gone, the lat had mellowed somewhat, and the smoke had smoothed out considerably. There are definitely other component tobaccos in this blend but I can't really discern what they are. It's just kind of a muddle... with latakia. Perhaps I should age it for 5 years and see what happens. I don't age tobaccos. If I did I'd have to see something in a "young" blend that would make me wait years to try to achieve some sublimity. Odyssey ain't it. Too much latakia is too much latakia.

I know there are latakia bombardiers that think the world of this stuff and you know who you are. Also some out there who haven't tried this yet. Be my guest. I just want to let the un-latakia initiated out there know that it would be wiser to "sneak up" on Odyssey through a whole host of lighter fare that are out there, including some very nice blends from G.L. Pease, that you might find more compelling.

Update: So it's been several more months "on the shelf" and things are definitely mellowing out. We all learn things as we "age" too. Upgrading my rating to 3 stars. Gotta give GLP credit for blending a pretty good heavy hitter English here. Yep, it's still a lat bomb but a more smooth lat bomb. To my mind it's not a "balkan" but a real heavy-on-the-Latakia English. To me a good balkan has enough latakia to "season" a smoke but the lat needs to sit back from time to time, sort of let the "waters part" and let the orientals, VAs, etc come forward and do their thing. They do try here but the lat never takes a back seat. Always with the smokiness and too much of it. Perhaps more time on the shelf.....I will continue to "age" my 2oz tin, put it up on my shelf next to my tin of C&D Star Of The East Flake (another lat-heavy smoke, both labelled "for occassional use only". Neither of these are bad blends. Just too much Latakia for me, for general consumption. I'll smoke these occassionally. I will smoke a lot more GLP Charing Cross and Maltese Falcon (both of which I find very smokable with a short amount of air and dry time). Might even have a go at some Abingdon. And if the mood should strike me I might even put a tin or two of Odyssey back for a couple of years and forget about 'em. Who knows what might develop.

My tobacco was dry to the point of crispy. I rehydrated for 90 minutes prior to jarring.

Odyssey is full. It is the fullest Lat blend I've smoked with the exception of Captain Earle's Ten Russians, Ten Russians being too full for me to enjoy. Odyssey (aged anyway) doesn't quite reach that level. I do enjoy this tobacco, but I can only imagine how full it is fresh. Remember, this tin was 5 years old. A fresh tin certainly must be even more intense than Ten Russians, which means that this is a Lat bomb and a half, and only the most ardent Latakiaphiles need apply.

Aside from the Latakia barrage, I get a very good quality blend here. I get a sour and tangy Oriental presence that is not overwhelmed by the Latakia. I always find this element in a Lat blend compelling, and I seek out and cellar tobaccos that have it. I don't find the Virginia steps forward here, but it has very big Latakia and Oriental components to contend with.

This is a blend for those who like big, full Lat blends. Lots of Latakia, and a great heaping scoop of delicious Orientals. This, to me, is a blend for nights when I question if my palate is up to anything complex yet I want something flavorful. This is not complex. It is overt, big and delicious. However, if at five years it is this full, I am sure I would find this tobacco unsmokable fresh.

I'll also add that I've never smoked a tobacco that I had to work so hard to keep lit.

10January2012 Have to add a star to bring this one up to 4. This blend grows on you in a hurry, and it always provides a great smoke. You don't have to worry about body chemistry of the alignment of the heavens. At first blush it's incredibly full, but it only takes a few bowls before that impression goes away and you simply crave its big, delicious flavors. Another tobacco I buy in 16oz tins in case of apocalypse.