Cumberland is number 4 in the ones I've smoked so far. Preceeded by JackKnife plug, Sextant, & Cairo, I had high expectations for Cumberland.

My initial impressions were wow, wow, and damn that's good.

The Pease description given is pretty spot on. I would add that, for me, the perique was way back in the background which is good. Perique while tasty of course is plenty capable of biting my tounge. To me I taste virginia and burley in such a nice soft, chewy mouthfull that I can only assume the labeled contents are correct. Think Peterson's Irish and Univ flake together in one bowl.

Big mouth full of burley that is definitely subdued, with creamy virginia that gives a sweet tang on the sides of my tounge midway through. Cool smoking with no bite, even with a considerable push. I could smoke it every day, all day. And plan to, atleast everyday that is.

Highly reccomended!

Cumberland is comprised of just three basic tobaccos: Kentucky (burley), Virginia, and Perique. But these three tobaccos are blended in a way that is nothing short of genius. The sweet Virginias play off the nutty burley, and the ever so light peppery quality of the Perique goes gently dancing in and out of the smoke. No gimmick or cute marketing ploy here - just three solid, traditional tobaccos blended together by somebody who knew exactly what he was doing.

About the only thing that is particularly noteworthy about any of the tobaccos used in this blend is the age on the Kentucky leaf - it's 20 years old. Burley may not age like Virginia leaf, but something wonderful must happen to it because there is something about this burley that is just fantastic. I think it's what makes the whole thing work, cuz if the blender had just used regular burley this blend would just be another VaBur.

But it's not. It's a rare stroke of tobacco genius, and I think you owe it to yourself to lay your hands on a tin or two, while you still can. Sooner or later it's gonna be gone, and it would be shame if you missed out on this one.

I was going through my old reviews of pipe tobacco and was curious what other burley blends were out there that had a combination of burley, Viriginia and perique. I came across Cumberland again and thought "hmmmm, I don't know... I really didn't like that stuff." Luckily my stubbornness prevailed and figured I didn't give it a fair shot. I ordered a couple of tins and I've been smoking it exclusively in a Custombilt bent pot. I don't know what it is about Custombilts but they are the finest burley burning implement ever created. It may be the bowl geometry and the briar but I suppose that's another discussion. On to the tobacco...

There's a very nice earthy scent from the tin with very faint hints of fruity perique. The color is a mottled brown appearance and nothing too noteworthy or attractive. I do get just the faintest hint of that old Kentucky with what seems a very faint scent of smoke. Fantastic smelling stuff and I had my wife smell it who instantly recoiled because of the faint smell of smoke (she absolutely abhors latakia). Loading is easy: just dry out a bit to your preferred moisture level, fill to the top of the pipe and then tap and add more 'baccy to the pipe until it needs just a gentle tamp. It takes to light very easily and burns like a champ with no fuss.

The taste is robust with plenty of flavor and smoke to go with it. There is a slightly sweet, nutty taste that is the main player followed by the dark Kentucky. The perique comes only in whispers and is more an underpinning that helps add interest. One item of note is that the Kentucky adds a tone much like Petersons Irish Flake but not as forward as Irish Flake. There is no tongue bite to speak of.

Overall this is wonderful blend. In fact I liked it so much I've ordered 6 tins for the cellar and there will be more in the future. I haven't been very enamored with any of the other Pease blends that I've tried but this one is definitely an interesting burley blend that Mr. Pease has done masterfully.

I open my tin and pack my first bowl. Oh, the memories. This takes me back. It isn't the same though. Gone is the harsh, removed is pungent, unfound is the sick feeling when not being overly careful. This is definitely old burley. That flavor cannot come from anything else. I'll even guess this could be some of the same tobacco I harvested once. The years has mellowed it, the virginia has tamed it, the perique keeps it interesting. Thank you Mr. Pease for creating this blend.

Not everyone will like blend. Some of the reviews clearly shows that. You need to appreciate burley because burley is what this smoke is all about. The thing with burley is that it is a difficult tobacco to blend with. In the wrong hands burley can grab your esophagus and rip it out while burning every other part of the mouth like a torch. This blend is masterful. It highlights the burley while somehow removing all of its naughty traits. This is a smoke for experienced smokers and I wouldn't ever recommend it for someone new to pipe smoking. I feel this is a smoke for an older generation. It's like a great black and white film. The younger generation will have difficulty appreciating it because it lacks special effects and relies on the quality of the actors (tobaccos) to provide the magic. It's a classic American car, void of foreign parts.

I like it. It won't be an all day smoke. It's a little strong for that. It will be a treat. I expect this to be my evening smoke at least 2-3 times a week. I have several I enjoy exclusively in the evening. Cumberland will become part of that rotation.

UPDATE: I know I already gave this tobacco a 4 star review. Now its a solid 5 and more. But I need to add this. This tobacco likes medium to large bowl pipes best. A small chamber pipe will not do this tobacco justice. It takes a bowl large enough that you can get past the taste when you first light it up. It matures. It gets so much better. It becomes so dang good I almost want to buy out the whole stock of this stuff just for myself. The more I smoke it, the better I like it. Hands down, this is my No.1 favorite smoke. I said before that this won't be an all day smoke...well, I lied. It is this blend most all of the day for me.

Cumberland in a MM Diplomat, a glass of Buffalo Trace bourbon, and Ken Burn's "Baseball:. I love America!

Update: Ordered this in bulk and found the overwhelming tomato catsup of a McC produt. Won't do that again! Minus one star.

I have a February 2011 tin and its moisture level is perfect. Agreeable cut which is east to light.

This isn't an overwhelming tobacco but rather a pleasant, nuanced smoke. Well worth a try.

Take note. These words couldn't be more true. Be sure and smoke it slow and there will be plenty of enjoyment attached to it. A little perique goes a long way.

The perique, for my taste, is barely heard from in the smoke, appreciable only through the musty tin aroma and occasional similar note in the mid to bottom of the bowl.

Great smoke, though. Well-rounded,transforms from top to bottom, and could be an all-day smoke. I didn't get the nicotine blast that some did, apparently.

Just keep in mind that this will not last for ever so enjoy it now or leave it for me, because this is an amazing creation by Pease.

While strong it won't "cover" the sweetness and taste of this tobacco as sometimes strenght won't make it possible to discern any taste, this is not the case of Cumberland.

Another great GLP blend.

The first bowl of Cumberland I smoked was in a Don Carlos Oom Paul, a very neutral pipe used almost exclusively for light Virginias. My first thought was of an English blend in character, but minus the latakia. The nutty taste of the Kentucky provides a wonderful counter to the sweetness of the Virginia, while the perique, though quiet, asserts just enough of itself to bring in a richness, fruitiness, and pepper/spice as an undertone. The Virginia is somehow subdued and even tamed by the other constituents of the blend. As a Virginia lover, I wasn’t sure at first if I liked that, but as a burley smoker I realized, the deeper I got into the bowl, that I was genuinely enjoying the smoke. When trying new tobaccos I like to inhale a puff or two so I can see how it hits me. Cumberland felt smooth, and I didn’t get a big nicotine rush; the exhalation gave my nostrils a treat.

I initially bought three tins of Cumberland, in the initial tinning some years ago. The first was opened the day the package arrived, and stayed in my pipe bag. I wanted to try it in most of my pipes, just to see if I could detect differences. The second tin was saved for a few months to see how this blend aged short-term, and it does superbly. And the third tin I set aside and still have in my cellar, saved for a rainy day. Since those first three tins I’ve purchased untold pounds of Cumberland, and can’t imagine not having this blend available. There aren’t enough words to praise this stuff!

From Pease's website: “Ripe, red Virginia tobaccos create the frame in which some truly special Kentucky dark-fired leaf is exhibited. This leaf has a depth and richness that is rarely seen in tobaccos of its type. A measure of stoved and matured flue-cured is added to provide a gentle sweetness and solidify the foundation. A little Louisiana perique provides a piquant spice, and a subtle fruitiness.”

Appearance: Mostly lighter-colored leaf, expected from the lack of Latakia. The extremely occasional dark bit betrays a whisper of Perique.

Tin Aroma: The aroma is quite mild, a very woodsy and earthy affair with little of the grassy Virginia character. I don’t know the percentage of Kentucky leaf here but it dominates the aroma. I like it.

Flavor: Wow, this one is tough! I have had four star puffs in a two-star bowl, it seems very pipe-dependent, and in the wrong pipe it’s absolutely nothing to write home about. But in the right pipe, paying close attention and using careful technique this blend could be categorized as a sleeper.

In general it’s an up-front burley blend, but this really does seem like some special weed. On his website Pease talks about discovering a stack of these 20- year-old bales somewhere and buying the whole lot, enough, he says, to make 60,000 tins of Cumberland. Having no idea how many tins per year he sells, I can still imagine that some day when it runs out, this blend will go the way of the other Pease blends that now command high prices and fond memories. This Kentucky has a woodsy character that at times actually borders on “meaty’” for lack of a better term. Yes, it was a special find.

When it’s in the zone it’s great, and when it’s not, it’s far from great. Perhaps I should have saved my “La Donna Mobile” analogy for this blend since it seems quite likely to change its mind at any given time. It seemed to work best in one of my star Virginia pipes, a GBD pot whose diameter is roughly equal to its depth. It lit and burned beautifully, requiring few if any relights, and the last third of the bowl seemed consistently the best as the flavors richly melded and the Perique spice became a little more evident.

I am not a Burley fan but this has surprised me a bit. It’s reticent to give up its secrets and therefore will require many more bowls to unleash its true potential. More Virginias would probably make it more personally appealing to me, making it a two and a half to three star blend. If I could keep it in the zone it would easily rate three stars. But for Burley fans I can’t see how this could disappoint and would probably rate four stars.

It is just another masterfuly prepared blend from GL Pease.

Ok, this was never "horrid" but in all my years of pipe smoking, I've never smoked a blend whose outcome was so predetermined by my mood, the time of day, the food I ate or even IF I ate, the location, and even possibly the phases of the moon. I could never count on this stuff to come through but when it did, it was absolutely sublime! It wasn't consistent at any time. Sometimes it was great first thing in the a.m and sometimes not. Sometimes it was perfect after a meal and sometimes it tasted like soil. 2 oz was not enough to pin down any logic. A most confounding tobacco. This tin was nearly 2 years old.

This comes in a longish cut, deep mahogany color in the tin and smells like a good burley... sometimes! Yes, there's perique and VA in here and yes I occasionally tasted them. But this seems to me to be a good old burley, unabashedly masculine and robust. It just tastes like tobacco. And sometimes other things that shouldn't be in tobacco. I have no clue how to rate this blend other than to split the diff between when it was wonderful and when it wasn't, so 3 stars it is. GL Pease has a knack for making interesting tobaccos that I can't easily figure out. I gotta stock up on this one and do some more experimentation! Cumberland has some secrets.