As a side note, this is fantastic tobacco.

*Update: It's a couple months later and the tin is almost gone. Cumberland has become what is perhaps my favorite tobacco blend. It has all of the qualities I look for in a tobacco: the right amount of bite/astringency (woodiness as I call it), good nicotine kick, natural tobacco flavor and plenty of complexity. The difficulties I expressed in the above review are no longer an issue now that the tobacco has dried out a bit. I am going to buy several tins and age them, ASAHP. Spectacular stuff!

-- This is by far my favorite burley based blend to date. It is luxuriously textured, sweet, cigar like and bitter - all in the best possible ways.

I don't smoke it often - but instead treat it as a special weed to be pulled out when I am in the mood to really sit and relax and enjoy.

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Having ventured deep into Pease's Balkan imagination, I was reluctant yet anxious to try his attempt at "Americana".

An aged and dry sample yielded only minimal heat and nip. Though I see how a raw sample could rival Haddo's in its ability to scorch the mouth. I smoked it slow, over a few hours - and was led through an amazing array of fruity, nutty, sweet, spicey and earthy tones. I didn't get the cigar notes until the end, and then found them exquisite.

It has some similarity to one of my other new favorites: Three Friars by C+D, yet is considerably more complex in flavor variation. I am not sure I will exactly smoke this regularly, but I think I *will* order a few bits to keep in stock and savor it slowly. Rated high due to fantastic quality and qualities.

I agree with previous reviewers: smoke this SLOW, like Greg instructs on the label. The intended character is brought out: a really nice VA/burley taste that isn't at all harsh or biting and is what I sought when I bought it. Cumberland, I think, is the primo mixture for training new pipers: puff it hard and you get punished, like a shocking anti-bark collar for dogs.

When smoked as instructed, the perique becomes tolerable to me like it does in Barbary Coast and Cairo. My only fault with this mix is that I don't want a didactic smoke. I want one that I can puff without special attention. True, most all my favorite smokes are at their best smoked slowly. I just tire of Cumberland's jolts when I forget.

Back to Montgomery for me. If you are the type to put additional perique in everything, you'd probably like this a lot.

Suddenly, nearly at the end of that first tin it hit me! I was astonished, and proceeded to smoke my way through every remaining tin my B&M had in stock! I now order in 8 ounce bags and I have goals of building up several pounds for aging and enjoyment in retirement!

Appearance: This looks to be about 25% dark tobaccos (Burley and Perique), 20% golden-yellow, 20% red and the remainder is a golden colored. It is varied in cut yet mostly medium ribbon cut.

Tin aroma: This is probably the one of the most complex mixtures I have ever encountered. The Red and matured Virginias and perique are evident, with rich earthy tones and under-currents of fig/raisin and cocoa. Burley is just there under the surface with its characteristic nuttiness. There are high pallet hay-like scents and low deep forest rumblings.

This tobacco is nearly perfect in moisture and I employed the ?Frank method? for packing each review smoke. I smoke this tobacco in either a 1960?s Edward?s Freehand or a well broken in cob reserved for Burley Mixtures such as Cumberland or Edgeworth Sliced. For purposes of this review, I?ve chosen the Edward?s Freehand.

Lighting usually is a single match affair, I find that the ?Frank method? usually eliminates the need for much of a ?lighting tamp?, though once in awhile if I pause or just let the pipe go out, I might have to re-light it. As expected, the initial flavor is very mostly a nice Burley blast with a strong Virginia presence. The Perique seems mostly there as a ?condiment? adding a little pepper and roundness to the rapidly building flavors. I am also greeted with very deep fruity tones from the Virginias and the Burley nuttiness and fuller body in turns. There is a very slight sweetness to it probably from the Virginias. There is no single way to describe Cumberland, the complexity is subtle yet quite apparent and builds throughout. This is one of a handful of tobacco blends that I wish would keep smoking for hours.

Mid Bowl: Approaching mid-bowl, the fullness tends to build and the flavors mix and match very nicely. I often employ the ?French curve? method of inhaling slipstream smoke nasally. That is not to say this isn?t a very full tobacco, often relaxing me nearly to the point of sleep. I cannot imagine any tobacco blend that would more perfectly define an ?American? taste. This term is probably not very helpful to some, yet to myself (an American) I cannot think of a more descriptive single term. It is NOT English or Danish and definitely NOT an aromatic by any imagining. I suspect custom blenders in the middle 1800?s would have several tobacco blends similar in composition for those interested in American mixtures. The honest straight-forward tobacco goodness shines in this fine blend. The richness of Burley and Virginia are apparent without stoving or other ways of enhancing/altering the way aged tobacco tastes in its most natural form.

Home Stretch: As end of the bowl approaches, I?m absolutely in smoker?s heaven. The fullness and character of this blend have ?widened? to a very full pallet of astonishing subtlety and complexity. The Virginias have deepened to a wine like goodness and the perique keeps it all honest. The Burley has begun to pull its nutty dominance from several feet below the Earth?s surface. This is a heady blend indeed and care must be taken not to over do the puffing rate. I have never experienced the ?tongue-bite? many complain of, however, over-puffing this blend ruins its subtle nature easily.

A truly astonishing blend from America?s premier tobacco blender

Supplemental Notes: If Cumberland does not do it for you, please e-mail and arrange to ship the remainder to me. I will dispose of it properly; I have trouble keeping enough on hand for aging and smoking. Rating for those interested in numbers ****

I rate this tobacco 9.0 out of 10

Blended as they are, these tobacco strains yield a blend with finesse, as do other Pease blends; but this blend is different, an effort to incorporate the Mahogany without letting it dominate, matching its dark tones with the midrange notes of the Virginias, and then adding just enough Perique to enliven the show. Pease complexity, for me, does not occur with Cumberland as it does, for instance, with Renaissance; that is, the different tobacco strains do not in variable order make their presence known, coming to the fore and then receding as the next tobacco makes its appearance. Rather, it is the totality of these strains all present at once, rendered with a masterful hand, that makes me label it superbly balanced, that gives the blend an elegance and refinement.

I do find that the blend is best smoked slowly; also, the tobacco I?m smoking is as at least six months old. Straight from the tin the Mahogany can have an astringent quality. I feel this blend needs 6-12 months of aging before smoking, and this review is based on a batch of this blend with 12 months of age.

Having read the reviews here, I was a bit surprised at my experience. On the initial light, there was a sweet Va flavor that I thoroughly enjoyed. Soon thereafter, the Va was overtaken by the Burley. The nutty flavor of the Burley not only shoved the Va to the background, it hogged the stage most of the time, hardly letting me know that the Perique was there at all.

This is not to say tat the blend was one-dimensional ? it wasn?t. But the balance was too much in favor of the Burley to make it a favorite for me.

Overall, the taste was light and pleasant. The room note was Burley all the way. When the ride was over, I found nothing but a fine white ash in the very dry bowl. I was careful, trying to learn from the mistakes of other, and due to this, I felt no bite whatsoever.

In the end, this wasn?t a blend that left me thinking ?wow, I want another bowl right now? ? it was more of a ?well that was nice, I?ll do it again sometime?.

Aroma: First impresion is that it might be an aromatic. The aroma of chocolate and PRUNES hits my nostrils. Very pleasant, and as i continue to sniff and enjoy, it occurs to me that this is the smell of really well matured leaf.

Packing: Packe easily into any size bowl in my collection. Easy to overpack, as it's very soft, but normal care in packing is adequate for a good draw. just don't get too cavalier.

Lighting: Lights very well, sometimes just one match is enough. This is, after all, an American style tobacco.

Initial flavor: The initial taste is very dense and mouth-filling. There is the sweetness of red and orange Virginias, the smokiness of dark Burley, and the slight sour spiciness of Perique.

Mid-bowl: The blend wants to be smoked slowly, for maximum flavor and for coolness. When smoked in a relaxed mood, it is cool and dry, and full of nuances and layers. There is a complete range of hight through low notes present. The contrast of the sweet and smokey and their variations are beguiling. Definitely a stout blend, quite a bit of strength (both flavor and nicotine) from the Burley.

Finish: A bit more Perique strength at the end, but not excessive. Burns to a clean gray ash, no guck in the heel and a fairly clean pipe.

Summary: This is a stout blend. For the nicotine sensitive, don't smoke and drive. Not an eye-opener for me, but a blend for relaxed moments. Excellent with strong coffee or a bit of Bourbon. Just a masterful achievement.

Well, Cumberland just didn't ring my bell. The leaf looked and smelled fine, altough it was a bit wet. Upon lighting up, it just didn't work for me. The flavors didn't marry well, and I found it to be a hard smoke: wet and producing severe tongue bite no matter how hard I tried to smoke it gently. After half a dozen bowls, I sealed it up and put it away in my "chalk it up to experience" pile.

A year or so later I am poking around the bowels of my tobacco cabinet looking for something different to smoke one evening, and I rediscover the can of Cumberland. Would I, could I, should I subject myself to this abuse again, I wonder in trepidation? I put on a brave face and load a bowl...

Wow, did I pick up the wrong can or what? This stuff is fantastic. Much drier and darker than previously, the smoke is sweet and smooth with deep, complex flavors that compliment each other well. I am usually not a big Burley fan but it works for me in this blend, adding a dimension to the Virginias that I really enjoy. I am going to order some Cumberland in bulk and put it up for a year or so.

Funny thing about this blend' it starts off great and in two seconds it goes bad and gets worse, oh well move on to the next one.