You won't be smoking a cigar in your pipe here, but that's not such a bad thing, as this is still a great blend with a strong feel and a nice, round body. I am, though, puzzled a bit by the addition of Latakia. It's not the most dominant aspect of the smoke, but there's enough of it to outshine the maduro leaf. Despite the many choices of ingredients one has when blending, the supply of Syrian Latakia remains unstable. That's too bad, because I think the maduro and Syrian leaf would have complimented one another beautifully, as the Cyprian stuff used here seems to have too loud a voice.

I understand it must be difficult to capture the taste of a cigar in a pipe tobacco blend, as an excess of leaf could probably overpower one's senses, and might likely offend many pipe smokers who favor a different sort of characteristics in their smoke.

Many people here have said that if they wanted to smoke a cigar, they'd smoke a cigar. And, I agree. Still, I'll be on the lookout for the pipe tobacco blend that comes as close to the real thing as I can get. In the mean time..Robusto will do fine.

Appearance: Random cuts typical of GLP blends, mostly red, with some darker leaf, and a few greenish bits.

Aroma: Good rich Virginia base, with a hint of maduro cigar. A faint trace of Oriental, or is it my imagination?

Packing: As always, the cut lends itself to easy packing in any sized pipe that I?ve tried, from group 3 to 5. Unlike Raven?s Wing and Odyssey, Rubusto seems to need a slightly firmer pack, but YMMV.

Lighting: Takes flame quickly, but not too quickly. Starts burning evenly right away, just a slight tamp at the start and it?s ready to enjoy.

Initial flavor: The initial flavor varies, depending upon the pipe?s history. In a Latakia pipe, the Latakia is emphasized, and in a Va. pipe, the Va. sweetness is highlighted. The cigar leaf is noticeable right away, but never overbearing.

Mid-bowl: Cool, rich, and wonderful. Seems to stay lit well at a slow puffing pace. Nicely layered flavors of red virginia and maduro cigar on top, with latakia and oriental in the background as accents.

Finish: Burns to the bottom in a well behaved way, but too damned soon. No noticeable increase in harshness. Leaves a clean almost white ash, and a dry stem.

Summary: Another winner from Greg. I don?t know how to categorize this one, but that?s not the important issue. If you enjoy cigar leaf blends, this is one not to miss.

Follow-up review: After finishing the tin, I am a bit disappointed in Robusto. Blending with cigar leaf is surely difficult, as there are so few blends of this kind. That said, this smokes a bit bland. The Virginia flavors that I tasted previously are muddled by the Latakia and cigar leaf. I was left with the impression that this tried to be many things, but didn't quite succeed with any of them.

Luckily, I didn't approach this blend with the hopes of smoking a cigar in my favorite pipes. I smoke cigars when I want cigars. That out of the way, I was ready to approach this mixture -- which smells nothing like my usual favorites -- with an open mind.

Popping the tin revealed a sweet, pungent, slightly tangy scent. Welcome to Virginia and massive tongue bite ... so I thought. I couldn't detect the Latakia or the Orientals too easily in the can, but noted the cigar leaf without much effort.

The blend feels soft in the hand and isn't quite as thick or heavy feeling as others I've tried. You can pack a whole lot of this into a bowl. Of all the Pease blends I've tried, this one comes out of the can with moisture dead on beautiful. I loaded it up immediately and set out to smoke.

My normal charring light is not a tender, sensual experience. Rather, I can be aggressive with the process. I advise using a bit of restraint on your charring lights. I went a bit overboard once and ended up with some tongue bite. Not bad, but unwelcome at the same time. I don't blame the blend.

After hurdling over this one learning curve, I found the blend to be very good. It's a solid performer, a hell of a cake builder, and it tends to burn quickly -- but cool. That makes it a good smoke in any size bowl. Its lightness/airy quality allows it to burn evenly all the way down, and I've never found dottle with this one, no matter how it was smoked. It produces an attractive salt-and-pepper ash.

The cigar leaf makes itself known throughout the smoke, but never fully takes over. I would enjoy a higher cigar content in this blend, which is not to say it's not good as-is. I also have trouble picking out the Latakia, but the Orientals come out to play once in a while.

Save for my goof during the char that one time, the entire bowl goes down without a bite. Relights can be harsh, so again, don't overdue it. If getting a good burn the gentle way means using a few more Vestas or flicks of the Old Boy, do it. You can get a few harsh puffs otherwise. Not nice.

Robusto is a marvelous change of pace between my usual favorite styles. Quality ingredients, interesting flavors, fantastic smoking properties, and overall consistency make this one a winner.

Robusto is not like smoking a cigar. But then, I don?t really think it is supposed to be. After all, how many cigars have Va, Oriental, and Latakia in them? I find Robusto to be a Va / Oriental blend that is seasoned with Latakia and cigar leaf. The cigar flavor is more of a subtle suggestion than an outright statement. The cigar leaf combines with the Oriental and Latakia at different times to create some very unique flavors in a blend that has a great complexity such as a cigar could never hope to achieve. Smoked in a large bowl, Robusto has a noticeable amount of nicotine.

The room note, as stated before, will not make friends. Cigar people won?t care for it, because they will consider it to be ?impure?. Cigar haters won?t like it because, well, because they?re cigar haters. There is more cigar-like aroma in the room than the taste suggests.

Robusto will never be a favorite of mine, probably because I am not a cigar lover. I smoke a cigar on rare occasion. I believe Robusto will fall into that category as well. I won?t keep it on hand, for the same reason I don?t keep cigars on hand. It?s good tobacco, if you like that sort of thing.

Appearance: Random cuts typical of GLP blends, mostly red, with some darker leaf, and a few greenish bits.

Aroma: Good rich Virginia base, with a hint of maduro cigar. A faint trace of Oriental, or is it my imagination?

Packing: As always, the cut lends itself to easy packing in any sized pipe that I?ve tried, from group 3 to 5. Unlike Raven?s Wing and Odyssey, Rubusto seems to need a slightly firmer pack, but YMMV.

Lighting: Takes flame quickly, but not too quickly. Starts burning evenly right away, just a slight tamp at the start and it?s ready to enjoy.

Initial flavor: The initial flavor varies, depending upon the pipe?s history. In a Latakia pipe, the Latakia is emphasized, and in a Va. pipe, the Va. sweetness is highlighted. The cigar leaf is noticeable right away, but never overbearing.

Mid-bowl: Cool, rich, and wonderful. Seems to stay lit well at a slow puffing pace. Nicely layered flavors of red virginia and maduro cigar on top, with latakia and oriental in the background as accents.

Finish: Burns to the bottom in a well behaved way, but too damned soon. No noticeable increase in harshness. Leaves a clean almost white ash, and a dry stem.

Summary: Another winner from Greg. I don?t know how to categorize this one, but that?s not the important issue. If you enjoy cigar leaf blends, this is one not to miss.

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Moisture content was just right out of the tin, and the aroma was full and complex with a definite cigar leaf note (not to mention the maduro flecks throughout). As many have said GL Pease is a great company and the best, I have seen for getting what you pay for. I do not think they could have stuffed anymore in the tin, unlike the last tin of CAO I had that appeared to be half empty (or half full).

Packing was very nice. Considering the introduction of cigar leaf to the blend, I decided to dedicate a pipe. The tobacco held a light nicely and smoked straight through the bowl.

Emerging flavors pepper, wood and tobacco, tobacco, tobacco. Let me just say that I have since gone back to this blend and this is a great blend, but it is not one to be taken lightly, it carries a powerful punch.

The room aroma is strong and not the type to win friends.

I am glad that I tried this and even more happy that I dedicated a pipe to it. Although I may be cleaning the pipe now, to return to the traditional ways of doing things? Cigars should have filler, binder, and a fine wrapper. Pipes are beautiful creations meant to hold wonderful blends of tobacco.

I may try this again but when I want a great Robusto with Maduro wrapper, I will just grab one from a box!

If you are looking for a cigar taste, don't come here. That was what I was expecting, and I was disappointed. Which is kind of dumb in retrospect, as I have hundreds of well-aged cigars to chose from. And why should a pipe tobacco taste like a cigar, anyway? Pipe and tobacco smoking are really different experiences.

The one part of the experience that was cigar-like was the room note. Now personally, I just love the smell of fresh cigar smoke. I know I am kind of an anomaly there, it brings back fond memories of rodeos as a kid. However, most people, even ones tolerant of pipe smoke, HATE cigar smoke. In fact, one of the things that got me into pipe smoking in the first place was that it did not make me a pariah in semi-public places like a good fat maduro Mantequilla did.

My point? Robusto has all the social stigma of a cigar without that satisfying fermented buttery/bitter taste that is the cigar's unique reward.

My guess is that if I had tried Robusto w/o the expectations I brought to the experience, I would have found this a tasty, though not outstanding, quality tobacco from the esteemed GL Pease. I may try it again someday, now that I know what not to expect.

I've just smoked finished smoking a full two ounce tin in a medium Benton churchwarden (the "Big Ben" shape from Edward's I believe).

This blend is somewhat stout, as is described, but is not overwhelming or harsh at all. Nor is it hot, if you puff deliberately. It is completely natural in a stringy, shaggy cut. It is not a wet smoke. It has a base of virginia and some condimental leaf, and the cigar leaf is added in just the right proportion to let the cigar note stand out but still be balanced by the rest of the tobaccos.

Yes, you can taste the cigar leaf, and surprisingly the blend -- even given the mix of other tobaccos -- is suggestive of a medium cigar experience. (I smoke cigars only on occasion, but know what that's like.) It's just not as strong as a cigar can be. Nor would I imagine most would want it to be that full.

In comparison, it is fuller than Fox's Bankers, has more of a cigar note but less strength from the Latakia than Robert Lewis' 123 blend, it is slightly more balanced but not as full as Mogano (nor is the finish as strong), and is slightly more complex than Connoisseur's Special Reserve. All good blends too. I understand that this new blend is supposedly modeled somewhat from an old, extinct Sobranie virginia blend, which I have heard others rave about but have never personally experienced.

When I first opended the new tin, it had only a month or so of aging. It did leave my palate a bit dry at first, but after a few more weeks it was more balanced, and remained on the stout side as intended. I intend to age a number of tins, but even the newest of tins is very smokable, tasty, and kind to the tongue. Quite an achievement! I promised Mr. Pease a good review if I liked Robusto, and I do so this it it. Recommended to folks who want a definite cigar note in a natural blend, medium to full.