At first, I thought, "gack, what a harsh tuft of leaves" but within minutes Montgomery opened up, warmed up (flavor-wise ... it doesn't smoke hot if gently coaxed) and I was on a smooth, sweet ride. A good point was that the flavor developed and evolved as I made my way down the bowl. I plan to stock up on this one.

UPDATE: 9/17/2009 Well for me, Montgomery has arrived in earnest. It's one of my top 2 or so now, the others being McClelland's Yenije Highlander (with Davidoff's Scottish Mixture every now and then, when the 'aromatics bell' is sounded). I continue to experiment with any/all manner of blends but this is my go-to. Afternoon, evening or very late at night, Montgomery has become a reliable friend, seemingly best in medium-sized bowls without too much airflow to overcook and overhheat. If the bowl's too small, the rather stringy blend becomes a bit challenging to manage, that is, to load evently, tamp gently

Tiger

Let's speak straight: while I am a HUGE fan of Greg's most Latakia/orientals heavy blends (as I have written in a long article for Smoker Magazine), I have never raved upon his previous virginia offerings. Some of them are quite dull for my taste (Cairo), most are nice but simply too heavy on the perique and nicotine (Cumberland, Haddo's Delight). Stratford was not bad, although IMHO very similar to C&D Three Friars.

For a long time I was curious to think how a virginia by Greg would have been: my favorites in the genre include Full Virginia Flake, Marlin Flake, and many McClellands. Yes, all flakes... So, the idea of Greg releasing, instead of a very sweet flake, a VERY LIGHT virginia in mixture form did not excite me: I feared it might be too delicate for my palate, probably boring stuff with little taste.

WRONG!

As soon as I loaded my first bowl with Montgomery and lit it, the first impressions were quite flat... Little taste, too delicate, etc. etc.

Then, after five minutes, the miracle! The flavor intensified, and many interesting nuances emerged. The rest of the bowl was an absolute delight!

After several days, I can safely say that this is a great tobacco. In the past week, I have abandoned my huge evening bowl of balkans in favor of Montgomery. And even during the day, I sometimes load a little bowl of it... sometimes just after breakfast. Yes, it's a great tobacco both in small AND big bowls... simply, the experience is different but equally great.

The taste is creamy, moderately and naturally sweet, with echoes of hay and cereals. The impression is like slightly warm milk with a little shot of bitter coffee and only just a micro teaspoon of sugar. Even some hints of cocoa and honey. In the second half of the bowl (especially in bigger ones), flavors intensify and a slight smokiness (probably from the dark fired kentucky, what a great idea) emerges.

It is definitely a different blend from all the other virginias I have tried: some are sweeter but less complex, others are more fruity and sourish (guess which brand I am referring to!). I really can't find no comparisons, except PERHAPS a very vague hint of Royal Yacht's creamy/milky taste (but without the harshness and the intolerable strength).

If I were forced to find faults in Montgomery, it would be that the stringy cut together with the slight moisture level of a freshly opened tin can clog the airflow in your pipe if you press it or tamp it too much, somewhat compromising the draw. If you take care to avoid this, you will be rewarded by a tobacco which in spite of the high percentage of bright sugary virginias DOES NOT BITE even if overpuffed! Not that overpuffing is recommended, unless you want to miss the best nuances. Be comfortable, though, as this blend is not a hell to smoke, it does not require your continuous attention and extremely slow smoking to get some taste. It IS very delicate, but in a good way: the taste is there, it simply is very gentle. Just relax and enjoy this uncomplicated, but very refined and complex, blend. Nicotine content is very low, so it's a good choice if you want to avoid headspins or if you want to enjoy multiple bowls.

I am not a big fan of the genre, but I see myself smoking this blend again soon, as a good change of pace from my usual latakia-heavy blends.

On faith, I bought three tins: one for immediate gratification (duh) and two for ripening. With only three weeks aging in tin #1, I couldn?t wait any longer. Pop it went and I laughed at the albino tobacco shreds that greeted me. A sniff immediately returned me to 1965, playing among bales of straw in the barn. No sweetness here, I thought; no ketchup, no raisins, and no figs. (Why figs? Do that many pipers actually eat figs?)

First round observations: Montgomery (together with my puffing habits)likes tall-bowled pipes, I think because the flavor is subtle and needs to accrete like a snowball: give it five or ten minutes and it blossoms with a wonderful VA/burley taste. I?ve grown fond of burleys over the last few months, and the one used in this blend is a wonderful unusually deep one that provides the counterpoint that is usually provided by latakias in his other blends. I?d like to see it used again and in a higher concentration. The room note is disappointingly cigarrettish, though tolerable. Moisture is spot-on; the nuisance of adjusting is unnecessary. No gurgles, steam, nor bite. Nicotine is mid-range.

This blend fills a gaping hole in the Pease repertoire. As stated in my review of Cairo, I appreciate Greg?s efforts to try to reach us all eventually; his focused blends delight some and put others off? as it should be. I recommend this blend to experienced smokers who can discern and appreciate the subtleties of Virginia and burleys. Good job, Greg!

Opening the tin, you are presented with a very nice VA smell, soghlty sweet, just a little bit grassy. The tobacco is all ribbon and is mostly yellow with a few chards of dark brown. This is a mixture of several Virginias and some Kentucky (Burley). I am senstive to nicotine, so i am glad the Kentucky is just a "smidgeon".

Packs easily and fires up with out too much fuss. This is a tobacco for the contemplative smoker, not the blast furnace stoker. It can get hot if pushed, but if not, is very cool and as all glp mixtures, burns down to a dry clean heel.

The smoke is slighly sweet and is mildly complex. It won't require your undivided attention like say Renaissance, but is not monochromatic. The room note has a high spousal approval rating.

I have just gotten into VA flakes and I am sure VA flake smokers will wonder, how does this mixture compare to a nice Flake? Apples and oranges. The overall flavour and experiences are different. That said, you will not enjoy this mixture to the fullest unless you dedicate a pipe to it. I beleive that all mixtues shine the bgesti f smoked in a dedicated pipe, though.

Montgomery has lighter, some might say cleane,r flavour compered to Flakes. I have made room for both in my jars. The Kentucky adds a nice measure of fullness and the overall exerience is "creamy". If you like a heavier tobacco or one with spice, it looks like the next mixture in the series, Telegraph HIll, will be "it" for you. I like my food spicy and my tobcco round and creamy, so this is a highy recommended new mixtre for me.

Appearance and Tin Aroma:This is a beautiful tobacco to look at! There are rich reds, gold, yellow, and a speck of dark Kentucky here and there. It smells wonderful. The broad ribbons are oily and appear of very high quality.

Packing and Lighting: Easy, I prefer this blend in smaller group 3 pipes. Moisture is perfect, two to three lights max.

Initial Flavor: A subtle complexity from the get go. A little bright though. Start slow.

Mid-Bowl: this blend is very complex, but satisfying. It has a "honey" note at this point. Is there a topping in this? Maybe it is only the processing. Regardless, I like it. I am amazed at how the different leaves are individually detectable, but also mix so well. Yummm!

Bottom of bowl: Strength builds up gently. There are some nice spicy notes that are present as well. DGT works very well at this point too.

Overall: This is a delicious VA blend as is, but I think that aging it will develop this blend into a absolutely stellar blend. I have only had a tin, so stay tuned. This blend can nip, so take it easy.Thank you Greg!

The smoke improved as it made its way down the bowl. The complexity is very nice but is not at all overpowering! The aftertaste is quite clean. Before I knew it, I was at the bottom of the bowl. I enjoyed it more and more as it burned down the chamber. So far it has only taken one relight to finish each bowl of this easy burning tobak. It has also been trained not to bite! I don't know if I will reach for it every time but it seems to be growing on me more and more. Only time will tell.

To me, this is a sign of a great tobacco that has been kissed by a master blender! Recommended!

Don`t matter if you smoke in briar, meerschaum or clay, if you like virginias you will love this blend. Congratulations at Mr.GL Pease, you did it again!

Luis Barra - Chile

Personal Note: It`s remember me my dad`s favorite tobacco (a blend of his owm), I look for this flavor for several years, thanks to the blender.

MAGIC MIRROR: Montogomery, fool!

STAN: But there are heavier blends a little like this, Pease's Cumberland, Esoterica's Tilsbury, Edwards' Colonial or Sebring,....

MAGIC MIRROR: Hush knave! That's the point, it's lighter!

STAN: This is mostly all virginias, no traditional condiments....

MAGIC MIRROR: Poor wretch, if ye wants English-Oriental, Balkans, or virginia-perique, begone! Montogmery is a perfect balance of brights and reds with neither gaining ascendancy. Like long locks of a beauty's long hairs or wavey curls. It's driven by some potent dark Kentucky, giving Montogmery a light to medium body, but with a brilliant richness found nowhere else in the land.

STAN: I get it. I can smoke it before or after I eat and it doesn't cause a headache or anything.

MAGIC MIRROR: Ha Haaa! It's natural and as straight as the day is long. No bite. Cool. Dry. Earthy. Steady burning. Easy to load, especially in a medium to large pipe. Why keep asking me simpleton? Go buy some from the masters at Cornell & Deihl. They just tinned their shipment today. Buy a ton.

[Fade to black]

[two weeks later]...

STAN: I'm back. Master, right now after smoking nearly a full tin (21 bowls) in a new large Savinelli autograph and several bowls in a smaller Dunhill (4) for comparison, with more bowls left over in Pease's new style tin, I'm sold. I have more stashed. About the best I've ever tried. I will recommend this to all in the land.

Magic Mirror: Your're smart, not as much as Pease or myself, but you've learned what is the real deal, Montgomery, and what's not. Now give me your pipes and tins. Ha!

STAN: Band of puffers out there. Help me! But buy some Montgomery first. The Mirror may trade for me....

The ribbon cut was way too stringy to suit me, so I chopped it in my blender for a more even load and burn. I learned that little trick from an article I read in P&T Magazine by famous pipemaker and tobacco distributor Mike Butera. It was one of the best smoking tips I ever picked up.

Moisture content was good and the room aroma pleased my wife. But alas, I couldn't find the beef.

The tobacco appeared to be light goldens and reds in a longish ribbon cut. I, for one, like the ribbon cut as the strands seems to kind of knit together as you smoke so that you don't find particles flying out of your bowl as you bend over.

The initial flavors at first light were grassy with a citrus-like tang. The top 1/3 of the bowl continued this way, but it was not long before the sugars in the VA's began to come through. The red VA really began to sing about 1/2 of ther way through and a spicines began to develope in the aroma. The side-stream smoke aroma really appealed to me and others around me liked the aroma as well. At the bottom third, I was truly impressed. There was no tongue bite, the flavor was musty/sweet and thoroughly enjoyable. No, this is not a blow the top off your head with nicotine delivery system, but there is obviously a fair amount of nicotine in it, posibly due to the presence of some excellent burlies that do give some added richness.

If you are a VA fan, you owe it to yourself to try this. It should age beautifully, but is a very nice smoke new. Highly recommeneded for the VA lovers.

Jay