Aroma: The tin was swelling when I popped it, and oooohhhh such a sweet delicious experience! That waft of delight reminded me of a sweet, malty ale from Coopersmith’s microbrew in Fort Collins, CO. Or maybe Fat Tire fresh from the tap at Old Belgium Brewery on Linden Street. I’ve smelled this same something in sweet dessert wines too, perhaps something like a Muscat. Add in the sweet aroma of dried fruit and sugared ginger, with just a hint of hay and grassiness, and you’ve got Fillmore, one of the best smelling tobaccos I’ve experienced to date. Literally, my mouth waters just smelling this stuff! Who needs to smoke it? But I will sacrifice my time and energy to smoke some of this just for my brothers and sisters at SF.

Appearance: A beautiful broken flake, thickly sliced and soft, easily broken apart, medium brown with lighter striations.

(Did I mention the tin note is amazing? I open the jar and whiff it like every 30 seconds or so…can’t help myself…)

Flavor: This tin has had four years to discover its identity so it ought to know who it is by now. Here’s what the Pease website has to say: “A thick-sliced broken flake in the Scottish tradition. Ripe red Virginia tobaccos are combined with a generous measure of fine Louisiana perique, and then pressed to marry the components and deepen the flavors. The cakes are sliced and gently broken before tinning. Fillmore presents an elegant sweetness and delightful piquancy, enhanced by a creamy richness that develops throughout the bowl. Sit back, and enjoy a lovely, leisurely smoke.”

So let’s talk about this. “An elegant sweetness…” Yes, that’s certainly present in the tin aroma. I imagine that this amazing smell (I did mention that the tin note is amazing, right?) has been enhanced by its four years in the tin. I may have to buy a new tin just to compare (hopefully you experienced Fillmore users can chime in here on the differences). This elegant sweetness is also somewhat present in the room note which is actually rather nice. But it comes across least emphatically in the smoke, since the Perique is up front trying to steal the show. I would not call this a sweet Virginia blend. Which bring us to the…

“Delightful piquancy…” I don’t know how much Perique constitutes a “generous measure” but that in-my-nose Perique tang is certainly there. The tang abates a bit as the pipe progresses. I would like to know the percentage of Perique in this blend just so I can get a handle on it. Some blends put just enough in to feel it as a spice, but here you really can taste the pungence and earthiness, which provide an excellent contrast against the Virginia sweetness (which I think is precisely why the sweetness does not come through as strongly in the smoke as in the aroma – it’s very effectively counterbalanced by the “delightful piquancy”). The balance is good – any less and it would be just another VA with a little Perique thrown in. Any more and my nose would sting to the point where it just isn’t enjoyable.

“Creamy richness…” Problem here is I want to huff and puff and lose myself in the flavors, but with too much heat it gets harsh and ashy like any obedient Virginia leaf, so self-restraint and good VA-smoking technique will keep the tang subdued and release some of that cream. But it’s not the creamiest by a long shot, and I’m not sure I would have used that word. That quintessential sweet richness present in any quality VA (like Union Square) is here, but it’s not nearly as accessible as in US. I had to be very careful of technique to draw the flavors out and prevent that ashy harshness from manifesting. I think the Perique acts like a grumpy schoolmarm, making sure you obey the rules or pay the consequences.

“Lovely and leisurely smoke…” It can definitely provide that, although it’s got some strength behind it. Should you choose to obey the schoolmarm, then you will be rewarded with what is a very typical and pleasing VAPER experience: rich slightly sweet Virginias with tangy and earthy Perique, combining to create that synergy where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. It performed for me exactly the same in the briar and in the Meer, meaning it is very consistent, a good quality. Fillmore is a very good VAPER but not one of the best I’ve had. I would place it at three stars just because it seems a bit too finicky to me, like a high-maintenance girlfriend (or boyfriend, for you lady pipers). I’ve had that experience before. Bittersweet to say the least.

(Oh and by the way, the tin note is amazing!)

Tasting is so subjective but to me the entire smoke was mostly a very nice creamy, rich and earthy VA with the added spiciness from the perique. Not the sweeter VA of McClelland (which I very much enjoy) and this makes this blend different and enjoyable.

Overall I'm glad I have some aging because I will revisit this often.

A bit past the middle of the bowl, I felt the tingle of the Perique as it melded with the Virginia. Personally, I felt that the blending of the Va and the Per is acceptably balanced. This is the point when I started experiencing a more distinguishably tobacco taste, which was welcome. After that, it remained smooth and pleasant to the end of the bowl.

Pleasant is the term that keeps suggesting itself to me. I do not particularly appreciate strong tobacco, so I tend to be comfortable with a mild to medium blend, although I found that the nicotine content, for which I have a low threshold, was definitely present, particularly by the second half of the bowl. For me this could be a choice for a relatively sedate, relaxed Va/Per option when I'm avoiding a jolt and want something that I can handle better at my age. It is not an all-day smoke for me, although it came close. IMO, letting it air and "breathe" for a couple of days does not take the place of actual aging in the tin. This blend needs that aging, probably one year at least. I've continued to smoke a bowlful here and there. I experienced some improvement and deepening of the richness and taste. So I bought another tin to age for a good year.

Conclusion: a pleasant enough smoke, especially when you want a quiet one that won't distract you too much or grab you by the throat. A solid three star blend with some potential for a better rating, particularly after some aging in the tin.

When I opened the tin, I got an aroma that I love: very fruity and ripe. The aroma is of dried fruits, however, like figs and raisins rather than fresh fruits like apples or peaches. When I first lit the pipe, the aroma was kind of like new mown hay, which is a mature smell rather than the green smell of new mown grass. But by a third of the way into the bowl, the aroma I noticed when I opened the tin was coming through in the smoke. This is a phenomenon I have never noticed before.

Fillmore is a long, slow smoke that burns to completely dry ash with no gurgling. There was no tongue bite and the pipe stayed very cool to the touch.

This is great stuff. I think I'm going to quit worrying about finding an English or Balkan blend that I like and get really acquainted with this tobacco. I may also do a little exploring in other Virginia, Virginia/Perique or Oriental blends.

Highly recommended!

The perique, although noticeable, doesn't interfere with the virginia delivering its goods. The room note is "tolerable" and let me explain why: My wife doesn't mind the latakia note, but she actually complained about this one and said it smelled somewhat like a cigar with a hint of something else. I liked the room note though, and I have to agree this blend has a slightly "cigarish" feel. Don't get me wrong, I am NOT saying this tastes just like a cigar, it just somewhat captures a slight hint of that feel.

The packaging is kinda weird with the layering thing they have going on. Now, let me address a few complaints some people have made about this blend. I did not experience ANY bite at all, it was not harsh, it was very easy to keep lit and I personally thought the moisture content was good. You have to keep in mind that pipe smoking presents a wide range of flavors and experiences and since our tastebuds are different you are likely to enjoy this blend different from how I did.

Me? well, I think tobacco has to have a certain level of moisture, you may wish to dry it a bit before smoking it but I thought it was good the way it came. Aging it? well, I think the truly important aging of tobacco takes place before it is packaged, I have tried the cellaring thing and after 5 or 6 years the blends I've aged have improved very very little (almost unnoticeable). Last, I personally think fine blends such as this come the way the manufacturer intended them to be enjoyed, you can disagree with me and age it for 100 years if you like, my tastebuds say this blend has been properly aged and is ready to be enjoyed.

Definetely recommended.

My rate: 2,3

I've also experimented with smoking this with the air pocket method, and find that to be very good way to smoke this.

Highly recommended once again.

Original review: This is a great blend but a bit finicky. Sometimes I have difficulty in getting it to burn to the bottom of the bowl. I've experimented some and I think the best option is to rub it out pretty well. Often with these broken flakes I just stick them in the pipe as-is, for example, with Embarcadero. With this, some rubbing is I think better.

Fillmore is probably my favorite VA-per. It's not heavy on the perique, but has enough to keep it from being bland. I've had fresh stuff, but like most Pease blends I find this better with a few years. I celebrated one of my tin's 3rd birthday by opening it, and it's been very good so far.

I like this blend so much that I could stock this and Kensington and be just fine for 90% of the pipes I smoke in a year.

There are many fine tobaccos out there, Pease among the top tier. One of the things that I think alot of smokers do not realize is that tobacco shares alot in common with wine. The better it is, the more fussy it can be. By that I mean you can always rip open a pouch of drugstore blend and you get what you get, good or bad. The point is, it probably is as good as it's gonna get at the moment of opening.

The opposite is true with the fine blends offered by many, such as Pease and the like. I have found through careful experimentation, that fine tobacco likes to breathe just as fine wine likes to do. It becomes "dumb" in the tin. It needs oxygen to "open" correctly so that all of the nuance can be enjoyed and percieved.

It also generally comes too wet. This is a precaution for tin preservation. A fine tobacco should have a chance to rest once opened. By all means give it a try, but don't put alot of stock in that initial bowl 5 minutes after opening the tin. That kind of haste works with peanut butter, but not fine tobacco.

My general experience is that I pop the tin and leave it uncovered for an hour or so. Then I replace the lid and let it sit for about a week or two, opening the tin briefly for a few minutes every few days. After about two to three weeks, the tobacco is almost without fail, stunning! I rarely experience excess moisture and am assured of smoking nearly every bowl to the bottom dryly.

Well, that's all the preaching that I have in me today. I hope I have helped some and not offended anyone. On with the review.

Fillmore is one of my favorite Vapers. It is probably one of the most balanced between the savory/sweet deep red va, and the rich perique dried fruit/spice. The flake is broken rather finely and I prefer it that way. I am only rarely an intact flake smoker. I like the rubbed out version better. Yes, it will smoke alittle hotter, but that will give you a bit of practice for your technique. Never a bad thing.

The flavor starts of with the standard hay and grass. Developes quickly into a far deeper and rich smoke with the hints of coffee, chocolate and yeasty baking bread. A fantastic combo to be sure. Smoke it slowly and you will be rewarded with one of the greatest tobacco flavors ever available. Dried appropriately, it smokes cool and dry to the bottom of the bowl.

I have aged this tobbacco for as long 5 years to great benefit. I'm shooting for 10 years on a pound or two. Will ahve to let you know how that turns out.

Thanks for reading, and sharing.

Still no love for this one. The excessive "periquey-ness" toned down a bit with the additional aging but I find this one harsh and monotone. I stated "flat and boring" below but I was referring to the other blends mentioned. This one was harsh. Additional aging tones that down a hair but I still cannot smoke this one. I'm donating what's left of this 2nd tin and my unopened 3rd tin, as I don't see this improving to the point where it is smokable. Too bad, as GLP blends are starting to come together for me. Not this one, however.

ORIGINAL REVIEW 3/24/09

After smoking a tin of several GLP blends, I'm going to do one simple review of all of them... Fillmore, Haddo's, Telegraph Hill, Embarcadero and a few others... because they all share the same issues. They all appear to be promising blends whose time has not yet come. With all the hype surrounding these blends and all the positive reviews, I couldn't help but try a bunch of them. But they all seem unrealized... flat and boring, without the complexity of taste and aroma that blends from McClellands uniformly have. There's not the balance of Dunhill Elizabethan or the pure explosion of flavor that Escudo or Davidoff Flake Medallions or some of the Rattrays blends have. There are many others too numerous to mention that seem to have in spades what these GLP blends claim to have but sorely lack.

I've decided that perhaps the tins of these I've smoked are too youthful, too insipid due to a lack of aging. Indeed, the ingredients, the cut and the color among other things make them appear to be of high quality. I'm going to cellar the rest of what I have for a couple of years and try again. GLP blends have largely let me down so far but we'll see what happens after a maturation process. Rather than write a bunch of less than flattering reviews, I'm going to wait these out and try again.

4 stars

Fillmore burns to a dry ash and can heat up just a tad if you get carried away with your puffing cadence. Keep the suck meter ticking at a very moderate level and the reward will be electrifying. Truly a remarkable smoke!