I cellar-ed this product in January 2011 and at this writing have smoked half the tin in the past 90 days. It stored well and retained just enough moisture to hold a broader range of flavors during this period.

Even burning, seemingly well cured and smooth smoking. From the three others I have tried, I estimate that most of this brand's blends are not hurried to market or overly topped.

It was bought from a shop in Arizona, where the retail price of $15.00 was on the high end, but I will choose this particular brand and consider another blend first. Acceptable quality, the third product in G.L. Pease line that I have tasted.

Sweet dark and creamy rich virginias developes with deftly blended izmer. I'm thinking there might be a bit of cigar leaf here as well.

Folks, there is a complex myriad of flavors here far beyond my descriptive abilities. I believe every smoker will percieve this quite differently.

Setting : Wintry evening with a snifter of brandy watching Independence Day or really any good adventure film where the good guys win.

Packing and Burning: It is the easiest flake to pack because it is so soft and supple; it was just stuffed into the pipe with moderate force. Takes a lot of puffing to keep it lit.

Taste & Aroma: I can understand many of the mentioned nuances, albeit to a subdued extent: sweet and sour, wine-like, cigaresque, nutty cacao. Perhaps mostly cigaresque, overall, contrasting darkly with the expectaions from the tin aroma. Smooth, soft, and biteless.

Nicotine: Strongly contrasting with the dainty tin aroma, far from being subtle, it is a whale; like nicotine had to be added, to give something with such a pleasant tin scent, so much strength.

Overall: I am going to have to pass on this, as far as giving it the highest rating. I am partly in agreeement with the overdone artisanal tobacco aura. The flapped package is a hassle. The nicotine versus tin aroma is like a wine drunk, when what you really expected was a champagne buzz. A strong 3.2 stars.

I have not reviewed for a long time, in part because I was too busy, and in part because I just haven't been excited by anything lately, tobacco wise.

First, this is a nice, earthy, spicy, slightly sweet weed. Smells very sweet in the tin, almost aromatic. But in the pipe it is just a refined, natural taste. This is what I was hoping to get from Peterson's Irish Whiskey and other similar things I have smoked in the last year or two. Quite strong, really. After smoking this, Westminster (by the same blender) really seemed tame in the nicotine department.

Also, I found this much better in the presentation and mechanics department than Filmore. Maybe I just got a bum tin of Filmore; will try that one again later.

Don't know about the Izmir; didn't really taste anything I would describe as turkish. But the overall effect was nice, and I don't doubt that leaf added to this, however covertly in my case.

A solid smoke, well worth the try.

When it did smolder, there were some sweet notes from the Virginia, and no tang associated sometimes with similar Virginia leaf. The Izmir provided a sour wine finish that was not pleasant. The description on the tin and my scorecard tally to a different number.

Embarcadero is neither here nor there in my estimation. It is not a captivating Virginia flake, nor satisfying when I crave the subtleties and intrigue of Oriental tobaccos.

So far, I'm groping in the Fog City Selection. Only Ashbury and Lombard remain, having thus tried Union Square, Fillmore, Telegraph Hill and Montgomery. Lombard is in the cellar still. Might have to seek a sample of Ashbury before committing my lovely hours to smoking a tin.

Sliced flakes including this one generally annoy me. They create a mess, rolling them out and stuffing the pipe.

Once I got over some initial disappointment regarding the "too subdued" oriental flavor, I discovered what a nice tasty red VA this blend is. The oriental stayed firmly in the tin and room aroma and steadfastly refused to come out and play with the taste buds other than a swish here and a breath there. This is one of those GLP blends that I first smoked in 2008 and found severely lacking but that has come of age since. I don't enjoy playing into those old sayings such as "Pease blends need to age before they should be smoked" but it was quite accurate with this one. The tin I just finished was from early 2008.

The additional cellar time really opened up the flavor of this. The red VA's were toasty and lightly sweet with a hint of nuttiness... er... ok, I'll stop writing and tell you to simply read the tin description. It perfectly describes my experience. I would have liked more oriental flavor but this one was quite good as a (mainly) straight virginia. Not a steady rotation-maker but definitely a good smoke, supremely preferable to Union Square and well worth the time. Recommended.

Appearance: The slicing of the flakes produces long, thin strips of tobacco which rub out easily. I like this cut because it has some of the density of a flake but is more easy to handle, like a pseudo-ribbon. The tobacco is darkish with lighter striations.

Aroma: The tin aroma is delicious, somewhat hay-like but sweeter in the nose, almost like a casing but I don't think so. I don't detect any toppings in the flavor, so I'm assuming the sweetness in the aroma comes mostly from the weed itself.

Pipe 1: Meer Billiard Pipe 2: Sav Chubby Author Pipe 3: Stanwell Vario Billiard

Flavor: Embarcadero has some similarities to the Pease vapers, insofar as the Virginias require a lot of coaxing to get the flavors to shine. Flavor profiles also have some similarities to the vapers, but certainly different due to the Izmir. I like this blend better than Stratford, Telegraph Hill and Fillmore, even though it starts off quite austere like those blends. It certainly likes to hide its secrets, so patience and concentration can make a world of difference in your enjoyment of this blend.

The first half of the bowl begins much like those blends just mentioned above, but some patience really brings out some richness during the second half. I actually found that I prefer this blend at a temperature a bit higher than sipping which brings out some deep flavors and toastiness from the Izmir.

It's also one of those blends where you ought to strive to find the right pipe. When you get the right combination, it's a solid tasty blend made for those who enjoy an interesting and slightly complex tobacco sans Latakia.

I like it! Three stars.