A while back I picked up some Oriental blending leaf (Turkish Smyrna) to isolate its taste profile. I mixed it in with blends on hand, did a bit of my own blending (I'm no Alfred Dunhill), and smoked it straight (better than expected). I still had problems, so I went in search of a showcase Oriental blend to show me the way.

I chose Cairo specifically because it lacked Latakia, which tastes so full that it tends to outshine anything else in a blend. After some experimentation, to tell you the truth, I'm still baffled. Maybe my palate is shot from all the English and this leather tongue can't pick up on the subtleties. Who knows?

Despite the failure of my mission, I'll say that Cairo is an excellent blend. On first opening, the tin will yield the unmistakable scent of a topping. I'm assuming this is some kind of liquor, but being a bit naive of the variety, I can't be more specific (the translation to combustion is restrained, however). Cairo is a blond beauty, full of brightly colored leaves. You can see a few flecks of Perique, but the leaf is used sparingly. One might think a mild smoke would be in hand, but this is a mistake. Cairo is rich and full. The first time I smoked this, I put it in a large sized Meerschaum and nearly overdosed on nicotine. That is rare for someone who craves heavy blends.

I value novelty in my tobacco, as I tend to tire easily of monotony, and this mixture is certainly unique. I can't pin another blend that tastes anything like this. I haven't yet decided how Cairo will fit into my long term rotation, but these 2 ounces will be a pleasure to explore.

My fixation with Orientals will continue until I'm satisfied with my knowledge of the leaf. Scouring tobacco reviews, I think I'll try Embarcadero next. I'm interested to see what Greg considers a super variety of Izmir, and its implementation in flake form.

Four of Five.

I have been a friend of English and Oriental blends. My favorite of all time was Balkan Sobranie. I figured Cairo would be one I would like, but it goes beyond my expectations. I thought I would really miss the latakia and perique. But I don't and this is really good stuff. I still suspect I have some delicious surprises waiting for me when I get to his oriental blends, but I'm enjoying this one for what it is while I work on this tin.

Everytime I open the tin, the aroma reaches out and touches me. From the aroma, I suspect there is some very mild flavoring in it but I can't put my finger on it and I can't taste it at all. When I first light the pipe, the sweetness of the Virginias is pronounced. As the smoke proceeds, the savoriness of the Orientals becomes more and more noticeable. This is a great blend that I know I will return to even when I have found a replacement for my Balkan Sobranie.

Since returning to pipe smoking, I've found that my taste for oriental mixtures has waned and my taste for Balkan and English blends has dominated. However, I found this to be a nice change of pace.

For those who have shied away from Virgina blends because of experiences with the "hot ketchup" flavor some find objectionable in other popular Virginia blends, this is a pleasant surprise. The orientals tame the Virginias and the Perique comes as a nice balance to foil the bite of a straight Virginia.

The room note was an equally interesting surprise. I left the room and re-entered several minutes later to find that there was a lingering aroma of caramel and toasted pecans. Odd, but certainly pleasant.

As this was an older tin, subjected to rather rough treatment, I'd have to sample a newer tin of it to determine if the qualities of the tobacco were negatively impacted. Nonetheless, I'd keep a tin of this on hand when I don't know what else to smoke.

The tin smells of citrus, spices, and tobacco. The virginias and orientals dominate the aroma, and the perique is barely noticable. The tobacco is packaged slightly drier than I prefer, but it requires no preparation for smoking.

The smoke is both sweet and tangy, with the perique building as the bowl progresses. As one reviewer put it, this blend will tickle your nose just as a strong ginger ale will. While I'm not sure I willenjoy it as much in the einter as I do during this hot summer days, I will definately continue to smoke it. A solid three star tobacco.

It is very simillar to montgomery just with a little perique in place of the fired kentucky.

However the nicotine is ultra potent. Cairo will kick you in the back of the knees. Like drinking a whole pot of coffee if you ask me.

I will smoke the tin up but might not order again as I prefer balkans and straight va's. This does not make it bad at all. Jut not what I call my favorite pease blend.

I really don't like perique but it is tollerable in this and present in a minimal quantity, in the smoking- the tin has its putrid odor sadly. I can look past the tin aroma. Perique almost gags me I hate its foul smell. Funny how we are different as I know many love its smell.

This is more of an occasional blend for me. If you like va and a strong oriental presence and don't like latakia at all you will enjoy this. However I find myself saying where's the latakia? So it goes. I reccomend montgomery over this. It is more smokable to me.

A well blended tobacco, just not my thing.

Aroma & Taste: A dulled version of the tin aroma, reduced to about 1/5. I got scorched with tongue bite. My tongue was sore the next day. A lightly packed pipe seems to be the conditions that bring out a decided cigar quality, an aroma a few others have observed.

In a large bowl, tightly packed, a time or two I did get flavor approaching the tin aroma and a lessened amount of tongue bite.

Room Note: Like the aroma; not unpleasant, tolerable.

Nicotine: Strong

Overall: The tin aroma is enough alone to suggest to me why some have described Cairo as an aromatic. A major disappoint; like aromatics, Cairo has a nice tin aroma which is not matched by the aroma or flavor of the smoke, being greatly diminished. The tongue bite was overwhelming. Someone reviewed "...that the flavor never quite lives up to the rich...tin aroma." Maybe one or two stars.

I won't be buying this one again I'm afraid

Edit: Since I have run out of my other blends for the time being I have returned to this can which sat in the back of my tobacco shelf for the last 6-8 months. I must add a star to this blend, after smoking many bowls the sweetness of this blend has grown on me.

This is still not my favorite blend from GL Pease, but I think it is better than my first review implied.

3 stars

The tin aroma is delicious. It's that fruity, winey, fermented odor, almost exotic, that again I take to be the offspring of the blissful marriage of Perique and Oriental. In the words of a cigarette smoking friend who wished to smell the strange leaf in my jar: "Wow." Despite this tin aroma, the taste of the burning leaf can stray close to cigarette-ish if smoked too hot or inattentively in an inauspicious pipe. But in a good pipe dedicated to Virginias/VaPers, smoked slowly and with presence of mind, it is quite good - slightly sweet and spicy, per the billing. It seems to me, though, that the flavor never quite lives up to the rich piquant pungency suggested by the tin aroma - it sort of hovers around it, hints at it, and every now and then gives you a sip of ginger beer. Which is still pretty good. But, my tin was pretty much new. I bet if I had the patience to age a tin a few years it would be dynamite.

Speaking of dynamite, my love for Perique exceeds my tolerance for its nicotine content (but I'm working on that). It seems to me that Cairo's Perique is felt more than tasted. The first time I smoked Cairo was in the aforementioned Radice billiard, which is the largest bowl I have, and it just about shoved me down the porch stairs and kicked me in the ribs. But in a smaller to middling pipe it is just right. My Savinelli loves it, but my Radice still laughs at me when I take out the jar.

Recommended if you like Va/Pers, Oriental leaf, and ginger beer. Recommended for the tin aroma alone.

This tin had 20 months age and I expected a little more from it. I have not given up on it and have another four tin in the cellar.

I rate it at 2.75 stars at this point.

Chef no function Cairo well without.

My first thought was "Where's the Perique?" It started off as a very tasty Virginia/Oriental. Not that there's anything wrong with that. I like Va/Or blends. I really like Perique. A lot. After things warmed up a bit the Bayou Voodoo began, in a very subtle way. Unlike any Cajun I know or am related to, this was a very quiet, shy and retiring sort of Perique presence. Very elegant, and a nice surprise.

Yumbo!

***Saturday August 23, 2008*** Having gone through several ounces (okay, okay...half a pound) of this marvelous combustible concoction I feel I must add to my previous review.

This tobacco is very much like a fine malt whisky. Meant to be savored in sips, not quaffed like a lager. Move it along too quickly and you lose the nuance, elegant structure and interplay of the simple, yet excellent, ingredients. It is flexible in its ability to work well in all kinds of weather, any time of day, any size/shape briar and smoker's mood. I cannot recommend this tobacco highly enough.

I get no bite, it lights easily and stays lit through the entire bowl. Cairo is a blend that can be an all day smoke and one that can be enjoyably complex.

While this blend is great with a fresh tin, it ages exceptionally well. I find that in a fresh tin the citrus notes linger more through the first 2/3rds of the bowl and are less subtle than in an aged tin. I prefer the way they become more mellowed and refined with some age. But either way is good for me. It's hard to put some age on your tins when you like them so much. If you looking for a blend that tasts good, smokes well, offers loads complexity while not having to be babied,(and who isn't?) give Cairo a try.

//Update above//

This is a marvelous tobacco and a wonderfully complex smoke. The complexity is not revealed, at least for me, on first light up, but comes into play once I'm through the first third of the bowl. I've been smoking this in an Ardor Ninfea smoothgrain bent as well as a Stanwell Danish I purchased back in 1979. It seems to do better in the larger-bowled Ardor, complexity-wise. On light up, I immediately taste the bright virginia and it can nip the tongue (especially if it is my third or fourth pipe of the day); however, once I have it burning smoothly, the nip disappears and it slowly enters into its complex stage. Once Cairo is evenly lit, it burns smoothly with few re-lights. I don't taste figs or prunes but good sweet high-quality tobaccos with hints of spice. The deeper into the bowl, the more flavorful and rich the taste becomes. The perique makes its presence known sporadically throughout the bowl and acts as a condiment. Cairo burns down to a dry gray ash. I've enjoyed this tobacco so much that I recently ordered from The Briary (no connections) another large-bowled pipe, a Cavicchi 1C (rough), in which to enjoy it more fully. My other Cavicchi is dedicated to GLP Laurel Heights and Blackpoint. My wife enjoys the room note of Cairo and has commented on it having a "lighter" aroma than Blackpoint or Haddoes Delight. This baccy should do extremely well with a couple of years aging and that will be my next endeavor, to put down about 5 - 6 tins to enjoy, Lord willing, in two to three years from now. This is the fifth GLP blend I've purchased and have thoroughly enjoyed (the other four were Laurel Heights, Odyssey, Blackpoint and Haddoes Delight). I currently have extra tins of each of those "cellaring" (as well as a bodacious amount of S. Gawith's Perfection, Full Brown Flake, Full Virginia Flake, Balkan Flake, and Astleys 109). I highly recommend Cairo, especially in a large-bowled pipe, smoked slowly and at leisure. If you smoke it too fast, you'll miss out.

I've not noticed the bite issue raised by reviewers; I smoke it slowly in a small bowl vintage GBD.

I've been smoking from a May 2007 tin. I will lay some away as I would expect it to benefit from a few years in the cellar. Cairo will stay in my rotation as an interesting change for the palate.

ORIGINAL REVIEW: I have not had much experience with mostly-VA blends because of too much bite in my past forays, but I do not dislike the flavor of VA and I like Perique. Good flavor overall, but a bit too mild until mid-bowl or so. This went from lemony with a dash of sweet, spice and other flavors to somewhat nutty/woody towards the bottom--not at all bad anywhere in the bowl. Not my favorite bowl of tobacco, but good though. I will finish this tin, smoking occasionally, but probably will only buy this every so often.