G. L. Pease - Original Mixtures: Raven's Wing pipe tobacco reviews

Review

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Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
Showing reviews 1 through 20 of 34 reviews of this tobacco NEXT >
sagesmoke	01/22/2010	Medium	None detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable

Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
Beer	02/03/2008	Medium	None detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable to Strong
A strong Latakia mixture, with a high percentage of dark leaf. Alternatively bitter and sweet (thanks to the Virginias), it is a very good smoke. I won't spend much time into details for a simple reason: for me it tastes like a cross between the delicate fullness of Renaissance, and the darker tones of Odyssey: I like its leathery smokiness! Burning qualities and all other considerations (including the very unintrusive tin smell) are similar to the ones I wrote for those two other tobaccos. Another fine offering from the Dark Lord, with the typical distinctive taste of his Latakia mixture: not a departure from his usual style, but a welcome slightly different nuance. Major complaint: the extremely fine cut of the tobacco (most of it is almost dust-like, although there are some huger bits), which makes me blow unburnt tobacco at the first puff, and can clog the airhole! 2008 Update: I am smoking a 5 year old tin of this blend (only 2 more left in my cellar!!!), and it is extremely smooth now. Not as sweet as I remembered, and more oriented on flavours of dark (like stoved) virginia with some vague lemony hints, a big but not particularly spicy smokiness, very woody. Very good, but on the long run I still see why I have always preferred Caravan, Odyssey, Charing Cross, Blackpoint or Abingdon, which taste more lively, nutty, spicy and dynamic. Now I can't wait to taste Maltese Falcon which is meant to be an update (probably improved) of this classic and sadly departed blend...
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Spuds	06/22/2006	Medium to Strong	None detected	Full	Tolerable
Raven's Wing is the first time I really connected with a GLP blend. Don't get me wrong - I haven't had a bad GLP blend, but never before has he hit the spot in such a way. Since I have finished the last of my RW and it is no longer available, this is a plea; If you find any - buy it and send it to me. Only me. Me! I tell you!
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caddad	03/22/2006	Strong	Strong	Full	Tolerable to Strong
I tried this because I wanted to try a blend with Syrian Latakia and I knew this had it and Pease has never let me down. It is a very good blend if you are someone who likes a very strong latakia flavor. I do, but only at special times. I can't always smoke something this rich in latakia but when I crave something of this nature this is right up there with Odessey, Frog Morton,or Durbar. This and Odessey being the top of course. I imagine this is rather hard to come by now and my supply just ran out. Would surely keep it on hand though if I had the chance.
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RCUSElder	12/19/2005	Medium to Strong	None detected	Full	Strong
Updated 12-19-2005 Appearance and Tin Aroma: This blend smells absolutelty delicious in the tin. The stoved VA/s and the Syrian and Cyprian Latakias smell delightful! The cut is of a medium to broad, but short ribbon. Packing and Lighting: This blend is easy to pack, but works best if gravity fed to the top of the bowl with a gentle tamp when full. Lights 2-3 lights, but is prone to go out throughout the smoke. Initial Flavor: This is mana!!! There is no other blend to my palate that tastes so good. The room aroma is also to die for! The spicyness of the Syrian, the stoved red VA's, yummmmmmm. Mid-Bowl: I slow down at this point because this blend can be nippy if smoked fast. I don't mind letting it go out and re-lighting, the DGT is fabulous. Bottom of Bowl: It builds a gentle crescendo of fulness toward the end. The mix of Latakias and VA in this is absolutely perfect. Overall: This is my absolute, all-time, favorite blend, but there is a but. It is no longer in production!!!! I did manage to buy a small stash before its demise, but what will I do when I run out! I have limited myself to 1 tin a year for the foreseable future. This is a wonderfully complex latakia mixture that has wonderful nuances that show themselves every time I fire up a bowl. BTW it finishes with a dry, dark, mottled ash. When I smoke this blend, I prefer to smoke it exclusively. About 3 bowls per day is the max, unless you don't want to taste anything else.
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Warwick	05/14/2005	Medium	None detected	Medium	Strong
I'm sorry, but I just don't see what the fuss is about this blend. Upon opening the tin, I found this blend to be 'raw'. Aging it for several months has brought the flavors together, rounded out the harsh unevenness, but all in all, I find the overall experience rather unimpressive. Tin aroma promises a strong experience akin to Nightcap, but in the bowl it fails to produce that. The orientals are evident, but not pronounced enough, imho. The VA component is rather lost in the background. I was also surprised to find that this tended to smoke hot for me. As I am not generally a fan of stoved VAs (I find them flat and boring), it may be that this component is affecting the overall flavor in a way that just doesn't work for me. Clearly, I am in the minority on this blend. This is also my first and only GLP experience to date. But so far, I'd much prefer Nightcap for robustness, or British Woods or London Blend for an English.
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UncleGar	04/18/2005	Medium	Extremely Mild	Full	Strong
Once I learned that I have to let (most) Pease tobaccos stew in their cans for a year, I've come to appreciate them more. My initial reactions to RW were not favorable: I found it biting and astringent and bitter like boiled 3 day old espresso. What a difference a year makes! A better-than-decent English blend where the latakia, though pronounced, fails to overpower the other components. This is what I had hoped Dunhill would have perfected. The orientals are nicely sweet.. or is it the Virginias? Nice overlap of tastes and the flavor is roundly full. I smoke this outside due to its non-social aroma and I don't need to send it through my nose to determine whether the pipe is still lit. Nice taste, good blend, worth the wait.
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Thatcher	01/19/2005	Medium to Strong	None detected	Very Full	Pleasant
Raven?s Wing and Renaissance are in an ongoing battle for the title of ?My favorite Pease blend.? I had expected a paradigm shift with the recent entrance of Bohemian Scandal into the ring, but Raven and Renaissance continue to dominate. I love both Syrian and Cyprian Latakia, and here you get the best of both worlds. And with both kinds of Latakia working together in perfect harmony, I fail to see how any lover of English blends wouldn?t be enchanted by this beautiful mixture. If any blend deserves the accolade ?complex,? it?s Raven?s Wing. I only hope it survives the great Syrian shortage of ?04. The world of pipesmoking will surely be a bleaker place if it doesn?t.
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drauh	01/04/2005	Strong	None detected	Very Full	Strong
I can't get enough of this. Apparently, neither can the whole country: all the online merchants are out. However, I found two 3-year old tins at my tobacconist's. Ah, bliss! This would be at the top of my desert island list, above even Nightcap.
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bigblends	10/26/2004	Medium to Strong	None detected	Full	Tolerable
It's just too easy to smoke bowl after bowl of this fine stuff. Both Latakias lend tremendous body and aroma to the blend. Raven's Wing is a handsome tobac that smells big and smoky in the tin and exhibits a touch of tartness as well. It packs nicely and smokes very well when packed a touch looser than usual. The burn is great and it leaves nothing but ash all the way to the bottom. The blend smokes cool and dry to the end, and it's a great tobacco for developing a cake. The mouthfeel is quite restrained for such a big blend. It's an all-day smoker (even though I rarely smoke more than two pipes a day) with huge flavor and huge aroma. Raven's Wing is a regular in my rotation of Pease's Renaissance and Abingdon. It's an awesome, full English, whereas Renaissance is, what I feel, an English/Balkan hybrid and Abingdon a full Balkan. It's nice to have each end of the spectrum represented and enjoy a complex representative of both in the middle. I give my highest rating to this blend, and I can't imagine not having at least a few ounces on hand at all times. A classic. ADDED 6-14-04: I'm noticing an exciting flavor shift mid-bowl. It's quite rich. This really is great stuff.
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Esoxhunter	09/09/2004	Medium to Strong	None detected	Full	Tolerable
September 2004 CaptnDan's Raven's Wing review says it all for me. As much as I love Nightcap and Penzance, this blend is more complex--I love the sweet/sour interplay behind the fabulous Latakia. I smoked my first tin of this in an "Armadillo" pot by Minneapolis pipe maker Rich Lewis (Rich is a tremendous high-grade pipe carver--check him out at lewispipe.com). Pease blends just continue to work for me.
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2ley	08/05/2004	Medium	None detected	Full	Pleasant
I received some of this in a trade, and, along with Nightcap, it has become one of my favorites. The tin smell was wonderfully earthy and rich, the smoke was cool and full, and, having paid attention to the packing warning, I only had to relight twice. Above all, the taste and aftertaste were marvelous. The hint of clove in my mouth after smoking it just added to the experience. You could search high and low and not find a better Latakia-based tobacco.
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CaptnDan	05/14/2004	Medium to Strong	None detected	Full	Tolerable to Strong
Raven?s Wing is synonymous with Latakia. It is also synonymous with smooth, cool, delicious, and a host of other adjectives. Smoking Raven?s Wing is like smoking velvet that has been seasoned with silk. Black silk and velvet, that is. Need I state that I like it? This is the best heavy Latakia blend I have found to date. Nightcap and Penzance, step aside. Syrian Trawler ? you?ve got your sailing orders. At first light, the Latakia boldly takes center stage. The Orientals and Dark Stoved Virginias quietly join in, in a supporting role. And they certainly do their jobs to full effect, lending sometimes a sweet, sometimes a spicy backdrop to the star of the show ? the Latakia. The Syrian and Cyprian duet is enhanced by the harmonizing added by the Va and Oriental in ways that never become boring, and by the end of the bowl, you?re wishing you had loaded a larger pipe. This is indeed one for the Latakia lover. If you feel that Latakia, traditionally thought of as a ?condiment? tobacco, should only be used to enhance and balance the flavors of other tobaccos, you aren?t going to like RW one little bit. But if you like your Latakia big and bold with the other tobaccos dancing lightly around it ? by all means, grab some Raven?s Wing, sit back, and experience nirvana. Will I ever again think of Nightcap as my ?Latakia Grail?? Quoth the Raven, ?Nevermore?
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Stycle	12/15/2003	Medium to Strong	None detected	Full	Tolerable to Strong
I have yet to try all the Pease blends but Rw is my favorite to date. This blend has a rich, full latakia flavor melded with sweet and mellow virginias which makes for a truly delicious smoke. It just amazes me that a tobacco blender can take vegetation mix it together set it on fire and come up with something that tstes so good.Raven's Wing has that somethin'somethin'.I prefer it at the end of the day though I often do a little dgt thing with it and start off the day with the remnants of my evening smoke. RW has a full flavor not a strong flavor that makes it suitable any time of the day.
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Chessnut	10/13/2003	Very Strong	Very Strong		Strong
For Latakia lovers this is a must try tobacco. It has a great balance between the Cyprian & Syrian Latakias. It packs a wallup but is never harsh or bitter. I find the burn to be very nice and slow and it is also a nice dry smoke. It has a very powerful but In my opinion wonderful room note. If you enjoy My Mixture or Nightcap you will definitely love this tobacco. Highly recomended.
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Pounder 5000	09/18/2003	Medium to Strong	None detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable
This is another good offering from Mr. Pease. The fullest of his blends that I have tried so far, it's still not as rich in Latakia as penzance or Pirate's Kake for instance. Instead this blend lends itself to superior blending and comes out a winner. While there is plenty of Latakia, there is also a Virginia base that gives a nice sweetness to the mix. Sort of like My Mixture 965 but without the cavendish. The blend is not as complex as Caravan or Odyssey but is still more so than other high latakia content blends. I can appreciate this when I have time to just smoke.
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mesacactus	08/03/2003	Medium to Strong	None detected	Full	Strong
When my local tobacconist ran out of Old Ironsides (I do like heavy Latakia blends), I was almost in a near panic. He calmed me down with some G.L. Pease "Raven's Wing" For those who don't know, G.L. Pease is a new comer to pipe tobacco blending, and has already developed a large following of pipe smokers who swear by his abilities. I don't know if I would go that far in my opinion of Mr. Pease, but he does know how to blend a Latakia based tobacco. This is not a true English. He spikes it with Syrian Latakia. Syrian Latakia is very differnt from Cyprian Latakia. Less smokey, and more sweet. I don't know if I like that. Which is where I break from my fellow pipe smokers who worship at the alter of Pease. Raven's Wing is a Good Tobacco blend, as are most of the other blends Pease has developed over the years. But something is missing from Raven's Wing. I should like it. It has a great cut, good flavor, and stays lit well, but it just does not hit the spot. Try it for yourself, and you too may become a worshiper of Pease. I'll just settle for being a non-believer for the moment.
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The Keeper	07/24/2003	Strong	None detected	Very Full	Pleasant to Tolerable
Though I've smoked it for several weeks now, Raven's Wing has escaped my review process for one reason: I wanted to make sure it is really as good as I first thought. Latakia infatuated? I guess I am. And this stuff (the newest batch of Raven's Wing with the fresh quantity of Syrian) is a Latakia flavor powerhouse. It smells and looks wonderful in the bag: hinting at the richness to come as the bowl progresses. The VA supports the taste with a bit of sharp sweetness. The tangy orientals come through mostly towards the end of the bowl but are very subtle below the deep, dark earthiness of the latakia. Each smoke has been a bit different, and none of it overpowering despite the high nicotine content. The luxuriant, gray naturally sweet and spicey smoke fills the room and the palate. I don't find the odor at all offensive, even as it lingers. To date my S.O. hasn't taken any real notice of it. It generally burns well but often needs a bit of patience to get going initially even with a light pack. In my opinion consistently worth the effort. Very little bite. I've got a lovely hand made briar more or less dedicated to this and other milder Latakia blends. It is one of the only blends I keep a small stash of. That says it all. To date my favorite Pease offering, Raven's Wing likely will remain in my top 3 tobacco blends of choice.
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
JB	06/08/2003	Medium to Strong	None detected	Very Full	Tolerable
Raven's Wing is what Penzance aspires to be, but isn't. RW has layers of flavor, while Penzance is one taste all the way to the bottom of the bowl. When the Syrian latakia dried up in early 2003, I was glad that I had some RW in reserve. The age only improved a great blend to start with. I consider this a classic full-bodied English blend.
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dangpipes	04/07/2003	Medium to Strong	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Tolerable
I was initially put off and feared that this would be too strong of a smoke, but decided to give another Pease blend a try. I am glad I did. The Latakia does stand out in this mixture, but it is intended to! The Virginia gives it a nice platform to stand up and shout. All in all, it was milder than I expected. The Syrian Latakia does come through nicely, along with the Cyprian which somewhat softens the impact and allows for the interplay with the Virginia. This has quickly become a favorite.
Showing reviews 1 through 20 of 34 reviews of this tobacco NEXT >