G. L. Pease The Virginia Cream

I finally managed to try this "aromatic" by G.L. Pease! I must say one thing first: that I love all of Greg's latakia blends, but I have never been a fan of his Virginia-based ones. I like Haddo's once in a while (although borderline too strong for me), and Kensington and Stratford are very nice too, but in my humble opinion they don't have the opulent magnificence of his English mixtures and Balkans. That said, I love his previous semi-aromatic Barbary Coast, so I was curious.

Well, this one is delicious too. The flavoring is very mild, noticeable but unobtrusive. And, most importantly, it interacts beautifully with the leaf. You cannot scream "vanilla": on the contrary, there is a very juicy, tangy base of red and lemon Virginias with a very pronounced tobacco taste. And the Vanilla doesn't taste like a topping... but rather like an enhancement of the natural sweetness of the tobacco. Flavoring remains true almost to the bottom, too.

That is to say that this is NOT one of those aromatics which taste like Vanilla-flavoured steam, not at all. This is a serious Virginia blend with a tasteful addition of flavoring, striking a perfect balance. Somehow it reminds me of the best MacBaren blends, which have a nice but subtle biscuity taste on top of equally fine leaf. With the difference that MacBaren tends to be full of Cavendish and burley (not a bad thing in itself, mind you: I love their coin cuts), while this Virginia Cream is more... (you guessed it) Virginia-oriented.

I am not a regular aromatic smoker (usually it's Balkans and pressed Virginias for me), but this is a very worthwhile and tasteful blend.

The Virginia Cream is an excellent cased tobacco with a lovely vanilla and Bourbon tin aroma that is not overly pronounced when being smoked. Mostly golden leaf with some brown and black ribbons, it packs easily and takes wonderfully to the match. This second tin, despite being almost too dry, as where the first one was just right, still proved a pleasant smoking experience. Rather low in the nicotine department it still provides a minimum to not make me crave another pipeful shortly after. I believe anyone seeking a high quality aromatic, or interested in discovering one, should acquire a tin, or two of The Virginia Cream, which puts back some nobility on the genre.

Spouse bought me this off wishlist - love Virginias and anything Vanilla. Note to new converts do yourself a favor and age any Pease product x 2 years minimum - IMHO, as his stuff is very fresh at tinning. I set this up 2 years Tin note is very bourbon...ish, maybe some vanilla to smooth it out, and its not a low end casing, it seems genuine. Takes a bit to keep lit, quality Va and Kentucky in here, and I assume the Black Cavendish - of which is very present-must be the topping's resting place.

The problem I had with this blend, and I complete full tin's prior to reviews, is that the beautiful tin note did not translate to taste in this blend. Or at the very least not consistently throughout each bowl or bowl to bowl. I didn't actually taste any bourbon or vanilla individually, just some sweet amalgamation of something liquor..ish in nature.

Now for the crazy part - I used two meers and two briars for this blend - remember it doesn't ghost. It took me a couple of weeks to realize that each of those pipes had a residual scent not unlike - at least in part - to the lemony scent of Pledge Furniture Polish (LOL). I have no idea how else to explain that, but the better 1/2 verified this so I am not [totally] insane. Not a chemical smell, but a Pledge smell....

Positives: Quality Leaf. Negative: Pease's attempt at lightly topping this blend resulted in a dulling of flavors.

A pleasant smoke. The natural tobacco flavors are the main attraction with the Virginias dominating those. I get the Reds and Golds roughly equally. The Perique shows in the background with the Kentucky and Black Cav barely noted. Has a nice sweetness and a mild spice. Although the topping is mild, I think it's my favorite part of this blend. A really nice vanilla flavoring with just a touch of bourbon. Makes for a great tasting and creamy smoke.

Medium in body and taste. Flavoring is mild. Burns very well.

I decided to see what Mr Pease did with an aromatic and I really am not that impressed with this one at all. I expected a bit more than what I have here with the combination of components and flavoring. The blend is a bit on the dry side upon opening and does not improve with time. It lights and burns nicely and is easy to get lit. The best thing about this is the room note should get you some compliments. Recommended if you want to add to your aromatic rotation.

When you pop the tin, it smells like Cream soda, which is exactly as I wanted it to smell like. However once I put a match to it, it tasted odd and sort of chemically. I definitely got the Vanilla cream flavor, that was sitting on some really nice and meaty Virginia, but there is a weird taste on the sides and back of my tongue that gets worse as the bowl progresses. It was the same taste that I get from certain Lakelands that I don't care for, I suppose it's one of the toppings that doesn't agree with me. Also, it packs a stronger nic hit than I was expecting, this may be a boon for some, but it surprised me, every bowl I smoked, the nic snuck up on me. You would have thought that I would be ready after the first bowl, but I tended to get lost in the voluminous amounts of creamy smoke and all of the sudden....bam.

My tin of The Virginia Cream was dated 01-16. Though I’d intended to age it, I got curious and opened it, on a whim. Glad I did! The smell of the loose, variegated chunks of tobacco somehow reminds me of a bready Orlik Golden Sliced “Plus”, with Bourbon, vanilla and citrus over well-melded, well-mannered VAs, honey suckle sweet, with a fruity dash of Perique, and barely enough smoky, pungent KY to register from the tin, but plenty enough to deepen and beef up the blend when it's smoked. Yum. I load up a big pipe, because it burns fast, once it's well lit, and right from the match I enjoy the fragrant clouds of smoke. There is KY and Perique in the room note and in the tastes, and both compliment rather than dominate the VAs, which are a nice balance of stoved and air cured, earthy reds and snappy, grassy brights. Down the bowl, the KY gets a little feistier, and throughout it adds a slightly smoky, buttery quality that enhances and enriches the toppings. As for the toppings, they are very well met, and they figure in, as promised, top to bottom. So far, this blend has required some re-lights when I smoke it straight from the tin, but this has not brought me to dry it out. Strength is medium, or close to it. Tastes run medium, at least from a big bowl. Aftertaste is a smokier version of the smoke, with no chemicals to wreck it.

Lucky me, another hit from GLP, and another of the "new breed" of aromatics with which we smokers have been recently favored. Four stars, and an extra tin for my cellar. Not sure, but this might be too much tobacco for some beginners, aromatic aspect notwithstanding.

One of the consistent themes you will come across when reading other reviews of this blend is it's paradoxical combination of leaf and topping. Although there may never be a consensus on what this blend is or isn't. Do you want to call it an aromatic? Ok. Does that then lump it in with goopey PG laden aromatics? I don't know, I don't know if I care. For me this is a full flavored Virginia/Perique with a touch of bourbon/vanilla. The cream soda association (where the name is derived) is apt.

Mechanics: the first 2oz tin was perfect regarding moisture, but the 8oz tin (kinda regret getting a half pound of this stuff) was on the dry side. Comes as a sort of chopped ribbon (cube?) cut. It produces full, thick clouds of smoke.

The Smoke: Lots of virginia sweetness with a touch of perique. The bourbon vanilla topping shows itself mostly in the room note but can be found wistfully over top the perique spiced sweet virginias. The wee bit of dark fired adds a nice depth that holds the bourbon vanilla topping in place.

I recommend The Virginia Cream for pretty much any smoker that is Va/Per curious. It will be a steady part of my rotation this summer.

This blend received some serious praise and hype following its release for good reason. The tin note is wonderful. Definitely bourbon and vanilla. The tobacco beneath the topping still shines. The black cavendish is always apparent, the Perique is detectable but it is conservatively applied. The Kentucky provides a nice nutty flavor and some strength. The Virginia is more earthy than grassy or hay like. Now, how intrusive is the topping? I can't say that it's ever completely gone or unnoticeable. But it serves to enhance the flavor from the tobacco rather than make up for a bland blend and doesn't leave a goopy residue in the pipe. I will not say, however, that it is the only aromatic of its kind. There are others like C&D Golden Days of Yore, Mac Baren Modern Virginia, Mac Baren Navy Flake, and more. While not the only of its kind it is towards the top of the list.