G. L. Pease The Virginia Cream

Mr Pease has done it again ...
This blend is a work of pure genius.

On the nose you'll a vanilla hit ... no way around it, there's a topping and not just a casing. If you let it air a little and give it a bit to dry you'll get the full range of blending components ... hay, grass, lemon, and red fruit from the VAs. Pepper and stewed plums, and raisins from the Perique. Nuttiness and BBQ smoke from the DFK ...

Smoking is super easy, takes to flame well . The topping is obvious but you taste it less the longer you smoke. After a third of the bowl, the tobaccos take the lead and it starts tasking like a proper VaPerBur.

No tongue bite, no gurgling sounds ... perfect smoking experience.

It's a feel-good tobacco! give it a try, even if you don't like aromatics!

An easy burning and mildly topped Virginia. The vanilla is present but only to bring a softness. This is great Virginia. Does not bite. Stays lit. Go slow.

The problem with addictions (other than the obvious) is that ‘we’ tend to lack balance. Too far in one direction. Then too far in another direction. This excellent GLP blend is a balancer. An interlude between an English phase or an Aromatic phase or whatever phase is pulling.

Tasty. Mild. Peasant.

I enjoy medium intensity aromatics, English blends, Latakia and even Lakeland essences … But with this one, I’ve come to realize I really don’t like Virginia forward tobaccos. In my neophyte opinion, this was like smoking a cigarette and not pipe tobacco. The tin note was of souring fruit starting to ferment with no vanilla.

Perhaps my tin was just too new? I didn’t get any flavors or aroma, just the smell you get at a Poker game where a group of guys are chain smoking crappy cigarettes. Anyway, I stuffed it in a jar for now and will try it again next year. Maybe it was just too “green”. I gave it a “somewhat recommended” only because I realize too many other people enjoyed it … so it must be me.

Uncovering the container and smelling its aroma makes you want to eat it, like a box of vanilla cookies, and the touch of tobacco is pleasantly spongy, one of those that loads very easily. Once the pipe is lit, you can see that the coverage is applied lightly, so if you are not an aromatic smoker but buy one from time to time to try and change pace, this could be a strong candidate, as long as you like the very light vanilla flavor. If you've smoked the rich tobacco Eight State Burley (Cornell & Diehl), 2021 small batch series, and detected a light coverage, I'd say it could be something very similar to this. Some reviewers have described it as a "pleasant experience," so I'd agree with those comments.

Similar, with an application of vanilla from Madacascar, is the Vanilla Roll Cake / Classic Roll Cake (Mac Baren).

Tin note of spices, sweet Rasins and vanilla. Tobacco brown, tan and black Ribbon/course cut is mostly dry and needs no prep. Burns normal with few relights. The strength is mild to medium and nic is mild. Flavoring is mild, with notes of Vanilla. It quickly fades to the back where the bourbon stays. Taste is medium and mostly consistent, with notes of mild spiced stewed plum, moderately spicy, dry earth, wood, floral, mild lemon grass, mild raisin, a lightly sweet nut background note, and a moderately peppery retro. Virginia is leading with support from Kentucky and Perique. Cavendish and flavoring are supporting from the rear, mostly unseen. Room note is pleasant, and aftertaste is good.