G. L. Pease Regents Flake

The mature red Virginia is very tangy, dark fruit sweet with earth, wood and a minor spice note, and is a team player even though there’s more of it than there is of the other tobaccos. The citrus sweet, grassy bright Virginia also seems to have a drop of honey in a support role. The raisin, plum, figs and spice from the perique mostly lurks in the background. The Izmir is a tad smokey, earthy, very woody, mildly floral and musty, and moderately spicy along with a buttery sweet and more sour taste as it constantly competes with the Virginias. At times, it will dominate. Given that, you will still notice all the inherent characteristics of the tobaccos most of the time. The nic-hit is a little closer to medium than it is to mild. It’s medium in strength while the taste level is just past medium. The flakes are lightly moist and not thick, and I saw no need to dry them. Mildly complex, it burns at a reasonable pace for a flake; cool, clean, and even with a fairly smooth flavor. It has no weak or harsh spots, and won’t bite. Requires a normal number of relights for a flake product, and leaves virtually no dampness in the bowl. The after taste is mildly woody sweet and rather pleasant. The room note is pleasant. It’s not quite an all day smoke, but those experienced in Oriental blends may find it closer to being one.

-JimInks

I just don't like this one. Two of the reasons are personal and your experience may be completely different. The third isn't.

1. I just don't like the way it taste. Nothing to do with any one component, it's the way these particular components, and the amount of each, taste combined. I've had Va/Or/Per blends that I have loved, but not this one. To my taste buds it's off the mark.

2. This is not a very forgiving blend. It seems to require a more disciplined piper than myself. If my cadence is a little too quick or if I puff a little too hard the flavor goes off the rails and gets a bit nasty. If you're a disciplined smoker you can avoid this. If I have to constantly mind my cadence it just takes the enjoyment out of smoking.

3. It's not very well rounded. Most of the flavor is in mid-range and high notes. There is very little in the low range. The Perique may have filled that slot, but there's not enough of it to get the job done.

I will recommend this to disciplined smokers. People like me should probably pass.

Medium in body and taste. No added flavorings. Burns very well. No appreciable difference between briar or cob.

Nice looking mahogany brown "flakelets" with a tin nose of fruitiness, mustiness and deep tobacco. I got the best results, such as they were, with simply rolling and stuffing. Too much rubbing out made this one messy tasting. I let it dry for a few hours but it still had some moisture. Too dry and it lost whatever flavor qualities it had.

I hate to keep saying this, but I'll only stop when I stop smoking C&D-sourced tobaccos (only one more to go, thank goodness!) or they improve. The quality of C&D Virginias is very substandard these days. They taste like rough burleys. Almost zero sweetness, and unrefined to the point that I suspect they're using green tobaccos under the guise of "hey, this stuff needs to be aged to be fully appreciated!". Perhaps that's so, but I've found that most of the best blends start out wonderful and mellow with age. If they start out rough, they may smooth out a bit but they don't become great blends. At any rate, I liked what the Izmir brought... a certain sourness and bitterness (in a good way) along with some depth of flavor. Overall, this one was unpredictable in its outcome. If you've ever wondered what the overused tobacco review adjective "earthy" meant, try this one. It sometimes literally tastes like dirt. Other times, the Izmir somewhat overcame the deficiencies of the Virginia and I got a moderately pleasant experience. I could have used a lot more sweetness or at least some complexity. None of that here. I'm grading this 2 stars because I think with higher quality base tobaccos, this could be a winner recipe. Then again, it's not easy to make a VA/OR without some latakia to make it snap into focus. Focus is the main thing this one lacks, and again, I think it's the VA. Others like it, so try it if the recipe appeals to you. I struggled to finish the tin, and then only in deference to Greg Pease, who I've always found to be a spectacular blender. Wish he'd change blenders. But taste is so subjective and maybe I'm simply an outlier. I can live with that.

On to the second half of the much- anticipated new Pease duo. I made myself wait a day in between this and Temple Bar to allow a fresh palate and fair, uncontaminated initial judgement for each. Because of my love for GLP plugs and crumble cake like Triple Play, Jack Knife, and Gaslight, I was admittedly already expecting Temple Bar to be the better of the two. Long story short, Regents Flake beat the odds, for the time being anyway.

Absolutely beautiful scent in the can...smells like figs with tart overtones. Moisture content was just about right, so I rubbed out a few broken flakes and loaded a somewhat narrow bored cob. From the first light I am amazed at the amount of flavor present. With TB, I felt the flavors had to be coaxed at the outset, but steadily grew and evolved throughout the smoke. Not a bad thing, but it was pleasant with RF to experience the flavor from puff one.

I don't detect a topping, but I find the taste a lot sweeter and much fruitier than with TB. It's difficult to tell where the VAs end and the orientals begin - they mingle seamlesslessly - but there seems to be a little more oriental leaf here taking the driver's seat. That, or the Izmir (of which I'm mostly inexperienced with) just has a more pronounced flavor profile. There is no mention of perique, but I would swear I can taste it, especially on the retrohale. Sweet with a lingering tart/citrus undercurrent, with hints of the usual floral and incense notes. A buddy of mine once smoked nothing but imported, mostly oriental loose-leaf tobacco that he rolled into cigarettes. He brought a no brand bag home when returning from Istanbul, and allowed me to try it. At the time I had next to little knowledge or interest in tobacco, but I remember really enjoying the flavor of that rolled smoke. RF immediately conjured that memory of 15 years ago...something about that citrus like note.

Overall first impression is I'm greatly impressed with this flake. It smells nice, burning or not. It burns evenly, cleanly, and with minimal relights. Not even a rumor of tongue bite. And I'd put the flavor in the med/full to full range. I definitely recommend, especially if you're fond of more refreshing high notes (as opposed to the dark and deep notes).

Yet another paid sample from the 2018 Chicago Pipe Show. I have mixed feelings about Regents Flake (which, by the way, is a broken flake)—I liked sipping this one. I agree with Gent Zomb that the flavors hit a lot of mid and high notes. I consider these tastes "thick" with flavor, which for the most part is good (but...), the blend certainly remains steady throughout. This "steadiness," however, gets a bit heavy-handed and boring after awhile. The blend is also a bit on the strong side for me, a sneaky strong, the strength builds until, quite frankly, I no longer enjoyed it. I could see where someone, perhaps and old sea dog would like this blend, but this one's not for me. 2.60 stars (I liked this slightly better than Mad Fiddler, but I don't have the heart to give it 3 stars).

Keep on piping!

I love Oriental forward blends and I think C&D's Izmir is outstanding leaf. The flavor of Regent's Flake is toasty, slightly sweet, woodsy with a bit of earth and an ample amount of piquant spice. I picture this blend as somewhat of a reimagined version of Embarcadero. One where the Izmir provides the flavor focus and the Virginias play the supporting role.

I found Regent's Flake to be very pipe dependent and I think it's crucial to run it through several pipes to experience its intricacies and discover what works best. For me, it tasted average to good in some pipes and down right sublime in others. Having smoked my share of Embarcadero, another blend that doesn't exactly glow in every pipe, I wasn't surprised by this. However, unlike Embarcadero, I was quite surprised at how vastly different Regent's Flake tasted pipe to pipe. In the right pipe this flake is a perfect example of how flavorful and complex Izmir can be. I can't say I notice the perique, but there is plenty of spice and some tang to the finish.

In the sidestream I taste something along the lines of mace or allspice. The smoke is a bit edgy but it's not harsh. This blend is quite reminiscent of Cairo and fairly close to C&D's Oriental Silk, which I think has a bit more perique. One thing is for sure, this will make for a fantastic rich tasting Oriental-forward, non-Latakia winter smoke. The tobacco flavor strength is a firm medium, the nicotine is there and provides a nice relaxing feel but it's not too strong.

Personally, I think this is a masterpiece by Mr. Pease, and after smoking a sublime tasting 6 year old tin of Cairo, I am sure this will age equally as well, if not better.

Oh McClelland's No. 24, why did you have to go? First stop on my No. 24 Replacement Train was to sample Pease's Va/Or type blends, beyond Cairo. Regent's Flake and Temple Bar are very, very similar; therefore I'll write one review for both. The Va aspect behaves as one would expect and has been described in other reviews, with the Perique showing through a bit more in Regent's Flake, and the Oriental, bringing a strong woody component, shining a bit more in Temple Bar. Overall, Regent's Flake is a bit more rich, creamy, and sweet while Temple Bar brings a more delicate and complex offering. Regent's Flake is a real pleasure to smoke when it comes to how smoothly the draw remains consistent and how trouble free it is in regard to not needing relights. It is a very consistent smoke throughout the entirety of the bowl.

Between the two, my favorite is Temple Bar, due to the complexity and distinctiveness between the different leafs. If you are opposed to plugs, stay away from Temple Bar, though I enjoy the preparation aspects and variety in presentation.

I give Temple Bar 4 Stars, while assigning 3 Stars to Regent's Flake.

This is a steady burning, easy folding or rubbing flake.

A little temperamental while new, so I do not rub much and sip. Time will mend that.

This is brighter tasting and a lighter blend than Temple Bar IMO. Still rich.

The base is mostly bright Virginia too me (Like Montgomery). I do not detect the Perique, but it is mostly there to keep the blend reasonably cool. I do taste the Oriental. Hay, herbal, spicy, and interesting. Tasty. Creates a craving.

If you like a moderate helping of Orientals, absent Latakia, here's a blend for you.

If Telegraph Hill is Montgomery on steroids, this is Montgomery on Mars and beyond (couldn't think of anything past steroids). Four stars because it is a Turkish taste I miss from the past.

I am always slightly hesitant to try blends with oriental leaf.. I was an English blend smoker early on in my piping and kinda just got burnt out on the flavors of latakia and oriental... I tend to smoke almost exclusively virginia blends now.. Regents flake opens a new door to me.. these occasional virginia/oriental blends you find on the market.. and I have to say it is quite pleasant.. the oriental, far from offensive, sits like jelly spread on toast.. the base is surely the bright and red Virginias.. It also offers a nice sour slightly tangy and floral note.. it is somewhat musty as others have stated.. and I like it.. Seems like it would age really well.. like other pease blends it is not in your face.. you have to unlock it slowly over the course of several smokes.. It is a great change of pace for the virginia smoker.. and i could also see it appealing to those who like English blends who may want to shake things up a little.. Also worth mentioning is the occasional perique blast.. mostly on the retrohale.

Wish I could give a detailed review of this tobacco as it sounds like it would be good but my tin marked 6 6 16 basically molded as soon as it was opened!!! Shortly there after it has a nice furry coat of mold throughout the tin.

So sad