G. L. Pease Penny Farthing

The grass and hay, along with the spice are the dominating characteristics of this blend. That potent spiciness comes from the plumy, figgy, lightly raisiny, earthy, woody, very spicy perique, and the woody, earthy, dry, floral, smoky, nutty, rather sour, very spicy dark fired Kentucky. The latter is a condiment that also sports a hint of cocoa. The former is a very strong supporting player, but much less sweeter than my description would allow you to think. It’s minimally sweet. The exceptionally grassy/hay-like, tart and tangy, citrusy, lightly lemony bright Virginia is the lead component. It also has a tinge of a cigarette note. The tangy dried dark fruity, bready, earthy, woody red Virginia is also plays a support role. The strength and taste levels are medium. The nic-hit is a couple of steps behind that mark. Won’t bite, but has a few rough edges, and may get harsh if puffed fast. Burns cool, clean and a little fast as shag cuts will do. Has a mostly consistent, mildly sweet, rather spicy and savory flavor that also translates to the moderately lingering after taste. Barely leaves any dampness in the bowl. Requires very few relights. Can be an all day smoke for the veteran, and is repeatable in any case.

-JimInks

G. L. Pease - Penny Farthing.

I normally shy away from shag cut blends, favouring flakes, kakes or coarse blends; enabling a longer smoke. But Penny Farthing? Mesmeric! I can't put a pipe of it down; I best order some more as this tin's going fast!

It's a medium brown, fine shag, with a very enticing aroma. The smell's one of very rich tobacco, with a touch of spices, and a slight hint of lemon. The moistness of it's good, and the fine cut makes for easy filling.

The flavour's nice and full. Plenty of sumptuous, opulent, Perique; this takes the lead. Although the Perique leads it doesn't have the taste of just pepper. The Perique's fruity, and rich, as well as being spicy. The Virginias are nicely balanced with one another. I note fresh, sharp, bright Va's and more than enough decadent reds. The Kentucky gives a smoky, woody, 'rural', note in a subordinate role; I don't find P.F. to be a smoky, fire-cured, bitter, mess! Because the cut of it's fine a bowl doesn't last too long. But, although it burns quicker I don't find the temperature too much. Bite? I've smoked half a tin in quick time (I love it!) and haven't been bitten once by it.

Nicotine: strong. Room-note: not too bad.

Penny Farthing? As you probably gathered, I love it! Highly recommended:

Four stars.

This shag cut blend is a mix of bright and red Virginia, Perique and a bit of Kentucky fire-cured. It packs and lights easily and burns fast because of the cut. There are notes of sweet hay and grass from the Virginias and plenty of spice from the Perique. The Kentucky brings some earthiness and hints of nuts here and there in a supportive role, but the Virginia and the Perique are the major players. As the description says on the tin, sip slowly, or it will burn hot! If you like shag cut tobacco and VaPer blends, this is definitely worth a try. I think it will age well too. I'll get back to you on that... Highly recommended.

3rdGuy

I am loving this blend. First off I love a shag cut. Easy to pack, you can even overpack it and probably get away with it. 2 or 3 touches of the flame and most times you can put your lighter away on this one. Plenty of bright Virginias and Reds. Perique is very present as well. I have been smoking a fair amount of Exclusive recently and I can readily pick up the perique in here. The Kentucky adds some body. Puts off plenty of smoke. On occasion some of my bowls get a little harsh at the end.

You know this is going to age well. Solid blend but I am not surprised considering the pedigree.

The cut is a chopped shag, and the tobacco components are a mix of browns and tans. Pouch note is untopped tobacco with a whiff of bread. I did not pick up any other notes. It came on the slightly dry side of perfect. I smoked it as delivered and packed it firmly in a pot.

It is a great smoke. I found it was easy to keep lit, and it is a goop-free smoking experience. It has a solid Virginia base with the hay and heavy sweet you expect. There is a little of the overripe fruit, and that may be the perique or the Virginias. There is a spicy quality and some earthy notes I attribute to the Kentucky. Unlike some of the other reviewers, I did not find this to be a quick smoke. It was easy to sip, and burned cool for me.

I find the perique & Kentucky combo to be one that works very well. Another one in this category I like a lot is GLP Cumberland. The Cumberland is a little fuller on the taste for me, and the Kentucky gives it a more burley-forward flavor.

Don't get this if you have a nicotine aversion, but it is very tasty and well done. It is an easy 4 if you qualify given the nicotine disclaimer.

Penny Farthing: A Shagging VaPer

With this new blend, Mr Pease—also known as the Willy Wonka of the tobacco world—has produced a solid new VaPer that fits nicely in his existing line up between Stratford and Telegraph Hill.

The red Virginias seem to be the core component of this blend and offer an earthy-tangy foundation. The lighter Virginias gives the smoke some grassy-bright notes. The perique is noticeable with a hit of fermented spiciness that plays well with the small amount of dark-fired leaf, which adds a delicately oak-smoky undertone to the mix. The shag cut is quite nice, burning evenly with no harshness.

Even with the addition of a small amount of dark-fired leaf, I would still consider this blend a VaPer.

Edit August 2019: Though I normally smoke unfiltered pipes, this blend is absolute perfection in a 9mm filtered pipe.

G.L Pease- Penny Farthing

Smoked this on the road trip from California to Virginia, it was a nicely sweet Virginia, with some smoky yet rich Kentucky, it’s been in the tin since it first released. I thoroughly enjoyed this and could get another tin. The shag cut was an easy pack and smoked easily in my MM General.

Somewhat smoky kentucky, some slightly sweet Virginia a little pepper and it tasted great, looking forward to this again.

A real good VaPer! Full-bodied, medium nicotine, full-aroma and full-flavours. This shag cut is different. It's shorter than the regular Shags and not to tangled, like angel's hair. The combustibility is awesome, like the humidity. I loved this blend! Super recommended!

PS: sorry about my english. I'm brazilian.

With the weather dipping down I am continuing to enjoy finer cut tobaccos.. they tend to burn fast but some of them can take you by surprise with the flavors they offer.. so as the hype of this new release is finally calming down.. and as the Instagram pictures fade away into oblivion.. I find myself finally popping a tin of penny farthing.. It is an even finer shag than I imagined.. but one whiff and you know right away it is not a roll your own.. deep fruity, sweet, spicy on the nose.. and that is almost precisely what I get in the smoke.. very peppery retrohale and much thicker and meatier than you would expect from the cut.. this is almost a punch you in the face kind of smoke for the first part of the bowl.. it does calm down and it slightly unfolds.. definitely some sweetness and citrus.. but also darker fruits and earthiness.. it does taste like a va/ken/per for sure.. but the Kentucky is a very light accent.. I would compare it to old gowrie/hal o the wynd in that respect.. the perique is maybe the main star.. lots of pepper and winey fruitiness.. a very pleasant flavor.. mechanics wise it is surprisingly cool smoking.. it can get hot towards the bottom of the bowl.. but overall it is impressive how easy it is to just sip.. it has enough flavor to almost force you to slow your cadence.. This is my kind of smoke.. been digging royal yacht lately and this kind of scratches that same itch.. plenty of strength in this one too.. the nic will creep up on you.. I love the mixture of tobaccos and the simplicity/complexity.. some might find it one note.. and it can be.. but I do detect changes in flavor throughout the bowl sometimes unexpected depending how you puff it.. I think if you like sixpence you will definitely like this one too..

It took me several bowls of this before I found out how it likes to be treated. This is without question one of the finest shag cuts I've ever seen in a pipe tobacco blend. It's really easy to puff on this blend too hard and ruin what it has to offer. This is sipping tobacco. My first 3-4 bowls ended with me puffing too hard and transforming this tobacco into a cigarette-like hotbox. Eventually I found a pipe and a pace this tobacco agrees with. A medium to medium small pipe works well for me. The best pace for this tobacco is to smoke it so slowly that you feel like it's barely alight. This is what works best for me.

As for the blend itself, given that you sip it slowly and keep it from overheating, it is wonderful. This is a very naturally sweet smoke. I can taste the sweetness on my lips after a few minutes of smoking this. The Virginia tobaccos in this are very naturally sweet. They are front and center in this blend. The Perique comes through nicely to contribute a fruity compliment to the sweetness of the Virginias. The dark fired leaf is barely noticable to me. Although, I suspect it is responsible in part for the full richness of flavor. One large surprise this tobacco gave me is the delightful room note. It smells like the most pleasing aromatic pipe smoke in the world despite this not being an aromatic blend. Just be careful, if you get carried away and puff on this too hard, all of these great things go away. For that reason, it is understandable why so many were not impressed with this blend the first time they tried it. It requires discipline to smoke this properly. It certainly rewards those who learn to take it slow with a wonderful pipe smoking experience.