G. L. Pease Penny Farthing

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.

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.

I’m not entirely surprised this blend isn’t more popular as it takes some effort to maximize it’s potential. That said, it’s worth the effort. It’s modestly dry out of the tin and ready for packin’. It’s a different cut than other shags I’ve tried as it’s a chopped shag. Extremely easy to pack as it’s not a long stringy cut like one finds in a shag such as Three Sails. Lights easy, but use caution not to scorch as it becomes ashy tasting (and stays that way) off the launch if overzealous with the flame. Take your time when smoking to keep the flavor at it’s best - the cut makes a slow pace effortless without worry of constant relights. Follow these steps and you won’t experience the cigarette note mentioned in a few reviews. I don’t get as much sweetness as some other reviewers have noted but it’s not entirely absent. Penny Farthing is equally savory as it is spicy, being fairly consistent with this flavor profile throughout the bowl. It’s Virginia dominant and more bready than grassy in flavor and aroma. The Kentucky presence is subtle but rounds out the flavor quite nicely. All in all, highly recommended. It’s a shag cut... treat it right and I think you’ll find it worth keeping in the rotation. If you scorch it too heavily on the light or puff it into ashy oblivion, dump it out and start again with a softer approach before making a final judgment.

Penny Farthing

This blend has really grown on me. In the tin it is a much lighter color than I expected given the description. It has a nice dark fruit and natural tobacco tin note. It packs and lights easily, smokes effortlessly. It has a nice dark, earthy-sweet flavor that’s not too strong. In fact, the blend, to me, is rather smooth and "gentle” given the amount of flavor the i get from it. The Perique is definitely a background player; the dark fired Kentucky and Virginias are the star, coming through on every puff. I don’t think it’s a very complex blend that evolves throughout the bowl; it’s consistent from start to finish, which I rather like. It smokes dry and to a nice grey ash. Being a shag cut it can burn a bit fast or hot if you push it but even then it doesn’t get harsh or bite. I’ve been enjoying it in small to medium sized bowls.

Penny Farthing is quite delicious. In the tin the tobacco looks like the bottom of a bag of shredded wheat cereal. The tin aroma is sweet, smoky & sharp and the moisture content is relatively low. Being a shag cut, Penny Farthing is somewhat pipe dependent. With the accelerated burn rate, I found this blend smoked cooler and tasted more dynamic in a pipe with a longer than average stem and with thicker walls. In an effort to confirm my preference I did smoke several bowls in a few group 2 sized pipes and as expected the smoke was not as nuanced, but in trade the overall experience was more intense.

The flavor of Penny Farthing is rich but never overwhelming. It reminds me of a few of the best blends that Daughters & Ryan has to offer, in that it’s rugged with a sense of elegance still at play. The Virginias are toasty & sweet tasting and the Kentucky adds a slightly bitter, smoky counter balance. The perique seems to be blended for seasoning more than overt flavor, and comes across as peppery rather than fruity. The whole experience of smoking a bowl of this blend is quite delightful and if you enjoy spicy tobacco this is a must try. I wouldn’t smoke this as an all-day blend, it’s a bit too potent for that. However, it makes for an excellent evening smoke and if you enjoy a bit of spirits with your pipe I found that this pairs wonderfully with bourbon or even better a few fingers of rye.

Of all the other blends in GL Pease’s catalog, Penny Farthing reminds most of Cumberland. Comparatively Penny Farthing is more sprite and slightly sweeter, but it shares Cumberland's complex yet balanced interplay of flavors coming from the trio of Virginia, Kentucky and perique tobacco.