G. L. Pease Windjammer

The ripe red and brighter Virginias provide plenty of tart and tangy citrus, bread, some grass, sugar, earth, wood, and mild tangy dried dark fruit, along with light floral, spice and tart, acidic lemon notes. They are the lead components. The earthy, woody, rather spicy, very plumy, sweet perique also has a mild raisin, date, and fig quality to it. The perique is an important supporting player. The burleys offer a lot of nuts, earth, wood, and light hints of cocoa and dryness in the third position. They are notch or two above the condimental slot. The toasted unflavored black cavendish adds a little smooth sweetness as a condiment. The rich dark rum mildly tones down the tobaccos as well as cohesively synthesizes the inherent complexities of the tobaccos into a very consistent, deeply rich, sweetly nuanced, spicy, lightly nutty experience. The strength and nic-hit are medium. The taste level is step past the medium mark. There’s no chance of bite or harshness, and it barely has any rough edges. The flakes are mildly moist and easy to break apart. They don’t require any dry time. Burns cool, clean and a tad slow. Leaves little dampness in the bowl. The number of relights depends on how you pack your pipe. I break the flakes apart, and that requires a couple more than an average number of relights. It has a very pleasant, lightly lingering after taste, and pleasant room note. Not quite an all day smoke, but it is repeatable. Four stars out of four.

-JimInks

This stuff is bold, very good! I’m only on my second bowl, but this is one for the Perique lover! Key elements in this blend, Perique, rum, and I think the black cavendish did wonders here to unify and spread out the peppery Perique, I think without it, it may have been too much. First light presents you with a cigar like flavor of melded burley and Perique, later in the bowl the darker VA notes step up, reds if I had to guess. If you do a light retrohale be careful because the Perique can burn your nostrils, but there are pleasant rum notes to be found. Lots of complexity in this one, it is a bit of a powerhouse, but inviting and interesting at the same time. Pease did it again! Looking forward to seeing what some age will do!

G. L. Pease - Windjammer.

When I popped the tin I could smell the rum, straightaway. At first, the aroma from the tin is much stronger than the taste! It presents itself as a chunky broken flake, some is so broken it can be smoked without further rubbing. The hydration's perfect, so it's ready to go from the opening!

The smoking quality of Windjammer is very good, unless chugged too hard. I find a smashing blend of tobacco flavours, not over sharp or pungent; the Perique offers some zest and 'wham', but isn't too spicy or bitter. I get a good note of vibrant, fruity Virginias, with an ample amount of fresher Vas. The Burley brings a dryness, nuttiness, which is somewhat 'tamed' by the softening of the Black Cav'. Earlier I mentioned that forceful chugging can reduce the pleasure; this causes the delicate rum topping to seem a little acrid. I've found it to burn brilliantly, with no tongue bite.

Nicotine: medium. Room-note: pleasant.

Windjammer? A good blend with the only flaw being the bitterness when forced. Three stars:

Recommended.

Windjammer is rich, creamy, and very smooth, with notes of stewed fruits, nuts, cocoa, and figs. There is a noticeable piquant kick in the retro, and the finish is a smooth dark sweetness with notes of raisins. Medium to medium + in body, and medium in strength. If VAper or Navy Flakes are your thing, this is definitely a blend to try.

The white burley is at the core of the flavor profile of this navy flake—melding well with the sweet Virginia leaf and the rum casing. While I can taste the perique, it remains in the background unlike in Pease’s Va/Per blends. The rum casing is pleasantly noticeable in the smoke. Overall, Windjammer is an enjoyable and smokable navy flake (broken flake) with a fantastic tin note.

In smoking it side-by-side with other Pease Va/Pers, I found Windjammer to be a bit milder than his other offerings. Telegraph Hill has a richer flavor profile with more perique and earthy red Virginia leaf. That mentioned, I appreciate Pease's homage to navy flakes of years past.

Tin note is dried fruits, stone fruit, sweetness, nuts, and a slight rum. Extremely pleasant. Tin note does not necessarily translate to smoke taste. This isn’t a bad thing because the taste of this is very good none the less. This is a very good vapor with a big twist. I would say that the perique is almost on equal footing as the Virginias. I get earthy and spicy goodness. Also Burley nuttiness and even some mild coco dodging in and out as I smoke. I only get an ever so slight rum hit. This is a relatively stout blend that is simultaneously mellow with no bite. Sweetness level is just right for my taste. Sweetness is there but not at all in the forefront. I prefer a good nic hit and this fits the bill. Lots of complex nuanced flavors going on with this blend as one would expect and well worth the try. I’ll be adding this to my spring/fall rotation for sure as it feels right for a seasonal transition smoke for me.

My tin date on this blend is about three or four months from the time I'm writing my review.

The flakes are broken and this is mostly a ready rubbed combined with a broken flake. I would like to see better flakes in the future but that's just me wishing. The tin note is a little sweet like Navigator, but it has that dried fruit and leather thing going on. There is a hint of cocoa or chocolate there too.

I don't know if I've ever had a blend made by C&D light so easily. This blend is so easy to smoke. The flavors are melded well and this is a joy to smoke. This is on the fruity, leathery, deep end of the Virginia-Perique spectrum. This is nothing like Escudo. Smoking slowly and sipping will reveal the breadth and depth of the flavors, which I won't bore you with.

The strength is medium-full and so is the taste. The nicotine is medium-ish for me. I would advise a beginner not to smoke this on an empty stomach, unless you have a high tolerance.

I would recommend this to the Virginia-Perique enthusiasts as long as they don't mind the topping. It's quite subtle and doesn't interrupt the experience. I would even go as far as to say it mostly affects the tin aroma. I really don't know how G.L. Pease makes so many great blends, but I'm glad he does.

Tin note: You essentially opened a bag of Fig Newtons Prep: Came perfect, moisture wise.

A comment was made that this blend sounded like a Haddo's delight blend in flake form. Fortunately that isnt the case. The Virginias are bready yet mostly stew fruit-like. The burley must be a dark variety is a nutty, woody, almost coming off as kentucky. The perique is noticeable throughout the bowl and accentuates the Virginias. The black cavendish offers hints of brown sugar near the end of the pallent and the rum topping adds a pleasant extra.

Top notch blend from Pease once again. 8.5/10

https://youtu.be/GCAVbBBg2Sk

G.L. Pease swings big with his attempt at a Navy blend, and hits it out of the park. Windjammer promises adherence to tradition without being staid, and that is a line it manages to toe exceptionally well.

Upon opening, the tin note hits with the sweet and sour smell of dark rum and perique. Other scents eventually pierce through the pungent rum, hinting at toasted breads and dried fruits. The tin note on this is somewhat deceptive, however, with the rum not being overpowering or sweet.

The flake cut is packed nicely in long strands that yield easily, and despite the tin I received being nearly a year old, the moisture content was right on point. (Speaking of age, this is a blend with stellar aging potential.) The tobacco takes to a light readily enough, with only moderate relights necessary. This tobacco has a lot of different blends at play, but provided one does not puff recklessly, it is surprisingly gentle; the smoke itself has a medium body and lingers with a fairly strong room note, but not intolerable.

But where many Navy blends find themselves being overshadowed by old favorites (e.g. Escudo) or bungling the balance of flavors necessary to make this a worthwhile smoke (typically with poor choice in rum or brandy topping or being too conservative with the perique), Windjammer sticks the landing. The rum is sweet and present, but never overbearing the taste buds, leaving a pleasant aftertaste. The virginias add a brightness that pairs well with the naturally dark and fruity flavors of the perique and rum, with the perique being generous and bold, but never overwhelming. The burley helps bring some body, as well as just a hint of natural nuttiness that really compliments the entire profile, whereas the cavendish does its job as being a foundational leaf, providing the necessary stage for the bolder tobaccos to strut and play.

When it comes to Navy blends, tobacco fans have no shortage of options, but Windjammer is easily one of the best. It is balanced and hews to tradition while still carving out some identity for itself. That both the blend and tobaccos are top notch also doesn't hurt. Another winner from Mr. Pease!

This one was donated to the pipe club as the former owner apparently did not care too much for it. This has a mild Rum (Fig Newton) tin note. The only reason I am referencing Fig Newtons is that it has been mentioned more than once in other reviews. Honestly, I haven’t had a Fig Newton probably in over ten years so I will take their work for it. I brought home about 3 nice size bowls of this and it is a nice smoke and the broken flakes made loading my Claw Meerschaum with no problem at all. Mild aro taste without it being drug store-ish. Okay, nothing wrong with it but not my cup of tea.