G. L. Pease Bankside

Tin note of pungent smoky, dried fruit and wet wood. The brown flakes are moist but not tacky. They rub out easily and no drying needed. Burns slow with more than the normal amount of relights. The strength is medium and nic is mild to medium. No flavoring detected. Taste is medium, starting out strong, but mellows out quite a bit. Mostly consistent notes of sweet grass, lemon, toasted nuts, bread, dry earth, lightly smoked wood, mild tart plums, mild floral herbs, mild vinegar, and a mildly peppery retro. Virginias are leading with perique supporting. Kentucky and Latakia are keeping pace in the background. Room note is pleasant to tolerable, and aftertaste is outstanding.

“…Smarter than the average … [Vaper].” Compliments from Yogi bear.

Broken flake. Easy to load. Slightly moist at get-go but no drying time needed to smoke.

Very cool smoking.

More similar to older English blend than a straight Vaper to me. That is due to the composite of the 3 darker tobaccos added.

Rich tasting with a dark note. Perique has off-on spice note. More dark fruit (not sweet). Latakia not heavy. Dark fired not dominant flavor but it gives blend its fuller body.

Tastes great and fulfilling from start. Finished tin in 10 days.

One of Pease’s best VAs. to date.

Long ago, in a headspace far away, I used to sit down, light up and smoke a pipe like I had all the time in the world to do it. Today, after a semi-lengthy hiatus from smoking, I treated myself to a bowl of rested Bankside that I smoked in this way. I used an old, number 5 Punto Oro billiard that I like mostly for kitchen sink blends, and I stuffed the dried broken flake “ribbons” loosely. Ticket punched. The first ½ went fairly quickly, with gentle tamping, despite I barely drew on the pipe. The second half of the bowl lasted over half an hour, and if I ever enjoyed a bowl more I was not mindful of it as I smoked my Bankside. This is what smoking a pipe is all about. Yes, there is Latakia that, due to artful blending, I suppose, suggests a wisp of Syrian. Tangy bright Va on top, with dark fruit red VA supporting, and sour, aged, musty, figgy Perique present enough to play its part. As for the earthy, smoky KY, it does a great job of tying the Latakia to the blend, which is so well melded that I did not so much as think about the parts of the smoke apart from the whole of it. Strength is a couple notches past medium, and the tastes head from there toward full. The nicotine will give newbies something to think about, and it should satisfy most geezers. There’s plenty of smoke, and the aftertaste is a nice trailing off of the best of the smoke. Room note? Best reserved for the smoker.

Certainly, Greg Pease is no stranger to success in the world of pipe tobacco. While I happen to like most of his blends when they’re young, I understand that some find his “fresh” offerings somewhat raw. IMO, Bankside is aces after some rest, and no doubt it will age very well in a sealed tin. Four stars.

First off, this is excellent tobacco. The base of red and bright leaf Va. take the lead with some mixture of grassy and a little vinegar. The Perique and the Ky are the most obvious secondary players adding stewed fruit and hardwood smoke. The Latakia is there but not in a great dose, It does provide a faint tinge of evergreen smoke. My chosen method wit this has been to pinch and stuff and the results have been pleasurable. May rub some out and try it or even snip it into cubes. No burn, not overly moist, burns clean with few relights, and is consistent in flavor throughout the process. Nicotine is not over the top but noticeable. I believe that some age will give further merit to this blend. Solid 4 here!

Opened the tin and let it sit for about 10 days. Packed a pipe last night and put the flame to it this morning. Nice smooth charing light(s) for about 10 minutes and then a tamp. The real light was smooth and flavorful. I cannot pick the nuances of all the components but they all come together with a tasty well rounded smoke. Can find some Vit. N if looking. Quite enjoyable and a contemplative leisurely smoke. Well worth keeping a tin or two around for unhurried relaxation.

I had quite an adventure with Bankside. Seeing Latakia in the description I went for my wide English briar first, and it missed the mark. Next I tried my Virginia briar and got some hint of my previous Red Virginia smokes. Switching to different pipes, and finally in some cobs I got to know this blend a little better.

Light Virginia leads with a tangy citrus, and sweet grassy taste. Red Virginia brings a darker fruit note, and both are complimented by the spicy, peppery perique. Slight nuttyness in the background from Kentucky. The Latikia is very slight but adds a touch of smokey, leather.

Flakes are broken, and are a tad moist so some relighting was needed unless I gave it more dry time. Very complex Virginia blend, I look forward to future smokes in different pipes. Highly recommended.

I quite like this blend. I'm not surprised as I've never had a Pease offering that wasn't exceptional. A lot of VaPers out there leave me wanting more. They don't always check all the boxes for me. Since this blend has basically everything in it- check, check, check. I love the boldness of the perique playing with the Va's. The faint incense of the Lat and the light smokiness of the DFK swirling around in the background send this one over the top for me.
It constantly changes throughout the bowl, and picks up strength about half way through.Rubs out easy, and the moustache note is fantastic.
Solid 3.5 stars. I have a feeling I may need to edit this in a while to round it up to 4
Moustache note: 9/10