G. L. Pease Barbary Coast

Presentation: Tin looks the same as all the others in the Pease Original Series. Black and white label with blue accent and pipes photographed in the background.

Cut: Chunky ribbon cut. This blend was a touch on the moist side but still smokeable out of the tin.

Tin note: Chocolate, cream, raisins.

Tasting notes: Slightly sweet fermented fruit, tart earth, with a figgy spice on light up. Slightly grassy, leathery, the slightest touch of cream. The spice is substantial at times. It's got hints of that earthy, woody, nutty taste I taste in burley blends like Old Joe Krantz. Gets more smoky deeper into the bowl. Each leaf gets their time to shine in this blend when smoking through the bowl. It was easier for me to identify each leaf in this blend than some others. Don't take that as me calling this a simple blend however, there is plenty of nuance. This might just be me, but this blend reminds me of a cigar, like a Padron. Not that there are obvious cigar leaf flavors though, it is hard to explain. Also I don't really detect the brandy.

Mechanics: It's easy to smoke this blend fast, trying to figure out all these flavors with each puff, but slow down, this blend does not taste good if you overheat it.

Extra Remarks: Excellent blend. Very very complex, a notch down in flavor intensity from Haddo's Delight, but they are similar. This is a blend that might grow on you, it was kind of "meh" for me when I first smoked it but I now see it's value. 4 stars.

This is one tobacco I got hooked from the very first bowl. It’s strong but not overwhelming (comparable strength to Royal Yacht) and yet it’s really an all-day tobacco (like Royal Yacht), indeed the perfect “all day smoke”. It’s mighty tasty, nutty and the Brandy scenting is fabulous (both in tin note and smoking taste) and the Perique adds a strength and flavor that is excellently integrated! Mr. Pease's description is spot on, I do not have many things to add except to mention that it’s so tobaccoey that the Cognac scenting does not make it an aromatic - not in a thousand miles – this a tobacco’s tobacco!

So good, in so many ways. A small bowl is perfect at any time during the day, a bigger bowl is perfect as a night cap. No bite, cool burn and lots of flavour with a mild topping. I will be buying more, this is highly recommended.

Taste: First light gives off a balanced taste of the added brandy and the natural burley nuttyness. I recognize the character from one of my favorites, C&Ds Crooner, to no surprise as they handle the Pease blends. On retrohale I detect more of the topping and lots of spice and pepper that I dare say is due to partly the perique but mainly the cube cut burley. Mid bowl it grows stouter, and an earthy quality is added creating a wonderful body to the smoke. This is also when the topping takes a step back and the virginia takes its place. The finish grows longer and more pronounced, flavours of spice and sweet nutty earth lingers gently on the tongue.

Mechanics: Moisture is smokable straight out of the tin. The cut packs and lights easily and requires no relights. No bite at all, burns cool and dry. Nicotine on the higher end of medium.

I had already been hanging out at my local pipe shop for a decade when Greg's tobacco line burst forth with a big splash. I can remember a dozen or more tins of his blends being open for sampling at the same time and sniffing them and handling them and smoking some of them . It became clear to me that what I wanted was his English blends to smoke and for my stash and those were the ones I salted away. I never had Barbary Coast in my hoard but, when it appeared on ebay as a part of a three tin Pease lot from the 2002 era, I jumped on them. The first thing I noticed was that the tin rattled when shaken - usually a bad sign. So, I ripped it open and discovered that it was not dry but a partially pelletized mixture that acted like a maraca when shaken. The tin aroma was a wonderful mixture of aged Burley with a note of something that I would not have identified as brandy if it was not stated as such on the label. I then lit up and discovered that I enjoyed this blend; that it was good beyond just being OK, which was what I expected. The red Virginia got out in front of the wonderfully aged Burley in the upper bowl but, by the one-third bowl point they started marching together side by side with the Perique backing them up at all times. In the second half of the bowl the Burley took over the lead and ran to the finish. Already happy with this tobacco, I then discovered that it smokes best in larger thick-walled pipes: four stars.

The tin note is Rum and Raisin with Old Gold dark chocolate. The topping itself is brandy however.

The room note is chocolate and smoky tar. It will not win friends with your wife. I smoke this tobacco in the shed alongside the boat.

Barbary Coast is a knock down experience. The perique asserts itself from the first light and never lets up. Perique is your lover, your muse, your mistress; but she will never be your girlfriend. She grabs you by the lapels and slaps your face and demands all of your attention. It also packs a wallop with nicotine. I am a 40 year smoker so I don't say that lightly.

This stuff puts me in a trance like state. If you are after visions of coyote guides or stream of consciousness ramblings, this is your ticket.

All in all a masterpiece of quality tobaccos blended to produce a special smoking experience. If I could have one tobacco before they marched me to the gallows: this would be it.

As an aside, when you hit the last third or so of the bowl, the condensation zone, this is where a lot of the magic has settled. This is heady, wonderful stuff, and for that reason I would avoid system type pipes that remove it from the tobacco, if you want the full experience Barbary Coast can deliver.

I really like this blend. A lot going on here. VaBurPer with a pronounced casing (well, pronounced for a non-Aro). Fantastic tin note. I would strongly recommend this for an Aro smoker looking to expand into more robust and interesting tobaccos. I refer to this as a 'crossover' blend. As some previous reviewers have commented, it does burn faster than other Pease blends due primarily to the cube cut. My strategy here has been to pay close attention to packing, using gravity with just a hint of pressure on the top third of the fill. Unlike most aros, the brandy casing translates directly to the flavor and is not at all harsh, overdone, or unpleasant.

Update, May 2014: After setting this blend aside for a year and a half, I find it transformed. The brandy casing has mellowed considerably, resulting in a nutty, dark chocolatey burkey with a pinch of Perique spice and a more subtle flavoring of brandy. Exceptionally smooth. The result is very much as GL's tin description states. There is no bite to this blend, and even avowed burley detractors should take note. This is a blend worth trying, and one worth setting down.

Oh my, another delectable offering from the grand master of all things pipe tobacco. This stuff is Delicious. The brandy influence is very nice, and this blend can really hit that sweet spot.

Barbary Coast is technically a burley blend but boy you can sure fool me. This blend comes off to me as a masterful aromatic. It is so very good. Super dark and deep and lush. There are times when this blend is a little too much for my palate. This is like a really heavy and lush chocolate dessert. Sometimes it is so good, and sometimes it is just a little too much. When I am in the mood however, this just hits the spot just right. The flavors are so dark and sweet. This one is a real treat. Even though this is really like an aromatic, it does not behave like one. This blend is like a born aromatic that was adopted and raised by a burley family. The blend is not at all goopy or bitey. Its really nicely done.

Just a quick word of warning. I am like the incredible hulk when it comes to nic hits. Even the strongest of tobacco's do not seem to have any effect, but this one for some odd reason gave me a slight case of the spins. I could see how some light weights may be overwhelmed by this one. Highly recommended.

I have to ration this to myself so I try other blends. Today BC came up in the rotation and it is a good day indeed. Love it. Don't know if I'd go to bed with it like a previous reviewer; I have other options even sweeter 😉 This blend does seem quite sweet and that's fine with me. My next purchase will be bulk.

I do have to dry off the brandy before this is smokable. My tin is sticky and ketchupy, but presmoke characteristics don't matter as much as the subsequent hour.

I was surprised to learn about the perique. Although I feel it, the taste I associate with it isn't there. Pass the Pease, please.

Tin Aroma: Sweet and sour, with a slight vinegar undertone. I expected a nuttier, sweeter scent, given the amount of cube burley in this blend, but it seens that the virginias used are very potent, at least in the aroma.



Physical Characteristics: Almost uniformly brown, this is evenly divided between short chopped ribbons of virginias and cube cut burley, wich, if you have not seen it, look like tiny pellets of tobacco. Pleasantly moist, without being goopy, I believe even a heathen like me that dries out almost every blend before smoking, can smoke this straight out of the can, which is good, seeing as how much I like this. Given the size of the cut, and all the cube cut in it, this fills any size/shape pipe easily. A bit of care is necessary in packing not to get the airhole obstructed with a cube of burley, or filled with tiny virginias bits, waiting to be sucked into your mouth. This is probably the only blend I have seen where it would be possible to fill your pipe simply by dipping the bowl down into the can 🙂 Burns to a very fine white ash.



First Light: Ahh, sweet nutty burley. Burley is probably my favorite tobacco by itself, and I have been known to smoke straight burley day in and day out, especially during the hot South Carolina summer, so it is wonderful to find an expertly developed blend that provides so much wonderful burley taste. There is evidence in the first few puffs that the virginias are not quite as heavyy as the aroma would have indicated, but I know better than to discount virginias in a blend until I get to the last puff. Perhaps they will appear later in the smoke. The nicotine content is about average for a burley blend, slightly higher than other types of tobacco, which is not really something I mind. I was correct, the virginias do come out a bit more towards the end of the smoke, but not enough to overpower the burley at all. The transition is nice and easy, and never really leaves the real of the nuttiness of the burley, it is simply added to by the virginias.



Notes: Need to build cake in a new pipe? Look no further. For reasons I cannot intelligently explain, this blend builds cake like no other I have encountered. Smoked in a virgin pipe, a decent amount of cake will begin to form even after the first smoke, which is quite a blessing for folks like me that cannot seem to build cake in pipes easily. The second half of the bowl gets a bit drying to the mouth, but is easily fixed with a good cup of tea. I actually prefer to drink cold water with this blend, so as not to dilute any of the flavors. The perique is, in my opinion, barely noticeable in this blend. It lends a bit of spiciness to the blend, but is not 'out front' at any time during the smoke.