G. L. Pease Barbary Coast
(3.01)
The finest cube-cut burley, chosen for its deep, nutty flavors, forms a robust foundation for this sophisticated blend. Rich, red Virginia tobaccos are added for their subtle sweetness and complexity, while the unique spice of perique provides added dimension. A delicate kiss of Brandy polishes the blend to a perfect finish. Barbary Coast is delightfully satisfying, with hints of black walnut, dark chocolate, and dried fruits. The perfect "all-day" smoke!
Notes: From GL Pease: The name, Barbary Coast, came from my good friend Toren Smiith, in one of the most mind-stunning stream of consciousness, free association, brain dump emails I've ever received. As soon as I saw it, I knew it was the perfect name. Thanks, Toren, and everyone else who sent great suggestions! The prize? You're lookin' at it, buddy! Fame, but no fortune.
Barbary Coast was introduced in March, 2001.
Details
| Brand | G. L. Pease |
| Series | Original Mixtures |
| Blended By | Gregory Pease |
| Manufactured By | Cornell & Diehl |
| Blend Type | Burley Based |
| Contents | Burley, Perique, Virginia |
| Flavoring | Brandy |
| Cut | Ribbon |
| Packaging | 2 ounce tin, 8 ounce tin |
| Country | United States |
| Production | Currently available |
Profile
Strength
Medium
Extremely Mild -> Overwhelming
Flavoring
Mild
None Detected -> Extra Strong
Room Note
Pleasant
Unnoticeable -> Overwhelming
Taste
Medium
Extremely Mild (Flat) -> Overwhelming
Average Rating
|
3.01 / 4
|
Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 12 Reviews
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 19, 2014 | Medium to Strong | Very Strong | Medium | Overwhelming |
I don't like giving this blend a bad review because the tobacco itself is really really beautiful. Small burley nuggets wavering between crisp dark brown and gold. This cut is why I decided to try this tobacco (and all the great reviews).
I ordered an 8oz tin. Opened it when it arrived and was hit with a strong unpleasant odor of cheap wine. There is supposed to be a brandy casing, but this odor is distinctly MadDog 20/20 or Night Train. I powered through and lit up a bowl in my Cobwarden. Smoked quite nicely with a very medium body and flavor, but that smell would not go away. I couldn't finish the bowl.
I thought, maybe I got a super-fresh batch so decided to let it sit for 6 months. I then opened it again and bam, there was that smell again, still hadn't relented. Smoked another bowl, again fine, except the odor from the bowl and the room note were killing me.
I have tried airing this thing out by leaving the container open overnight outdoors, indoors, for a few days on end when I went on holiday. Nothing, NOTHING, will get rid of that cheap wine smell.
I'm going to put this away for a year or so and see what happens. Thing is, the smoke itself wasn't good enough to put up with this. But, maybe I'll be back here in a year upping the review. Who knows.
Clearly, I'm in the minority with this tobacco based on all the other reviews, but It's good to have different opinions when you're researching. Also, just for comparison sake, I'm not particularly sensitive to smells generally, especially after smoking for 25 years. My regular smoke is 1792 Flake.
I ordered an 8oz tin. Opened it when it arrived and was hit with a strong unpleasant odor of cheap wine. There is supposed to be a brandy casing, but this odor is distinctly MadDog 20/20 or Night Train. I powered through and lit up a bowl in my Cobwarden. Smoked quite nicely with a very medium body and flavor, but that smell would not go away. I couldn't finish the bowl.
I thought, maybe I got a super-fresh batch so decided to let it sit for 6 months. I then opened it again and bam, there was that smell again, still hadn't relented. Smoked another bowl, again fine, except the odor from the bowl and the room note were killing me.
I have tried airing this thing out by leaving the container open overnight outdoors, indoors, for a few days on end when I went on holiday. Nothing, NOTHING, will get rid of that cheap wine smell.
I'm going to put this away for a year or so and see what happens. Thing is, the smoke itself wasn't good enough to put up with this. But, maybe I'll be back here in a year upping the review. Who knows.
Clearly, I'm in the minority with this tobacco based on all the other reviews, but It's good to have different opinions when you're researching. Also, just for comparison sake, I'm not particularly sensitive to smells generally, especially after smoking for 25 years. My regular smoke is 1792 Flake.
Pipe Used:
MM Mark Twain Cobwarden
PurchasedFrom:
4Noggins
Age When Smoked:
6mo
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 25, 2014 | Medium | Medium | Medium | Strong |
Way too boozey and it tasted a little ashy to me. I don't know what it was as this blend seemed right up my alley. It just did not taste or smell good.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 03, 2017 | Medium | Very Mild | Extremely Mild (Flat) | Pleasant to Tolerable |
This blend should be named "The Barbary Challenge" as it is a challenge to light, stay lit; pack; or ruddy near anything else you would expect to do with a pipe tobacco blend. Out of many bowls, only one was even close to the smashing reviews others have given this blend. Most bowls are hot, wet, and tasteless. Don't let this stuff set in the pipe either, relights taste like a stale cigar. This stuff is atrocious. I would give it two; however, since some moron decided to use the GL Pease name just to sell this rubbish, it gets a solid one. Honestly, I have tried better OTC blends than this. Shame on you C&D.
Pipe Used:
An assortment of briars in different sizes
PurchasedFrom:
Iwan Ries
Age When Smoked:
One year
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 22, 2021 | Medium | Very Mild | Medium to Full | Pleasant to Tolerable |
I have plenty of good things to say about this blend. I stand by my one star review, and the reader will soon learn why. This comes as a cube cut with chunky wide ribbon interspersed. On opening the tin, there is the smell of Brandy, but this is not at all overpowering. The leaf is dry and perfect to smoke immediately. I would stress that the Brandy is applied judiciously and does indeed enhance the natural tobacco flavors. It tends to bring out the sweet nature of the Virginia in a pronounced way that I am just not used to. There are some nice notes of aromatic wood, espresso bean, roasted cocoa nibs. So what’s not to like? Mold. About halfway through the tin, I noted one peculiarly colored chunk that I erroneously identified as an odd shaped chunk of stem. It was, rather, a piece of cube cut Burley wherein the white mold could be seen growing between layers of leaf. As I poked around(you just gotta poke around), it didn’t take long to identify more. If the mold issue didn’t exist, this would easily be a three star blend. Laudisi needs to get their $h!t together. I can only presume Mr pease would not approve.
PurchasedFrom:
SP
Age When Smoked:
12/21/20
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Dec 01, 2014 | Mild to Medium | Mild | Mild to Medium | Pleasant |
This smells divine in the tin and came quite wet. After some drying time I tied to get this to take flame, but it sure was stubborn. Finally lit, the wonderful sweet alcohol smell in tin did not transfer to the smoke. What I got was a washed out burley flavor with a peculiar aftertaste, thin wisps of smoke and a rapidly depleting lighter due to all the relights required. This blend seemed so alluring too and yes I was disappointed. If I merely didn't like the flavor this could still be a good one for others to try, but if these objective faults happen with others (very little smoke and hard to keep lit) then I simply cannot recommend this. My apologies Mr. Pease, this is the only failure I have found of all the great blends you have created. Aromatics are tough business to do right. MTHLJCSY
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Feb 22, 2011 | Mild | Mild to Medium | Medium | Tolerable |
I tried hard to like this but, in the end, failed. I even emailed Gary for some tips on enjoying this blend. He suggested gravity filling the bowl and just ever so lightly settling it with my thumb. It certainly made my next bowls better but there was still this stinging, vinegar taste. Oh well, you can't like every blend.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Jun 11, 2008 | Extremely Mild | Mild | Extremely Mild (Flat) | Unnoticeable |
I have a great deal of respect for Pease and his blends. Because of my experience with his big Balkan and English blends I wasn't shy about ordering an 8oz tin of Barbary Coast thinking it would be as excellent as the rest of the line-up.
However, I was incorrect. In fact, the tobacco was so bad I wonder if I received a defective batch. The tobacco was *very* moist and after drying it for hours to a reasonable RH I finally got this tobacco to burn. The only prominent taste was of pine - almost air freshener pine. I tried five more times with this tobacco and every time it burns poorly and smells of pine.
I have never given a bad review on this site preferring to only review blends I like but this blend was just so poor for its, or any , price point and for the Pease name that I wanted to warn others than this blend is not on the same level as Pease's other offerings. You are much better off buying a tub of Carter Hall than Barbary Coast.
Tim
However, I was incorrect. In fact, the tobacco was so bad I wonder if I received a defective batch. The tobacco was *very* moist and after drying it for hours to a reasonable RH I finally got this tobacco to burn. The only prominent taste was of pine - almost air freshener pine. I tried five more times with this tobacco and every time it burns poorly and smells of pine.
I have never given a bad review on this site preferring to only review blends I like but this blend was just so poor for its, or any , price point and for the Pease name that I wanted to warn others than this blend is not on the same level as Pease's other offerings. You are much better off buying a tub of Carter Hall than Barbary Coast.
Tim
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Aug 05, 2007 | Mild to Medium | Mild | Mild to Medium | Pleasant |
This is a nice quality blend, smells great in the bag, packs well, but the lighting part was very challenging...and keeping it lit...sheesh. Additionally, It was wispy and the volume of smoke was quite poor. This lacks the strength I like and I found the aftertaste to be typical of many cased tobaccos...it wasn't of tobacco, rather is was medicinal. As with many topped blends it has a nice aroma and room note. Not for me.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Apr 01, 2006 | Mild | Extremely Mild | Extremely Mild (Flat) | Pleasant |
I'm sorry, I know a lot of people love this and think everything Greg Pease makes is perfect, but this is one of the most boring and tasteless tobaccos I've ever had (especially considering the cost). I like straight-up burley (like MacBaren's London), so I'm aware that it's a very subtle tobacco. The flavor of this goes beyond "subtle," however, into "nonexistent."
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Jun 21, 2005 | Medium | Medium to Strong | Medium to Full | Pleasant to Tolerable |
I've tried every suggestion for enjoying this tobacco - ageing, drying out, various pipes, slow smoking, etc, but the verdict is always the same: It's awful! It starts out with an overwhelmingly strong, sour taste, and then gets even worse from there. I must say this is one of the worst tobaccos I've ever tried, and I do enjoy burley blends like Country Doctor, Nut Brown Burley, etc. I've disliked all the GL Pease blends I've tried, so there must be something about his blending that disagrees with me.
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