G. L. Pease Tribute

The lightly earthy, lightly tangy dark fruit sweet red Virginias are a team player with the earthy fermented ripe fruity stoved reds adding able support, though it, too, is less sweet than expected. The tart fruity lemon Virginia plays second fiddle. The toasted cavendish is in the background, and mutes the sweetness a little. The perique is also lightly applied, and seems to be a little more raisiny than spicy. The nic-hit is mild. Won’t bite or get harsh. Well blended, you’ll notice most aspects in most every puff. Burns cool and clean with a fairly smooth, consistent flavor from start to finish. Leaves very little moisture in the bowl, and requires few relights. Has a pleasant, short lived after taste and room note. A fairly easy going all day smoke.

-JimInks

*** This just seemed to be an appropriate blend to light up to start this day (9/11/06) to honor all of our brave men and women standing watch and risking their lives in the military to keep us safe and free.

The following is taken directly from the marscigars website:

"The NASSAU displaces 40,000 tons and has a crew of 1,000, carries 2,000 US Marines, a helicopter squadron and a Harrier squadron. It's captain, Capt. Russell P. Tjepkema, it's Executive Officer, ship's doctor and Navigator are all pipe smokers and lead a coterie of a dozen others. We are proud to honor these people who give up so much for us by contributing $3 from every tin of NASSAU to the ship's Morale, Welfare & Recreational Fund as a 'Thank You' from pipe smokers everywhere. The NASSAU is part of the amphibious forces of the U.S. Navy and as such is part of the "Gator Navy". The label is their deployment patch. The tobacco was originally G.L. Pease Tribute , a special blend of red, lemon and stoved red Virginias, Perique, and toasted Cavendish tobaccos....."

Nassau now comes in a fancy C&D tin with the ship's sharp looking logo on the label as indicated in the above description. I do not know whether the ingredients have changed. I had a bowl of the original production Tribute (in a Pease tin) and felt like it could use more aging. The currently produced C&D Nassau Tribute seems smoother somehow. It is a nice "occassional" tobacco that I reserve for late afternoon or evenings.

I was lucky enough to get my hands on a half dozen tins of Tribute over the past two years comprised of first and second editions. I prefer the first edition only slightly more than the second and both are a very good mix of sweet and peppery. The addition of cavendish adds some extra sweetness and richness to the blend. It packs well and burns cleanly. If you haven't had the chance to try this blend, its worth the ebay price as they will soon be gone forever. Recommended.

My first batch of tobacco ever purchased came with 3 8oz cans of Nassau (Tribute).

The first one I smoked right away. The second I gave to a friend and the 3rd I opened a year and a half later.

The fresh tin had almost no dust (tobacco dust) in it. Just lots and lots of ribbon (brown, dark and yellow). It smoked well and was easy to thumb pack and light (very forgiving for the absent minded pipe smoker). I made it my regular all day smoke because honestly, I get something different from it depending on other influences (after-meal, with drink, morning, outdoors) and how it packed. It is solid Virginia, but the cavendish would hint here and there(and Perique was assertive and strong throughout). I would get a bit of a bite down towards the end of my bowl (and at initial lighting do not run this through the nose as the smoke was heavy and would zing). This may also be attributed to my initial 'aggresive' puffing when I first started. Moisture level is low (and I have some pipes with systems and filters so I see it) compared to the aromatics I had (like "Very Berry").

Tribute ages well. I found the difference between the fresh opened tin and the tin I let sit to be significant. The aged tin lets more of the mellowed raisin/fig scents come through while smoking and the bite from the fresh tin is gone. It has a well rounded flavour that's good from start to finish. I didn't get the slightly strong Perique that is present in the fresh tin. Instead it complements the Virginias. Also, I've heard the term 'grassy' mentioned about Tribute when it's fresh. I kind of understand that now as the second tin is a more 'mellowed' smoke and less green than a fresh tin. I've recently bought a 1lb tin of Tribute and will give it a few months before opening (and enjoying).

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April 04, 2007

Almost a year later....and I have to say Tribute is consistant. I've finally opened the 1 lb tin and boy, did I miss Tribute. I've been trying other tobacco lately to see what I enjoy; and I saved the tin of Tribute until last to open. It was packed really well and smokes like a dream. I have to say I really recommend Tribute as a tobacco to get and shelve for a few months before opening. It seems to be one that ages really well. I'm going to be ordering another tin for myself soon.

I was afraid that this would be a very difficult review to do. I purchased this tobacco mainly as a show of support for those effected by the awful events on September 11th, as I?m sure many pipe smokes did. I was not, however, overly enthusiastic about the types of tobaccos included in this blend. I suppose that I should know by now to never bet against anything developed by Greg. While I usually don?t enjoy blends of this type, I was pleasantly surprised to find I liked it very much - I finished my first 2oz tin in record time. The aroma in the freshly opened can is tangy and slightly sharp; not dark at all but slightly musty, with a hint of Virginia-like sweet/sour overtones. The leaf itself is multicolored and highly varied, medium and darker browns mixed with yellows and nearly black pieces, the later making up roughly 25% of the overall blend. The cut is normal to slightly wide, with a variety of longer and shorter strips included. There is also large amount of dust in the can, which should be sifted out before smoking, unless you like to smoke VERY quickly. The moisture level is low, similar to most Pease blends I have tried, and packing is easy with the dust removed. The tobacco lights easily and burns very well, with a below average number of relights required throughout a bowl. In the first 1/3, the flavor is light, bright, and not overly smooth on my palate. It is clearly a Virginia-based blend, but there is much more here as well. There are spicy tones, and a very mild hint of sweetness. I can notice some bite, and the smoke tingles when I exhale through my nose. The overall effect is almost Burley in nature, though I do not believe that there is any of that tobacco in this. I would certainly describe this as a complex tobacco. There is continued bite in the second third of the bowl, though it isn?t too severe. The flavors are significantly better blended at this point, but I would still hardly call the smoke smooth. The overall taste is ?bright?, if a bit darker than in the first third, and the spicy note seems to have faded. I also needed to use a pipe cleaner on a small amount of moisture, towards the middle of this third. The final portion is much smoother, while maintaining a similar overall brightness. There is less bite and no spice that I notice, though the smoke still tickles in my nose. At the very bottom of the bowl, I notice a toasted flavor, and some darker elements. I would term it a rather good finish, complex and satisfying in a ?lighter? kind of way. Overall, this is an unusual blend, in my personal experience. I enjoyed it, though I would not say it is one of my favorite tobacco types. This would, I believe, be good as an early or mid-day smoke, and could likely be smoked repeatedly throughout the day with no problem. The room aroma is average, neither overly offensive to the non-smoker nor overly pleasant to the pipe smoker. Aside from a bit of aging, I can?t really see any way to improve this blend. I would recommend everyone try this at least once; I myself plan to keep a tin or two in the cellar for future use.

So I choose tonight to try a 5 year tin a Tribute. With all the movies on 9/11- It somehow seems a good thing to try out. Glad that I did. At the char- the first thing to jump up was Perique...A nice spicy "How do you do?".... Once that recesses to the rear...The virgina and Perique come hand in hand in a nice duet....The Black Cav singing a nice backup.....This continues to mid bowl. Its at this point I get the oddest sensation- Is there burley in this? I swear I tasted it. A nice surprise....Like having a quick guest star... Then the Perique and Virgina dance a dual....Each taking a more dominant role, then giving the stage until..... My fire went out....30 mins had gone by and fluffy ash was the curtain call...... All in all a wonderful blend. I truely appreciated the offering, and even more in reading the back of the tin again- Reminding me of patriotisim, Unity of the spirit of man- and smoking in peace....Even when the peace is 30mins.

This is a review of the second edition which was tinned 6/28/02. Upon first opening the tin, I got a dry unsweetened chocolate smell which was very nice. The first few bowls were subtle with the perique poking it's head in now and then. Very nice. Towards the middle and end of the tin, oxygen has sharpened the flavor considerably; one is well aware of the perique during the entire smoke. Excellent! It has now become similar to Haddos except the cavendish has been used more sparingly.

Interesting family of three tobaccos that are full of perique....Tribute, Haddo's, and C&D Bayou Morning. There is a definite "progression". Haddos is the sweetest due to the cavendish, then comes Tribute without so much cavendish, followed by Bayou Morning with no cavendish. All three are relatives but with their own personalities.

The smell upon opening the tin is enough to stop right there; but I won't. Putting a good cause aside, this is a damn good American style tobacco! There is plenty of natural flavor with a subtle complexity of walnut, fig, and straw tasting base. The perique provides spicy earthiness with a medium bite. In late '04, I bought a tin of second edition (09/2002) that I was able to fond at a local Central Ohio tobacconist - (they still have more, so I don't wish to divulge, as I don't want to see the supply run out). The tin had plenty of time to age, which is key for VA/Perique blends. This has the array of taste just like flake & roll cakes offer, without having to rub out.

The reason this tobacco was made should be enough to make it a worthwhile recommendation, but it is also great stuff.

It's a complex mixture, enormously rich: at the same time sweet, sour, nutty, toasted, slightly earthy. There's quite a strong percentage of perique, making it a blend to enjoy slowly and savour. It can be quite heavy (both as taste and as nicotine content), so approach cautiously.

The quality of the product is of course evident, being a GLPease product, and it shows in the level of moisture and in the burning qualities.

I am not usually a fan of this kind of tobaccos, but Tribute is really delicious and I have 12 tins of it stored in my cellar!