G. L. Pease Stonehenge Flake

This review is based on a tin from the June 2017 release. The Virginia tobacco from the tobacco review notes are from Zimbabwe and other African countries. The Perique is superb and adds the right amount of spice. The Burley is just there. Add chocolate, steam, press, and cut into ribbons and one ends up a flake tobacco like this. The red and other Virginia's are well aged, and lay a fine foundation. Generally I am not a big chocolate fan, but the mellow and playful nature of its presence is quite satisfying. The sonorous nature of the blend flavor-wise, is something akin to a large church pipe organ when all of its ranks and pipes are in use. The flavor combinations are delightful, leaving one completely in awe of the wonderful cornucopia they convey to the smoker. To my palate, it is like eating ribs that have both Cajun and Kansas city sauces, with a light chocolate flavor, all the while featuring a perfect combination of sweet, spicy, meaty, and dare I say, dessert flavors. This blend is a masterwork, with a superb room note and a deeply satisfying smoke that is perfect for retiring to one's study after a fine meal, solely to complemplate life's wonders. Bravo!! I would give 10 stars if I could, I guess I will have to settle for four.

As a regular, almost daily, consumer of GH Louisiana Flake, I am quite surprised that some consider it interchangeable with Stonehenge. To my tasting they are not even similar. Louisiana Flake: round, sweet, chocolatey, spicy. Stonehenge: complex, less sweet, only slightly chocolatey, dominant notes of hay or of fermenting leaves in Autumn. Also, the Lakeland notes in Stonehenge are very light. I wonder wether in a blind test many would be able to identify them. That being said, this blend is a masterpiece. I have been given a 2017 tin by a friend a week ago and I have been smoking nothing else, apart from Louisiana Flake and Sixpence for the sake of comparing them. I have little experience with GLP blends, and I am surprised with their complexity and balance.

Very nice, very nice indeed.

Thin flakes easy to rub out. I did not find it too moist from the get-go. Nice chocolate smell in tin.

No bite, stayed lit o.k., but needed some re-lights too. Not gunky.

Flavor is heavier and more noticeable than GH's Louisiana Perique Flake, though obviously based on a similar formula. Not the same though, as latter is lighter or blander but cheaper in bulk.

Slow burning of course. Now for the taste.

Some added body (the burley? Some 6%+ perique?) with a mild chocolate or cocoa after taste. Pleasant. I did not notice much, if any Lakeland perfume or flowers, but batches may differ. Many differ. I think psychology may play a factor here, but I do enjoy some of the lighter ones. This blend is not that to me.

Overall, not the golden fleece, but a very nice, dependable flake, with tasty and high quality G&H aged leaf. Repeatable in the day. Most satisfying. I'm glad I bought a reasonable batch of tins. One tin down now.

Tin Note- brown sugar, dried fruit, and black tea

Packs well, I used a partially rubbed out twist method

First Light- paper, almond, and a hint of cocoa

Mid bowl- cedar and a hint of maple

Perique is present, but the VAs are the star attraction.

Bottom half- more and more citrus, a hint of spice, cinnamon gradually morphing to pepper and a hint of stewed peaches.

Overall a delightful smoke!

For me, the way to think of this is not just in relation to GH's Louisiana Flake but also with their Scotch Flake. For Louisiana Flake, add a bit more cacao flavoring and the earthy Burley; for Scotch Flake, subtract most if not all the Vanilla and a bit of the cacao and add the Perique. If you don't like either, you will likely not enjoy this. If you like both, this may be a great smoke for you. It currently is for me; it will be interesting to see how it develops (the tin this review was based on was dated less than a month before I opened it).

I'm not going to repeat what has been said. But what I will add is the is a strong smoke that if not respected will sneak up on you. So very well blended that you do not notice until it's there. Well done Mr Pease, very well done.

I got this for a pretty penny, but worth wild giving up that penny was. Upon opening the tin I could feel the air that was trapped for 15 years burst out and hit my hand. After taking a big whiff I was assured that this was going to be worth the hype and then some. The tin note is nothing short of the smell of heaven. A very earthy chocolate, a strong fruit note, very nutty and a hint of cocoa. If you ever get the privilege to try this, ALWAYS rub it out. I found it had a perfect moisture level upon opening. It was hard to get that first initial light but was really smooth sailing after that! When I smoke this its kind of hard to really pinpoint a specific taste. What really comes into mind to me is "Sunflowers" not really sure why, but my god is this sweet! One of the sweetest blends I have ever smoked. That would be the fermented sugar crystals that formed all over the tobacco. Shine a flashlight at it and watch it light up and sparkle like the sun beaming down on fresh snow. Though that is its one down side, smoking this slowly with restraint or your bowl might catch fire! Before I tried this I heard from a lot of people saying this is very similar to Old dark fired, and after trying the two I really have to agree, with Stonehenge obviously being much sweeter.

Presentation: A grainy flake in terms of texture. Uniform slices throughout the tin with a few broken. Light to medium/dark brown layered upon each other. Tin art is a plus.

Palate: Smells of a light chocolate with bread. Think pain au chocolat. Sweet and flaky bread with a center of sweet chocolate. The burleys add to the cocoa essence, along with a dry wood and nutty component. The virginias add to the sweetness and compliment the burleys to give it more profile. The perique is detectable but you have to concentrate to let it interfere with the burley and Virginia forward taste. It does add a nice dimension to the smoke and tickles your nostrils every once in a while. This blend has some Lakeland applied to it, but it is so lightly applied that if it weren't mentioned in the numerous reviews I wouldn't have even known.

Performance: Burns at a reasonable rate and requires one or two relights. Because of the flake form, you could either fold and stuff or rub it out, in which the latter I prefer due to its slight moisture out of the tin. I let it dry for about 10 minutes and it seems to do the trick. Nicotine is mild. Not quite an all day blend, but some might make it a repeatable pleasure.

Conclusion: I would consider this a mild aromatic, somewhere in the genre of MacBaren Scottish Mixture or Navy Flake. The topping is present but doesn't make the base components of the blend concede to it . It reminds me of Bobs Chocolate Flake with a pinch of perique added. I fell in love with BCF but it's damn near hard to find these days unless purchasing from overseas. I'm glad I tried Stonehenge as I prefer this blend and the availability of it. One of my favorites and is a nice change from the heavier burley/Virginia blends.

in my inability to buy Samuel Gawith st James flake I tried a tin of gl peae Stonehenge. (new issue) I believe I actually prefer the Stonehenge. I am a touch sensitive to the chocolate. it certainly is more smoothed out by burley. there is an overtone of the Lakeland flavor. the perique addition is perfect. it is pricey. for my last pipe of the eve I have for some years generally gone to a va-per and this might well become the one.