G. L. Pease Odyssey

UPDATE 05/10/2009: Ok, I'm back reviewing this. I have consulted with many on this including GL. I stored this in a mason jar to "age", let it air out in the New Mexico desert dry air, tried all sorts of packing techniques and STILL....THIS STUFF DOES NOT STAY LIT. It is the most frusterating tobac. I have EVER smoked. Next step is to pour lighter fluid on the crap to keep it lit! I'm throwing it out! JUNK!

***BE SURE YOUR BUTANE LIGHTER IS FULL BEFORE ATTEMPTING TO TRY TO LIGHT THIS STUFF!!**

I tried this blend based on GL Pease? website and all the ?hoopla? about this blend/brand and thought I would give it a try. I was very disappointed when I opened the tin as it smelled like an old musty gym sock. Putting that thought aside, I packed my pipe and lit up, and lit up, and lit up again! DOES THIS STUFF NEED LIGHTER FLUID OR WHAT!? It didn?t feel overly moist but, THIS STUFF JUST WON?T BURN! I live in New Mexico where the humidity is 2% so I put a pack of this on a paper towel to air out?all day! Repacked my pipe several times, tried a meerschaum, several other pipes, and STILL no luck keeping this stuff lit.

I held off putting in my review for this thinking that maybe it will age and get better but?NOPE. Perhaps the tobacco is too green? I don?t know but when I was able to get a drag in, it was nothing too spectacular. I know you may be thinking that I am not a Latakia smoker but actually enjoy a good Latakia/Oriental/English blend.....that stays lit. I searched the best price for this blend on the internet and thought it was quite pricy compared to other latakia/oriental blends (hence one of the reasons I am not rating this higher). I think this blend got high reviews based on the name ?GL Pease?. But I think I got ripped off. If this is what Odyssey is all about?..I?ll pass. I know I'm beating the ?hard to burn? issue but if you can't burn it, how can you enjoy smoking it?

I had to read the other reviews on here to see if maybe I just got a bad batch but sure enough, there are more than one reviews indicating the same experience. Upon reading Country Gentleman?s comment, he described it exactly like I would.

I can see how some might like this blend but I found this one too thick and rich for my tastes. I found it to be an interesting break from the norm but I won't buy more of this. It burned well and produced a thick smoke but was simply not a good tasting tobacco to me. I like the flavor of Dunhill Nightcap, Barabary Coast, Haddo's, and Virginia Flakes but, this one's flavor did not agree with me.

I think that this is a great Latakia-centric blend. Which seems to imply that it just isn't for me. But, I purchased a tin and tried it out. The quality of the leaf is high, moisture seems right. But, the latakia is overbearing for me, personally.

It's a big, bold blend. I can see where lovers of latakia would really enjoy Odyssey.

Odyssey, if it were a song it would be "eye of the tiger" by Survivor -- starts well, but just doesn't deliver, just keeps repeating itself. Odyssey is often referred to as a (latakia) "monster", but in the end it does not have a lot of body or complexity and I find it somewhat bland and tiring. A disappointment.

This tobacco is simply too hard to keep lit even after extensive drying, and too many hits with the flame results in steam gurgles.

It is not for the faint of heart and if you are not an experienced Balkan or English smoker, then please use prudence. There is some nutty tea-like Orientals and very heavy with the the Latakia.

Generally, I find Pease's offerings overrated and they don't deliver. Carole Burns at Pipeworks & Wilke now that's quality.

- Tabaco

Good burning properties are important to me. So, it's a shame to spend $8 or so for a blend like Odyssey and then have to spend another $8 of your time just to try to keep it lit.

After 1 hour, 4 hours and then 24 hours of drying time, Odyssey simply would not stay lit for me, despite several attempted packs and several different pipes. I'm not sure what's going on - perhaps I got a "bad" tin, but really, considering the price point and the concept of "small batch blending", quality control should be better here. Much better.

I'm something of a Pease fan and I smoked a fair amount of Caravan a few years back and came to love that blend - it burned well and was simply a marvelous Balkan with lots of complexity.

I haven't re-visited Caravan in awhile, but my experience with Odyssey, or at least with this particular version of Odyssey, must surely be an "oddity", considering the blend's popularity on this site and the blender's stellar reputation.

This tobacco seems to stay wet forever.

Even after extensive drying - for weeks- this stuff was impossible to keep lit.

I just gave up after 1/2 a bowl and 5 lighters.

My pipeful lasted 10 min. I have opened the tin, let it dry a couple hours a day for the last three weeks.

After 3 min, I experienced tongue bite. After 8 min, my mouth was sore from pulling to keep the tobacco lit.

After 10 min I gave up, emptied my pipe and threw the tin in the garbage container.

I have smoked darker mixtures - a full tin of McConnell's Latakia Flake, a combination of Latakia and Stoved VAs- and never had any problems with the burning qualities or tongue bite. And it actually tasted something.

This tobacco was horrible.

Tastes are not to discuss but my experiences with Pease have been negative so far. I just don't understand the enthousiasm for them.

Besides PA, I will stick with the Europeans when it comes to tobacco.

BriarChef....you're a true gentleman and my apologies to you also! We can all play in the same sandbox now 🙂

With all due respect to fellow reviewers?.I can?t find myself to rate this tobacco higher. I just can?t get a good burn out of it and didn?t find the taste that spectacular. I will update my review after giving it a few more months of aging. We?ll see?.