G. L. Pease Cumberland

Boy did I expect to like this one. I've enjoyed several Pease blends and I enjoy a few savory burleys and Va's that contain burley. Alas, this was a big disappointment. The boiled peanut tin aroma was not off-putting, albeit weird. The Va's seemed an afterthought. The touted burley was both flat and flavorless. The perique without a flavor-foil seemed almost vulgar. My review is based on an 8 month old tin so the biting tendencies noted by many were non-existent in my try. The antithesis of the cased and aromatic burley, Barbary Coast, but even that isn't enough to make me buy more of this blend.

This has a delicate, nutty flavor. It burns well and delivers moderate amounts of smoke. Burley, Burley, Burley it is, with a touch of sweetness and ethereal Perique-osity.

Good for resting the palate from heavier Perique blends, but be wise: this can "do you in" with a nicotine punch on an empty stomach.

I have experienced some problem keeping this lit...

Maybe I'll keep a tin around when I have a whim. I cannot imagine it as my all-day companion.

I find this tobacco to bear some resemblance to Cairo and Haddo's Delight, but with some distinctive differences. The golden hues of the leaves, with mahogany bits here and there, are very nice, and the tin aroma is gentle, sweet, nutty and earthy. The taste is a cross between the virginia nuances of Haddo's and the earthiness of Barbary Coast: at first I found it rather sweet, but after a few bowls the earthy tones and the citrus notes seem in good balance. The sweetness seems a bit less evident, too. It is definitely a blend which requires attention and a slow smoking pace: I think it gives its best in a huge-ish pipe, paying attention to all the subtle earthy notes given by the kentucky. Alas, I personally think it gives some tongue bite and that I can't always get all the taste I would like. But probably it is due to my inclination towards english mixtures rather than virginia blends. As I am not a great fan of Haddo's, I am not of this one either, but there's definitely something here that will appeal to a broad category of smokers. Give it a try!

This seems to be a well aged tobacco with an herb-like spice. It burns cool with no sweetness at all. Maybe I am not one for Kentucky tobacco. I'm not sure. I do know that I will not be trying this again. There is just something about it that does not agree with me.

As Rob-at-home noted, ?It doesn't contain cigar leaf, but its character is very close to that of a strong, spicy, Honduran handrolled.? I, too, find it to have a cigar-like quality, similar to C&D Gray Ghost that does contain cigar leaf, yet still stronger than Gray Ghost. You had better be sitting down when you light this up for the first time or it will knock you down. As other have stated, smoking it slowly may still may result in tongue bite. I found this to be true. I had to DGT bowls of this blend in all of the pipes it was smoked. Regardless, this is a delightful tobacco with complex flavors and cigar like undertones that weave in and out. Give this tobacco your full attention. It is too strong for me to be considered an all day or even an occasional smoke. I will not downrate this tobacco because of its strength. If you want a full strength, full-bodied smoke, try Cumberland. It is best after a full meal. I will age some of this to see if it mellows. Be patient with Cumberland and go easy.

I rate this tobacco 9.0 out of 10

This is a blend that I first put off after having smoked it about a year ago and having a bad experience with it. I am glad I revisited it! The very first time I smoked this it was hot and not very flavorful ,harsh and unforgiving. The 13 or 14 months of age made this blend do a complete 180. The negative qualities that at first made me detest this blend have disapeared. This is a very good burley blend with some virginia and perique. The emphasis is on the burley however, the virginia and perique are detectable and very much a good addition to this blend. I highly recommend this blend to burley lovers or those who who like to try a high quality burley blend. Be sure that the tin has at least a years worth of age on it though or you might be highly disappointed as was I at first.

In this blend I find the Mahogany vying with the Virginias, it?s earthy element present in every puff, albeit in much smaller proportion than in other burley blends I?ve smoked such as Old Joe Krantz. This Mahogany also goes by another name??20 year-old fire cured Kentucky burley??which Craig Tarler stated was the same tobacco used in his blend ?Easy Times.? Whatever it?s name, the Cumberland Mahogany is expertly blended, never taking control but a coequal partner to the Virginias. Regarding the Virginias, my palette is not yet sufficiently sophisticated to separate the red and matured Virginias, but their presence is undeniable, also coequal to the Mahogany. The Perique adds zest but with a gentle hand.

Blended as they are, these tobacco strains yield a blend with finesse, as do other Pease blends; but this blend is different, an effort to incorporate the Mahogany without letting it dominate, matching its dark tones with the midrange notes of the Virginias, and then adding just enough Perique to enliven the show. Pease complexity, for me, does not occur with Cumberland as it does, for instance, with Renaissance; that is, the different tobacco strains do not in variable order make their presence known, coming to the fore and then receding as the next tobacco makes its appearance. Rather, it is the totality of these strains all present at once, rendered with a masterful hand, that makes me label it superbly balanced, that gives the blend an elegance and refinement.

I do find that the blend is best smoked slowly; also, the tobacco I?m smoking is as at least six months old. Straight from the tin the Mahogany can have an astringent quality. I feel this blend needs 6-12 months of aging before smoking, and this review is based on a batch of this blend with 12 months of age.

Cumberland is the most recent stop on my journey to taste all of the available Pease blends. This is the first time out for this particular combination of tobaccos.

Having read the reviews here, I was a bit surprised at my experience. On the initial light, there was a sweet Va flavor that I thoroughly enjoyed. Soon thereafter, the Va was overtaken by the Burley. The nutty flavor of the Burley not only shoved the Va to the background, it hogged the stage most of the time, hardly letting me know that the Perique was there at all.

This is not to say tat the blend was one-dimensional ? it wasn?t. But the balance was too much in favor of the Burley to make it a favorite for me.

Overall, the taste was light and pleasant. The room note was Burley all the way. When the ride was over, I found nothing but a fine white ash in the very dry bowl. I was careful, trying to learn from the mistakes of other, and due to this, I felt no bite whatsoever.

In the end, this wasn?t a blend that left me thinking ?wow, I want another bowl right now? ? it was more of a ?well that was nice, I?ll do it again sometime?.

About a year ago I purchased a can of Cumberland tobacco from my local B&M. Based upon reviews here and on ASP I was expecting a great smoke.

Well, Cumberland just didn't ring my bell. The leaf looked and smelled fine, altough it was a bit wet. Upon lighting up, it just didn't work for me. The flavors didn't marry well, and I found it to be a hard smoke: wet and producing severe tongue bite no matter how hard I tried to smoke it gently. After half a dozen bowls, I sealed it up and put it away in my "chalk it up to experience" pile.

A year or so later I am poking around the bowels of my tobacco cabinet looking for something different to smoke one evening, and I rediscover the can of Cumberland. Would I, could I, should I subject myself to this abuse again, I wonder in trepidation? I put on a brave face and load a bowl...

Wow, did I pick up the wrong can or what? This stuff is fantastic. Much drier and darker than previously, the smoke is sweet and smooth with deep, complex flavors that compliment each other well. I am usually not a big Burley fan but it works for me in this blend, adding a dimension to the Virginias that I really enjoy. I am going to order some Cumberland in bulk and put it up for a year or so.