G. L. Pease Robusto

Hello, not at all a bad blend but light on the cigar leaf. Not as good or rich aaaas McCllend Domincan Glory. Robusto taste like all GL Pease blends Heavy with a bite. If you are looking for a good English Blend with a bite this is it. Don't be turned off by the cigar leaf reffernces there is little in this blend. For A Cigar blend stick with Mccllend Domincan Glory by far the best.

Thick, tasty smoke with salty and spicy notes. It definitely reminds of a good cigar, with its very full (but not heavy) mouthfeel. It is robust, but also very creamy and smooth: this makes it very easy to accidentally inhale. I did inhale too much on my first bowl, and ended up dizzy: now I treat it a bit more carefully! In the tin it is rather dry, and feels very natural in looks and to the nose, with a slight leathery/chocolatey note. Cut is similar to the one of CUmberland, Cairo and other GLPease blends. The Latakia presence is rather low (few black specks), but if you pay attention you can feel its smokiness: not an overwhelming presence, but I suspect the blend would be less interesting without it. My only problem is that I don't much like cigars, but I doubt a blend with cigar leaf could be any better... Room aroma is rather nasty. Definitely unique. My only trouble is with the oriental presence: like in Cairo, I feel it has a rough, mouth drying effect. Probably orientals go fine with me only with heavy doses of Latakia...

I did not find this blend to be robust, though it certainly is good. If you are searching for a big cigar tobacco blast, this isn't your blend. If you are, however, looking for a blend of Virginia, Orientals, Latakia and Cigar leaf that is well-balanced without any one leaf dominating, this is the perfect choice. I would consider this to be a light Latakia blend. Virginias form the backbone, with the other tobacs enhancing the flavor with their individual characteristics. Perhaps the ultimate cross-over smoke?

Follow-up review: After finishing the tin, I am a bit disappointed in Robusto. Blending with cigar leaf is surely difficult, as there are so few blends of this kind. That said, this smokes a bit bland. The Virginia flavors that I tasted previously are muddled by the Latakia and cigar leaf. I was left with the impression that this tried to be many things, but didn't quite succeed with any of them.

After reading Mr. Pease?s description of Robusto, I guess I expected more of a cigar experience with this blend. I re-read what he said, and adjusted my expectations after the first bowl.

Robusto is not like smoking a cigar. But then, I don?t really think it is supposed to be. After all, how many cigars have Va, Oriental, and Latakia in them? I find Robusto to be a Va / Oriental blend that is seasoned with Latakia and cigar leaf. The cigar flavor is more of a subtle suggestion than an outright statement. The cigar leaf combines with the Oriental and Latakia at different times to create some very unique flavors in a blend that has a great complexity such as a cigar could never hope to achieve. Smoked in a large bowl, Robusto has a noticeable amount of nicotine.

The room note, as stated before, will not make friends. Cigar people won?t care for it, because they will consider it to be ?impure?. Cigar haters won?t like it because, well, because they?re cigar haters. There is more cigar-like aroma in the room than the taste suggests.

Robusto will never be a favorite of mine, probably because I am not a cigar lover. I smoke a cigar on rare occasion. I believe Robusto will fall into that category as well. I won?t keep it on hand, for the same reason I don?t keep cigars on hand. It?s good tobacco, if you like that sort of thing.

Seeing a recent review of this GL Pease offering, I thought I would stick my oar in the water and muddy things up a bit. I have just tried a couple of bowls of this, so what I have to say here is not based on a full tin or more, as most of my reviews are. I must concur with RCUSElder that the room note was very strong.

If you are looking for a cigar taste, don't come here. That was what I was expecting, and I was disappointed. Which is kind of dumb in retrospect, as I have hundreds of well-aged cigars to chose from. And why should a pipe tobacco taste like a cigar, anyway? Pipe and tobacco smoking are really different experiences.

The one part of the experience that was cigar-like was the room note. Now personally, I just love the smell of fresh cigar smoke. I know I am kind of an anomaly there, it brings back fond memories of rodeos as a kid. However, most people, even ones tolerant of pipe smoke, HATE cigar smoke. In fact, one of the things that got me into pipe smoking in the first place was that it did not make me a pariah in semi-public places like a good fat maduro Mantequilla did.

My point? Robusto has all the social stigma of a cigar without that satisfying fermented buttery/bitter taste that is the cigar's unique reward.

My guess is that if I had tried Robusto w/o the expectations I brought to the experience, I would have found this a tasty, though not outstanding, quality tobacco from the esteemed GL Pease. I may try it again someday, now that I know what not to expect.