G. L. Pease Blackpoint

Somewhere between a wide ribbon and a broken flake, this blend has an incredible tin aroma of burning leaves and exotic spices. Exotic is a good word to describe the taste as well. I would not call this one creamy, as Odyssey is, but it's a much more complex smoke and tastes nearly as good. Campfires and leather, with some darker fruit - perhaps plums. Gorgeous room aroma. This is a mouth-filling blend and generates a fair bit of smoke, for folks who like that.

The interesting thing about this one is how it behaves under pressure. A fairly fast puffer would do well with this one, as it doesn't change its character nearly as much with fast puffing as most blends do. It never bit, never became harsh nor bitter - the only thing it did to show its displeasure with faster puffing is that the complexity toned down and it became monodimensional (latakia). Nothing wrong with that, but puffed in typical fashion, it was quite a changeling over the course of a bowl. Very multidimensional. The perique wasn't noticeable to me as an actual flavor but it seemed to put a smooth finish to the proceedings.

Comparisons to Samarra may seem reasonable or not, but that's the last GLP blend I smoked and it does seem to be similar in components to this one. While Samarra had this amazing knack for tasting as though it was one tobacco with many faces, this one tasted "typical" - that is, it seemed to be comprised of components. As a result, it wasn't quite as seamless in its presentation. But I prefer the flavor of Blackpoint. Both will be in my rotation but I'll be smoking more of this one. Highly recommended. So far, I think GLP's Classic Collection seems the most consistently representational of genius in tobacco blending, although some other blends that fall outside that collection seem to be as well.

This is a very good blend that has a lot to offer. First off it is what I would call english- not quite balkan. As a general rule a balkan to me has a more intense oriental and less sweet flavor. I don't believe this blend is cased or topped due to the way the tobacco looks, feels and smokes. I notice many reviews ranking it as flavored. I honestly believe it is from the variety of tobacco's that the flavor is derived.

The tin smells good- leathery and earthy, very intriguing indeed. The tobacco has many complex tastes going on sometimes many at once. I find this one to be a great evening or walk in the woods smoke. Makes me think of fall and the associated smells for some reason- just as the tin describes. I don't know why some criticize Pease for his tin descriptions. In almost every instance I find them accurate. They may be a bit poetic but this is high class tobacco, I can see how it would inspire one.

This just has the perfect balance of all the components that is very hard to achieve. I normally don't care for perique but in this case it is welcome- although it is a aftertaste note and it dances in the background. The best analogy I can make is to compare this to is the Lindt dark chocolate with the chili pepper in it. The blend has a complex smokey, spicy, sweet taste from the va,latakia+orientals, but is peppery on the finish from the perique. Some of the flavors are time release and you taste three or more different tobacco's in one puff. Much like fine food.

So well done. This is a twist on your usual english and I really am into it. As usual for a Pease, it has no bite and burns dry till nothing is left. This is one that I am never in a hurry to see the end of a bowl of and it is best enjoyed at a relaxed pace with a clear mind. It is pleasent all the way, and could, make that will be smoked regularly. The nicotine level is light too, I never feel overpowered. Sometimes this is very welcome. other times I smoke laurel heights and feel a little buzzed when I want to be. Amazing how different tobaccos make you feel.

This one is right up there with Caravan in terms of how much I enjoy it. This is 100% for sure in the top five tobacco's being produced today. Pease uses some great quality leaf in the blends. This one is amazing in that it incorporates many of my favorite tobacco's into one great blend.

I am planning on building a stash that includes quite a bit of this to age. It seems rare to find a tin older than a couple months. I can only imagine what a few years age would do for this.

One of the best ever. I think you should try it. If you like the spice in this try Caravan, it is a different beast of the balkan genre but the complexity and flavor seem to be a good companion/contrast to this blend. I like to smoke blackpoint then caravan, sometimes the other way around. To me that is about as good as it gets.

The red and lemon Virginias offer some tart and tangy citrus, dark fruit, some earth and wood along with a touch of grass, bread, floralness, vegetation, sugar and spice. They form the base of the blend that the other tobaccos play off of. The Cyprian Latakia is smoky, woody, earthy, musty and sweet as expected and is a team player, though it sometimes dominates. The Oriental/Turkish is smoky, woody, herbal, vegetative and earthy with a few dry floral, spice notes that are always noticeable in a small way. The perique provides raisins, plums, dates and figs with a little spice as a condiment. The strength is a couple of steps past the center of mild to medium. The taste is medium. The nic-hit is a slot below the strength level. Won't bite or get harsh, but it does have a few small rough edges. Not overly complex, it is fairly smooth, but not creamy. It burns cool and clean at a moderate rate with a mildly sweet and savory, campfire flavor, though there is a little inconsistency here and there. Leaves little moisture in the bowl. It will require some relights as the tobacco is a tad moist. Has a pleasant, lightly lingering after taste, and stronger room note. Not an all day smoke, but it is repeatable.

-JimInks

Blackpoint reminds me of what many a Balkan used to be. I don't think the goal was to exactly match any particular mixture so much as to remind us of formulations of 15 to 50 years ago.

Appearance: Upon very close inspection I can detect at least 5 different hues of leaf in this mixture Red and Lemon Virginias are in abundance, darker browns of Oriental and Perique with nearly jet black Latakia. The cut is a somewhat varied rough ribbon cut.

Tin aroma: This is one the most complex mixture I have ever encountered. The Virginias are evident, with rich earthy tones and under-currents of fig/raisin and cocoa. The smoky Cyprian Latakia makes the main statement, complex and enticing, plenty of smokiness with underlying astringent tones of bergamot and sandalwood. Just under the surface I detect the Orientals giving the mixture?dryness? and lending even greater depth to the mélange of flavors. Finally, we have a touch of Perique lending it's Louisiana ?pepper? to the range of flavor.

This tobacco is nearly perfect in moisture and I employed the ?once like a baby, once like a lady, finally like a gentleman? method of layered packing. The sample I'm reviewing is dated Oct 18, 2004.

Lighting usually is a single match affair, and with a friendly lighting tamp I was well on my way to nirvana each time. As expected, the initial flavor is very smoky with an astringent (very gently so) quality I?ve come to expect from Orientals. Latakia and Orientals tend to live nasally for me, so I often employ the 'French curve' method of inhaling the slipstream smoke. The Virginias and Perique set a firm background and foundation on which the Latakia and Orientals play out a slowly evolving ?drama?. This blend slowly builds in flavors and complexity with each puff.

Mid Bowl: Approaching mid-bowl, the fullness tends to build and the flavors gaining intensity in unison. The initial strength of the Latakia is slowly giving way to other components, the Orientals slowly numbing (not at all in a bad way) my soft pallet and nasal regions. The Virginia comes through a bit more assertively from time to time with rich fruity and sweet tones, the Perique seemingly is there to lend character and fill in the few gaps. Each mouthful is slightly different (as in many a GLP presentation) and unexpected tones creep gently in from time to time. There are blends that lend themselves to what I call auto-pilot smoking, Blackpoint is NOT in this category, requiring my full attention, complex and subtle and constantly changing it is a contemplative smoke.

Home Stretch: As end of the bowl approaches, I?m absolutely in smoker's heaven. The fullness and character of this blend really come into their own during this final stretch. The Virginias have deepened to a wine like goodness and the Latakia and Oriental has widened yielding leather and forest tones. While not particularly strong in nicotine the final third of the bowl is far fuller in flavors and depth than one might expect from where the blend begins. Those who enjoy fuller blends may initially want more of this blend, but in the home stretch I can't imagine wanting more. Blackpoint finds the perfect balance of refinement and power, is never harsh and has plenty to satisfy even the most discerning of palates.

A wonderful and complex Balkan blend from America's premier tobacco blender.

Supplemental Notes: This mixture in my favorite of the Classic Collection and easily within my top ten favorite Balkan mixtures. Rating for those interested in numbers ****+

I believe the latest line of tobaccos by this blender were created for those wanting lighter fare. Blackpoint will fill the bill.

This weed is lightly flavorful. The Virginia carries the load, but Latakia is noticed by the smoker as is Perique. The latter embedded deeply in the background until the final 3rd of the bowl.

I have come to the reluctant conclusion that I need more strength and add a strong Burley (about 20% to the blend to keep this puffer pacified.

G. L. Pease Blackpoint (part of the Classic Collection) provides an entry in a crowded field of medium to strong latakia mixtures, many of which are outstanding. The Pease brand itself offers a coterie of these. Blackpoint more than holds its own.

Open the tin and you find stringy ribbon of middle hue with a latakia aroma that will entrance many. I personally find the blend a bit too moist upon first cracking the tin. Lighting presents no problem with a bit of drying. The burning aroma has the leathery/campfire smell of latakia, although it is not quite as strong as some blends that arouse the ire of non smokers.

The red and lemon Virginia base presents the typical Virginia sweetness along with a touch of citrus. The perique is present only in a condimental measure, although I do find it more noticeable toward the bottom of the bowl. A goodly measure of oriental offers the tangy mustiness provided by such tobacco. Blackpoint is a latakia forward blend, although the latakia does not dominate every puff. Part of the Pease magic comes from measuring out the various tobaccos in such a way that the flavor is layered, changing consistently in the course of the smoke. Blackpoint does not offer quite so much latakia as its Classic Collection stablemates Abingdon and Odyssey, but it has more than Charring Cross, and considerably more that Samarra and Picadilly.

Except for the most careless of heavy puffers, Blackpoint presents no tongue bite problems. The pipe load burns down to a fine, dry white ash.

I smoked my last tin of Blackpoint with a variety of pipes that I use for Latakia/oriental blends. No particular pipe stood out. I did try one bowl with my single Medico (one of my usually aromatic only pipes), and somewhat to my surprise the sweetish ghosting merged with the English style blend quite nicely, creating something close to a crossover blend.

Some pipe smokers avoid all mixtures with more than a condimental trace of latakia, and they will not be interested in Blackpoint. Also there are those who have no interest in pipe tobaccos aside from the aromatic blends. But for the rest of the pipe smoking population I give Blackpoint a solid recommendation.

Pease Pilgrimage Reviews (a tasting journey through every GLPease blend) Tin date: 5/13/10

Appearance: The quintessential Greg Pease rough-cut pseudo ribbon. Some big sticks and twigs, which I normally just load right into the pipe.

Aroma: The tin aroma is delicious, very woodsy and smoky, but not a Latakia bomb. There is a wonderful tang, either from the Perique or the Orientals (or both, methinks) that adds a nice counterbalance to the smoky Latakia. The room note is wonderful, possibly the best of any medium to full English I've had to date.

Pipe 1: Meer bent billiard Pipe 2: GBD pot Pipe 3: Danske Club volcano Pipe 4: Nording Signature freehand

Flavor: For me, the Orientals really make this blend come alive. There is a distinctive oriental toasty/herbal quality that is beautifully balanced with the other ingredients. The Latakia is actually quite mild, not even approaching what I would call a “heavy lat” mixture, however it gains strength in the second half of the bowl when the mixture becomes a predominantly Latakia-laden English. The Virginias form a firm foundation adding some sweetness and richness to the smoke and spice.

The Perique never makes a strong appearance according to my taster. It's mild enough to be considered the tobacco equivalent of a dash of salt or pepper in a bowl of pasta. This mild condimental behavior is probably what Mr. Pease planned, and it works wonderfully.

Many call this a complex blend, but I'm not so sure…delicious, yes, and in certain pipes it exhibits a wider range of flavors and nuance. In my Dankse Cllub volcano, for example, the Latakia shone through. In the meer, the spice and toastiness of the Orientals. In the Nording, well-balanced in the beginning then Latakia-heavy near the end. Experiment with different pipes, but you will probably love it in any of your chosen utensils.

It certainly is less “full” than Abingdon and Westminster (regarding Latakia content) but is altogether as rich and flavorful. The nuances of the Orientals float in and out, depending on temperature, puffing cadence, etc., and the various ingredients—while behaving well together with none taking a predominant lead— make appearances which just as quickly fade away, which is probably what leads to the descriptions of “complex.” Campfire smoky one moment, toasty and warm the next, then a bit of spice, then a combination of any two or three of the above...yes, I guess you could call it complex after all.

Having not smoked Abingdon or Westminster for many months, I'll have to do a side by side comparison, but the preliminary word is, I may like this better than either of those classics. And this from a new tin! Eventually I'll be going back to do a quick refresher with all of the Pease English blends, so I can narrow it down to just a few favorites. Right now, this one is a contender for top of the list.

Four stars and on my “buy a lot more” list.

In the last six months, I have smoked through two tins of Blackpoint dating back to 2006 and 2007, making most of my experience with this blend at the 7-8 year mark.

Like most GL Pease tobaccos, this one comes slightly moist, which suits me well. I am a sipper rather than a puffer, and did not tend to get gurgle from this at all. The moisture slowly evaporated in the tins over the weeks that I smoked them. The colors tended to be a bit darker than I expect when this was fresher.

Pease nailed the tin description, as always. Stewed fruits and campfire are the predominant notes, both in the tin and in the pipe. The latakia is there but well-integrated and probably a little muted after 7 years, which suits me just fine. The perique wasn't noticeable to me on its own, but like many of his blends with small amounts of condimental leaf, I suspect I would notice its absence. I'm guessing that the perique and Virginias conspired to create the base of deep fruits, with the orientals and latakia providing spice and smoke. I'm terrible at picking out individual flavors, but after 7 years of aging, it's really more of a holistic experience anyway. I can recall moments of thinking that this must be the sort of latakia blend that folks enjoyed in decades past. It wasn't sweet, like Maltese Falcon is. But neither was it acrid, as some bigger latakia blends can taste to me. It walks a tightrope of perfect balance.

Make no mistake: this is a big blend. But it's not without refinement and complexity. That's not to say it can't be a set it and forget it smoke, as it sometimes was for me. The easy burn made that possible. But in the right pipe and the right circumstances, this one sung to me as few fuller latakia blends can.

This is highly recommended, especially with age. If you like your fuller latakia blends with some complexity and balance, this is your smoke.

This may be the most perfectly balanced High English blend of all time. That is both its advantage and its drawback.

It's a wonderful complex of flavours that dance majestically around your mouth. It's slightly sweet, slightly tangy, slightly spicy, slightly smoky, slightly bright, slightly dark, slightly tart... it's got it all, with none of the flavours overwhelming the others. It's really quite perfect. This wonderful, velvety melange is the result of high quality leaves working together to form a tantalizing pattern of flavour.

So what's the drawback? That a pattern does not a painting make. I think it comes down to the difference between craft and art. I would be hard pressed to find a greater masterpiece of the craft of blending. However, just because something is magnificently crafted doesn't necessarily mean that it's a work of art. The perfect balance of the elements creates more of a wallpaper than a landscape, tantalizing the tastebuds with a complex flavour tesselation that becomes a pleasing pattern, rather than focusing and directing our attention across a sublime flavour landscape.

Or, said another way, we can wonder admiringly at a prodigy's dexterity even as we tactfully overlook a lack of soulfulness in the performance. A technically flawless execution is not necessarily an artistic one.

It feels ungenerous to give this three instead of four stars, but I think its great technical achievement in creating such a perfect balance obscures the fact that there's not that bit of magic to make it transcendent, which is what, to me, four stars signifies. Perfection, after all, is boring (so I hear).

Not that this blend is boring. It's perfectly delightful and always interesting. And it smokes dry and beautifully, in addition to its other assets. I cannot imagine that any lover of English blends wouldn't like and appreciate Blackpoint. It is a classic. It's just too homeostatic to be great.

I bought three tins of this three years ago on a hunch that I may like it and I love when hunches pay off. This is a great Balkan blend that packs everything you would want in such a blend. It has the campfire notes of the latakia, spicy exotic flavoring from the orientals, more spice and a little nicotine boost from Perique and the perfect amount of Virginia to add sweetness.

When you have this many components it is inevitable that you will have shifting flavors, the key is finding one where you like all the flavors presented. This is exactly how Blackpoint hits my palate. It shifts from one great flavor to another. Just a well done blend with incredible balance.

To anyone who is bemoaning the potential loss of Dunhill Nightcap, buy some tins of this and you will forget about Nightcap quickly.