G. L. Pease Blackpoint

I'm very impressed by this creamy classic English mixture, a thick and medium ribbon cut with a nice smoky and exotic smell from the tin with good burning qualities.

The Latakia is leathery and evokes a campfire, the Turkish/Oriental gives a sour and slightly sweet flavor. As an end note, the Perique provides, towards the end of the bowl, a peppery spiciness and the contrast actually surprised me. This tobacco leaves a lingering exotic sensation on the palate. Thank you Mr. Pease for bringing me back in time.

Virginia lover

General impression: This was my first introduction to Pease and was my local tobacconist's personal recommendation for the GLP line when I told her that I liked latakia but not in large doses. The tin aroma is absolutely sublime - it smells like a combination of earth, dried fruit and campfire (I know it sounds like the description given on the tin, but it really is accurate!). In fact the tin smell is so good that sometimes I open it just to take a whiff! When smoked it tastes creamy, mild and well-balanced - neither VA nor latakia nor perique dominate. The room note is very nice for a non-aromatic and has a slight sweetness to it. This has become my favorite non-aromatic blend.

Who should buy this stuff: You like mild to medium English blends that are complex in taste. You like VAPER blends and you want something different with a little hint of smokiness to it. You like complex, contemplative tobaccos. This is not a good blend for latakia-fiends or for situations where relighting would be highly inconvenient (while walking or gardening for instance).

Final notes: This stuff needs to dry out before being smoked and even then, the wide cuts of the leaf make keeping it lit difficult. This blend can also produce some gurgle, so keep your pipe cleaners and lighter handy. I like pairing Blackpoint with chamomile tea.

Revised 12-30-2004 Aging makes a difference.

Apearance and Tin Aroma: Tin date 08-04-03 smelled deliciously musty with some fig notes. Typical medium ribbon with a good balance of light and dark leaves.

Packing and Lighting: Easy as all the Pease blends. Lights 2-3 max.

Initial Flavor: Aaahh! Classic English! Perfectly balanced from the get go.

Mid-Bowl: This blend really shines with a complexity that is among the best. Each leaf is noticable the VA's, the oriental, the perique, the Latakia is all there.

Bottom of Bowl: A slight build up of strength and a delicious sweet note comes through. Ash is mottled grey and dry.

Overall: Well, since the demise of the Syrian latakia, I have been exploring blends that don't use that leaf to replace them. This is a blend that has done that. I wasn't too impressed with this blend when it came out, but after a year and a half of aging, the blend does show it's quality of leaf and blending skill. The perique in this blend is low (which I prefer), but it is felt and noticed from time to time. The nicotine is fairly low and there is a low chance of tongue bite with this blend due to its richness. Thankfully, I stowed away a few tins when it first came out and now I am going to purchase some more for future enjoyment. How does this blend compare to other English blends? It is much more refined than Dunhill London Mixture, It is less Latakia laden than Margate and hence, not as full. It is smoother than T-16, Solani Gold, or even Astley's 99. Bottomline: it is a very good English that I have been smoking pretty much daily.

Rating: 4.75 out of 5 Points

Mr. Pease describes Blackpoint as a luxurious blend with a piquant finish. The following notes prove that this is an understatement.

On lighting up the smoker is greeted with a nice blast of Latakia plus something else. That extra initial blast greeting the smoker is nothing other than the superb Oriental that this blend introduces and always returns to. Soon after lighting up the woodsiness of Blackpoint, transforms into a piquancy, or sourness, of fruit. But this is no ordinary fruit. While it has been described as stewed plums, it reminds me most of dark, sour cherries. I am not talking of the variety that McDonald's uses to stuff their pie with, nor am I talking of the Bing, Ranier or any other such variety. No, this is the taste of a noble, small, and almost black fruit grown and cherished in the Near East. If you have ever tried Mediterranean (Greek or Turkish) dark sour cherry preserves, then you know what I am talking about. These cherries are so sour that their taste is often enjoyed after they have been mixed with sugar and allowed to macerate. Only then does one get the perfect mixture of sour and sweet that coats the mouth. From all the fruit's qualities, this ability to coat the mouth is prized highest. Like fine wine it stays on the taste buds and tickles with alternate nuances of sweet and sour.

If this piquancy has been achieved by the addition of perique to the blend, I must say that the Louisiana leaf has been blended so masterfully that Blackpoint's transformation from spice and wood to fruit takes place seamlessly. If Blackpoint had nothing more to offer but this transformation it would still be one of the greatest pipe experiences available. But around halfway into the bowl, the smoker becomes aware that the smoking experience could never be this pleasant if the whole blend were not buttressed by some magnificent and complex Virginias which throughout have been providing sweetness in counterbalance to the piquancy of perique and the spice of the Latakia. Realization of the Virginias' contribution is similar to listening to one's favorite Jazz track and realizing, halfway through it, the piano has been sustaining and driving the quartet for a while.

As complex, and I assume robust, as these Virginias are they do not dominate the blend, because even at mid-bowl the Oriental continues to sing bright. Every puff whether sweet or sour, whether Virginia or perique finishes clean, with a hint of mint, because of the Oriental tobacco in this blend. I am sure that this is a very high quality Oriental, and in the hands of a lesser person it would have still made an enjoyable blend. But in the hands of Mr. Pease this Oriental tobacco creates history. With hints of mint, menthol, spice, and burning wood, it sings louder and louder as the bowl nears its end. The kind of tastes and smells usually associated with Christmas. As a matter of fact, instead of counting the days until Christmas, I think I will just smoke some Blackpoint and pretend it has arrived already.

This is truly a great blend and I cannot imagine how it will improve with ageing, but I am sure that it will.

now that dunhill's nightcap is a thing of the past i have been in the search to replace my beloved baccy. Blackpoint is officially the second blend that tastes like nightcap to me (the other being captain earle's nightwatch)! Why pay stupid ebay prices for past blends when there are plenty of good blends readily available? I have found my nightcap replacements. Have you?

I always wonder about skewed reviews. I am not fond of latakia; it always seems acrid to me, and dominates everything else in an English blend. I can't taste anything else. It seems unfair, therefore, for me to review an English tobacco, (I don't like it...it has Latakia in it! One star!) and it is hard sometimes to review a blend on its own merit, as part of a genre. For this reason, I suspect that these reviews are skewed upwards, we tend to buy what we think we'd like, and review these blends accordingly. This is an exception. The first time I smoked Blackpoint I didn't like it (It has Latakia in it!) and threw it into a jar. I tried it again after 3 years. It seems to me that age smooths this out nicely. The latakia loses some harshness, it tastes smoky, and a little sweet.The Orientals come forward, they are incense-like, woody. The Perique and the Virginia are in the background, lending some spice and sweetness respectively. It is pretty complex, but these marry together wonderfully. It burns nicely down to ash. I give it three stars. I would have given it 4....but it has Latakia in it!

This blend is flavorful. Ballpoint has enough Virginia to have some restrained sweetne. The oriental add a pleasant tangy taste. The Latakia is pleasant, with the right degree of smoothness. The campfire smell is pleasant, The orienttals are nicely complimentary. Almost like a night at the local chicken barbeque, Blackpoint is a tasty English blend of the first degree.For me this required only one light. There is a nice leather and fig taste when the bowl is warm.

G. L. Pease - Blackpoint (Classic Collection).

As I'm having an 'English day', started with McC' Old Dog, Blackpoint was another I plucked from my stash.

The composition is mainly medium size ribbons with just a few coarser pieces. There's a slightly higher amount of brown pieces compared to black and it has a water content that makes for imminent smoking.

A flavoursome blend this is, a Lat-Bomb this is not. The Latakia has an emphatic flavour, but doesn't cartelize and run the show. I find a pleasantly fragrant note from the Orientals, which doesn't exactly necessitate hard work to taste. I only get a small amount of flavour from the Perique: enough sweet plums to add character, but not a cacophony of spice. Throughout a bowl the Virginias are easy to identify, but after a quarter they become tarter tasting. Blackpoint burns well, creating a medium temperature smoke, without bite.

Nicotine: medium. Room-note: tolerable to strong.

Blackpoint? A three star smoke:

Recommended.

Guys, I must be missing something. I have smoked only a few bowls right out to the tin, using a couple of different pipes, and I'm just not getting it. I find the smoke "mild", exceptionally so, but flavorful, no. I smoke a lot of other Peases and enjoy the complexities. But I haven't found it yet with Black Point. Ok, my smoking situation might contribute to my lack of enthusiasm. I live in SE Pa where it is colder than a well digger's ass right now. And I have a neurotic wife who can barely tolerate me when I say the word "tobacco", so all of my smoking is done outside of the house. The best I can do this time of year is sit in my car and hoof away-not the most conducive atmosphere for savoring a complex smoke (my neighbors are aghast). It probably didn't help that the last time I did this I had my car radio on and ran down the battery, detracting from any other possible enjoyment. Hope springs eternal maybe, so when Spring rolls around here in another few months I might change my mind about this blend. I do enjoy the many other Pease blends that I have smoked. Even while freezing my butt off.