G. L. Pease Blackpoint

Blackpoint is the final stop on the GLP highway for me. Why? Because the road doesn?t go any further. Not until Greg Pease comes up with another blend, that is!

Blackpoint is a beautiful balance of Latakia and Oriental with a firm base of Virginia. The Perique is ever-present, lurking in the background, never becoming obtrusive. The Oriental melds well with the subtle sweetness of the Va, only becoming assertive and mildly sharp on occasion. Latakia provides depth, and like the Perique it never comes to the forefront.

Blackpoint is a good choice if you?re looking for something a bit on the lighter side, yet still full with respect to complexity.

Nicely balanced flavor, beautiful to look at, smooth and cool smoke ? what more could you ask for? Another winner from Greg Pease.

Blackpoint is probably Greg's replacement for Renaissance now that the Syrian latakia needed for Renaissance is no longer available. There are distinct similarities, however, my preference is for Renaissance. Blackpoint is typical GLP in the cut and moisture level, however, each of the times I have smoked Blackpoint, I have had trouble keeping it lit. Maybe it will burn a little better when dried a little.

Like Renaissance, Blackpoint is quite complex. In looking at the various elements in this blend, it is obvious that there are quite a few tobaccos blended in. There are distinct fruity overtones, with the latakia being dominant, but not overwhelming.

Blackpoint is another winner for Greg.

This is a remarkably mild blend. Nice flavor with nothing dominating the mixture. The Perique stays well in the backgound, as does the Latakia to my taste.

Light colors dominate the mixture in the can with a little dark tobacco thrown in.

A very enjoyable smoke with no bite.

First impressions: I think the description for Charing Cross gives the exact right impression when it comes to Blackpoint. Blackpoint is somewhat lighter, and sweeter, than Charing Cross. It's firmly in the medium Balkan range. As such, it is a bit more nuanced than Charing Cross, but that said, my initial impression of Blackpoint is that I don't like it as much as Charing Cross, as it simply does not have as much flavor. That said, preferring one to another is simply a matter of taste, and I could imagine my opinions changing depending on my experiences over time. Certainly I think Blackpoint would be a superior all day smoke, where Charing Cross would overwhelm the taste buds after a couple of bowls.

A deep, mellow, huge sweetness in a very complex Em. Not very good burning qualities.

This is a bit of a lighter English that I expected, but a nice change of pace. The Latakia is great and the Perique is well balanced. I found this blend to be appreciated best in a meerschaum because it let the subtle textures come out the best. The exotic Oriental tobacco's were not in the forefront, but in the background and the VA tobacco seems to carry the most weight in the blend. I find this blend best for experienced smokers who know what they are looking for, it just may be to subtle for fast puffers or the inexperienced. In a world where the most popular blends are the ones that push the flavor envelope it is nice to smoke one that still knows knows how to tread lightly.

**** UPDATE 10/11/07: I went out of town last weekend. While I was gone I left the tin lid open. Upon my return and need for my next smoke, I filled my pipe. Those three days did some good. Keep in mind "some" is the operative word here. The after-drying smoke did improve some things. I did not encounter strong tongue bite, the experience was more pleasurable. I wonder if my tongue tasted the lemon VAs - a good semi-sour taste that was pleasureable! This blend could go up one star. IMHO, this is a smoke that I would not turn down if it were offered to me.



By its tin description it seemed to have similar characteristics of a tobacco I really enjoy. That, coupled with the fact that I really enjoy Mr. Pease's Fillmore, led me to order this blend. The tobacco quality was very good. I questioned the tin aroma though. It seemed to be heavy. However, those in my presence when smoking Blackpoint preferred this to the other blend referred to earlier. My lovely wife (the nattering naybob of nicotine negativity) did not seem to complain about an odor when I came in the house.

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My tin had arrived already aged three years. I tried this in all my presently small collection of pipes. None of them seemed to like it. The best results were in a thinnish-walled zulu. Even then there were only momentary glimpses of cool smoking. About midbowl it felt as if somebody slathered corrosive material on my tongue. The other portions of each smoke this blend seemed to burn hot. I really tried to give this blend a fair try and wanted the results to be good. However,I am going to have to side with flyboy and Noorrmm on this one. Perhaps Samarra will be more to my liking ...

I do enjoy this as a good "daytime" smoke, a slightly creamy taste with a fresh scent(that for some reason reminds me of soap!?Maybe I'm just wierd?) but that's a good thing, not so smokey so that the scent won't be appreciated by others, just a fine balance, I reccomend this blend to all.

I returned to this blend and Pease tobaccos after long break during which I experimented with different less known tobaccos including so called cigar leaf tobaccos. My sample was aged almost two years.

Upon openning the smell was that of fermented fruit. Not unpleasent but slightly overwheming. Appearance is typical of English blend with different colors. Latakia definitely present but not overwhelming. Packing was very easy and I tend to use large pipes for most of my tobaccos.

Lighting was easy with average two matches and I had no problems with keeping it lit as long as I remember to puff on it regularly.

Taste fairly compex and tobacco quality is excellent. Latakia is easily noticable but not overwheming which I like. Sweatness of quality virginia makes it more enjoyable but there was no tongue burning at all. Blackpoint burns into esthetically pleasing grayish ash. This blend is not to die for but nice change of pace. Recommended.