G. L. Pease Piccadilly

Pease Pilgrimage Reviews (a tasting journey through every GLPease blend) Tin date: May, 2010

Many of you are familiar with the operatic tune "La Donna Mobile." Although Luciano Pavarotti's version is likely better known, I am particularly fond of Andrea Bocelli's rendition:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmTJ0bUG8mo

But what many may not realize is that the English translation goes as follows:

This woman is flighty Like a feather in the wind, She changes her voice — and her mind. Always sweet, Pretty face, In tears or in laughter, — she is always lying.

In defense of you pipe smoking women, I am not making a statement regarding the truth or falsehood of these lyrics. I am only pointing out that the first few bowls of GLPease's Piccadilly fit this description. However, this is one of those true sleeper blends that has really grown on me as I get to know it better.

Fickle as Pavarotti's flighty woman, Piccadilly has nevertheless begun behaving itself to the point that I have come to really appreciate it. It's a strange blend to me in that I could swear I taste a significant Oriental character, but the tin description states otherwise: "Piccadilly is a provocative blend of several Virginia tobaccos, delicately spiced with Latakia, and finished with Louisiana perique." This blend requires the right pipe and good technique, which bring out some fantastic flavors and nuance.

The Latakia is very light when visually inspecting the leaves, but comes across a little stronger than expected in the flavor. However, it always remains far in the background. The Perique is not all that noticeable, unless it's what gives that Oriental-esque character in the absence of Oriental leaf. There is toastiness, there is some good Virginia sweetness not unlike that found in Union Square, and the faint smokiness of the Latakia balances the rest perfectly. This might just be a genius blend. Time will tell as I gain more experience with it and age a couple tins.

What began as a two and a half star blend for me may very well become four stars, especially with some age. Perhaps Bocelli is correct in concluding:

"Yet one never feels Fully happy Who on that bosom — does not drink love!"

Greetings Fellow Pipers from the Banks of the Ouachita,

Why Mr. Greg Pease's Piccadilly blend? Well, the packaging and eloquent tin description sold me. And its the first blend I stumbled upon as a novice that had Perique in it. You see, I'm from Louisiana. Support your states growers!

My older & only sibling noticed my interest in all things pipe, and told me about driving thru the fields of Grand Point during his summer down south and having his breathe taking away and his eyes brung to tears by the pungency of the drying barns. He says that the locals smoke this stuff full strength! Thats his story any way.

I remember trying to force myself through a bowl of this stuff thinking that I had to train myself to appreciate such acquired tastes like I did with beer & wine (go Landry Vinyards!). Well, after four children, I have settled into my early 30's and lost all such pretensions, feeling now that life is too short to do things that make you miserable with the promise of deferred benefits.

After some poking around on the web this summer, my old love of pipe smoking started calling to me, and after a little digging I found a drawer at the office with my old volcano-shaped, briar sitter next to the remainders of my old tin of Piccadilly stamped 2003. I was as a giddy as a one of my girls watching Barbie commercials on a Saturday morning as I immediately went to my walking spot at Black Bayou Refuge to burn a bowl.

It was too dry. Failing the Charmin Test (squeezable with no breakage). I followed the rehydrating advice of Eric over at smokingpipetobacco.com by using a moist paper towel in the tin. This worked very well and I am pleased enough to not try other methods of hydration in the future (eg fruit slices, humidifier tablets...check Greg Pease' site for his own method of rehydration).

This is like a fiery, cajun woman. She'll please your interests, but watch you mouth or this bitch'll cut 'ya. After getting the moisture situation worked out, it burned much better to a white ash and stayed lit to the dottle, but took some maintenance mid-smoke with a pipe cleaner (I am able use q-tips on this pipe as a result of redrilling the shank - try at your own discretion).

I found the effort by Pease, along with his reputation and the sheer number of reviews he gets, intriguing enough to tempt me further into his collection in the future and regard him with the admiration due. I enjoyed this tin to the last, but I don't expect to reinvest in Piccadilly for years to come as there's just too much out there from him & his peers. Get you some if you have never experienced a VaPer. Cheers

Without Me Its Just Some.

AWE

Tobacco Tracker:

Previous Reviews:

Captain Black Gold Label **

Prince Albert (Standard label) ***

Next Review:

To be determined (I think I'm ready to move on to a flake)

*Original 07/07/08* I like this in the morning before breakfast. It is so strange, that is the only time I can enjoy it. I smoke it in a lightweight Stanwell with a tapered bowl. It lights easy and is just enough tobac to get me through the newspaper and let my tea cool a bit. The Perique seems to jump out at you once in a while. If you think about it while you smoke, it has a bit of citrus taste but it's quickly overpowered by the Perique. (The longer the tin is opened, I think you get less of that citrus taste) I think it's a good blend but too light for an all day smoke. I go back and forth between this, Dunhill's EMP, London Mix and Peterson's Old Dublin before breakfast. My mood and taste changes every few days so I keep some of this on hand for that reason. English tobacco's have a huge range, this fits in there fairly well as a milder blend. I like the room note, it is pretty light. I smoked this at work a few times without huge objections, even a couple of, "hey, what are you smoking today?" interests. Just remember, for a English style tobacco, it has a strange flavor to it. It's light but it's there.

*UPDATE 07/23/08* I just opened a new tin today, it appears to be lighter colored than my last couple. I got a strong citrus taste out of this tin. I didn't like it at all. I am going to shelf this a few weeks and see what happens. Something is different but what??????

There is nothing special, interesting or notable about this blend.

Enough latakia to satisfy my craving but that's about it.

won't buy again.

Tin: Difficult to detect light sweet oats from the VA and vaguely smoky from the Latakia; maybe the perique is there as an undertone. Overall, the aroma is light and indistinct. Dark blonde and light auburn, ribbon and short wide cut, which is very dry. There is a small percent of black tobacco.

Packing & Lighting: Wouldn't say it packed so well in a small bowl. Being dry, it burned quickly. A small, tapered bowl seemed easy to overpack, giving a restricted draw; there is the same concern in a large bowl.

Taste & Aroma: Initially, not much flavor, but mildly sweet cardamom. I can even imagine a whisper of honey oats and citrus tone, although I may not have, if it hadn't been suggested. After that, if you lose concentration, it migrates toward a neutral taste and aroma.

The effect on the mouth is somewhere between peppery and mildly bitey, that persists after finishing.

Nicotine: mild; for some reason, towards the bottom of the tin, it seems to have more kick.

Room Note: fairly pleasant mild to medium, but with a perique shadow cast over it.

Overall: Piccadilly is a lightweight. I need to take a pass on this one. Not that it's a bad tobacco, but it just doesn't click with my smoking habits. Based on types of tobacco, this should compare to Lombard in the Fog City Selection. 2.4 stars.

This blend requires solemn contemplation, to fully appreciate the hidden nuances. It likewise doesn't do well outdoors, in that these sublities get lost in the wind, and this leaves you with a singular pepper feel. Definitely an indoor smoke.

P.S. Piccadilly seemed much more flavorful towards the end of the tin.

This is perhaps one of the most unique pipe tobacco blends I've ever encountered. Mr. Pease's mention of citrus & cinnamon on the tin ring very true. There's almost a note of leomony orange with a cinnamon/cardamom note. You'd almost think it was flavored, but upon more careful tasting, you realize this is simply a master blender at work. My tin dates from 4/8/04 and it did seem quite dry to the touch, almost a papier-mâché like texture, but it burns well, i.e. not too fast and reveals a nice not too dry moisture. frankly, I'd say that the perique here is much stronger than the latakia, though both sort of synergize to spice the predominant VAs, which are quite rich & wonderful.

Update 11/16/16: I've recently opened a tin from July 2007 and am flabbergasted at how much better this blend has become and it was fantastic when I've smoked relatively fresh tins. The component tobaccos have melded into perfection. The VAs predominate, but the latakia and perique are less distinct from one another than a hybrid flavor. I'm a big fan of many blends, especially others of Mr. Pease and of the classic Dunhills, but I think Piccadilly could be my favorite blend at the moment.

Argh, I almost wish I didn't have to recommend or not. I puffed carelessly, and it was bland cardboard and grassy. The only real flavor that came through was the peppery perique that stayed lodged in my mouth for hours afterwards. After getting though half a tin, this one was given away. Of the 8 sampler Pease tobacco's I got, this was the one I had to force myself to try again and again.

Could I recommend this as a "Morning smoke"? Well, the effect the perique had on my mouth alone says no. However, maybe I went to fast, etc... But then my morning smoke isn't one of quiet contemplation. It's a (small bowled) pipe shoved in my mouth while I prep for the day ahead, drive to work.

As far as a pleasure smoke, I'd much rather have something a bit more full to sit and contemplate my navel with. I can think of several blends with "Gold" in the name I'd pick up before cracking another tin of this. I've sat with it and smoked slowly... It's better, but still not what I'm looking for.

This is easily the most enjoyable light blend I have ever smoked...starting with the look (georgous as per GLP usual), the feel (mine was quite dry upon opening), the initial light (it fired up and burned quite well in my most finicky briar...a gift Peterson's 4th of July 2000) and the first half of the bowl (quite simply sipping magic - the brightest, sweetest smoke imaginable). Then mid-bowl to the end it was a slow diminution of that initial sweetness and a building of depth as the nuances of the L & P took their rightful place. All in all an absolute joy and the match to anything Dunhill has to offer up. I don't like to let this go out and try to re-light after any cooling rest...it has gotten very ashy on me (yak-pooey!). But overall - if a high ratio Virginia Combo with itty bitty touches of Latakia & Perique can taste like this...I'm looking for more boyos...but then, perhaps only in Greg's hands can one like this sing quite so sweetly.

My highest praise - I just ordered the bulk bag for "right now" smoking...I can't even imagine how this would be with a year of two on it...not that I'll get to find out...I'm much to weak to let a tin of it sit anywhere near that long.

It's an honor to be the first to review this blend. I bought it the first day it arrived on the shelf of my local B&M. I chose it over the other classics because the tin description claimed it was delicately spiced with latakia. I am not a latakia lover, so keep that in mind when you read this review. It is also suggested on the tin that this would be a great morning smoke, but when I smoke a latakia blend, I prefer the afternoon or evening. It's very late now; this will probably be my last bowl of the day. Neil Young is on the box and the dog is curled up at my feet.

The tobacco is yellow, brown, and black ribbon; there is at least four different tobaccos present. The tin aroma is lovely; it's mild with a slight latakia aroma. The moisture level seemed to be just right.

I loaded Piccadilly into my only latakia dedicated pipe: a big, old Dunhill straight billiard. The initial flavor is rich and mild at the same time; I can taste the latakia, but it's not overwhelming. I taste the Virginias towards the front of my tongue and the Oriental near the middle; the perique is there too. As I slowly smoke, I can't help but think how well Piccadilly will improve with age, due to the high proportion of Virginia tobacco present.

Towards the middle of the bowl, the Virginias start to come forward. The latakia takes a back seat, but has not gone away. When I "French inhale" I can pick up the latakia a little better. Piccadilly has much less latakia the Samarra, but still has a rich flavor one would expect from an English blend.

Piccadilly may not have enough latakia for the hardcore "lataphile", but for a Virginia flake smoker like myself, it's a very nice change of pace. It will surely find a place in my tobacco rotation. I don't think it will replace Samarra though.

The last third of the bowl the flavors meld into one interesting taste. This is where I usually tire of most English blends, due to the latakia; here it's not too much.

Buy a couple of tins. Put one away for aging and try one now.