G. L. Pease Stratford

I am surprised that there are not more reviews for this blend. It has been around for nearly 20 years and is an archetypal VAPer. I enjoyed it thoroughly. The tin aroma is all fruity, sweet, lemony, and grassy. As the tobacco is allowed to breathe, the aroma takes on one of raisins. This is a ribbon cut blend. It appears to be a 50/50 mix of blonde and red leaf. There is indeed a sprinkling of Perique evident 3% or thereabouts. There are some nice larger pieces of what appear to be torn leaf and they are gorgeous.

There is a nice aroma of toasted bread on the char light. The early part of the bowl revolves around light sweet citrusy and fruity notes upfront. I did get one fleeting and pleasant note of raw cinnamon early on during a number of bowls. As the bowl is smoked, the experience shifts to one of being more earthy and spicy. I would posit that the brights dominate the early experience, and that the red Virginias dominate the second half. The taste and flavor is more potent and refined when smoked in a wider bowl.

I will most certainly buy this again. At this time I cannot be certain that it will make my favorites list, but I look forward to comparing this head to head with several other classics. I would presume this will age gracefully given the large bright Virginia component. Well done, Mr. Pease.

Stratford has been compared to Elizabethan but Stratford has more red Virginias and a just touch less perique IMO. This is a great all day smoke. It is very balanced and nuanced like all of the G.L. Pease blends I have smoked. Telegraph Hill has more bright Virginias and Fillmore has more perique. Stratford is my favorite of the Pease Va/Per trio because I prefer red Virginias and the perique content in Fillmore is a bit much for me. In terms of taste is has a peppery cherry taste with wonderful moments of mushroom earthiness that keep me coming back for more. I also get a bit of cranberry at times. I prefer the taste of flakes but this ribbon is a nice break and very easy to deal with and burns very nicely especially for breaking in pipes.

Presented in a fine ribbon cut, Stratford is sophisticated and compelling with tin notes of freshly baked bread, sliced and spread with butter and jam. The flavors concur with lightly stoved bright Virginias which bring barley grass, zesty citrus, and toast to the foreground and harmonize with layers of dried fruit and buttery fermented notes of choice red Virginias. Perique is in perfect proportion in this blend and adds savory a spot of black peppercorn and stewed fruit. A bit moist out of the tin, allow this tobacco ample time to dry, pack firmly and smoke with gentle cadence as it has a tendency to burn quickly. May need a relight now and then, leaves little moisture in the bowl. The light but complex flavor is consistent but does develop in the bowl as well as the cellar. Pleasant room note, and tart savory finish.

G.L. Pease, Stratford: A Solid Bright and Crisp VaPer

The lighter Virginias make up the basis of this blend, though there are some red and darker leafs present. In the smoke, they are primarily bright with a grassy-crispiness and some tanginess from the reds. The perique is moderately applied and is pleasantly spicy with some fruit undertones.

In comparison to Telegraph Hill, Stratford is less earthy with fewer fruit undertones from the perique.

The percentage of bright Virginias in this blend is overwhelming, creating a very nice visual impression of light, vivid gold. This choice of leaf, less sugary than red Virginia, and the presence of a discreet quantity of Perique help in building the characteristic taste of this blend: extremely dry and sour, though absolutely not in an unpleasant way. I was immediately struck by the similarity to another blend I like, that is Three Friars by Cornell & Diehl. And of course, considering that the maker is Craig Tarler for both products, it's clear that the two blends are close relatives! Personally I think that Stratford is a bit more delicate and lemony and has less nicotine, while Three Friars is a bit stronger and sweeter. Both are good products, though, which burn extremely well, dry and regularly (I might also be tempted to say it burns a bit too fast), and with bootloads of taste... at least at first. As a matter of fact, after a few days from opening the tin, the taste of the tobacco becomes much blander, at times even tasteless (while Three Friars stays tasty). The main problem for me, though, is that I am not a great fan of Perique, and I can't stand smoking it regularly. On top of that, I prefer red virginias and their fruity notes to the grassy and astringent bright virginias... but this is just a personal preference and doesn't imply that it isn't a good blend... actually it must be quite exceptional if I enjoy it on occasion in spite of my opposite tastes! I think I'll cellar a few tins of this, as it can't help but improve even more with age. It's sooo smooth (in spite of the lemony sourness) and smokable (the opposite of Haddo's which I find less tasty and overwhelmingly strong) right now, but it still has great potential.

First, let me say how enthusiastic I generally am about C&D / Pease VaPers : A LOT. I wont review them all here, but I’ll say that Stratford is the one I like the least. I do not relate to “Toned down Telegraph Hill” at all, as TH is a great VaPer where Stratford is a straight virginia barely seasoned with perique. I may appreciate a gentle morning bowl of it when I get tired of Montgomery or Briar Fox, as an alternative choice. It lacks personality. Ok I am a Bayou maniac and I adore blends like Chenet’s Cake, Bluegrass or Red Carpet, but still… Even as a seasoned Virginia … Nah.

Presentation: I love the labels on the Classic Series. All the labels have the same coloring and artstyle, being a drawing of a pipe but they each have a different pipe. That's so cool to me.

Cut: C&D style ribbon cut, perfect moisture level.

Tin note: Has a nice fruit and grassy scent.

Tasting notes: Exclusively grassy on light up. Once the blend gets going I taste a slight fruit, grassiness, and barely a presence of spice. More spice is present on retrohales. Some earth on the finish later into the bowl.

Mechanics: N/A -- A well behaved blend.

Extra Remarks: This blend to me is just rather unremarkable. A pleasant smoke for sure if you tend to like more mild blends but I am no fan. I must be up front and say, I only like grassy/hay flavor as a condimental addition. Blends that are mainly grassy/hay tasting are boring to me, as is this blend. 2 stars.

This is one of the closest blends I've found to the old Elizabethan Mixture. I really enjoy this one, the peppery Va/Per taste for me is just perfect for a nice cool spring afternoon or mildly warm summer day with a slight breeze, a cup of iced coffee and a book! I love that some of my paperbacks have assumed the smell of this blend.

A wonderful, tasty VaPer, perhaps a calmer version of Haddo's Delight, packing a noteworthy interplay and imposition of the perique. But alas, more of the classic Pease-ian tongue bite leaves my crying "no mas, no mas". I can see that Mr Pease and I simply aren't going to be good roommates due to this recurring characteristic of his, across his blends. Spoils every smoke.