G. L. Pease Abingdon

I find this very similar to McClelland's Blue Mountain, but (imo) it has a less alluring smell in the tin. Blue Mountain is nice and smoky, while Abingdon has much stronger notes of "tire fire" that many Lat haters dread. It has one of the spiciest "noses" I've encountered, which some folks might find offputting.

It smokes beautifully though, and I prefer it to Blue Mtn. Greg's description on the tin is spot on. This is a really nice blend, and as others note, a good intro to the Balkan style; not overpowering in either the taste or the nicotine departments.

2014-08-26 I spent some time away from Abingdon while sampling other English and Balkan blends. It's aged beautifully during that time. The heavy spice-and-creosote tin note becomes a nice, mellow, woodsy flavor under the match, with a rich white-and-blue smoke that lingers softly. Flavorful but not overpowering, with just the right amount of complexity.

The first two sentences in the description tell you everything you need to know. Yes, there is a constant presence of Latakia, but the orientals come out on the tail end. Absolutely no bite, and I really tried to make it bite. I let the first bowl dry out for 2 hours. It didn't burn all the way to the bottom. About a third of what I packed became dottle. I blame the south Florida humidity and the limited drying time. Next time I'll let it dry for 4-5 hours. And I didn't follow the recommendation to pack it "a little less firmly" than normal. With all that it was still a great smoke and I expect it will only get better. It also left a pleasant aftertaste, not like some blends that leave a horrible taste for hours. This was my first experience with G.L. Pease. I hope all their tobaccos are this good. Recommended. EDIT 4/1/14: I let it dry in my travel pouch for a few days. It really mellows out and the scent starts to remind me of an old library. It's weird to be tasting that, but not unleasant. Still recommended.

Now here's a smoke that really makes me happy. When I have a pipe full of Abindgon in the car, I seem to not worry as much about the traffic and the idiots in the lanes around me. This stuff makes me forget many of the day's stresses -- even when I'm stuck in the middle of them.

The description, "Dark flavours of wood and leather mingle with delicate undercurrents of sweetness, and deep earthy notes, while the oriental tobaccos provide hints of their verdant, sometimes herbaceous character," is about as accurate a description as can be given to a person who has yet to try this fine blend. However, it's merely an overview of what Abingdon has to offer.

This is a complex blend. It's not quite on the same level of complexity as Renaissance, but the latter really is a totally different blend with stunning characteristics all its own. Fortunately, Abingdon does let you taste everything, giving each part of the masterful recipe's ingredients a chance to shine. Sure, there's a fair share of Latakia in there, but it never enters a shoving match with any of the other types of leaf. Now that I've romanticized my way into packing another bowl of this stuff, let me get to the nitty gritty.

Appearance: Looks very good. A variety of colors and shades give the blend an attractive appearance.

Tin aroma: Smells great. Not as much tang as the Renaissance, likely due to Abingdon's lack of Syrian Latakia. But the earthy, vegetal, spicy, leathery, and woody notes that pour out of the can make my mouth water. It just smells wonderful.

Pack: Packs as well as can be expected. Packing with less force overall enhances the smoke. Too tight a pack will bog this one down for sure.

Light: Lights well and evenly, releasing the most inviting scents into the air and filling the tastebuds with more than enough flavor to stay busy for a long time.

Mouthfeel: Abingdon offers up a bold and solid mouthfeel, but it's not too overpowering. You know you're smoking it. The blend smokes cool and without bite. The smoke remains flavorful to the end.

Overall: This is my second blend from G.L. Pease. I like the way he thinks. He clearly has put lots of effort into his passion, and it shows with each and every puff I take. Abingdon is all it's cracked up to be -- and then some. I give it my highest rating and believe that anyone who already enjoys Balkan and English-style blends will get a lot of pleasure from Abindgon. I'm not sure it's the best blend for those just starting out, but my first bowl ever was filled to the rim with Dunhill 965 -- and I turned out just fine. Abingdon is not only worth buying in bulk and aging, it's also worth dedicating a pipe to its use.

I'm not sure what's going on with this tobacco. It used to be one of my top 3 tobaccos, Absolutely love(d) this stuff!! Then some months back it seemed to be sold out everywhere. Then I happily received a notification that it was back in stock so I immediately ordered a big tin of it. Smoked a bowl and blahhh!!! So sour it was/is unsmokable. The only thing I can think of is C&D, and/or Pease could no longer get one or more of the ingredient tobaccos and decided to reformulate with some other ingredients. This is just a theory, or course, but I know every nuance of this blend, and it's definitely not the same. I honestly can't even smoke it now. Not only that but it's ghosting every pipe I try it in with that sour note. I've been trying to salvage it by mixing it with Virginia Creme, and still can't deal with it. Oh well I guess I'll have to chalk this one up to a loss. Sorry Mr. Pease for the low rating but I have to call it for what it is.

Edit/update: The sourness has really calmed down over the last 4 weeks. Opened it up today and it was good. I'll keep bumping up my rating if it continues to get better.

Tin date: 11/09/09

Balkans are my favorite. As I became a more "experienced" pipe smoker, I developed a taste for the complex balance they offer. Abingdon has been on my radar for some time. I have purposely skipped it when ordering because I've learned that GL Pease blends are always better when they have a few years on them. Five years of age for a Balkan Blend made by Pease? That's what I want. I found it recently on Pipestud.

It has a thicker ribbon cut, with a load of the black beauty but nothing like Odyssey's high percentage. It smells great. Smokey, sweet, savory and pungent with that soily loam smell, the dustiness of turkish orientals, the base of lovely sweet virginias. As suggested by many before me in reviews, a looser pack is recommended. It stays lit very well not needing one relight. As far as the taste, it is wonderfully balanced. If you focus on the orientals, the tang is there. If you focus on the sweetness, it's there. If you focus on the smokiness, you can go there. I suppose one could say it has layers too, changes in flavors, but isn't that the individual leafs burning in various sequences? All I know is everything works together in perfect harmony like a solid Balkan should be. If I compare Abington to other Balkans he has: Charring Cross (No, thanks), Kensington (OK, but lighter), or other of his Latakia dominant blends (Odyssey, Caravan…meh) there is no comparison. This one is his best true, full Balkan. I highly recommend it. In fact, to me, this is one of Pease's all time best. (Quiet Nights, Samarra, Haddo's also all studs in my book).

Four stars all the way.

A very pleasant and complex blend with lots of new flavours to be found at every smoke. At first i had a hard time figuring out if i even liked it, but after i had smoked two tins at 50grams a pop i decided that this is probably one of the best balkan/ english mixtures i have ever tried.

i would strongly reccomend this blend for all fans of strong latakia mixtures, but i would not reccomend it as a first encounter with latakia.

My initial experiences with Abingdon began immediately after sampling a tin of Charing Cross, which I came to enjoy increasingly so after my first few smokes. In Charing Cross I found the blend lacked sweetness, and the Oriental leaf pushed far in front, characteristics slightly skewed from my usual English adventures. It was that unique mix of flavor that drew my affection.

Abingdon, rather, assumes a more traditional course. It seems to have a more restrained Oriental component, with more Latakia than Charing Cross, sort of in between there and Odyssey, and also hits a middle note in sweetness between the two. There is a less than pronounced jump in strength and I confess to having spiked most of my bowls with the addition of Perique. I felt guilty desecrating the stuff but the urge was similar to spiking damn near everything with Tabasco sauce. Sometimes I'm weak.

I can't fault Abingdon yet it seems indistinct to me--certainly tasty yet there is nothing novel that separates it from the many multitudes of Latakia mixes out there. That said, there is one small bowl left in that tin, and I confess that I'm feeling a little apprehensive about lighting her up. I won't know what to smoke when she's gone.

Like every Pease tobacco's, this is a high quality one. But, at the end..... it's unsmokable: raw, crude,inelegant, boorish. And Pease is a sort of illiterate blender. This cook uses quality and tastefull ingredients, but definitly he's inapt to assemble and amalgamate the ingredients. The result is......raw. Sorry Pease, you are discharged.

Tin: Nice soft smokey, herbal aroma coming from Latakia and orientals, respectively. Fairly plain, unremarkable appearance, mostly black and brown, 50-50. As with other GLP blends, a few days after the seal is broken, exposure to air causes an alchemy in the tobacco, developing a much tastier flavor, smoother and creamier.

Tin date: 041307, meaning April 13, 2007(For info. on dating tinned tobaccos, link to: www.pipes.org---locate the Forums box--Topics--Tobacco Questions--scroll down, to bottom of page, to Archives Oct. 09, 2005, Oct. 18, 2005, and July 26, 2006.)

Packing and Lighting: Packing was disconcerting, the ribbon being a little stiff from some partly unrubbed flake in the mix. Decent moisture level, on the dry side, the tobacco springing back apart when pressed in the fingers. Lit readily.

Taste & Aroma: Soft, nice, smooth, smoky and herbal, almost buttery and creamy. Abingdon is full of these flavors. Rather complex interplay of tastes from the smoky Latakia, creamy orientals, and a nice VA oats undertone. Smokes cool and fairly dry.

Nicotine: medium

Room Note: Full but pleasant, like the aroma.

Overall: Soft and smooth, it keeps one busy trying to sense each individual component. Having just finished with Blackpoint, Abingdon is not harsh and peppery like Blackpoint. Where Blackpoint is harsh and destructive to the palate, Abingdon is soft and smooth, similar to Kensington, the only other blend in the GLP Classic Series I care much for. 4 stars.