G. L. Pease Abingdon

I am inaugurating my first review after being witness to a rather unorthodox review that triggered a heated reply. I find it irresistible not to opiniate on the matter, even if just a little.

The first comment was overboard in its approach. But I appreciate the fact that the world of pipe tobacco can be a passionate affair, especially when one is seeking the ideal blend but has not found it (I am here interpreting what could possibly be the underlying point in the first comment, but as I am no medium or paranormal expert, this is under all reserve).

The other comment was also overboard. But both comments are now deleted. Too bad (or maybe not?) for those who have not read those comments. It was quite interesting.

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And now on with my first review!

I ordered Abingdon based on all the positive reviews stating that this tobacco is rich, bold, Latakia-smoky, tasteful,a great Balkan,etc. etc. I recently received an 8 oz tin and, frankly, was surprised of the low content of Latakia. Abingdon is displaying mostly golden and light brown tobaccos with only a low presence of black/dark brown. The tin aroma confirms the lack of Latakia.

If I may: my knowledge of a Balkan blend is of Orientals and Latakia having a significant presence. So I had to recall my impression by doing some research. The ideas, definitions and conceptions of a Balkan blend being at the least diversified, I isolated the common trends in this topic which confirmed my original knowledge. A Balkan blend contains Latakia and Orientals as the main components. Some VAs may/can be added. The addition of Perique, Cavendish and/or Burley would not constitute a Balkan blend but would rather constitute an English blend.

As this is a GL Pease blend, I looked for his definition of a Balkan blend: "predominately based on Oriental tobaccos and Latakia, and just enough Virginia is used to provide structure and balance."

Unmistakingly, the reader will agree that this definition supports the conclusion of my research.

To summarize, to be a Balkan blend, a tobacco blend HAS to be rich IN BOTH Orientals and Latakia. Otherwise, it is NOT a Balkan. Now, Abingdon is not rich in Latakia. So I think the comment that "(censored) makes up facts as he goes" is questionable. I believe the question of asking where is the Latakia was pertinent: my little research confirms the significant presence of Latakia as being key in a Balkan blend.

For the sake of pipe tobacco blending integrity,I also ask the question: where is the Latakia in this "Balkan blend"?

As I am extremely knowledgeable in the field of pipe tobaccos but am certainly not the definitive authority, I will not try to address and resolve the issue of what a Balkan may, should or may, should not be. I will not attempt to define the percentages that Orientals and Latakia may or should be to be considered a Balkan.

What I can say with certainty is this: Abingdon IS NOT "rich and robust, powerful and forthright, yet still posessing subtlety and finesse" as advertised on the tin. Because it lacks Latakia, Abingdon does not unveil "dark flavours of wood and leather" that "mingle with delicate undercurrents of sweetness, and deep earthy notes" as advertised.

Tentatively, I can declare that Abingdon does not correspond, based on these facts, to a Balkan blend. Yes, undoubtedly, it could be labelled as an Oriental mixture or a light English blend. And this is why it triggers disapointment on my part: I was expecting a Latakia-rich, robust blend and Abingdon did not deliver.

Instead, I ended up with something that could be compared to Highland Targe. Would, then, Highland Targe, as it presents similarities with Abingdon, be a Balkan? The question is opened.

On a positive note, Abingdon lights and burns well. It also has a sweet, delicate flavor that, as it lacks Latakia, unfortunately becomes quickly bland and tasteless. When I think that I still have 6 oz to go...sighs.

Abington is the most "in your face" Balkan blend I have ever smoked. It is not a sit back and relax pipe for this old smoker! Since I prefer tobacco blends that leave room for contemplation of the taste in unhurried fashion, I decided the best use of my tin was to blend with other tobaccos so as not to waste the potential of this Balkan to be enjoyed. The resulting "home brew" was far superior to my jaded taste buds and retro-haling efforts!

This is the only decent blend of GL Pease among quite a few I´ve tried.That´s the question,only decent,but below the level of the,thank God,many english-balkan or anyway you like calling them.Latakia is big in quantity but not in quality,orientals sincerely I can´t perceive and finally virginias of the harshest and rawest you can find,just like in other blends.It´s astounding to read people saying that is low on the Lat. side,in fact the steady amount of Lat.is the only point to save Abingdon,of course if you,like me,are a lover of latakia bombs.

I am not a huge fan of balkan blends. I do like the new Sobraine. However, this is not as good. It's not bad, just not great. It has a nice latakia flavor, but lacks the sweetness of other Balkan blends.

This tobacco needs some aging because it has a tendancy to bite.

The Latakia and Turkish are the main players.

This is one of the only Balkan/English mixtures I can smoke in my wife's presence. She says the room note is similar to the incense burned in church. Aren't I the lucky one?

But the tongue bite persists despite all my efforts to reduce it...I'll see if aging it will help, or not.

O.K. Another strong Balkan blend in a market that contains a montage of such blends. We need to do a "blind taste test" for all these similar tobaccos. This one was so similiar to other Balkans I have tried in the last 20 years that I cannot begin to describe how unimpressed I am. Good quality tobaccos, excellent proportions of each, bah, blah, blah. Sorry gang, I think I'm getting jaded.

Abingdon has become a great surprise for me. It gets better with each bowl. There is a faint natural sweetness in the background, very subtle, with ample smoky latakia qualities to the front with what seems to me to be a perfect balance of turkish and oriental. The word Balkan is thrown around so much that quite frankly after 25 years of smoking I find little meaning in the word.

This blend is absolutely worth exploring. I can see this becoming a regular smoke for me.

UPDATE 4-29-13: Unfortunately this did not develop for me in subsequent outings and I am lowering my score. Sadly after lots of exploration of many Pease blends going all the way back to his inaugural years I have come to the conclusion that the overall taste profile of this blender does not suit me.

This is a decent balkan/english. I am about halfway through my first tin and though I haven't found myself wanting it everyday,it is good enough to return to once in a while. I don't think i'll be ordering anymore though.

Greg Pease never ceases to amaze me. He is the master of taking a traditional type of blend such as the Balkan category and turning it on its ear!. This blend immediately struck me as something different when I opened up the tin and saw the extreme contrast between the Latakia and the Lemon Va's. The aroma lets you know that something big is on the way. And big it is as soon as you light up! The Latakia is not as much of a presence as I thought it was going to be. What really took center stage was the oriental tobacco. It's delicious. Never have I had a tobacco develop more than this one. The last third is by far the best. The orientals take over and really make this a rich smoke. So why not a higher rating. Well I have to say it's not anything personal, I just really am not much of a fan of the Lemon Va. Not in any blend really. I could highly recommend this blend to anyone who doesn't have such a bias however. It smokes cool and dry.