G. L. Pease Abingdon

My friend " Virginia Lover" introduced me to this tobacco and I was immediately enchanted by it. I have been a devout dunhill english mixture smoker for many years and I am lucky to have enjoyed many tins of the murrays era dunhills.

The orlik variety, although not terrible, never had the strength and flavour of the murray's variety I so enjoyed.Despite this decline, I for some reason continued smoking the new variety out of habit, and well, accepted it.

This tobacco brought back the memories of the stout fuller latakia mixtures I used to smoke. The latakia is exceptional, and the flavour is leathery, spicy and incense like. This is the best modern day representation of a traditional latakia mixture that I have tried so far.

The bowl starts of on a more sour and slightly acrid note, but that quickly dissipates, and the flavours all start to emerge. The smoke is creamy and thick and the burning qualities are excellent.

This is my new Dunhill!

G.L Pease, I am impressed!

Update: Well, the honeymoon is over and this blend no longer agrees with my palate. The smokiness of the mixture is too cloying and I tend to get tongue bite from this blend. I have returned to the dunhill blends as I prefer the nuttier and rounder flavour of their english blends. This one is just too raw and aggressive for my liking.

Abingdon is a blend that has been quite masterfully layered with Latakia, Virginia, Turkish and Oriental leaf. Each variety hits the heavier end of it's particular sub-species spectrum, thus producing a smoking experience that will linger long after the fire has gone out.

My flavor sensors do not normally meander in this direction. So, forgive me if I don't soak my keyboard with drool as I write my impressions.

Other reviewers, quite obviously smitten with this concoction have adequately described the fullness of this blend. It is rich and does have a "salty & leathery" type taste presentation. It is also quite spicy and did not offer even a smidgen of sweetness to me. If Abingdon were a symphony, it would be heavy on the tubas and light on the flutes.

This conductor is off to find some less formidable music...

UPDATE 10/29/10

In my original review, I gave this blend plenty of respect. A year later, I'm ready to give it some more love.

Abingdon has not grown on me. Rather, I've forced my own will upon it! After perceiving it as a bold statement in the English/latakia market, I was determined to try and marry my heart and head. I'm getting there, by sheer force of will! 🙂 Once again, the layering of various flavors is sheer genius. I find this to be one of the most complex tobacco blends anywhere, something I find extraordinary in a "dark" and full tobacco. Most simply powerhouse their way through but this one shows a sense of quiet strength. Perhaps age has been properly kind to this, but I now find the orientals and the virginias a lot more evident, as well as playful. This isn't just a latakia powerhouse, and I've smoked enough of those to taste the difference. One more year with this and it may become a 4 star blend. Mr Pease does suggest that aging does nice things to his work, and this one would seem to lend credence to such a statement. As I said a year ago, this is something that all latakia lovers should try, as well as those who want a hard lesson in what it takes to become a master blender.

ORIGINAL REVIEW 9/24/09

First of all, I rated this on how well I liked it, in order to maintain consistency with my other reviews. Is it something I'll smoke regularly? No. Is it something everyone that loves latakia blends should try? Absolutely. Could this be one of those "genius blends" as I like to refer to the ones that seem above the crowd? I think so!

The second line of the tin description above, while perhaps seemingly poetic in the extreme, precisely mirrors my thoughts on this blend. This is a powerful, brute of a blend that can also put on a tux and act civilized and refined. The room aroma made me swoon! I think the layering on this one is expertly done, as the overall darkness is interspersed with whisps of teasing high notes. I love "dark" flavored tobaccos such as McClellands Navy Cavendish and this reminded me of that one, even though they are worlds different. This is a blend I wanted to love. It's one of those things that seems a masterpiece and that I know is going to be an important blend, yet my heart can't seem to catch up to my head on this one. I'm going to buy more and cellar it for a few years and see what that does.

All this said, I raise my star rating to a solid 4 if you are a lover of heavy balkan blends and you appreciate blending genius.

Tin note is woody and spicy Orientals. There is a nice dose of Latakia in this but not over powering. Smokey and inviting First taste for me was Latakia but taken over by the Orientals by the end of the first quarter of the bowl. The Orientals are spicy and woody, think cedar and black and white pepper. There is a leathery cigar like quality to this smoke the sweetness from the Latakia and Virginias play very nicely with the starring Orientals. The smoke takes on a creamy buttery quality at the mid point through the end. The Latakia is smokey and nuanced, always in the background but you always can taste it. This doesn't meet the Balkan flavor profile for me. I don't get a malty character at all, however Mr. Pease is spot on reccomending the lighter packing, the flavors really differentiate if the bowl is loosely packed. When tighter you get a more earthy, even smoke but you lose some of the Oriental character and the creamy qualities never come out. Moisture content was perfect out of the tin and need no dry time in either tin I have smoked. A great Oriental forward English with moor oomph than say a Skiff or Squadron Leader.

This is a solid Balkan blend and a good one to boot. As a true Balkan, the orientals are the lead and the focus. The Virginia is adequate adding sweetness as it is supposed to do. This mingles well with the orientals which would come off as far too sour if the Virginia content was not where it is. IMO The Latakia, to my tastes, is very much a minor player and adds just a breath of campfire notes.

This blend, like all blends that I have tried from Pease, comes at a perfect (dry) moisture content and burns well. It does not bite at all; so it is a solid blend, but it does not rise to a four star blend to my tastes. YMMV

Although the virginia does help quell the sour of the orientals it is still a little more sour than I prefer a blend to be, but I still enjoyed it and have some more that I will try in the future, so I will have to opportunity to see how this ages and suits my ever changing tastes. I will report back if my opinion does happen to change.

G. L. Pease - Abingdon (Classic Collection).

Sadly my blend was too dry from the fresh tin. This caused a few smoking issues, and also makes it a redundant choice for cellaring, unless this is just a one off! The ribbons are delicate in build and the mix includes no twigs or chunky pieces. The slight build assists well with loading, and makes for easy lighting too; as does the dryness.

I can't fault the flavour from Abingdon, at all. It has lots of strong cedar notes from the Latakia, a subtle herby quality, hay, and some sweeter Virginia flavours; I'd say it's a fairly full taste. It would be a GREAT smoke if it weren't for the heat and speed; these I expected from the dryness. Although it isn't that enjoyable where the temperature's concerned it doesn't bite me any.

The room-note's not the best, and the nicotine's on the stronger side of medium.

Although the hydration was a bit of a let down I'm still recommending It. I'll put it down to a 'dud' tin, and recon if you score a decent tin you'll have a sublime smoke!

Recommended.

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.

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.

Presentation: Mostly chunky ribbon with some large pieces still intact. Dark and rich black and brown tobacco along with some brights and a few reds. Comes a bit in the dry side so no need to let this one sit out.

Palette: The tin note is purely Balkan. A slight sour note tickles the nostrils. There is a underlying sweetness that rests in between the orientals and the portion or Latakia. Some campfire notes but not a Latakia bomb. Lighting up it arrived with a smoothness over my tongue. The orientals and VA are the dominate lead in my opinion. The orientals are supremely herbal and carry a salty note, along with some creaminess— like a blue cheese stuffed olive. Somewhat woody as well. The VA offer a sweet undertone. Reminds me of the finish in a good Shiraz wine. It lingers a bit but doesn’t overstay its welcome. Balances out the zingy orientals. The Latakia, while a generous portion is added, doesn’t over compensate and offers a touch of leather and musk, campfire and char. A semi complex blend. You can dig for more flavors but it’s pretty well tamed and doesn’t change too much. Rich and deep in flavor, but it’s not super bold. Medium to medium full.

Performance: Smokes very cool. Great pace and mild nicotine. I don’t find this to be an all day blend but it’s great for the late evening particularly in colder weather. I recommend a wide bowl to give you the richness of flavor this blend provides. Leaves some moisture. Takes more than the average lights to get going due to the inconsistent cut ribbon. Needs a few after the initial light. No chance of bite.

Conclusion: I really didn’t like this blend when I first tried it. At the time I was going through a Balkan addiction and was trying every kind I could and perhaps that tainted my perception of this one. It’s been over a year since I last tried it and it has become a tasty rediscovery. Now that it’s almost winter time this seems like a very fitting blend. Pease has a lot of Balkan and English blends, and while Abingdon has shown its face again and become a welcome surprise, I find that there are other blends in my arsenal that I prefer much more. I won’t be buying this one again, but I know someone out there is hoarding this.