G. L. Pease Bohemian Scandal

I got an "04 tin of this stuff and it is fantastic! I was curious about the hype so I hit ebay and scored one. My tin obviously has some age on it, so I would say that the blend was probably a bit heavier on the Lat. originally. Nevertheless this is a great blend, the subtleties of this blend are wonderful, for me it is one to be smoked alone in a quiet, controlled environment where there is no wind or noise or distraction where you can focus and just sip the blend and pay absolute attention, because if you don't, you are sure to miss something. It changes as the bowl progresses and it seems that the VA's, orientals, and latakia all make their stage appearances in their own turns, it's more like a fashion show of tobacco than a blending, each tobacco takes it's turn walking down the catwalk and showcasing it's light, whispy and magnificent flavors. So far for me the orientals seem to dominate the show which is unusual in a balkan or english blend. Anyways great stuff and well worth the money if you have the palette to enjoy it.

New notes, February 2014: I'm smoking through the last I have of this stuff. It's still really good. It has darkened quite a bit from the tins I had six years ago. That unbelievable tin note is still there, that unmistakable wine-ish Syrian note. But in the pipe, I'm finding that the flavors are starting to mute a bit, which makes sense if you think about it. This was meant to showcase that particular batch of Syrian latakia, and latakia fades more quickly than other tobaccos. Now that the main player has started to fade, you're left smoking the proscenium. Not that it's bad, but it isn't what it once was.

So I reluctantly am declaring this one as getting past prime.

I won't knock down my previous review, though. There were some grains of truth in there among the youthful exuberance.

Old review, May 2008: This is the best tobacco I've ever smoked. It's that good.

I got a tin on eBay a while ago and just finished it last night. I fell in love with it at first. It burns somewhat quickly, but never hot. I think that Syrian latakia tastes totally different from Cyprian and can't imagine how anyone could confuse them. This is a sweet, velvety/silky/wine-like full blend.

I was lucky enough to come across a few tins of this for a reasonable price ($40) at this year's Chicago show. I bought them as soon as I saw them, especially given the prices this stuff is commanding on eBay these days. I bought my eBay tin last fall for $60, and now it's 50% more than that. It's expensive, but if you want the best, this is it. I'm going to not open those other tins for a while, but if I had a decent supply of this stuff, I'd smoke it every evening.

Not a very coherent review, but I'm talking about the absolute best tobacco I've ever tasted. I've had the ultra-rare Balkan Sobranie Flake, but other than that, not much else competes. I really hope that someday this stuff becomes available again, but I doubt it will. It's a poorer pipe smoking community without it.

I really wanted to love this one because of the Syrian only Latakia. Instead, I felt that it nneds more time to age to be fully enjoyed. Sadly, I only got a few cans before it was discontinued (hopefully only temporarily), so I may never taste it at its full potential.

The flavore was full and rich, with the Orientals providing a mouth-filling spiciness, tempered only slightly by the sweetness of the Virginias. Being a Balkan, the Orientals outweigh the Virginia component. The Latakia was super smokey without the sweetness of the Cyprian variety. The combination was superb, but just a bit "edgy" for my palate. This was mostly because the blend was freshly packaged, with almost no time in the can. I was planning on getting more to cellar, but was too late. (Actually, I spent all my ready cash on a stash of Renaissance. That remains my holy grail of Latakia blends).

Green is the colour of her kind,

Quickness of the eye deceives the mind.

Envy is the bond between the hopeful and the damned.

Although there is a lot going on in this blend, it is far too young to warrant a full review. Even a novice can taste a bottle of 1990 Latour or 1970 Taylor and know that they've just sampled a blockbuster. It is far more difficult to evaluate a Chambertin or a Richebourg, wines whose strength lies in its complexity and subtlety, and may require years to display its nuance. Such is the case with Bohemian Scandal. It's going to be a lot of fun watching this one develop.

Addendum, 12/04: The tobacco gods sure pulled a fast one with Bohemian Scandal. Evaluating the nascent palate of this fledgling blend was hard enough, but now I have to treat it as if it were the last canteen of potable water on a dessert island. (If you don't know why, you're in the wrong website.)Despite having the foresight to aquire several 8oz tins (just love 'em) and a host of the 2-ouncers, I am limiting myself to a single bowl per week for the foreseeable future; hence the reduction of recommendation.

A crime against humanity.

Greg Pease would'nt like me reviewing this blend after only two bowls.Greg feels one must smoke many bowls in different pipes to full comprehend a blend.However, I could'nt help myself.What a fantastic tobacco!Upon lighting I was greeted with a flavor I've never tasted.It's much different from any other balkan that I've ever tried.Along with Va's,Latakia and Orientals I believe that I detected a small dose of Turkish leaf as well.The flavor stays rich and full all the way down the bowl.I was enjoying it so much that I puffed too hard causing the VA's to bite me a little(my fault,NOT the tobaccos).The next time around I'll keep a slower pace.Interestingly smoking this in a pipe I use primarily for VA's made the taste lean toward the lighter side(great for a morning smoke).Smoking it in a pipe I use for latakia blends brings out the rich smokey flavor I love(better suited for the evening).I bought ten of the 2oz tins to cellar,and plan on buying a couple of the 8oz's for the same purpose... ******HIGHEST POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATION****** PREP (9-6-04)

I'm finishing a 2004 tin of BS which I have found to be wonderful. It does have a "wine-like" quality to it, which I suspect results from the aged Syrian Latakia. The cut is a medium ribbon cut which burns cool and dry. The Orientals and Latakia blend nicely and predominate over the dark Virginia base tobacco. It's unfortunate that it is no longer available but I do have two more tins aging. It is a treat to smoke. Highly recommended.

12/04 vintage, in a jar for a year, doling it out. Really, really, really enjoy this one, especially on a Fall afternoon with a small cup of traditionally brewed Te Quan Yin tea. The fine art of blending at one of it's highest peaks IMO. Have a P. Becker 2H Lovat dedicated to the 4 tins I managed to hunt down, for as long as they last. And then a little (old timer) birdie (on this site) told me "go get some Wilderness and add a little Tambo or Sliced Brown Twist (I use 5-10% Tambo) to up the strength..." Same batch of Syrian is used in both blends. Not an exact match, but you be the judge. To me, it's delicious and a much better experience than belly aching about the loss of a classic. I'm no longer doling it out and am consequently enjoying what I do have more. And Wilderness is fantastic any way you shake it. Thanks to GLP and Birdie, F.Hanna and McClellands and the Indonesian natives who make Tambo; a virtual team. Turning adversity to advantage, right here on TR 🙂

I just smoked through a sample of this of the original 2004 tins, seven years later, so this might be an unfair review of how it was then.

Over time the latakia has died off a bit, so the orientals and VAs definitely took the forefront. Fairly full flavored and very smooth. The friend who gave some to me said the flavored changes for him throughout the bowl, but for me it was generally the same, with only slight changes. Overall it was excellent, and the other good comments speak for themselves.

Wow. I was not impressed with this one, and I was really expecting to like it! This is considered to be one of the absolute high-water marks for Balkans, a classic for the ages. I paid an obscene amount of money for my tin from a popular vintage tobacco dealer, and quite eagerly dug into the contents...

I love latakia mixtures, and I normally love how Pease utilizes it. But there were no fireworks here.... just a very bland, overly tangy muddle of flavors with only the faintest hints of the spicy, incense-like aroma that I normally associate with Syrian. I would like to provide a more detailed review in which I explained exactly how the various flavors work together, but there simply wasn't enough of a distinctive flavor for me to do so.

I suspect that aging hasn't helped this one. It might also be that I simply enjoy Cyprian more than Syrian latakia, although I'm a huge fan of Renaissance and Wilderness. Or perhaps my jaded taste buds are too blown away by years of smoking Balkans to appreciate the subtleties here... whatever the case, I woudn't buy this again even it were still produced, much less at the inflated prices seen today. There are simply too many great blends out there right now to mourn the loss of this one, I believe. YMMV, of course.