G. L. Pease Bohemian Scandal
(3.38)
Fine small leaf oriental tobaccos and rich Virginias weave a tapestry of intrigue, serving as an exotic backdrop to showcase the exquisite Syrian Latakia, Bohemian Scandal is a delicious Balkan blend in a style not produced in decades. It has a delightful wine-like character, with a delicate and fascinating spice. Wonderfully balanced, it is excellent in its youth, yet sturdy enough for long aging. Enjoy it now, and be sure to cellar plenty for future adventures.
Notes: From Gregory Pease website: Bohemian Scandal was introduced in August, 2004.
Nearly a year in the making, this blend, the first in the new Heirloom Series, features some truly magnificent Syrian Latakia, possibly the finest example of this exotic leaf that's been seen in 40 years. When we arranged for its import, and the first samples arrived, I fell quickly and deeply for it; Bohemian Scandal is the love child of our little tryst. The Syrian is wine-like, possessing subtlety and nuances that would be easily lost to a heavy hand at the blending table. I chose bright and red Virginias, and rare oriental tobaccos to compliment the spice of the Latakia; hints of cardamom, nutmeg, cinnamon are present, along with a gentle smokiness. A soft, slightly tangy sweetness continues throughout the bowl, with the complex, earthy notes from the oriental tobaccos providing depth. The flavor is bold enough for casual smoking, but sufficiently refined to be engaging during more contemplative moods. Wonderfully balanced, it is excellent in its youth, yet sturdy enough for long aging. Enjoy it now, and be sure to cellar plenty for future adventures.
In November, 2004, a warehouse fire consumed our supply of the exquisite vintage Syrian Latakia that was used in Renaissance, Raven's Wing and Mephisto, as well as Bohemian Scandal. These blends have been discontinued, indefinitely.
Details
| Brand | G. L. Pease |
| Series | Heirloom Collection |
| Blended By | Gregory Pease |
| Manufactured By | Cornell & Diehl |
| Blend Type | English |
| Contents | Latakia, Oriental/Turkish, Virginia |
| Flavoring | |
| Cut | Ribbon |
| Packaging | 2oz Tin, 8oz Tin |
| Country | United States |
| Production | No longer in production |
Profile
Strength
Medium
Extremely Mild -> Overwhelming
Flavoring
None Detected
None Detected -> Extra Strong
Room Note
Tolerable
Unnoticeable -> Overwhelming
Taste
Medium to Full
Extremely Mild (Flat) -> Overwhelming
Average Rating
|
3.38 / 4
|
Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 Reviews
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 31, 2011 | Medium | None Detected | Medium | Tolerable |
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.
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.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Mar 23, 2006 | Medium | Extremely Mild | Medium | Pleasant to Tolerable |
Well here it is the famed Bohemian Scandal! And -- wosh -- now its gone!
If all you did was smell a pipe tobacco this would be the best Pipe Tobacco ever. Period. It has the smokiness of Latakia but none of the darkness and mustiness associated with the Cyprian variety. The smell also contains hints of clove, cinnamon and most of all, it is powerfull and pungent! What a delight.
In the bowl, however this blend is a major disappointment. First the Virginias can smoke hot, which is sadly almost habitual in most of Pease's blends: the virginias are too raw in need aging; no wonder they keep badgering us to stock up and cellar his blends (though we really shouldn't have to). Another letdown is the fact that the Syrian does not deliver in the smoke its olfactory promise --too bad. Of course, none of this jives with the almost reflexive and sycophantic praise of some in the internet community of pipe smokers regarding any and all of Pease's blends (usually the latest product gets the louder praise). I mean comparing it with a controled substance is a little much wouldn't you say so? Truth be told, some of the praise may be generated by what could be called a precious form of nostlalgia since though just released, this blend is now unavailable due to a fire!
This second Syrian Latakia shortage (for Pease belnds) in 4 years has created quite the frenzy on asp and ebay, since apparently Syrian Latakia will, once again, never be available!
However, I clearly remember reading that the suppliers wanted to insure there was going to be a constant demand of Syrian Latakia. Some have said that creating a demand for Syrian was part of the impetuous for the creation of Bohemian Scandal. So let me get this right: now that there is a demand, the suppliers bail? This is all almost too strange to be true my dear Watson. Perhaps overrating isn't the only thing that makes B.S. so scandalous...
In the final analysis, this blend needs a lot aging. It might be that in four or five years it will be worthy of all the fuss. Right now it isn't.
If all you did was smell a pipe tobacco this would be the best Pipe Tobacco ever. Period. It has the smokiness of Latakia but none of the darkness and mustiness associated with the Cyprian variety. The smell also contains hints of clove, cinnamon and most of all, it is powerfull and pungent! What a delight.
In the bowl, however this blend is a major disappointment. First the Virginias can smoke hot, which is sadly almost habitual in most of Pease's blends: the virginias are too raw in need aging; no wonder they keep badgering us to stock up and cellar his blends (though we really shouldn't have to). Another letdown is the fact that the Syrian does not deliver in the smoke its olfactory promise --too bad. Of course, none of this jives with the almost reflexive and sycophantic praise of some in the internet community of pipe smokers regarding any and all of Pease's blends (usually the latest product gets the louder praise). I mean comparing it with a controled substance is a little much wouldn't you say so? Truth be told, some of the praise may be generated by what could be called a precious form of nostlalgia since though just released, this blend is now unavailable due to a fire!
This second Syrian Latakia shortage (for Pease belnds) in 4 years has created quite the frenzy on asp and ebay, since apparently Syrian Latakia will, once again, never be available!
However, I clearly remember reading that the suppliers wanted to insure there was going to be a constant demand of Syrian Latakia. Some have said that creating a demand for Syrian was part of the impetuous for the creation of Bohemian Scandal. So let me get this right: now that there is a demand, the suppliers bail? This is all almost too strange to be true my dear Watson. Perhaps overrating isn't the only thing that makes B.S. so scandalous...
In the final analysis, this blend needs a lot aging. It might be that in four or five years it will be worthy of all the fuss. Right now it isn't.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Jan 18, 2005 | Mild to Medium | None Detected | Full | Tolerable |
I'm going to preface this by saying I will probably like it better after aging. This is the first tobacco I bought on faith specifically for that purpose. My three cans bear a date of only three weeks ago. I like oriental blends and GLP's comittment to fine tuning. This blend seems flawless in component balance and complexity. I just haven't yet found a pipe that neutralizes a distracting green sour taste. When that resolves by time or pipe, I expect it will become a favorite.
Update 1/05: I think I'll unload mine on eBay while hysteria is high; I'm sure others want this worse than I do. This is a good blend; I just don't follow the hype and there are many out there I like better. Sorry if I hurt anybody's feelings.
Update 1/05: I think I'll unload mine on eBay while hysteria is high; I'm sure others want this worse than I do. This is a good blend; I just don't follow the hype and there are many out there I like better. Sorry if I hurt anybody's feelings.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Oct 24, 2004 | Medium to Strong | None Detected | Medium to Full | Tolerable |
Another fine english/balkan attemp. More body and comlexity that Renaissance but not as tasty to me (turkish-wise) as Caravan or as heavy (latakia-wise) as Odyssey.
Short of the complexity and great depth of latakia flavor in the original Balkan Sobranie which I haven't smoked for decades but which I remember its smoky aroma well, and which is quite an unfair comparison for us to be making.
Yet still more complex with latakia notes than McClellands' Rose of Latakia or Syrian Full Balkan; however, the latter has a smoother finish in my opinion. The syrian used must be the same in all of these blends -- McClellands and Pease's now under review.
McCranie's limited edition by McClellands' of Old Syrian had more of a syrian latakia note and a smoother smoke for the whole bowl than Bohemian, but after all the latakia used in Old Syrian was over a decade old and the blend itself was quite well aged before marketing.
If you haven't tried a lot of these blends you may miss my evaluation, which is not intended to be anything other than good. It's just that there are a number of blends to compare Bohemian with but some are gone from the market now. This is spicy (orientals), complex, very dry, and cool, with a friendly note of woodsy latakia throughout, but I think the finish can improve with more aging. It is too young to be a holy grail yet, but who knows, later on? I still have some tins for aging.
Short of the complexity and great depth of latakia flavor in the original Balkan Sobranie which I haven't smoked for decades but which I remember its smoky aroma well, and which is quite an unfair comparison for us to be making.
Yet still more complex with latakia notes than McClellands' Rose of Latakia or Syrian Full Balkan; however, the latter has a smoother finish in my opinion. The syrian used must be the same in all of these blends -- McClellands and Pease's now under review.
McCranie's limited edition by McClellands' of Old Syrian had more of a syrian latakia note and a smoother smoke for the whole bowl than Bohemian, but after all the latakia used in Old Syrian was over a decade old and the blend itself was quite well aged before marketing.
If you haven't tried a lot of these blends you may miss my evaluation, which is not intended to be anything other than good. It's just that there are a number of blends to compare Bohemian with but some are gone from the market now. This is spicy (orientals), complex, very dry, and cool, with a friendly note of woodsy latakia throughout, but I think the finish can improve with more aging. It is too young to be a holy grail yet, but who knows, later on? I still have some tins for aging.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 08, 2005 | Mild to Medium | None Detected | Medium | Pleasant to Tolerable |
A good tobacco if you want to try how Syrian Latakia tastes like. I must say there's something into this blend that never convinced me. I've bought 3 tins: one I smoked at once, one after some months and the last is still in my cellar. The first tin was good, but quite astringent in taste, probably too young. The second was almost the same, just a little rounder and smoother. I have great expectations about the third, so I may integrate my review in some months.
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