G. L. Pease Montgomery

Montgomery is a fine alternative smoke to my usual Vaper (Virginia Perique) ?diet?.

Appearance: This looks to be about mostly Virginias Lemon and Red with a fair amount of darker Kentucky rounding out the mix. It is varied in cut yet mostly medium ribbon cut.

Tin aroma: This blend has a very mild and somewhat understated tin aroma. The Red and matured Virginias and with rich earthy tones and under-currents of fig/raisin and cocoa. Burley is just there under the surface with its characteristic nuttiness. There are high pallet hay-like scents and low deep forest rumblings.

This tobacco is nearly perfect in moisture and I employed the ?once like a baby, once like a lady, finally like a gentleman? method of layered packing. For this review I've chosen a n older Jobey Stromboli Canadian.

Lighting is generally easy and the tobacco ?crowns? well requiring a brief visit of the tamper. The initial flavor is fairly strong for a Virginia based smoke and the Kentucky makes itself known right away. Immediately I'm struck with how ?different? this mixture is from Virginia Perique blends. The Virginias pick up on the nutty huskiness of the Kentucky and develop in a very different way. The result for me is a more hay-like bouquet during the first 1/3 of the bowl, deepening slightly along the way. The bowl and I settle easily into a nice cooperative rhythm and I find myself relaxing into a nice long rich smoking experience.

Mid Bowl: Approaching mid-bowl, the fullness tends to build and the flavors mix and match very nicely. As the bowl matures the Virginias begin to build in strength and take on more of the characteristic fruity tones. The Kentucky drone on lending a spicy nuttiness in widening plumes of exhaled smoke. This blends starts out fairly understated but rapidly builds into a complex masterpiece. This is no blend for a novice smoker. While starting mild to medium it becomes very full on the palate and quite strong in nicotine. I know of no other blender who has mastered the art of creating blends which change so much in character during the bowl. Many of Greg's blends are a journey while smoking, the end being so different than the beginning.

Home Stretch: As end of the bowl approaches, the richness of this blend is coming into it's own. The fullness and character of this blend have ?widened? to a very full pallet of astonishing subtlety and complexity. The Virginias have deepened to a wine like goodness and the Kentucky assert its nutty dominance. This is a heady blend indeed and care must be taken not to over do the puffing rate. I have never experienced the ?tongue-bite? many complain of, however, over-puffing this blend ruins its subtle nature easily. Rich tobacco is it's own reward and smoking with proper and deliberate technique makes this mixture a reward indeed.

Another winning blend from America?s premier tobacco blender.

Supplemental Notes: I think Montgomery is a blend that will age even better than most. The potential for the benefits of long term age here are great. I plan to cellar some of this for long term aging. Rating for those interested in numbers ****

I recently sampled this one at one of my fave local tobacconists, Barclay Rex on 42nd Street here in Manhattan. The most distinguished pipemaster of the house, Frank, and his knowlegable cohort Mark, invited me to try a bowlful of Monty from a tin they'd opened for customer perusal. I gently filled my small Dunhill Tanshell lovat and began to puff away.

At first, I thought, "gack, what a harsh tuft of leaves" but within minutes Montgomery opened up, warmed up (flavor-wise ... it doesn't smoke hot if gently coaxed) and I was on a smooth, sweet ride. A good point was that the flavor developed and evolved as I made my way down the bowl. I plan to stock up on this one.

UPDATE: 9/17/2009 Well for me, Montgomery has arrived in earnest. It's one of my top 2 or so now, the others being McClelland's Yenije Highlander (with Davidoff's Scottish Mixture every now and then, when the 'aromatics bell' is sounded). I continue to experiment with any/all manner of blends but this is my go-to. Afternoon, evening or very late at night, Montgomery has become a reliable friend, seemingly best in medium-sized bowls without too much airflow to overcook and overhheat. If the bowl's too small, the rather stringy blend becomes a bit challenging to manage, that is, to load evently, tamp gently

I am pleased to say that my worst fears were not fulfilled. Not only, but I was pleasantly surprised!

Let's speak straight: while I am a HUGE fan of Greg's most Latakia/orientals heavy blends (as I have written in a long article for Smoker Magazine), I have never raved upon his previous virginia offerings. Some of them are quite dull for my taste (Cairo), most are nice but simply too heavy on the perique and nicotine (Cumberland, Haddo's Delight). Stratford was not bad, although IMHO very similar to C&D Three Friars.

For a long time I was curious to think how a virginia by Greg would have been: my favorites in the genre include Full Virginia Flake, Marlin Flake, and many McClellands. Yes, all flakes... So, the idea of Greg releasing, instead of a very sweet flake, a VERY LIGHT virginia in mixture form did not excite me: I feared it might be too delicate for my palate, probably boring stuff with little taste.

WRONG!

As soon as I loaded my first bowl with Montgomery and lit it, the first impressions were quite flat... Little taste, too delicate, etc. etc.

Then, after five minutes, the miracle! The flavor intensified, and many interesting nuances emerged. The rest of the bowl was an absolute delight!

After several days, I can safely say that this is a great tobacco. In the past week, I have abandoned my huge evening bowl of balkans in favor of Montgomery. And even during the day, I sometimes load a little bowl of it... sometimes just after breakfast. Yes, it's a great tobacco both in small AND big bowls... simply, the experience is different but equally great.

The taste is creamy, moderately and naturally sweet, with echoes of hay and cereals. The impression is like slightly warm milk with a little shot of bitter coffee and only just a micro teaspoon of sugar. Even some hints of cocoa and honey. In the second half of the bowl (especially in bigger ones), flavors intensify and a slight smokiness (probably from the dark fired kentucky, what a great idea) emerges.

It is definitely a different blend from all the other virginias I have tried: some are sweeter but less complex, others are more fruity and sourish (guess which brand I am referring to!). I really can't find no comparisons, except PERHAPS a very vague hint of Royal Yacht's creamy/milky taste (but without the harshness and the intolerable strength).

If I were forced to find faults in Montgomery, it would be that the stringy cut together with the slight moisture level of a freshly opened tin can clog the airflow in your pipe if you press it or tamp it too much, somewhat compromising the draw. If you take care to avoid this, you will be rewarded by a tobacco which in spite of the high percentage of bright sugary virginias DOES NOT BITE even if overpuffed! Not that overpuffing is recommended, unless you want to miss the best nuances. Be comfortable, though, as this blend is not a hell to smoke, it does not require your continuous attention and extremely slow smoking to get some taste. It IS very delicate, but in a good way: the taste is there, it simply is very gentle. Just relax and enjoy this uncomplicated, but very refined and complex, blend. Nicotine content is very low, so it's a good choice if you want to avoid headspins or if you want to enjoy multiple bowls.

I am not a big fan of the genre, but I see myself smoking this blend again soon, as a good change of pace from my usual latakia-heavy blends.

First of all I must say I am not a big fan of Kentucky tobacco. This is not a fault with Montgomery but with my tastes. Some folks like liver and some don't. I generally go for straight Virginias or Virginia/Perique blends. As I began smoking the first bowl of Montgomery I thought that I was not going to continue smoking it for more than a few puffs. Then a funny thing happened. It began to grow on me very quickly. There is a very small amount of natural flavoring in it that helps the already sweet Virginias to do their thing. The Kentucky gives a nice nutty taste and a bit of backbone to the smoke. It reminded me of a couple of tobaccos I smoked 30 years ago when I was just a pup in the pipe smoking world.

The smoke improved as it made its way down the bowl. The complexity is very nice but is not at all overpowering! The aftertaste is quite clean. Before I knew it, I was at the bottom of the bowl. I enjoyed it more and more as it burned down the chamber. So far it has only taken one relight to finish each bowl of this easy burning tobak. It has also been trained not to bite! I don't know if I will reach for it every time but it seems to be growing on me more and more. Only time will tell.

To me, this is a sign of a great tobacco that has been kissed by a master blender! Recommended!

I have lately seen my love affair with virginias abate as burley blends have been the center of my attention over the last year plus. Nonetheless, I picked up a tin of this over at Peretti's. I played with the idea of letting it age for some time but what's the sense of waiting?

The tobacco appeared to be light goldens and reds in a longish ribbon cut. I, for one, like the ribbon cut as the strands seems to kind of knit together as you smoke so that you don't find particles flying out of your bowl as you bend over.

The initial flavors at first light were grassy with a citrus-like tang. The top 1/3 of the bowl continued this way, but it was not long before the sugars in the VA's began to come through. The red VA really began to sing about 1/2 of ther way through and a spicines began to develope in the aroma. The side-stream smoke aroma really appealed to me and others around me liked the aroma as well. At the bottom third, I was truly impressed. There was no tongue bite, the flavor was musty/sweet and thoroughly enjoyable. No, this is not a blow the top off your head with nicotine delivery system, but there is obviously a fair amount of nicotine in it, posibly due to the presence of some excellent burlies that do give some added richness.

If you are a VA fan, you owe it to yourself to try this. It should age beautifully, but is a very nice smoke new. Highly recommeneded for the VA lovers.

Jay

Presentation: All labels in the Fog City Selection look the same. A gold stripe across the bottom, a white background, with a gray sketching of the streets of San Francisco. Yes that's right, this series is a tribute to San Francisco.

Cut: Comes in a thin ribbon cut, perfect moisture level.

Tin note: Subtle smells of earthy fruit.

Tasting notes: The mainly tangy, but also grassy, and fruity virginias play well with the earthy, smoky, spicy kentucky. I slightly taste bread on some finishes. I sometimes taste leather too, mostly on retrohales.

Mechanics: N/A -- A well behaved blend.

Extra Remarks: I really like this blend. Pease takes two contrasting leaves and makes them work in absolute harmony. Very well blended and loaded with flavor, 4 stars.

Well the description is somewhat confusing tobacco reviews has a classification of Virginia/Burnley. The time says Virginia's any Kentucky. Visual observation says to me it is a Virginia/Kentucky blend. The taste indicates there might be some small amount of a Burley in it. Anyway, to my tastebuds there are Virginia's and there is Kentucky, and I taste something like a Burley, but let's go with the tin description of Virginia's and Kentucky. I have found the Virginia base to have too much bright Virignia to my taste, creating a lemon tangy note that is too strong. The other Virginia's produce some sweetness and gay like notes. The Kentucky adds deepness to the flavor and it almost gives the impression of a Cajun Rib spiciness, although subdued in its presentation. The richer and darker ,almost meaty flavors of the Kentucky start to predominate as the bowl progresses, while the Burley like essence marries well as the bowl progresses. The end bowl is very good, and the lighting and burn characteristics are excellent. Ordinarily, I might score this rather harshly, perhaps as low as 2 stars without the fine finishing characteristics as the early bowl flavors are too strident. I would generally recommend at least a year of aging before opening the tin. I rate this as three stars, with the strongest possible suggestion of a minimum aging of one year in the tin after purchase.

Montgomery full body flavor and mystery is superb on the palate. After smoking over 8 ounces I dug a little deeper into flavor science and low and behold after my discovery I researched to find back in 2006 someone discovered the pot of richness gold before me, I thus rediscovered America next door to Virginia Red Cake Island.

Yes folks McCelland No. 5100 mixed 50/50 with Montgomery overcomes any bad dreams you may have had alone with GLPease Montgomery. I also found out as some have mentioned in their reviews of Montgomery there seemed to be a missing Link of Red savory sweetness. I've found the missing Link folks and it is McCelland No. 5100 Red Cake mixed 50%/50% into the Montgomery rediscovering America for all She's worth and more. After the meeting, they shook hands got along just fine. Both wondering where the other had been all these years.

P.S. Better Still, Air Dry both for 16 hours before hand churning these two rich and flavorful artifacts together.

Still getting to know this tobacco. After the initial taste, I find myself becoming more and more acquainted with the flavor it brings to the table. It's not strong, and it does not tingle your taste buds like many Virginia's do. I believe the slight addition of the Kentucky mellows out the Virginia's but it also adds a creaminess to the mixture that is very nice.

When I first smoked this I was a beginning pipe smoker and was def a little dissapointed with the lack of flavor bursts. But as I've grown, and learned how to smoke a pipe, and developed a taste for various styles of tobacco, I can give this blend 3 stars. To my palate it's not great and certainly not bad. I'd say probably somewhere between two and a half to three stars. I have a tin sitting in the cellar and it has about 3yrs on it. Def excited to try this with some age