G. L. Pease Montgomery

A sweet, quick-burning, fine short ribbon with fruit overtones from a casing or topping (the "ancient archives" part). The tin note is peach, berry, and a bit of raisin, not much of the typical grass and hay you might associate with a Virginia. It is well made and easy smoking but can also bite easily like any tobacco of this type. In all aspects it seems practically identical to the Dunhill Three Year Matured Virginia from the 1970s and 1980s (I haven't tried the current one). That tobacco is what immediately popped to mind when I opened the tin, although I hadn't smoked it in over thirty years. Montgomery also has a touch of dark fired Kentucky, which seems pointless to me because it is so minute as to be undetectable. Overall a good example of a moderately cased/topped ripe Virginia in the English style. Add Perique to this and you'll get Dunhill Elizabethan.

I don't get along well with Old Monty. You see, I met him by accident. He showed up at my door in place of Mr. West, who I've been looking to meet for several weeks now. I was agitated by his presence from the beginning, and swore that I wouldn't even bother introducing myself. After two days, realizing that he wouldn't leave (and an assurance that Mr. West was on his way), I decided to get acquainted with Monty.

Ok, this makes no sense. Short story, my order of Westminster was switched out with Montgomery by mistake. In the end, this turned out to be a free tin of tobacco, so I shouldn't be complaining. But..

When I decided to crack the tin, I was underwhelmed. There was a grassy like odor emanating about (it's alright, I like that), the tobacco itself composed of blond strands with a spattering of dark leaf (I'm guessing the Kentucky falls in at less than five percent). The tobacco was uncharacteristically damp for a Pease blend, leading to packing, lighting and biting issues. The smoke was unexciting, to be blunt. Nothing terribly wrong here--good leaf, wonderful presentation. Just rather ordinary, which is not something I've come to expect of Pease.

I don't know. I guess I've grown accustomed to Virginias in flake form. It seems proper. The ribbon is straightforward, but with a small component of condimental leaf, it's hard to include a balanced amount in any one pinch that fills a bowl. Not that the Virginia in Montgomery depends upon the Kentucky...it's tasty enough on its own, but tame. The Fog City series is all about the Virginia, and that's exactly what this is, so I'd be a bit of a jackass to suggest something is missing (Syrian).

Now curious, I read the Briar and Leaf Chronicle on Montgomery. Greg stressed its potential for aging (very true), and defended himself against those who called the tobacco "green". Well, I didn't see any green tobacco, and I picked around in that tin for a few good minutes. It wasn't young, or sharp, in my estimation, though this blend was dated August, 2009.

Mr. Montgomery isn't all that bad. But I'm not sure I'd introduce him to my friends. They're horrible people.

Three of Five.

I looked forward to trying this blend and I cracked open a tin that was a little over a year old. Like a couple of previous reviewers, I found Montgomery to present ?upper register VA flavors.? However, also like a couple of previous reviewers noted, this blend lacks strength / nicotine. As a consequence, I futilely and perhaps unconsciously puffed faster and harder than I normally do in an attempt to extract some strength that this blend does not offer. This left me frustrated and made for a most unpleasant smoking experience. I also didn?t care for the occasional ?nasal passage tingle? that some pipesters like. If you like or wish to try a mild and sophisticated ?light tea? Virginia, Montgomery is definitely one of them in this genre? and one you will probably enjoy. If, however, you like VAs with more strength, you are best advised to fill your pipe with something else. Because of the lack of strength and ?tingle? factors, I cannot give MONTGOMERY the ?FULL MONTY? (four stars), I can give it only a ?HALF MONTY? (two stars).

A cigarette is to be smoked. A cigar is to be enjoyed. A pipe is to be savored.

I rate this blend 7.6 out of 10.

I had a tin of this at the same time I was smoking a tin of 2003 Christmas Cheer. CC was much better so I lost interest in Montgomery half way through the tin. I remember liking it some but obviously not enough to smoke the whole tin. To be fair, I might oughta give it a shot again sometime.

This has been the only G. L. Pease blend that has been a truly dissapointment. Acquire this tin on one of my virginias phases, hoping to find a rich and tasty experience. What I got was an insipid smoke.

Upon opening the tin you will find a fluffy light brown blend. It has very mono-tone tobacco ribons. The smell on the tin is delicous: bread, hay and a hit of dried ruits (date?). That was probably the best part of this tobacco.

The smoking experience was flat all along. Tried different bowl sizes, but got the same results. I was even more wet than I expected. I beg to differ: this tobacco has no "subtle complexity". Just plain subtleness.

Very high quality tobaccos with a heady tin note of apples, raisins and yeasty bread. Yum!

The smoke is somewhat sweet, with a bright Virginia taste predominant. Nothing harsh about it. Nice tobacco.

However, this blend is oddly astringent, sort of like strong tea or red wine, but more like sucking on an oak chip - very woody and astringent. From start to finish. And unfortunately this pretty much ruins the blend for me. Maybe your experience will be different.

Notes: I smoked about 100g of this in various pipes and found it best in a tall thin billiard.

Appearance: a slightly thick cut ribbon mostly of light golden Virginia with some dark flecks and some ribbon cut burley.

Aroma: Spicy and sharp upon the nose unsmoked with suggestions of cherries, raisins, dried blueberries and honey.

Taste: This is a quite straightforward Virginia blend with some Burley to give it good burning characteristics. The burley does not really assert itself substantially in the flavor except to add a bit of complexity and mellowness. As with the lion's share of Mr. Pease's blends, the tobacco leaf is both top grade and relatively immature. I feel that his tobacco blends are best kept in the tin for the better part of a decade before they can be appreciated. Earlier sampling leads to a harsher smoke with unwedded flavors and tongue bite.

The interesting thing about this blend is that it presents many of the flavors found in VA blends after a few decades of aging. The tobacco flavor is very up front but the blend of leaves is rather complex, with hints of dried hay, elm wood, and berries. While mild, I would not describe this blend as subtle. Mr. Pease's style is frequently for an overpowering "knockout punch" of flavors crammed into a tin of tobacco, and this is no exception. I liken GLP blends to lion tamers at the circus -- they are wonderfully entertaining at the time, but I wouldn't want them in my home on a daily basis. As alluring as GLP blends are, ultimately I find his allure meretricious.

Montgomery is as varied and rich a mild blend as you will find. I personally don't think this is always a good idea. There is also very little sweetness so aging may be disappointing, leading to a flatter flavor. Thus, the blend presents a paradox in that the leaves need time to mature, but the flavor will likely diminish with time.

Comparisons: Not as nutty as Dunhill's Light Flake, not as sweet as Rattray's Marlin Flake. In some sense, a much diminished version of the old Balkan Sobranie Virginia Flake, for those who remember it.

Bottom Line: A blend best smoked within a year or so. If you enjoy straightahead dry Virginia flavors in a mild smoke and have good smoking technique to avoid tongue bite, you may enjoy this one.

Subtle indeed - so subtle that I regretted purchasing it for the first several bowls. When the tin was new, it came across as just plain bland and my wife opined that it smelled like cigarettes.

My experience with Montgomery now is that it can be a pleasant smoke - if smoked in a narrow chamber that has been well-seasoned with the smoking of Virginia leaf (seems to fall flat for me in wider bores), in pleasant weather, with a very clear nose. My tin is now about 2 years old and I believe that helped. Smoked slowly, it yields a soft, subtle sweetness with malty, wheat-like notes. The Kentucky leaf is used very sparsely, and I wish there was more of it, as it lends much-needed depth when it does come through. Otherwise, smoking Montgomery is like listening to Charles Mingus with the bass turned all the way down. It is undoubtedly a thing of quality, but I feel there is something missing.

This is my least favorite of the Pease blends I have tried thus far. I can't put my finger on it but I think Barbary Coast is a much nicer offering with a bit more Burley. If oyu like a good straight Virginia with just a hint of Burley you will like this. I can't find a way to give it three stars although it has mellowed out in the past couple of weeks, but when I fist got it it was much more harsh. 2.4 stars