G. L. Pease Montgomery

Delightful, natural sweetness. My tin, bought off Pipestud, is 11 years old, so this has mellowed and aged beautifully. Therefore, my comments might not apply equally to a new tin. The tin note is why I smoke a pipe, slightly nutty and a scent of fermented hay, almost vinegary from the age. Easy lighting, flavor builds nicely through the bowl. I wish I could condense the nutty room note, slice it up and eat it.

Kentucky not that noticeable but it's there, a puff every now and then, adding a nice little frisson here and there. Not the most complex smoke, no, but the flavor is very rich. Don't overpuff -- doesn't bite, but VA don't like to be pushed. This won't satisfy nic hitters, who tend to 2-star it, but the flavor and room note are lovely.

Some have said it is too complex for newbies, but I disagree. It is mild enough and flavorful enough to be appreciated by newbs and is a wonderful introduction to a well-mannered VA. And it ages like a dream.

G. L. Pease - Montgomery (Fog City Selection).

OK, I'll get straight to the vacuous reason for my buying this: my favourite character in the Simpsons is Mr Burns, full name Charles MONTGOMERY Burns. I know, I should grow up!

It's presented as quite a fine ribbon, medium brown, with a small amount of black pieces. Like most of the 'Pease blends it arrived with good hydration. Due to the finer build of the ribbons a bowl can be easily over packed, thusly impeding the burn. So load with a lighter hand.

Montgomery's smoke is mainly Virginia. But it isn't just the one variety, sharp citrus, hay, dark fruit, etc., all the flavours are present. To be fair they do fluctuate in volume throughout a bowl: eg, at the beginning there's more dark fruit and a bready quality, but this fades over the bowl. Dark fired Kentucky can often turn me off, when the smoke tastes like a 'tyre fire', but Montgomery has just enough to raise the flavour from mild, without turning it into an astringent mess. Because it needs loosely packing to prevent a poor burn it can go the other way: puffing too vigorously can make it burn fast. So, take it easy. If treated correctly it's well behaved, though.

Nicotine: medium. Room-note: pleasant.

Montgomery? I'll happily rate it with four stars:

Highly recommended.

This is a first for me... a first in that I will not write a review on a blend until I've gone through at least a full two ounce tin. That approximates, in my estimation, about thirty to forty bowls. Some blends that I have not liked (nor finished the tin) I will not write a review on, since one's enjoyment of different blends is subjective; hence I will only write a review on those blends that I find enjoyable. And for what its worth, I typically smoke English and/or Balkan blends; I do enjoy (quality) Virginia flakes and the very occasional Virginia/Perique. I've only smoked four bowls of this and decided this deserved a write-up; this is an exceptional Virginia/Burley blend. As a rule I am not a smoker of blends that contain Burley; this is not because I don't enjoy Burley blends but because my wife, bless her, does not care for the "cigarettish" room note that Burleys will often leave behind. I don't blame her, since I don't care much for that aroma myself. However, there is not much Burley in Montgomery and I could not write enough nice things about this blend; Mr. Pease's tin description is dead-on accurate. The tin I am currently working my way through was aged almost two years before I opened it. The blend does indeed have "subtle complexity" when smoked in a large bowl pipe and it must be smoked in a leisurely fashion in order to catch these subtleties. It has a delightful natural sweetness (just as Mr. Pease asserts); it has a delightful room aroma (my wife commented on this "That smells very pleasant") and it burns "cool". I even tried it in a double-wall porcelain "Old Mokum" danish pipe and the outer walls of the pipe remained cool to the very end (this in and of itself is so rare as to be notable). And finally it has a quality that really counts for me and is hard to define - it is a "comfortable" smoke... one just feels "comfy" and "at home" while smoking Montgomery. Now that I know what it is like (with some age), Lord willing, I shall buy about a pound of this to cellar and to enjoy several years from now. This is an exceptional blend.

My tin of Montgomery was a sample and according to the date on the bottom of the tin, about a month old. The new tin size is a step forward for many smokers as they use the tin as their dispenser of tobacco. I always empty the tin into a heavy guage zip lock bag and store the bags in snap lid ceramic jars, if the quantity is only 50 grams- 2 ounces. The neat thing about the new tin is the very kool graphics. Fog City is not London, but San Francisco and the graphics are from old maps. Love it.

Opening the tin, you are presented with a very nice VA smell, soghlty sweet, just a little bit grassy. The tobacco is all ribbon and is mostly yellow with a few chards of dark brown. This is a mixture of several Virginias and some Kentucky (Burley). I am senstive to nicotine, so i am glad the Kentucky is just a "smidgeon".

Packs easily and fires up with out too much fuss. This is a tobacco for the contemplative smoker, not the blast furnace stoker. It can get hot if pushed, but if not, is very cool and as all glp mixtures, burns down to a dry clean heel.

The smoke is slighly sweet and is mildly complex. It won't require your undivided attention like say Renaissance, but is not monochromatic. The room note has a high spousal approval rating.

I have just gotten into VA flakes and I am sure VA flake smokers will wonder, how does this mixture compare to a nice Flake? Apples and oranges. The overall flavour and experiences are different. That said, you will not enjoy this mixture to the fullest unless you dedicate a pipe to it. I beleive that all mixtues shine the bgesti f smoked in a dedicated pipe, though.

Montgomery has lighter, some might say cleane,r flavour compered to Flakes. I have made room for both in my jars. The Kentucky adds a nice measure of fullness and the overall exerience is "creamy". If you like a heavier tobacco or one with spice, it looks like the next mixture in the series, Telegraph HIll, will be "it" for you. I like my food spicy and my tobcco round and creamy, so this is a highy recommended new mixtre for me.

A Pease blend that excludes both perique and latakia is a true anomaly, a first to my knowledge. What next Greg, a Cavendish? A plug? You daredevil, you. Thank you for going beyond your comfort zone.

On faith, I bought three tins: one for immediate gratification (duh) and two for ripening. With only three weeks aging in tin #1, I couldn?t wait any longer. Pop it went and I laughed at the albino tobacco shreds that greeted me. A sniff immediately returned me to 1965, playing among bales of straw in the barn. No sweetness here, I thought; no ketchup, no raisins, and no figs. (Why figs? Do that many pipers actually eat figs?)

First round observations: Montgomery (together with my puffing habits)likes tall-bowled pipes, I think because the flavor is subtle and needs to accrete like a snowball: give it five or ten minutes and it blossoms with a wonderful VA/burley taste. I?ve grown fond of burleys over the last few months, and the one used in this blend is a wonderful unusually deep one that provides the counterpoint that is usually provided by latakias in his other blends. I?d like to see it used again and in a higher concentration. The room note is disappointingly cigarrettish, though tolerable. Moisture is spot-on; the nuisance of adjusting is unnecessary. No gurgles, steam, nor bite. Nicotine is mid-range.

This blend fills a gaping hole in the Pease repertoire. As stated in my review of Cairo, I appreciate Greg?s efforts to try to reach us all eventually; his focused blends delight some and put others off? as it should be. I recommend this blend to experienced smokers who can discern and appreciate the subtleties of Virginia and burleys. Good job, Greg!

All the Virginia flavors are here. Citrus, hay, grass, stewed fruit and bread individually make themselves known. The Kentucky pops in unpredictably with varying amount but I like being surprised. Kentucky is condimental... I don’t detect any BBQ flavors but rather a floral, slightly sour bitterness that contrasts with the sweet Virginias. Terrific room note. Smells like a slightly burnt biscuit. Fantastic with coffee. Good cut and perfect moisture from tin. A great change of pace from Vapers.

I have long enjoyed the subtlety of this fine blend, made the more enjoyable as a result of aging. It may take a bit for some smokers to appreciate due to its lack of forwardness, but even if you are a nicotine addict (Montgomery is not for you), you will enjoy the flavor of this mixture of Virginias and Burley. I can more easily appreciate this Tobacco for my time smoking a pipe, since it will not bang your door down. But you can pay attention or not, as you chose, but will not be intruded on during your pipe. That's what I like, tobacco blends that are not "in your face" bold, but exhibit some restraint and are forward with their flavors.

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I have to say on reflection that after my own tobacco blends, Montgomery is my favorite commercial blend due to its long-lasting flavor, mild sweetness and lack of offensive aftertaste, especially on relighting and at the bottom of the bowl. Never off-putting or harsh in any way. Just pleasureable puffing!

Initially I though this blend was quite average, but as it intensifies half-way in the bowl, it becomes delightfully tasty with a non-aromatic sweetness. An excellent all-virginia blend with natural flavour! Sip slowly, pack medium and take the time to enjoy. Nice VA taste & aroma. Great with a sweetish red-wine. I always find myself coming back to this one...

And here the 2nd Greg's blend for Skando: Montgomery.

Maybe Montgomery is the most natural Virginia blend have ever tasted. Oh, I know Greg admits that a "natural" tobacco is something simply non-existing. So let me say that this is something smelling and tasting tobacco, nothing else. Just like the so-called Continental blends I often smoke. Just to talk of European-produced Virginia blends, the only comparison I can recall is with Old Gowrie. Just that Montgomery is even better.

It fills, lights and burns fine and dry. Absolutely cool with no bite at all. Flavours of cereals, hints of citrus and malt. Kentucky is used very sparingly, just to add a condimental ghost of earthy smokiness and a body. Very nice alternative to the VaPer's. Nevertheless we are in the mild territory, and like many Virginia blends it requires good smooking technique to perceive it's refined bouquet. I have learned that in long years, and pounds of FVF and others... a lifetime of patience. I have to say that Montgomery offers a "meaty" mildness, and after the mid bowl (this review is based on a XX bowled Castello, Liverpool shape - let's say like a Dunhill group 3 - seemed quite stupid to split the bowl in three small parts) the strength goes decidedly to the medium and the body is improving even fuller, the Ky layering its spicy flavours over the mature Va's base.

So, again with a Greg's blend, I'm experiencing an unusual shape of building of the elements. Very nice e very much recommended.

Hopefully I will add other GLP's.