G. L. Pease Laurel Heights

With McClelland so suddenly & sadly closing shop I have been revisiting Pease's Fog City Selection. This evening I enjoyed a bowl of this blend and was not disappointed. I can't easily describe all the complexities and nuances in a blend but I can say that, as described in the tin's label, this blend does indeed develop a deep richness as one smokes down the bowl. It also has a great deal of sweetness to my taste, which I enjoy. A blend well worth trying!

A rather bland tobacco with a slightly sweet taste. the cut was very good tho!

Updated 12 /17/2013- This tobacco has been opened ,sealed and cellared for a year and I just retried it in a tall cob. Results, very interesting changes. The Grapefruit taste is much more subdued and in the background but the "Orange peel" taste is way out front and lasts the whole bowl. Most Orange flavors tend to dissipate after a 1/4 bowl, but this stayed. It wasn't a sickening topped Orange, but rather that bitter Orange "twist" that I like in my drink. I would buy this again.

I later decided to try the blend in a "Bulldog Briar", not as interesting, it lost all of the fruit nuances, became more malty/peaty. If only this experience, I wouldn't buy this again as I found it boring.

Not to stop my "experiments", I pulled out a short "clay". This had little improvement over the Briar but did have some subtle fruit nuances in the side stream, but not in the taste.

Overall , my advice would be to smoke this in a cob or don't bother smoking this at all ! I probably will buy this again As it reminds me of Briar Fox , a nice "base note " Virginia.

Original review 11/2012 The description says "Grapefruit"! and that's what you get on the initial light, very interesting and a refreshing bright flavor. This fades as you get down the bowl with only occasional whiffs of the Grapefruit, I never get the malt? The Virginias are good quality , Mature and closer to a "Brown Flake". The wife left the room with the scent, saying it was horrible . This isn't bad, but I like my Virginias a little sweeter and with a scent that doesn't send people running . I believe the Virginias are the same used in Union Sq. I'll finish the tin, outside in the cold, but I won't buy more.

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Oh, I just noticed the Latakia listed in this blend, couldn't taste it? But now I know why the wife ran.

I really enjoy this family of tobaccos. This one does not lead the pack because it is not as complex or interesting as the Filmore, Telegraph Hill, Lombard or Stratford. I still go through a pound of it a year because it is so darned good with a blended Scotch. Well, I guess most of the Fog City series goes well with Scotch. Cheers, this is a nice simple and flavorful tobacco.

I smoked this when it was quite young, right after Mr. Pease released it. It was good then, however... I cellared a number of tins; this is based on one dated 4-18-06.

Wow. What five years can do. This is a rich, confident, gentlemanly tobacco. I smoked it fairly well dried, still springy, but with a slight crispness to it. From the start, this was a real Virginia. The Latakia has mellowed tremendously over the past half-decade, giving the blend enough solid underpinning to allow the unstoved reds to sparkle. The smoke was gorgeous from first match to the bottom of the bowl. Laurel Heights, at five years old, is a creme brulee smoke. Water with this, though I think a decent cognac would be a good compliment.

Excellent, as every Pease I have in my rotation. I do have enough Laurel Heights stocked to do this again in another five years. Until then, I will thoroughly enjoy this tin. A definite four of four stars.

2/23/11- I've had this in a jar since 2007. Been smoking it the last 2 weeks. It's ok. There is no topping; an all natural smoke. I like the ribbon cut of this blend. Makes packing and smoking pretty easy. I found it behaved nicely and did not bite. I know that not all VAs are sweet, but I always found myself expecting this one to show some sweetness. It hasn't happened yet. It was a little bland. Not a bright VA flavor. It's nice to try for something different than your typical VA experience. I have decided to cellar it again for now and will give it a try down the line. Just not very tasty IMO right now.

This is one of the best Virginias blends on the market, and definitely the best from GLPease (I've been ageing a tin of Union Square that I haven't tried yet, so that might change, although I doubt it. Laurel Heights is that good).

Most GLPease Virginias are high quality but I find them too mild, almost lacking taste. That is not the case with LH. Telegraph Hills is also tasteful, but this one is richer and darker.

Not only the best Virginia from GLPease, but also the only one that I've given 4 stars.

Tin: With a mahogany hue, LH looks and smells like Montgomery, though less golden VA, a little less sweet and more wheat in character. The tobacco was just pliable, but not dry; and certainly not sticky. This is an all natural VA. Tin date: 081706

Packing & Lighting: One thing: it seemed to require several relights down the bowl, but develops almost no moisture in the shank or stem.

Taste & Aroma: Similar to Montgomery, but not as good somehow. I think perhaps Montie is sweeter. I can see malt or roasted oats, but like the term wheat. LH is a bit flat, or one dimensional. As soft and mild as Montie is, LH is even more so; yes, creamy, but a little too soft. I could just about inhale LH, something I rarely do with tobacco.

Nicotine: Oddly, compared to the very light creaminess of the taste and aroma, LH seems to be a notch higher in nicotine, mild to medium. This may be because of inhaling more second-hand smoke, due to the mildness. Subsequent bowls range up to strong, on average, rather strong.

Overall: Having smoked Montgomery before LH, first impressions lingering, if I had to choose, I'd stick with Montie, though I'm not sure in a blind taste test I could tell much difference, discounting LH having more nicotine. 3.7 stars

I don't think that I can add to what others have said, so I will just say that I enjoyed this blend. I wish that for this, as well as some other blends, that there was a way to give it partial stars, as I think that this is a bit better than just recommended, but I cannot quite give it four stars.

Update on 5 November 2007: After smoking this once in a while, but lately more often than not, I have to update to 4 stars. It is great when you're in the mood for it. It's equally good in small through large bowled pipes, but gets very intensely flavored, and strong nicotine-wise, in larger bowls halfway down or so, even more so than many blends. Great in any sized bowl, depending on your preference or mood.