G. L. Pease Westminster

Tin with a production date of "September 1, 2021.

Appearance: a high-quality blend, from light and red Virginia, to dark latakia, with flecks of orientals, presented in a ribbon-like, almost evenly sliced form. Pease claims that in creating Westminster, he carefully studied the composition of Dunhill London Mixture, trying to achieve, among other things, an external resemblance. At first glance, the blend may seem a bit dry to the touch, but in fact its moisture content is perfect.

Flavor from the tin: tar, tan leather with its sourness, dry moss in the foreground, with the leather prevailing in my opinion, and the latakia feeling bright but unobtrusive. Wood, earth, sweet hay, dried fruit, paprika are in the background. The woody note is relatively dense and gaining strength in the air, interfering with the main bouquet, but the rest of the notes remain in the background, but noticeable and recognizable. A subtle creamy and creamy note comes in the air to this bouquet after a couple of minutes, completing the composition.

Taste: A balanced bouquet of fresh meadow herbs, chestnuts and dried fruit, with a slight set of spicy spices that are indistinguishable from the components, supported by a noticeable but not too dense note of smokiness from the latakia, adding also a bit of sweet molasses. There is also a slight woody note that intensifies by the middle of the pipe. Virginia also adds to the flavor, the tobacco becomes sweeter, the fruit and herbal note becomes fuller, and the flavor of roasted chestnuts is literally palpable. The latakia, on the other hand, becomes subtle, but still palpable. The tobacco smokes gently, but there is one hitch that a beginner might not like: fresh Virginia, alas, slightly tingles your tongue if you slightly increase the draft. This tobacco should be smoked as slowly and leisurely as possible when fresh. I guess it also doesn't like fuss when it's aged ( jumping ahead - I'm hoping to find an aged can on sale and try it before the fresh one I bought matures). But this blend clearly isn't one of the strong ones - especially when you consider the recommended smoking speed. A full medium pipe gave me a full hour of enjoyment without any hint of nicotine kick. The tobacco burns into an almost white ash, leaving some moisture in the pipe.

In the smoke you can detect, along with the smokiness, smoldering wood and the scent of leather, a subtle musky note. It is loose, but quite persistent.

Bottom line: an absolutely amazing, exceptional blend, even compared to other Gregory Pease blends. It should absolutely be in the collection of every lover of English blends. As for the whole Heirloom Collection, I have mixed feelings about the Maltese Falcon, but Key Largo and Westminster will no doubt find their place on my shelves.

Fantastic English / Balkan Blend. Although it is Latakia dominant, the smokiness from the Latakia is not overwhelming; rather it blends beautifully with the Virginias in creating one of the most uniquely sublime smoking experience.

A note up front: I've never had the original Dunhill London Mixture, so even though Westminster was designed as an homage to that venerable blend, I won't be discussing any relation it may or may not have to the tobacco currently smoldering in my pipe.

Anybody who's never had an English blend should start with Westminster. To me, it's the archetype of the genre.

The pros:

I. It's extremely balanced, without too much weight given to any one component. I don't think anyone would describe this as a 'Full English' or a 'Mild English'. It's very middle-of-the-road, in a very good way.

II. It's extremely satisfying, with plenty of smoke volume, and a flavor that's perfectly situated between 'bland' and 'challenging'. If you want to shut out the world and tease apart the nuances of flavors, Westminster can satisfy. If you want to just fill a bowl and smoke without mental gymnastics, Westminster can satisfy.

III. It holds your interest. I've taken a tin of Westminster and one pipe on long backpacking trips, and happily smoked the entire two ounces without ever once wishing I had brought other blends along.

IV. It smokes easily. I like to give it a little drying time, but the ribbon cut packs and lights easily, with about an average number of relights, and very little moisture or dottle left behind in the bowl.

V. It's got a little 'something'. I'm not somebody who can smoke a bowl and tell you all about the individual components in a super nuanced way, but I can tell you the Orientals in Westminster add a zesty spiciness which really helps keep the Latakia from hogging the spotlight.

Lastly a couple very minor cons:

I. The room note isn't exactly pleasing to non-smokers. But hey, it's an English blend. Nobody expects it to smell like Vanilla Cavendish. No points removed.

II. There are often a few twig-like pieces in a tin of Westminster, which I think are Latakia, and which are probably stems. They aren't really a problem, but they don't burn well, and they can interfere with getting a good pack. I tend to remove them if I come across one as I'm packing my bowl. I'd prefer they weren't there, but they in no way reduce my enjoyment of this blend. No points removed.

Westminster may be my all-time favorite tobacco. If tobaccopalypse happened and I could only pick one tobacco, I'd be hard pressed to find one I'd prefer to this. I never order tobacco online without throwing a tin or two of this stuff into my cart. A true desert island smoke.

One of my favorite blends. I smoke a rotation of English/Balkan blends, and this is currently my #2 after Night Cap. It's more mellow than Night Cap, in that it is less peppery and earthy, and a little sweeter. The mixture in the tin smells great, with a distinct Latakia presence. On lighting, the Latakia bursts open, but is quickly balanced by the other leaves, some sweet Virginias and spicy Orientals. The blend is so well balanced, at any time you can single out the different flavors if you focus, but they merge together wonderfully and stay that way for about half the bowl. The tobaccos are of very fine quality in their aromas. The second half tends to get sweeter, developing an egg-nog like character. My guess is the Virginias are prepared in a way that causes this, however it doesn't taint the pipe. The spiciness lingers and the Latakia hangs on all the way through, making for a rich finish. This is a rich blend with good complexity, but mellow enough to enjoy when you're not quite in the mood for a monster blend. I recently got 8 ounce tins for the "cellar"

An underwhelming dryness and generally messy appearance hide a very well balanced and fantastic blend.

A cool, leathery, and very full Latakia flavor sits on a musky base to deliver a good nicotine hit. Copious smoke production leaves unsurprisingly dry bowls at the end. The modern reference for English blends.

Upon first opening the tin, the smell immediately reminded me of 3 Oaks--rich, smokey, and peaty. The tobacco was somewhat moist (just right for a tin, if you ask me), the ribbon cut was even, and the color beautiful--a lovely mix of medium-dark, red/brown virginia, and golden leaf. There were a couple stems, but overall it was clear that the tobacco was of the highest quality, and carefully selected.

I first tried this in one of my better pipes, a one star Ferndown straight dublin. I packed using the infant/lady/man method, and lit carefully. Alas, I am a hot smoker and enjoy thick rich smoke, puffing too frequently. Because of this, I did not at first enjoy Westminster. It burned hot, and I got a touch of tongue bite from the red VA. In the same sitting I then loaded a small Peterson straight billiard, with something of the same experience, though I smoked a bit slower. Third I tried my Stanwell Hans Christian Anderson (church warden), and enjoyed it more. However, on these first three smokes I would have given this a two-star rating.

The next day, I let the tobacco dry for 20 minutes on the table before loading up my Peterson straight bulldog, and I found the experience completely different. It was more forgiving, though I have since continued to find the pack and light particularly important to this blend.

On the charring light the latakia was forward, but paired with the spicy orientals it became almost creamy. This was completely pleasant! On the second light, rainbox peppercorns came to the nose with the earthyness of the red virginias pleasantly sitting in the back of the throat. Wonderful.

This is a round, well-balanced blend. It's earthy, peaty, smokey, with a hint of spice and herbs on the nose. After smoking it for a week now, I absolutely love it, and rate it among the best english blends I've had, if not the best. If Dunhill's Early Morning Pipe is a C note, G.L. Pease Westminster is playing a full Cdim chord. If you want a transcendental experience, carefully and ritualistically prepare your bowl with a cup of hot earl grey, with a dash of cream. Incredible.

I give it 3.5 stars, only docking that last 1/2 for the finicky nature of the blend.

Westminster is a top tier tobacco. I'm not the first person to say that, and you won't be the last person to experience it. Westminster is a buttoned up, first class English firmly planted in the middle of the strength spectrum. It reminds one of a well groomed and quaffed K-9 prancing over the dog-trot at a Dog Show. “Just look at those jowls!” "His front quarters are really something aren't they!” We all have blends we love as much as our comfortable ol' mutts, but that is not Westminster. With Westminster, you hang his pedigree on your wall and demand a stud fee from each sample you gift to a fellow smoker.

Ironically enough, I wanted to use the name of a famous dog show in this review and would you believe what the number one hit is when you google “famous dog show?” WESTMINSTER. Apparantly, the storied district of London is home to more than an Abbey.

Westminster is dry in the tin. A mix of broken flake and ribbon, each piece of tobacco could have snapped like a twig. For me that's not a problem as I care about how it smokes much more. Easy to load (just tumble in) and I found it to burn very well as it crunches beneath your tamper. The VA's are luscious and sweet, the orientals are toasty and high, and the cyprian is top notch smoke and spice.

The tin I'm sampling was made a mere 3 months ago, so this has zero age on it. I liked it from the start, but as I'm at the bottom of the tin, I have experienced some really special smokes where the flavors of the blend's components were so well integrated, that the result was something different altogether – a symphonic representation of , what to me, might be absolutely classic. There is nothing unusual or surprising about this English blend other than it's unapologetically snooty supremacy over every other english I've tried (and I have not tried them all). In the world of English blends, Westminster is the Bentley-driving Guru.

Having acquired a tin of this wonderful concoction from out-of-state, I wanted to set down my impressions of it before I am hauled away under some redeemed-for-society permutation of the Mann Act. My brethren in Ohio will know whereof I speak!

Generally, I avoid getting into the minutiae of a blend--favoring, instead, to focus on the overall effect of several bowlsful. No face is symmetrical, no beauty is flawless if examined bit-by-bit. Westminster, though, requires a linear--as opposed to lateral--analysis.

In his latest "Briar and Leaf Chronicles," Greg intimated that he had earlier versions of Dunhill's "London Blend" in mind as he wandered "The Road To Westminster." Twenty...Thirty-years on, it is difficult to recall the London Blend of the Dunhill era. I laid back no tins then, assuming, as most did, that it would always be around in its delighful original form. Foresight is not my forte.

Therefore, I cannot say whether Westminster hits or misses THAT particular mark. It will, however, have veterans and novices alike singing, "Give me that oldtime tobacco...give me that oldtime tobacco..."

This stuff is just plain good. The tin I bought is all of three-weeks-old...but already interesting; owing, I suspect, to a special treatment for the Virginias. Give it 2-3 years in an unopened can--to let the excellent (but too-assertive) Cyprian Latakia tone down, and the Virginias sweeten...and the Orientals work their magic--and 'twill be very Heaven. It hits notes familiar to all of us old guys...Dunhill London Mixture, Sullivan's Original, John Coton Medium. It is, simply-put, what a great, tinned English Mixture used to be.

Being an unreconstructed geek...I took three years of Latin in high school and one year in college..NOTE BENE!!! (note well) the admonishments about this tobacco being too moist when first-opened. It is (Westminster shares that misfortune with Barbary Coast) and one is advised to dump the entire contents of the can onto a clean, flat surface for several hours--spread-out--to dry. Otherwise, the moisture level, combined with the cut, will conspire to give you and your butane a fit!

Westminster is THE MOST UNUSUAL PEASE TOBACCO I HAVE SMOKED. It is a mainstream, albeit exemplary, English. Most of Greg's blends are a bit (or more than a bit) esoteric (sorry, Mike...but you did not invent the word.) Westminster will be recognized and cosseted by anyone who loves a classic English blend.

A worthy successor to all the gone-on, not-to-be-forgotten tobaccos of yore.

Tin note of smoky, tart fermented fruit, and sweety wine. Tobacco cut is a thin ribbon cut. Tobacco is an even mix if brown, tan and black leaf. It's soft and damp but not wet, no drying needed. Burns slow with a few relights. The strength is medium and nic is mild. No flavoring detected. Taste is medium to full and consistent, with notes of dry earth, wood, sweet bread, sour lemon, sweet grass, smoky floral, mildly buttery, mildly creamy, tangy herbal, mildly spicy, mild tart dark fruit background note, and a moderately peppery retro. Virginia is leading with Latakia and Orientals superbly supporting. Room note is tolerable, and aftertaste is outstanding.