G. L. Pease Westminster

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.

Wonderful stuff. I bought a tin about a year ago and nursed it, having a bowl every so often. It grew on me. After smoking things like Margate, penzance, some frog mortons, Squadron Leader, Commonwealth, SG Navy and Bothy... Various latakias like Pease's own sextant, QN, gaslight, spark plug... And the wonderful Sutliff bsosm match, not to mention Russ Tastykake and some whisky flavored Balkans like ppbb and mrrb aged.... None of em have anything on this.

Westminster is a fantastic English blend as good as any and better than most. It also doesn't irritate my palate nearly as much as most latakia blends seem to.

I finally ordered a pound as my tin winds down.

A fairly fresh tin, 5/6/21. Open the tin to find an attractive ribbon cut, fairly typical of English mixtures. It looks like Nightcap, it looks like My Mixture 965. Smell is fairly mild, predominantly sour/vinegar with a sweetish undertone. Not super complex. Rather moist, so I pull some out to dry while I brew some tea. Taylor of Harrodsgate Scottish Breakfast. Prelight draw refers back to the tin note, but adds an undertone of ripened cheese. I remember getting that same note from Nightcap. Looking forward to this.

The charring light brings a blast of that savory, salty cheese note, which quickly gives way to a fairly typical English profile: smoke, incense, campfires. The cheese doesn’t go away completely, which is good, because the other flavors are so typically English that I think Westminster would get lost in the mix. Both sipping and tugging give me the same flavor profile, but sipping and retrohaling offer more complexity than tugging.

A very user-friendly English. No bite, not overly hot. Very well-behaved. I find this slightly more Oriental-forward, not as much as Squadron Leader, but more than Nightcap. There is a moderate drying effect from the oriental tobaccos, which makes having a drink at hand a good idea. I would suggest something malty and sweet, bourbon or port or tea with sugar. Certainly not peated scotches. This Scottish breakfast tea does quite nicely.

There isn’t much development down the bowl. But there needn’t be. Cram this one in your pipe and go about your business— this is what I call a lawnmower blend. Straightforward, consistent flavor that doesn’t demand too much of your attention, nicotine levels that don’t require you to sit down and smoking mechanics that are pretty much set it and forget it. I didn’t get much of a nicotine hit at all.

My tastes run more these days to virginias and burley, and I missed a bit of nutty sweetness here. A tad more brightleaf wouldn’t be amiss in Westminster. But what do I know? You want English? This is English. Good quality English.

I have another GLP Blend for you today. I was interested in trying some more English blends in the English vein and I ran across this and thought it sounded interesting. The tin description sounds sophisticated and up my alley with the combination of red and bright Virginias, complimented with rich Oriental tobaccos and some Cyprian Latakia.

When I look at the tin it had a nostalgic old-timey look to it, with it's typeface and image. When you open the tin, there is a fairly even cut ribbon with a few stems here and there. The tobaccos have a nice range of colour from light browns to black. After opening the tin I smell smokey and woody Latakia, sweet Bright Virginias, some bready, fermented Red Virginias, and little Oriental Tang. The tobacco came at the perfect moisture for smoking right out of the tin. It packs well and takes a light well. You will need an average amount of relights.

On lighting I find that the tin description of rich was right on the money. Luxurious Latakia comes to the forefront. It is creamy, smokey and a little woody. Next I taste the Virginias adding a lot of sweetness, bread and hay to the mix. The Orientals float in and out adding herbs, tang and incense-like qualities. This is very complex but coherent mixture that is very easy to smoke. Over the last few weeks I've found myself packing several bowls of this right after the other.

The taste I give a medium. It has an average mouthfeel of an English blend and it doesn't leave a lingering aftertaste. The strength is a medium. It doesn't leave me begging for more, but it isn't holding me in my chair either. The room note is typical of an English: smokey and creamy. This has turned out to be a win for me. A simple yet rich English which is smokable year round.

This is an Oriental forward blend with consistent Latakia presence. The Virginias pop up here and there, but I don’t notice them all the time. The Orientals really shine in the retrohale with a pleasant vegetative note. I do notice the nicotine in this one, but even as a lightweight it didn’t knock me off my feet. It burns well, even at the moisture level it was at in the fresh tin. I never dried it out at all before loading and smoking it. It didn’t bite me, even with a moderately fast cadence. The Orientals were even more forward in a meerschaum, and it tasted a bit sweeter in briar pipes.

3/4 stars, a very enjoyable blend. I will purchase and smoke this regularly.

With 257 reviews I had no idea how popular this one is. I bought this one dated 022619 at the pipe club and upon opening has a nice light leathery smell. As for the cut, it says ribbon but this tin had some ribbon, small pieces and then even smaller pieces such as you would find at the bottom of any tin or bag. It does not personally bother me but the cut really is a mixed bag. This smokes at first mild and then about half way through the flavor kicks in a little more. The taste to me is with the Latakia in the background and Orientals up front and not sure where the Virginias come in to play. There is a spiciness that the more I smoke the more I want. I guess that can be looked at in one of two ways. Is it because it is that good or is there an element in the blend that is just out of arm’s reach? Nonetheless a good blend. I was gifted a fantastic Caminetto 08.L.20 tan sand blasted hourglass sitter and smokes like a dream. I also smoked this in a Savinelli Author and the smoke was different. Of course, this is nothing new, different pipes with the same blend can taste different. I read a good review on this by G.L. Pease that this blend is homage to the Original Dunhill London Mixture. http://glpease.com/BriarAndLeaf/?p=37. If looking for a Lat Bomb this ain’t it but is a really nice smooth mixture for all day if you like.

An oriental bomb of an English

The Turkish tobacco is at the center of this blend with strong floral and sour notes. The Virginia varietals are mostly made up of red leaf and are earthy and sweet—rather than grassy or crisp. There is quite a bit of Latakia here, but it lurks just behind the Turkish and Virginia varietals. Westminster smokes exquisitely well and near perfectly balances full flavor with smooth repeatable smokability.

The tin has a smoky and sour smell, a lot of dark strands with some mahogany tobacco as well. The ribbon cut is very irregular, from thick to very thick.

My first smoke was uneventful, monochromatic and nondescript so I waited a few days and tried again. Same result and this time I was annoyed so I packed a pipe and waited for a few days, I was better but not by much.

The Latakia is the main player, the other ingredients try to impart some of their flavors but fail for the most part. There's better Latakia bombs out there and while it tries to emulate Dunhill London Mixture, this Balkan fails to deliver the flavor profile of it. As if everything is in place but nothing binds the tobaccos together.

I said it before, uneventful, nondescript and monochromatic in a bad way. I can't find the drive to finish any of my bowls and the aftertaste is really bad, I don't recommend it at all. I very much prefer Abingdon, Gaslight and Quiet Nights.

Virginia lover