G. L. Pease Embarcadero

The tobacco is presented in a broken flake cut, and not Flake as they say. And it is not due to the transport of the tobacco but it is appreciated that it is its original presentation. The low degree of humidity allows immediate loading from the tin, shredding it or folding the tobacco and packing without shredding. Either way it works very well, but I think that folding it preserves its organoleptic properties better.

Good taste of Virginia with some caramelized touch at times. Izmir is added as a condiment, which gives it a pleasant and naturally aromatic nuance. As the smoke progresses, the smoke produces at times a certain kidney smell, very typical of some Virginias, which is appreciated in the room note and that some companions may not like. Burns very well, leaving a light gray ash.

This tobacco entered my daily rotation to replace the last virginia I tried. I smoke it daily and with pleasure, sometimes repeating a second pipe during the day. The truth is that I have not yet tried a mixture of G.L. Pease I don't like it. I hope the streak continues ...

Tin note is quite intense. All natural tobacco tanginess with a sweet and sour note like orange or Bergamot rind. It comes in broken flakes neatly packaged where one can pick a few slices and either rub out more or squeeze directly into the bowl depending on taste. It could use a few minutes of drying time but can be smoked directly as well without producing excessive moisture.

In either case it lights easily and from the start you are greeted by a smooth, flavorful and naturally aromatic smoke. Red Virginia forms the base and it is tangy but also sweet. The Izmir leaf adds a distinct sourness and spicy notes. To my experience Izmir is one of the smoothest and sweetest Oriental varieties quite congruent with Virginia but it still lends the characteristic Oriental flavor to Embarcadero without being overwhelming. Overall Embarcadero is a rather dry tasting mixture with lots of pure all natural tobacco flavor with enough body and a satisfying medium strength. It burns well to a white ash but might become a little acrid towards the end - a small complaint to an otherwise excellent blend.

There aren’t many Va/Or blends on the market, or not as many as I would have wished. Most contain some Perique or another leaf while I seem to enjoy pure Va/Or mixtures more, especially as a first smoke of the day. Living in Greece I am fortunate enough to have plain Oriental varieties ready at hand so I can make my own blends with Virginias, but Embarcadero is to me a very interesting find as it combines top quality Virginias with excellent Izmir in an artful combination.

Comparing Embarcadero with the late McClelland’s Grand Oriental series, I have to note that, much as I enjoy the latter, Embarcadero produces a purer tobacco experience since the Virginias in the Grand Oriental’s have undergone the McClellands treatment which adds a significant component to the tobaccos natural flavor.

Presentation: All labels in the Fog City Selection look the same. A gold stripe across the bottom, a white background, with a gray sketching of the streets of San Francisco.

Cut: Comes in a small flake or maybe broken flake, moisture is just right and it rubs out like a dream.

Tin note: Moderate fruity sweetness with maybe a little bread.

Tasting notes: Smoky, toasty, earthy, with a slight tangy sweetness on light up. Once it gets going, it's delicious. Full of these deep and dark flavors up front of earth, smoke, figs, and spice with nice undertones of bread, grassy and fruity sweetness, a tangy zing, with a spicy, woody finish. Sometimes I taste leather, mostly on retrohales.

Mechanics: N/A -- A well behaved blend.

Extra Remarks: This is an awesome blend. No super unique flavors, but how they present themselves is very well done. This is booming with flavor and throws all the flavors at you at once, throughout the bowl. If you are a person who does not like when blends are too sweet or rich, assuming you have no other qualms with the leaves in here, I think you will like this one very much. The way the Virginias present themselves is gentle but still very present. I'd say this blend is mostly earthy and smoky but how the Virginias subtly shine through is the highlight of the blend for me. Overall an excellent blend, 4 stars.

DrumsAndBeer’s review of this incredibly enjoyable blend is uncommonly spot-on and satisfying, just like this baccy. My recommendation is to just try it. If you have an “open” palate and are looking for something new and enjoyable then this will not disappoint.

I was expecting a rather mild (flavored) and "thin" (bodied) Virginia/Turkish blend, but Embarcadero is much more, it's a superb blend for me! It's rich body, delicately tasty nuances that shine, when you really take your time and mind for this tobacco, and lovely broken flake appearance make it an outstandingly good blend of this sort!

The Virginias lend surprisingly much of a body to the blend, maybe it's also the Izmir helping with it? I don't know, but what I know is I love the earthy, floral, and pleasantly nutty, sometimes even smoky, and always slightly sour flavor profile it offers! It has so much depth and nuances to it.. it's a joy to explore them or just puff along enjoying this artful piece as a whole

The Virginias aren't overly sweet and offer a rich earthiness as well as a hay-ish quality. The Izmir is sublime with its very unique aroma. Somewhat floral, maybe a bit like Jasemine Tea? But it also has this pleasantly sharp, dry and ethereal side it, which makes it most interesting on the palate. I'm strugglin' to find words for its beauty!

The proclaimed notes of nuts and roasted coffee are indeed to be found, yet they're very subtle and mainly around when the bowl is puffed with a most leisureful cadence. I do belive they sport from a expectionally mild flavoring, as well as from the wonderful Izmir leaf which is said to be a bit nutty as well. Those notes are delicious and you'll find yourself hunting for them! 😉

**Here's Mr. Pease's very own word on his creation:** http://www.glpease.com/BriarAndLeaf/?p=40

Here in April, 2018, grieving the loss of McClelland I decided to revisit the Fog City Selection of G. L. Pease which I initially experimented with about 18 months ago in the Fall of 2016. My first reintroduction was with Union Square, a straight Virginia blend from the Fog City Selection that I had not tried before. Tonight I finally smoked a big bowl full of Embarcadero. I will of course return to Union Square as I have 2 tins of it. But I have to say, on my initial re-visit, Embarcadero is stellar. DrumsAndBeer's review is very accurate. It's everything and more that's described on the tin label. Clean & slow burning, sweet yet with a depth and thick richness of flavor that expands to even greater enjoyment as one progresses through the bowl. Goodbye, McClelland, hello G.L. Pease!

After having tried too many GLP blends too young, I left my tin of Embarcadero to get a year of age on it before I opened it. I was very pleased with the result. This was a very pleasant tin to smoke through. Although just a simple blend of red Virginia and Izmir, there is subtle complexity in the tin and room notes. The tin note is of good red Virginia tobacco with a note of dates and a hint of spicy raisins. The room note is of good red Virginia tobacco with notes of Oriental incense. Interestingly, for as noticeable as the Izmir contribution to the tin and room notes is, it does not stand out as much in the taste. With just a year of aging, the red Virginia and Izmir flavors have blended very nicely. The taste is a rich, yet mild, red Va with just a hint of background spice. For fans of VaOri blends, Embarcadero is a must try which is going to just keep getting better with age.

G. L. Pease - Embarcadero.

This one's from a trade with my tobacco compadre Gentleman Zombie and it's one fine blend!

First thing first, it's not just a flake, mine's actually fairly well broken; it's not ribbons, but neither is it a solid flake, it's similar to C+D Burley Flake in build. The moistness is good, and as it doesn't need much breaking up I can just stuff a bowl straight from the tin and get on with a smoke.

I can't taste nuts or coffee (as per description), but the flavour I do get is sublime! The Oriental/Turkish have a rustic feel, they're not as buttery as I often find; as it says on the tin: spicy. I'd expected to get nothing from the Virginia, I thought it would be pushed out by the Oriental/Turkish but I get quite a clear note of hay which brightens the picture up a bit. The nicotine's on the mild side (to me), I wouldn't say it's emphatically mild, but I would say mild to medium. The temperature's good so long as it's not puffed too hard; that causes it to climb a bit too high, but I guess that's quite normal! The room note's alright, but in all fairness I don't get much character from it. I find the first half of the bowl seems a little more alive, after that point the flavour becomes more subdued; calmer.

This is a brilliant blend, thanks Franck!

Highly recommended.

I found this tobacco was unlike anything I have smoked previously and very enjoyable. Subdued sweetness and a bread-like note from the Red Virginia and a subtle spicy taste from the Izmir makes this blend very easy to smoke but not lacking in complexity.

I am sad to have just one bowls worth left of this stuff. Particularly sad because I am unlikely to smoke it again due to the rising costs involved in having tobacco sent to the UK from overseas. Otherwise it would have easily earned a place in my regular rotation.

The following piece on packing this tobacco is written by the Greg himself and taken from his website. I found it helped me to get the best out of this tobacco:

'In finding the best way to smoke this one, I’ve tried rubbing it right out to a fine ribbon, folding the bits of flake, rolling it into a loose ball, and every other method I could think of for packing it. For me, it seems to work best to keep the tobacco chunky, gathering enough to loosely fill the bowl with vertically aligned pieces, then giving it just enough of a press with the thumb to settle it, and go. Once under way, it smolders effortlessly, and slowly, delivering a long, lingering, leisurely smoke.'

Enjoy.