G. L. Pease Maltese Falcon

There's not much more to say about this tobacco than what has already been said. Of good quality tobacco, this blend is milder than some of the latakia laden English blends and the Virginias are definitely prominent in the taste of the smoke. This could be an all-day-every-day blend of choice being that it is not too complex yet flavorfull enough to keep you interested. Three stars only because of the lack of complexity.

To my palate, Maltese Falcon is the love-child of Embarcadero and Westminster. Like Embarcadero, the Virginias are velvety smooth. . . and the orientals are distant supporters. But as an English, the flavor also echoes Westminster (and, as others have noted, Dunhill's best English blends).

In the end, MF is a solid and enjoyable medium-strength English with flavorful Virginias and a solid latakia element. Ignore the stated references to Raven's Wing (which, judging from the character of this blend, was more of an inspiration than a direct influence) and think of this as the all-day version of Westminster. Maltese Falcon has less overall richness and complexity -- and much subtler orientals -- but it still retains Westminster's basic flavor profile.

Bob

A wonderful creation by Mr. Pease! The best description I can offer is the follwing: An Americanized version of SG "COMMONWEALTH MIXTURE". It has very TANGY Virginias that marry very well with a healthy dose of Latakia. The Oriental component IMO is almost non existent. A very pleasant yet strong(nicotene)blend. Not for the meek. An unusual English blend worth trying. 3 of 4 stars.

Ah, the Maltese Falcon, 1941 film with Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Peter Lorre, and Sydney Greenstreet. That is what I think of every time I look at the tin and smoke this. This tin is dated 092919 and I opened it about a month ago and am halfway through it. The tin note has that nice English smell of soft leather and spice. This one has been an enjoyable experience. Not a heavy English but rather to me a medium-mild blend that smokes consistently smooth but others may consider this a full blend. A good one to relax with at the end of the day with a good cup of coffee as the sun goes down. The tin says this is enhanced by a discreet and mysterious spice. I have no idea what it is. After I am done with this, I will see if JimInks knows what it is. When I read about the mystery spice, I cannot help but think about the secret sauce on hamburgers at fast food joints, Thousand Island Dressing but we shall see. As stated, I do enjoy this one but does it stand out above the crowd for me? Not at this time in my life but definitely try it. And if you haven’t seen the movie, watch it as it is a classic directed by John Huston in his directorial debut. P.S., JimInks says the spice is ginger. I would never have guessed but makes sense as there is a mild sweetness to this while smoking.

20230417 edit: very mellow, on the sweeter side of the spectrum. Still getting fruit, and almost a floral character. Feeling like much more than a heavily moderated Latakia this time around. This may be near the top of my arbitrary sweet Latakia category, so far.

Jar note: All I smell is latakia smoke. Smoke: Far less dominated by the latakia smoke than is the jar note, but it's definitely present. I get a fair bit of sour, tiny bit of sweet and creamy. Maybe I'm tasting a bit of the oriental character, virtually no Virginia. The second hand smoke and room note are overall pleasant Mainly though I'd say I taste this as a heavily moderated latakia, which isn't a bad thing in my mind. I could see happily smoking more bowls of this when I want a latakia fix, but it's not going to be in my general rotation.

Near the middle/end of the bowl, after changing to the breath method, I'm pretty sure I'm starting to get a little fruit from the Virginias. This might be a breakthrough for me in regards to latakia blends.

Tin note of sour tart fruit and smoky. Tobacco cut is mostly ribbon, its dark brown and black with a little tan. Moisture level is on the high side, dying may be preferred. Burns slow with few relights. The strength is mild to medium and nic is mild. Though no flavoring is listed, there seems to be some Turmeric, but others have said Ginger, whichever, it lingers in the background. Taste is mild to medium and consistent, with notes of wood, spice, sweet, earth, floral, leather, tangy, buttery, herbal, orange peel, smoky, sour, incense, a citrus background note, and a peppery retro. Latakia is leading with Oriental/Turkish supporting. Virginia is less supportive. Room note is tolerable, and aftertaste is great.

Cracking a tin from my first tobacco ordering binge when I picked up the hobby— 2013!

The weather here is turning, slowly moving from fall to winter. Quite mild for mid-December, with more rain than cold, and no snow so far. It still feels like early fall, and the wet weather we had today makes me want an English. So I crack this one, determined to smoke through some of my backlog before ordering more.

Appearances are fairly typical for an English: dark brown and blacks with a few tan and tawny strands sprinkled in. Tin note is likewise typically English: smoky and leathery, with a faint undertone of something sweet. Almost saccharine— my brain is calling it cough syrup or paraffin wax.

This will be the maiden smoke of a La Rocca churchwarden, so let’s see how it loads... packs quite nicely, with a hybrid of the baby-lady-gentleman and the Frank methods. Pre-light draw brings flavors of leather and orange peel. Interesting.

The leaf takes the flame with alacrity and the flavors are the same. The orange peel develops a slightly moldering quality, the way an orange peel smells when it gets moldy. I am not sure which leaf is responsible for this effect. The latakia behaves as it usually does in an English, bringing flavors of smoke and campfires. I can definitely taste the red Virginia, and smell it in the sidestream smoke. There is a note of cinnamon, both in the taste and in the spice that tickles my nostrils on the retrohale, and it seems to flit between straight cinnamon taste and cedar sawdust. The latakia weaves in and out as well, offering sea salt and creosote. Very interesting. This is on the sweeter side, for an English, though I don’t detect a topping and I chalk that up to the oriental leaf in here. In that regard, it reminds me of the late, lamented Frog Morton series, particularly Across the Pond. There is more sweetness in this blend than in that one, but it definitely scratches the same itch. Sweeter Englishes.

Smokes coolly and dry, most likely helped by the churchwarden’s length. Quite consistently, too, after presenting its initial array of flavors. Nicotine for me was just a shade past medium, even having had a snack immediately before this smoke.

I like it. That moldy orange peel tone could definitely be off-putting to some, and if it was more overbearing in the mix of flavors, I’d likely give or put this tin away and never touch it again. But darned if it isn’t alright. It’s certainly unique. As a side note, this is the first of G.L. Pease’s creations I’ve sampled, though I have two or three others socked away in the cellar. I’m pleased to see a blender innovate within a style instead of give us another cliche of the genre. I look forward to working my way through this tin, and also to seeing what a younger sample has to offer.

THE FALCON: A fantastic medium English with some added complexity

The sweet Virginia varietals are at the forefront of this blend. They seem to be a mixture of mostly C&D reds and some brights. As such, they are primarily sweet and tangy with some earthiness and a little bright-grassyness in the smoke. The Latakia is very nice and smokey and does not overwhelm the blend. Whatever Turkish tobacco was used adds a pleasant dry-tart character to the smoke. The added "spice" adds character to the other subtle flavors in Maltese Falcon. I do get some tongue bite a tad more than normal.