G. L. Pease Maltese Falcon

Wowsers! I have just gone through my first tin of this and it is a thoroughly satisfying tobacco. I love English blends and this has all that I love in an English blend. I prefer to smoke these types of blends in large-size bowls, at least a large group 4 or, even better, group 5. I have smoked Maltese Falcon in at least seven large pipes, including a couple of Dunhills, a couple of large Cavicchi's, a large Ser Jacopo and a Mastro de Paja "poker". I've even had a couple of smokes of this in a meerschaum. Each and every smoke has been exceptional. I believe a "clean" pipe lends itself best to this blend - by "clean" I mean a pipe that is well aired, well dried and receives a good swabbing out with pipe cleaners after each smoke and a couple days of rest between smokes. I initially ordered three tins in order to try the tobacco out while allowing the second tins to gain some age; immediately after trying the first few pipe bowls I ordered another three tins for further aging and continued smoking... I should have ordered at least six more tins as my favorite etailer, Smoking Pipes (Low Country Tobaccos - and no affiliation on my part) is sold out. I am now awaiting this becoming available in the 8 oz. tins so that I can stockpile as much of this as possible. While I love GLP Westminster, Caravan, Abdingdon and Charing Cross and have substantial amounts of those (particularly Westminster and Charing Cross) stockpiled, Maltese Falcon has, at least in this first tin, met my complete desire in what I look for in a fully satisfying English blend. I'll continue to enjoy my Sam Gawith blends, my occasional Dunhill (Night Cap and 965), C&D's Byzantium as well as a few VaPers of various brands, but I can see already that Maltese Falcon will remain at the top... unless Greg Pease comes up with something that exceeds even this. (I can't wait to see what Maltese Falcon will be like with about 3 - 6 months aging.) Just an all-around fantastic blend.

Rich, yet not overpowering. Full, yet delicate. This is excellent tobacco. I wish I had a better tobacco vocabulary, because I just can't describe how tasty and smooth this tobacco is.

The tin aroma is smoky and as jakeolsen mentioned it does remind me of Kansas City Style BBQ sauce! I rubbed it out a bit and noticed a rather strange piece of tobacco that looked suspiciously like a wood chip.

The Latakia in this stands out wonderfully against the Virginias. This smoke burns very cool producing a well rounded, medium taste. Mild floral notes in the nose and somewhat exotic flavor that's very mild on the center of the tongue.

Halfway through the bowl the nicotine was more noticeable after some heavy puffing but the burn remained cool with no bite. Impressive!

The room note was very unpleasant to the girlfriend, she asked me to return to the office(where I am frequently sent under these circumstances).

This new blend from G.L. Pease is something he should be well pleased with. I believe it is a perfect blend for both the neophyte as well as the experienced smoker. It has enough flavor to satisfy and burns remarkably well while staying cool the whole while. I will be buying more of this to age.

Upon popping the tin I was hit with what I can only describe as a barbecue essence(?) This stuff was definitely smoky, but had a very slight Virginia tang to it. (Maybe this is why the thoughts of barbecue?) The presentation to me was much like Westminster. In fact, I'd say this is around one shade darker than Westminster(comparing the two side by side).

Upon first light I was blasted with that intense latakia flavor. I quickly learned that, like Red Rapparee, to smoke this blend too quickly would be a huge error on my part. Once I settled down, I began to really feel the interaction between the components of this blend. Just when the latakia would start to seem to cover all, there would be a little spice from the orientals, and then a touch of tang from the Virginias, begging to be noticed. It was a symphony of flavors, with the latakia often stealing the spotlight. All of the components are quality, and I'm sure this will be obvious with a little patience in smoking.

Overall, I found this blend to be delightfully intriguing and complex. I have only had one bowl thus far, and so I almost feel as if I am doing a disservice by reviewing it on first impression alone. This blend did have a little nicotine kick for me. I would really recommend purchasing several blends to cellar away. I can only imagine the greatness of this blend when the latakia mellows a tad, and all of the components really sing a wonderful song together.

The tin aroma is mainly leather and smoked, already pointing to the predominance of latakia in the organoleptic qualities of the mixture. This is something that is verified when lighting the tobacco and taking the first puffs, although it must be said that it is a very good quality latakia, with a very rich flavor.

Despite what has been said and resorting to the topic, it cannot be said that it is a "latakia bomb", since the orientals and the virginia are there to soften the intensity of the dark ingredient a bit and give it a bittersweet touch that is appreciated, but always leaving him the leading role. Of course, it will delight those smokers who are on the "dark side."

In the pipe it behaves really well, burning without difficulty with few re-ignitions, although if it is smoked too quickly it tends to produce humidity.

Tin note for me is a smokey, almost faint coal. But with added sweetness and rich earth. Think a hearth in a farmhouse with some oatmeal raisin cookies cooling on the table. Moisture level required maybe 10 minutes dry time. Packs beautiful and smokes wonderfully. This has a gentle creamy smokiness to it which allows the red Virginia to make a delicious mark. The orientals are there in a strong supporting role and there is a nice sweetness throughout the bowl along with a gentle spice. This is, in my opinion close to perfection in blending techniques in that all the components can be smelled and tasted in harmony. Very good.

One of the cigars that are in my daily rotation, from the very first time I smoked it. The balance between acidity, sweetness and smokiness made this tobacco one of my favorites.

I have always opted for English blends from the extinct Dunhill house and those of Hearth & Home of which I take Daybreak and London Mixture as a standard as far as English works are concerned. I always liked that bittersweet flavor with that smoky touch that they gave me to the aftertaste.

Maltese Falcon showed up in my search for English works, when I began to inquire more about works whose content (latakia, oriental / turkish, virginia) was the same as London Mixture and Daybreak; Let's say that I set out to find a match to these blends, discovering a very, very pleasant surprise.

From the tin:

The strongest smell that reaches the nose when opening the tin, is a kind of mixture between firewood, raisins and plum. It reminds me of the smell of firewood when used on a stove while cooking something; the woody aroma is somewhat sweet and at times it seems to me to smell of raisins but, in others, it reminds me of the smell of plums. After a few minutes of smelling the tobacco from the tin, the smell of leather reaches the nose and an aroma that reminds me of, the smell of the newspaper or old books, the kind that have already turned yellow in their pages. This mixture of aromas of books, newspaper, firewood and raisins is very intense and can be a little spicy in the nostrils.

First fire (lit):

Bittersweet flavors accompanied by a not very intense woody flavor are immediately perceived on lighting. The bittersweet flavor completely dominates the ignition, leaning more, to a sour taste with light sweet notes. As the smoke progresses, the tobacco loses acidity and the balance between acidity and sweetness combine in a very pleasant bittersweet flavor with a smoky touch.

Latakia is perceived without any problem but it is not the protagonist in the smoke when it is smoked at a slow pace. Smoking at a medium to slow pace, you feel a smoky flavor that intensifies in the aftertaste and pairs very well with that sweet and sour taste. If the pace drops to very slow, the bittersweet flavor completely dominates the smoke. On the other hand, if the pace increases between medium and fast, the flavor of the latakia intensifies, presenting itself with that characteristic smokiness and a sweetness different from that of that bittersweet flavor. If it is smoked quickly, the smoked flavor intensifies greatly but along with it, that acidity returns, which although it is not annoying or unpleasant, causes the sweetness to be lost and the smoke becomes somewhat acidic or vinegary.

Subsequent (lit) fires:

Two things happen with this tobacco. The first: if it is smoked quickly in which the smoke becomes acidic, this acidity is combined with the humidity generated during the smoke, causing the re-ignition to be very bitter and somewhat unpleasant. If this happens, you have to let the pipe rest for a few minutes so that the humidity decreases and the temperature of the bowl decreases too. The second: in all cases, even when smoking at a slow to medium pace, the re-ignition is a bit acidic accompanied by a slight sweetness and a very faint smoky flavor that will intensify as the smoke progresses.

If the pace is lowered to very slow, the bittersweet flavor is present again, always, accompanied by a smoky flavor that does not dominate. The bittersweet flavor is always the protagonist when it is smoked at this rate; if it goes even lower (such as when practicing for a slow smoking contest) the bittersweet taste can scald the tongue. While tobacco does not burn my tongue and does not bite, smoking it at too slow a rate has irritated my tongue a couple of times.

When it is smoked at a medium pace with variations towards a fast pace, or slow from time to time, it is possible to create very interesting nuances between the bittersweet flavor and the smoked flavor, reaching the point where neither of these is the protagonist and they converge in a very pleasant flavor both on the palate and aftertaste.

Conclusions:

This is definitely a tobacco to enjoy with a good cup of coffee or a lager beer (if it is smoked in the afternoon after lunch). It is a blend that the rookie would be captivated by its smoky and bittersweet flavor and, definitely, the smoker used to English blends, will find it very interesting since it can offer a wide range of nuances.

As I mentioned in the Odyssey tasting, this tobacco would be the first to taste in the Maltese Falcon-Samarra-Odyssey trilogy. It is a highly recommended trilogy for all lovers of Latakia. I have always been a fan of G.L. Pease and, without a doubt, this tobacco has become one of my favorite ones.

Good smoke and happy drinks!

Maltese Falcon has a little secret, Dashiell Hammett himself would be pleased with the intrigue. This gorgeous smokey English blend has a secret ingredient. Very smokey.

This is a solid English blend with a decent portion of latakia. But do not get me wrong this is not a LAT Bomb. the blend is complex and balanced for a good all day smoke.