G. L. Pease Maltese Falcon

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.

Maltese Falcon is an interesting blend. It's hard to put my finger on it. It's rather mild, and for the quantity of red Virginias in the blend, you would expect to be able to taste them more. Really all you get is a mild mustiness like in used book shop. It's appealing actually.

After half of the bowl, it turns into a more rich, woody mustiness. Think softwood that has been left out a while, and is starting to split. Again, quite appealing, and I wish it had more flavor.

I thought I was really missing something with this blend, but I think it needs some age on it. I will have to revisit.

Maltese is a top quality blend but I have experienced the same results as the 1 and 2 star reviews, the flavor fades after a minute or two. Only a few 3 and 4 stars mentioned lack of flavor. At the very beginning it has one of the most outstand flavors I have experienced. Some days tobacco tastes better than others and some blends we like better than others because of our individualized pallets. To have a good experience all the way to the bottom of the pipe with this tobacco I have blended 8oz each of the following Abingdon, Kensington and Maltese Falcon and moisturized a little, this works for me. Try blending tobaccos that give you flavor all the way through and give Maltese another try. For me I will not buy more but will enjoy the blend I made. I like Lagonda and Proper English. best

With this blend, I will complete my reviews of GL Pease blends available as of this date. This is a a standard English bend that could use a little age from the tin I am smoking from. Nevertheless, one must review what is, not what is yet to come. The Cyprian Latakia is very pronounced, with the orientals in the background, The virginias add some sweetness. This blend does have some thing going for it, as its tastefulness is good. The burn quality is good. The flavor though is not as distinct as I would hope, being what I would consider kind of ho-hum for its genre. The orientals are a good fit, with the proportions being good. As of today, I will give it 2 stars, rather generously. I will smoke after another 6 months of age as I do see some promise

Upon lighting up a bowl of the Falcon, the first thing that hit my senses is the creaminess of the smoke. It is smooth and a little sweet. Next, the Latakia makes itself known—being a notch below a full-English in my book. There is a little sweetness coming from the Virginia leaf but not much depth. The oriental varieties offer a little sour note to the smoke. The secret spice in the topping is noticeable as something used in baking, but it does not overwhelm any of the tobacco components; it dances on the tip of the tongue mostly in the beginning of the smoke.

Maltese Falcon is a good smoke. There is a little tongue bite when smoked fresh (a few weeks from the date of manufacture). Is it a four star blend? Maybe. I give it 3.5 stars.

This is fast becoming one of my go-to's! Not sure what to compare it to since I have been only smoking a pipe for just over a year. Moisture content was perfect and could smoke it upon opening the tin (which I did).

Conclusion: A fine blend, full and savoury. I just miss a hint of spice or grass, something to mix it up along the ride. If you are looking for a full flavoured English that maintains it's character all the way, you should really try this.

Taste: Sweet from the start, the smokey latakia on the tongue and the nougat of in in the nose. This is salty and savoury all the same, really creamy, filling my mouth to the brim with flavour. Succulent, juicy and sweet yet salty it reminds me of barbecue. A consistent flavour, not much happening throughout the bowl. Not a bad thing though, since it's all good, unless you find it one dimensional.

Mechanics: Fine moisture level out of the tin, no bite, burns fine. A ribbon cut of medium nicotine level.

*sigh* I almost don't want to write this review. Maltese falcon was one of the highest tobaccos on my wish list, so I guess the disappointment is just so much bigger that it was indeed...a disappointment. I don't know, everyone's mentioning sweetness and flavour and spice...I almost got nothing of that. Definitely no sweetness whatsoever, while a slight spiciness made it's presence known, but not in the captivating oriental way, more a bitter bite of a clove that's lost its flavour. And more than anything, that's the problem, an immense lack of flavour. Lighting it is fairly pleasant enough, but almost right on the back of the proper light taste just disappears. It doesn't become rank or disgusting or anything, just...boring. Which is probably the biggest sin of all. Even the latakia is reserved like a freckled schoolboy at a prom dance, none of the usual testosterone slapping you in your face. I will probably give this another go sometime, just to make sure I didn't get a bad batch, but this is a Dunhill MM965 level disappointment for me.

The tin note is a pungent, smokey sweet mash up of latakia and orientals. This english is a medium english. The initial light gives that punch of sweeter latakia flavors with the orientals contributing to the bouquet, but as you smoke down through the bowl this blend tends to get very sharp like a strong cheddar. The sweetness comes and goes through the bowl, this is one of few english blends that tend to bite for me. Overall enjoyable though not an absolute favorite for me.