G. L. Pease Maltese Falcon

Hmm... well... after working on this tin and finally finishing it, what went through my head are comments I've heard about GLP tobaccos, such as "How many different blends can a blender produce with just latakia, orientals and virginias". This one, had it been GLP's most recent entry in this genre, would make me think Mr Pease had hit his limit. Whereas Meridian (which came out later) makes a bold statement, this one sort of fades into the woodwork for me.

Nothing wrong with this blend. It's a reasonably potent latakia mixture with decent sweetness, although not as sweet as the tin description made it out to be. I suppose like most smokers I delve into a new GLP tin with certain expectations of high complexity and/or unique flavors. This one seemed middle-of-the-road to me, and didn't distinguish itself the way Meridian, Quiet Nights, Charing Cross, Odyssey and some others do. Rather than "silky" on the tongue, I found this one to be dry and sort of "chalky". The components seemed all there but I was, quite frankly, bored. Keep in mind that these are just my perceptions but this one fell into the "ordinary" realm, along with Westminster and Union Square. None of those three distinguish themselves in their genres, and seem less fully realized than several competitive blends. I know of a few people that truly love those blends, so the issue is strictly that they don't produce any jump factor in me personally. But I also wonder if this one has fewer followers than most of the other GLP blends.

Deep and rich Latakia blend. It’s very well done. There are multiple types of tobacco in here, but they meld harmoniously into this blend. Taste is Latakia forward, and it’s meaty and buttery, like burnt steak gristle. There is some sweetness in there to balance out the savory. Also, in my opinion the “mystery spice” is fresh ginger. My tin was less than a year old and I have another tin I’m going to let rest. I think this could improve with some age. The Latakia could use some mellowing.

I purchased several tins in Mid 2008 during the initial release of this blend, so my review is for an 11 year old version.

Tin appearance: Majority of dark brown leaf, along with the darkness of the Latakia. Very little bright Va makes up this blend. Aroma of intoxicating smoky Latakia, woody (cedar-like) and somewhat sweet smelling.

Packing/lighting/smoking:

Packs with ease, as you would expect with a fine ribbon cut. 2 charring lights are usually all that is required. Seemed to burn a bit uneven, no matter how I packed it. If there was any ginger spice added, it is all but gone from aging. I do not detect any spice whatsoever. I also do not detect much sweetness, especially after the description said there was. The Perique does leave a pleasant, almost menthol mouth feel, which I like, but it also leaves my mouth dry and "chalky" as DK said. Had it not been for the dry mouth feel, this would've been a solid 3.5 stars. Would make a great all-day English for those who enjoy it.

Nothing more than a good EM. I couldn’t be abele to detect the mysterious spice mentioned in the description, maybe my smoking technique isn’t so good. Anyway a good everyday tobacco

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

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.