G. L. Pease Union Square

Sample bag from 2019. The aroma is sharp, tangy, vinegar, yeast, citrus fruit, and dark sweet hay from a barn. Very C&D in its aroma. If you like other Virginias from them you’ll know what I mean. It’s a light colored soft broken cake in typical C&D fashion. Moisture is there dry time recommended, breaks apart easily. The taste is mild and easy on the pallet. Citrus fruit, dark sugar, barn wood, and hay. There isn’t a whole lot to it but what’s there is a very pleasant and sweet straight Virginia. No harshness or bite very little tingle on the retrohale. Could burn hot. Some dry time might cut down on the relights. All and all it’s a good straight Virginia. A little boring and very mild by design. Definitely repeatable, nic hit is mild to maybe medium.

This concoction doesn't have the bass of Cornell & Diehl-Opening Night, but mind you guys, don't let the lightness of its body fool you, the nicotine gets into your bloodstream before you know it, and after a bowl I waddled out of the room, good stuff!

After having read many compliments about this tobacco, I was finally able to get it. Strictly speaking, it is pure Va and seems quite settled when opening the can. In dry, the aroma reminds me of certain young rosé wines, without attracting me too much. On the first charge I noticed that it was somewhat dry (perhaps too used to SG flakes) and I smoked it enthusiastically, but didn't notice anything special in it. I tried to moisten the broken flakes for a few days and tried to smoke again. I was still disappointed: not very complex, rather smooth and somewhat bitter. I was looking for those sweet notes during the smoke but I couldn't find them. Maybe I am too used to FVF. The smoke is light and light-bodied, but it's Va, and there is no doubt about that, for which I do not regret having bought it. But, in my country the 57 g of Union Square costs more than double that of the sealed aluminum envelope with 50 g of FVF, so I do not think I will buy again when I finish the can.

The tin note backs up the claim about Union Square being a blend of unadulterated virginias. In the tin, it offers a very pure, understated, fermented hay, grass and honeysuckle aroma. The sweetness is embedded deep into the smell. First light and the first 1/4 of the bowl tells an entirely different story, though, as it is pretty flavorful from the get-go. Probably the most surprising element of the flavor profile is the oh-so-welcome virginia sweet spice. It's a taste that I am absolutely in love with, and one that I regularly look for in every bowl of virginia flake, from any blender, I smoke. In Union Square, it maybe the only constant that accompanies tens of other variable nuances that come in and fade out during the smoke. And the best part is, it stays with you throughout the entire bowl. My Savinelli Tundra 673 Smooth loves almost all virginia flakes (it is the very pipe I first fell in love with the Dunhill Flake) but that pipe + this blend is almost guaranteed virginia nirvana! Another surprising aspect of the experience is the coolness of the smoke. My 673 Tundra is a smooth finish, and smooth finish pipes usually get hotter than rusticated ones, regardless of your technique. Not with this blend. It never gets any hotter than that pleasant warmness that is a part of pipe smoking enjoyment. Tongue bite is so absent that you might even forget being bit in the past! Preparing this tobacco is also very straightforward. It comes pretty moist, mind you, but I've found out that drying it out is completely unnecessary, as is rubbing it out; simply take 3-4 stripes of flakes (this is a broken flake, so the strips are pretty thin and crumbly) and fold and stuff, snug but not tight. Even despite the moisture level that might intimidate even the experienced virginia flake smoker, it lights up and stays lit very very easily. Cadence is not critical but retrohaling is: the more you retrohale, the more flavorful Union Square becomes, and it starts rewarding you with mild but obvious flavors of vanilla-iy chewing gums of the past (not the sugar-free, overly sweet stuff we have nowadays.) It burns very slowly, and even in a pipe as small-bowled as the Savinelli 673, it takes about 1.5 hours to turn into pure ash. The finish does not get bitter as it usually does with even the best virginia flakes. My tin was pretty fresh, and I can't imagine what some aging can do for this stuff (although I am seriously intending to hoard some and find out!) No, it is not for the newbies, and nor it is a way to ease into virginias for the smokers of aromatic cavendish blends; but it is pure virginia nirvana for the experienced smoker.

Comes in broken flakes of fairly bright colour. Tin note is intense and quite familiar from other tobaccos (C&D’s Opening Night for example). I find it very citrucy, it reminds me of the bitterness of blood oranges with notes of hay and a little honey. Quite sweet. I guess some kind of topping is applied which however is very congruent with the natural tobacco smell. I could be mistaken though and this could possibly be the natural fermented tobacco taste.

Moisture is perfect. With just a few minutes of drying the tobacco is ready for use. From the first draw it’s obvious this is a top Virginia. Cannot be very complex nor full on taste, yet this is the real thing. Actually, this is for me one of the best bright/red Virginias on the market. The taste is natural, with the sweetness and hay-like aromas of Virginia. Moreover, it’s not bitey, at least for me, and does not get hot. This is a tobacco I would always like to have available. Room note is of natural tobacco, not pleasing to non-smokers but heavenly for smokers. The tin note is the same though more intense than C&D’s Opening Night. Otherwise these two tobaccos if not exactly the same are for me interchangeable.

This review is from a first edition 2009 tin that has been aging for the last 10 years. The tin was swollen up like a balloon. At this point, this is probably the best straight up Virginia flake I’ve ever smoked. The tin note is very sweet and tangy with raisin bready overtone and with slightly earthy and musty undertone.

Even after 10 years I needed to dry out for about 30 minutes. I packed up my Peterson 69 and lit her up…..Yummmmy. From the charring light to the bottom of the of the bowl, pure smooth and consistent sweet Virginia flavor with no one component taking the center stage. A true work of art. A very well blended blend with all the flavors coming together one truly harmonious and delicious smoke. No bite to be found no matter how hard you try. Pleasant room note and after taste too. A WINNER!!!!!

Comprised of top notch natural Virginia tobaccos, Union Square is presented in coarse leathery flakes. While bright Virginias exude vegital layers and tart quince notes, red Virginias add depth, sweetness, a light woodsy aroma and dried red apple nuance. Union Square is very robust for a Virginia flake, and as the bowl progresses light creamy spiced custard flavors emerge. Burns clean and smooth to a grey ash right out of the tin without moisture issues and leaves a pleasantly dry and lightly sweet finish on the palate, room note is enjoyable. A bit strong to be an all day smoke but delicious enough to repeat.

This is the quintessential Virginia flake. The Virginian composition in my humble opinion is near perfect. Even at 6 months, the Aging of the virginias is quite Sublime. It will do nothing but get better as time goes by with a good Charing lied the burn is even and complete. The blend has a fine degree of sugary notes coupled with an outstanding red Virginia flavor coupled with the other well-aged components. This blend is an obvious must smoke for anyone. It will be an absolute Delight to those who love Virginia's. Although I am primarily an English style smoker, I have found this blend to be absolutely delightful. I definitely will be adding more tins to my seller in a very short order. I strongly recommend this blend to everyone who simply wants a completely enjoyable smoke with a marvelous room note, and a flavor that is absolutely delightful from the beginning to the middle, to the end of the bowl. As time goes by I am absolutely convinced this will be one of the legendary blends this gets rated 4 stars although I wish in my heart I could rate it six stars

1/22/22 I finally found my 8oz tin that I put away in 2018 and decided to give it a go.

The age (or maybe smoking for longer now) has brought out the flavors in this one and I'm really enjoying it. The broken flakes are darker now than before and there is a sweetness to the smoke which I don't remember from before. There is good body in the smoke and the nic hit seems to be lower than I remember.

---

---

2018

---

I received a sample of Union Square in my TinSociety.com box.

I've been wanting to try it as it has come highly recommended by the manager at my local B&M and I'd purchased an 8oz tin which is aging.

I found it to be ready to smoke from the package. The broken flakes are easy to either pack as is, or to break up even further depending on the pipe. I wonder if the packaging has changed over the years as older reviews describe it more as larger flakes it seems?

It was not the wow that I was hoping for, but it is a solid Virginia and my favorite of the "Fog City" series by far. If you do not smoke it fast, there is no bite and it has a good sweet taste to me from the Virginias in it.

I look forward to opening my tin down the road and seeing the difference that some age can make.