G. L. Pease Quiet Nights

Sweet, smoky, smooth and complex. A really pleasant smoke. It's good fresh out of the tin and only gets better with age. I find it suits a large, thick walled bowl. This way all the flavours make themselves known to you.

Smoking now:

Tin note is a leather, woody, musty smell. I found this benefited greatly from being rubbed out very fine and let sit out to dry.

After some drying it lights fine. Latakia is the main theme. A dark musty leather smoky flavor. This is what I would be smoking at 221b Baker Street deep in contemplation over a case. There is a bit of sweetness to this too but not enough where I would say this is a sweet tobacco. It makes smoking it a pleasure. I do get some mild tart, grassy hay Virginias in this too. No bite or harshness, retrohale tingles the nose but the extra spice and fermented bread notes are worth it. A get some coco, woody, spicy notes too. Very enjoyable. Short and pleasant after taste.

It lives up to its name. Something I would smoke by oil lamp on a quiet night. Absolutely one of the best Latakia forward English blends I have smoked.

Presentation: Lovely flake, or broken ones if that. Most of GLP flakes come slightly broken apart which makes it easy to transition into rubbing out. Flakes are quite dark considering the composition of this blend. Came a tad moist, but a short 10 minute dry time will do you good. My tin was less than 3 months old when opened.

Palette: Really great tin note. Leather, campfire, mustiness, the tangy spice of the orientals, a nice play in sweetness from the VA and there is a slight hint of diesel that reminds me of when my father would start his F-250 up on a cold Michigan morning and the exhaust fumes would linger around the garage. A fond memory. Really rich. Light up I was met with a great mix of flavors.The latakia is noticeable, but nowhere near a bomb. Rich and oily taste. Doesn't coat the mouth too much but it is perfect. The VA sweetness is readily available on all levels and the blend gets sweeter the more you smoke. Not the main component but it is definitely needed to tame the more heavy latakia. The wonderful and super-incense laden orientals are very fragrant with a touch of wood and really intense. Some have compared this to a spice market and I would have to agree. This has to be the most rewarding oriental experience I've had so far with Greg's blends. The perique is barely noticeable but adds a lovely dimension to the smoke, with a slight plum essence and a little kick on the retrohale. I'd put this on the high end of medium in flavor and strength.

Performance: This one took a while to get lit and keep lit but once it started I only needed a few more relights. It burns slow and at a good pace. Even after 45 minutes I still wasn't finished even in a shallow bowl. Mild nicotine. I could probably have two sessions of this in a row. Not an ADS but it really made me want to smoke alot of it.

Conclusion: I've dived into most of GLP English and Balkan blends and I finally think I found the one that I want to cellar heavy. I've hit Chelsea Morning and Meridian already and while both are great in their own way, this one just takes the trophy. I like that Quiet Nights amped up the orientals in this one. I could have done with a touch more of perique but I won't ponder on it. I think all the percentages of leaf in this blend work extremely well with eachother. Even though it says English, to me, this screams Balkan all the way with the high percentage of orientals and the amount of flavor they put off, although, I'm still trying to figure out how they categorize the two. It's complex but not overly so and there are some flavors to pick out. What I found with Quiet Nights that it gives you the full experience from start and just gets better as the bowl progresses. My tin was less than 3 months old and with age I can only suspect this will get better. Others have compared this to Penzance but I can't really say as I never had tried it. If Penzance is anything like this high caliber blend, I don't see a need to cut my arm off for a tin of it.

A beautiful broken flake that Smokes cool, slow and dry with Rich layers of explosive flavor from charring light to the bottom of the bowl. Rich and delicious. Smooth, smokey, complex and as satisfying and complimentary as an upper tier 30 year old single malt Scotch after a great meal. A wonderful dose of viatamin "N". At 4 month of age, I"feel" this one as its sublime flavors and hypnotizing aroma envelope me. A perfect evening, last bowl of the day offering that bitch slaps the stresses of the day into the abyss. A truly sedative and tranquility inducing Masterpiece. Bravo Mr. Peace!

I like Chelsea Morning. I imagine a lot of reviews will start out this way... But I will try to leave that remark as my only comparision, to be fair to both blends.

I am normally a McClelland smoker, so I am pleased G.L. Pease is getting this old London Series going so well. I was very eager to get my hands and taste buds on this blend. I think the first 3 words say it all, it is rich, it is deep, I will enjoy it best when I want to take some extra time to be contemplative while smoking it. Its cut is wondrous, it was ready to smoke well right out of the tin, and it burned exceptionally well. I find the taste is stronger than I expected, but in a robust and enticing way. The nicotine seems stronger as well, but part of that impression might be that this was a quick what's it about review oriented smoke. I hope to update this more after a few more bowls, but wanted to share that I 100% believe this is will prove to be a top notch smoking blend.

***Update*** I still like this one alot, but the cut is causing me to have difficulties packing a pipe that can stay lit or burn all the way down. I still enjoy it, but I must admit, frustration is setting in, but that is more due to my own need to get better at dealing with the cut.

***Edit*** I am lowered my review to 3 stars, I just have no been able to recreate the feelings of the first 2 bowls since then, I find it overly bitter at times, although I am getting better at packing it. I still have hope that the tin I left to age will prove to be magic, but I am not ready to give it a 4 star rating yet.