G. L. Pease Meridian

Works for me as a morning pipe, in fact it's not a million miles away from EMP, but with more latakia. The roughish cut makes Meridian smoke very cool and long, and after nearly finishing this tin, my first GL pease blend, I'll certainly be buying again. Not too sweet, light and tasty, it's a very good oriental in my book. If anything, it lacks a little 'N', but as a morning smoke that's not an issue for me.

The previous reviewer who gave it two stars is correct in saying: "if you like a little Latakia and a healthy dose of Oriental leaf that is light, a bit spicy and not too sweet, then Meridian may be something you will enjoy." I like a lot of latakia AND I like a little -- it totally depends on the mood.

This blend is terrific. I am currently trying all three of the Old London series, after having discovered how good Chelsea Morning is. This one I think I actually like more. I've only had one bowl, and so even to me this review seems premature, but I don't see my like for it changing. If it does, I will come back and edit. I find the description on the tin (up above as well) to be accurate, whereas Chelsea Morning's description was not, though that blend is still terrific.

If this quality is the norm for Pease's latakia blends, I will certainly be trying more.

I have smoked quite a few bowls of Greg's new blend, 'Meridian' and I would like to say that so far this is my favorite of the 'Old London' series. I find it simple enough to enjoy without having to think about the nuances involved with the richer 'Quiet Nights' but with more mid to low end flavor than 'Chelsea Morning.' I haven't spent enough time scrutinizing the flavors just yet, but will attempt to soon. I would recommend this blend to anyone who enjoys the other blends in this series. I would consider this to be a medium to full bodied all day English with a good dose of nicotine.

My thoughts on Meridian:

Upon opening the tin, one is greeted with the scent of a classic English mixture: plenty of leather, wood, and spice. The cut is a tumbled flake, which comes out more as a wide ribbon cut, and the appearance is an array of light tans to dark browns with a couple hints of black.

The tobacco packs easily into different-sized pipes and lights easily as well. The flavors are pretty consistent with the tin aroma: leather, woodsmoke and spice - but with more spice in the mix. The interplay between the different tobaccos (Latakia, Virginia, and Oriental) is complex, but not too complex and it allows for a smoker to enjoy this blend while busying himself with something else without missing anything. As Mr. Pease wrote, "Meridian doesn't rely on the latakia for its impact, but rather the balanced interplay between the latakia, the orientals and the virginias... it's complex, but in a gentle way." And it burns evenly without issue.

Final Verdict: Meridian is a wonderful blend with enough complexity to keep any smoker interested, but is also simple enough to enjoy when busy with other activities. Kudos, Mr. Pease.

Meridian is a Balkan style blend from G.L. Pease. The master blender's tobaccos, especially his English and/or English-adjacent blends, are rightly loved by critics. But Meridian does not quite live up to this lofty reputation. It's a blend that tries to go for a deeply complex flavor profile while still being mild enough to be an all-day smoke, and it doesn't quite stick the landing.

This is a difficult blend to review, because the flavor profile of this tobacco just was not consistent for me in the least. The latakia is present and fairly mild, almost overly so (and I say this as a person who typically doesn't care much for latakia bombs). It does provide a reliably smoky flavor, but it feels wispy and lacking in body. The orientals are much more assertive, and do occasionally offer a spicy and piquant punch. But they have a way of coming in almost as an echo.

When all the elements of this blend harmonize, it can be a delightful, if mild, everyday Balkan mixture. But by and large, I just found this one underwhelming and lacking identity. The body and mouthfeel are thin, the latakia lacking vigor, and the virginias only occasionally offering the sweetness and brightness they are famously known for. I cannot shake the impression that the ingredients used simply do not cohere, and instead compete with one another. Perhaps I was simply unlucky, and should I buy another tin and get a more favorable result, I will update my review accordingly. But for now, I can only somewhat recommend this tobacco. It's not terrible by any stretch, but the market for Balkans is becoming increasingly crowded these days, and there are simply more rewarding options to choose from.

Presentation: Greg never ceases to amaze me in the similarity, yet subtle differences in the cut of this blends. Meridian comes in at a ribbon, somewhat chunky and short pieces. I didn't find too many large chunks but I don't have to rub this one out any further to reach the desired effect. The color range is between brights, reds, browns and dark almost black pieces. Comes in on the drier side of moisture.

Palette: I wanted to say Shiraz, but it doesn't contain quite the sweetness that the wine would have. I'm thinking Cab/Sav blend. Parched and earthy with a medium finish. Up front is the orientals and with that comes the zingy and tart sharpness. They are not sweet, but offer a really great incense punch. Think Indian spices. The Va's and latakia sort of dance with eachother, both leafs not trying to push the other out. They are noticeable, but when Greg says that this blend is balanced, he means it. Dry cider and a very tiny licorice hint on the retrohale. If I could describe this as a meal, this would be my late step-mothers pot roast. No added seasonings. Just the meat left to soak in its own juice along with the carrots and potatoes. It's stout without being a latakia bomb. It's got the flavor of Guinness with the calories of Budweiser 55. It doesn't excel in any area but it doesn't come up short either. It's a very dry tasting blend and you really have to concentrate for the sweetness. Once in a while you'll get a hint of red VA and bread, but this is all about the orientals. Complexity is there, but it's very well mannered and doesn't leave you guessing too much about what flavors are present.

Performance: Mild nicotine. Burns well, very cool and leaves a touch of moisture in the heel. I wouldn't recommend this as an all day blend, as to me, it just doesn't have the sweetness I prefer. I recommend a wide, shallow bowl.

Conclusion: This is the driest tasting blend I have ever tried apart from C&D Haunted bookshop. It's taken me the better part of the last 2 or 3 months to decipher Greg's English/Balkan blends and for my amateur palette, I'm really starting to pick up the nuances.. It's a real pleasure because I don't really care for Latakia too much. However, this blend has proved to show me that there can be great variances in blends we don't reach for all the time. I'm slowly working my way through the latakia blends of GLPease and I've smoked about 3/4 of them now. Meridian offers a really different view of what a latakia blend can be without being a latakia dominate blend. Although this blend has opened my eyes, or should I say, taste buds, I don't think I will purchase another tin, as I prefer a more sweet Balkan, and one with perique. Still, a welcome experience.

When I try a blend the first thing I try to sense is the quality of the Virginia base, if there is one. The Red Virginia is excellent, with a good sweet base to the taste with just a slight blush of a Timothy grass flavor; that is to say both sweet with a hint of a hay note. The condimental use of the Latakia adds a touch of smokiness, but has a slight acid/tangy clash that will almost certainly disappear with a little more age . The perique is just a hair too present, adding a little more spiciness than ideal. The oriental contribution is complex and fine but does not quite marry as well as some blends I have smoked. The blend smokes well with no relights with me. Where does this leave me overall? While Meridian is a good blend, there are clearly some marrying problems in this blend that will be resolved with age. My recommendation is to age this blend a minimum of one year, with three years of age being ideal. I give this blend 3 stars, with the assumption that age will certainly produce a more enticing and pleasureable flavor.

Purchased a 8 Oz tin of this on a whim in 2016. Put it away in my stash and forgot I even owned it until July 2018. I took roughly half of it out it in a mason jar and left the other in the tin for consumption so this review is based on 4 ounces. Oriental bomb. I found this to be a sublime smoke that I cannot fathom why it’s not reviewed more. Leather, sour, earth, salt, were notes I kept coming back to. I’m not the biggest Pease fan as there’s only a few I’ve tried (bohemian scandal I am still hoarding my last precious ounce or so of, Montgomery I didn’t really care for though likely it was my youth that didn’t allow me to appreciate it, and haddos delight, just not crazy for Perique, but we can’t all be the same I suppose) however, this is a masterpiece in blending. Not sure how it is fresh but with near 2 years on it, I couldn’t get enough and ordered more. Highest recommendations to anyone on the fence about trying it. Do it.

A great all day smoke!! Orientals forward complex blend with just a flourish of flavor from the latakia. Plenty of nicotine. I've been working my way through the Old London series and find this one on my favorites list. I've cellared two tins to try again in a few years, but in the meantime, I will be ordering more to smoke regularly.