G. L. Pease JackKnife Plug

I put off getting a tin of this for a while and I am glad that I did.

I believe that I must have gotten a tin that had been around for about a year. The plug was much drier than in many descriptions and crystal-ish looking sugar formations had started to develop. Smell at first reminded me of a pouch of Bali-Shag and after a bigger smell of BBQed meat...smokey, sweet, and tangy smelling.

I enjoy cutting thin and watching it transform into shag and also making it into cubes.

My favorite combnation of this so far had been the shag cut in a Missouri Meerschaum Diplomat. For whatever reason, that I still can't explain, it is magical.

Because this is drier it requires very few relights and with slow puffing I found the nicotine level to be enjoyable not overpowering.

The smoke is like a good cigar without the cigar stink and foul aftertaste and with an added subtle warm sweetness.

I have been smoking it everyday and it is becoming my new favorite tobacco. Highly recommend.

I am surprised for how few reviews there are on this blend when at one time you couldn't get it due to it being sold out?

That being said I smoked this awhile when I first got it and left some to age. This blend or Plug as it is is so different in many ways.

You can cut in chunks and get a different smoke or you can rub it out and have a completely different smoking sensation. I prefer to rub out what I need and load up the bowl.

I also prefer a larger bowl with this cut.

Aging has done this blend good and has mellowed some of the rough edges, not that it was to overbearing in the beginning, it's just a tad mellower.

The block in the tin has so many folded leaves and the aroma is awesome.

It lights and smokes well, has a good nic hit, and the Virginia's are a good and sweet leaf.

It burns clean to a light grey ash with no excess dottle.

One thing about Pease is he produces the best in whatever he does. I may not like all of his blends, but he uses the best products he can find and his Tobacco blends and Pipes reflect that.

If you are looking for a good Virgina Plug with a nice wallop, this is it! Highly recommended...

I was able to obtain some of the early JackKnife Plug. It's taken me quite a while to get to the point where I think I can write an honest and brief review. Over the years my tastes have changed, as most have experienced, from english to VA blends. For some reason I could never get excited about straight VA blends. One type of VA has stood out for me- those that include Red Virginias. [I was a fan of F&T cut blended plug for a long time.]

I think JackKnife plug may be my new go-to Red VA blend! It's fantastic. The amount of flavor obtained from a straight VA blend is amazing. Greg takes a scientific approach to all his work, and his careful hand is seen in this blend yet again.

What are the things winning me over to this blend? I absolutely love the plug form. I never thought I would, as it takes more time to work with, but ultimately the final product is excellent. One of the advantages of the plug (besides marrying the flavor during the pressing) is the how well it keeps moisture. I'm truly amazed. Usually I have to mason jar most blends I smoke due to my infrequent smoking. I've had this tin open (with the temporary plastic top on it) for well over a month- maybe going on 2 months now. I'm about 80% through the plug at this point in time, and it still has a wonderful moisture content. I was starting to wonder when I'd need to jar the remainder, but so far I haven't had to! I'm stunned. This must be why Navy plug was made in this fashion. I'm sure in a leather pouch this plug would stay moist for a good number of months.

Cutting it has been easier than I expected also. The plug isn't overly dense and isn't overly dry. This means with a good sharp knife various forms of cuts for bowl-packing is available each time you go to smoke. Cube cut, flake cut, rubbed-out. This is a true advantage of a DIY cut. Some may not like this, but I'm now completely sold on the plug form and this tobacco in specific.

Back to taste- it's way fuller bodied than I'd expect from a VA. When I first started in on VA's, it was quite difficult to for me to experience the nuances in flavor that are often discussed with VA's. Well, this blend is almost a slap in the face (in a good way) when you first start smoking it! Tons of flavor!! I can taste that nice warm sweetness of the Red that I've grown to love.

Highly recommended blend- a great new style from an excellent blender. This one will have to be on hand in the cellar!

A wonderful plug. However, the consistency of the cake may vary, and when I sliced mine, I didn't get flakes but thin ribbons which I elected to rub out. The blend is smoother if some chunks are used. Maybe I need a scapel to slice it and we can rename it ...ripper plug or freddie plug? Peterson perfection plug is a tighter cake, but this one has more body.

It is rich, full, heady, and has the texture of a cigar (as someone said), but no cigar leaf here. The earthy deep burley flavor is sweetened and lightened a little by the red and bright Virginias. But you must like strong, full, almost raw tobacco flavor to enjoy this. But it is not overpowering nor as strong as some fo C&D's burley flakes (e.g., #3).

At this point I must sound like everyone else who gives this one rave reviews. It deserves rave reviews, as what else would you expect for a blend called JackKnife! You better like it.

Out to stroll the moors with this one.

JackKnife Plug is like a cowboy in a tuxedo. Yes, he may be wearing a dinner jacket and bow tie, but he's also sporting a stetson and boots. To him, whiskey comes from Kentucky, not Islay. And please forgive him if he doesn't sip it, although he could give a rat's ass about what you think.

I hate metaphors.

Tin aroma is that of figs with a smoky undertone.

The flavor of the smoke is sweet as would be expected from the Virginia tobacco. But it is balanced nicely by the smokiness of the Kentucky tobacco. I also find a little bit of a spicy element. If you've ever eaten a chocolate truffle dusted with chipotle powder, it's the same effect. That being said, you better not have bought said truffle. The only reason you should ever eat a truffle is because your wife made you.

I'm happy with the amount of nicotine in JackKnife Plug. It is strong, but not overwhelming. If you like romantic comedies, you might get the spins or hiccups.

JackKnife Plug is in a niche all by itself. It's old school American pipe tobacco strength and character combined with the class and elegance of the best straight Virginia.

Here is a tobacco with no flavoring, all natural relying on only the expertise of the blender and the quality of the products. The dark-fired Kentucky leaf makes this so darned good. They are responsible for the floral tastes in the blend.

When I think of a classic VA, I think of tobaccos like FVF. This is so much different than FVF, yet so instantly classic, I can say without hesitation it is the best tobacco I have ever smoked. The flavor so complex and subtle, it can stand up to scrutiny while at the same time can easily be an all day smoke without giving much thought.

Perhaps the most interesting part of this new blend in a new series by G.L. Pease, is that a blender known for his skill as one of the finest English style creators, has now shown his mastery of the most noble of all tobaccos.

If you are a VA fan, I recommend you go out and buy a lot of this right now. I can only imagine how well this blend will age.

Short of a full review based on a tin's worth, here's my first impressions:

The square plug, which is a curious cut to find in a round tin, arrives moist enough to warrant a little drying time for whatever you cut off. It is not wet though. I'd imagine this is optimal for storage, and as I've posted before, I typically don't dry a bowl's worth of tobacco - rather I'll pack a pipe to smoke the next day. It's cool to see the cross section and layers on the sides, and you can see large tobacco leaves on the top layer.

I opted for a broken flake cut that I then rubbed out. JackKnife took to the flame quickly; two matches and I was off to the races. The dark leaves' notes came through immediately, and I was able to pick up the red VA taste soon after. It's a warm and earthy blend with a straightforward tobacco taste. If this came in a two pack with the much brighter but equally unvarnished Union Square, it could be called Night and Day. At times it brought to mind what Bracken Flake would be like without all of the SG flavorings. Room note and the retrohales (great band name) slyly reminded me of my cigar-smoking grandfather's den. There's a little pepper there, but not like the peppery notes you get with perique - more cigar wrapper-esque. Smoking characteristics were stellar.

I don't have a good bead on the nicotine strength yet. It's there, and I feel comfortable saying that it's less than Royal Yacht, but beyond that I don't know yet.

Whether it's from the required knife work or unadulterated tobacco taste, there's something decidedly old-timey about this blend. Older than old: antique. I can easily imagine riverboat pilots and cowboys slicing off wedges of JackKnife Plug.

As I have gravitated to stronger tobaccos and plugs and ropes, this one has been a bit of an enigma for me, but after a year of aging, and playing around with slicing, drying and rubbing out, it has really started to shine. Upfront, I have never smoked cigarettes or cigars. Only pipes. This one I imagine will satisfy the cigar lovers out there. First, the presentation. Its superb. I love the tight brownie with layer after layer of beautiful leaf. Like Pease recommends, slice it thin and rub out to a fine shag. That is definitely what works best. It does have a bit of moisture to it, so aging and drying are key. Once you figure out how to pack it (light and tamp with care) it lights and smokes cool and clean. It definitely strong. A great after dinner smoke. I love it after a big steak and some strong red wine. Like I said, I have not dabbled in cigars yet, but I imagine this is what a really fine, full strong stogie smokes like. The flavor is full virginia, but it has some complexity to it. Room note is tolerable, I guess to me, but would not be pleasant to non-smokers. Another home run from GLP, this is great stuff. Dense, strong and in my opinion fun to cut and rub out. I love the lead up to a great smoke, and a little bit of preparation and some delayed pleasure scores high in my book. Highly recommended.

This beast of a plug looks like brown/dark clay and is a house in the nicotine department, which it deserves full credit for. Empty stomach + 3 massive torched inhales = profit!

This was exclusively a morning smoke for me, for the above reason. Okay, not only for that... it does have other more subtle qualities in it's earthyness, spicyness and in it's dark chocolate reminiscent touch. Good background virginias too. Unfortunately subtleties in flavour profile isn't enough for me to give this 4 stars, so 3 it is.

EDIT: After my stash of JKP diminished, I tried other morning smokes... Key Largo was the best i found as sort of a replacement but it didn't fully satisfy my needs for strength and nicotine. So I revisited Jackknife and felt right at home with the straightforward strong hits and consistent umami sidestream it provided throughout the smoke. This deserves the full 4 stars!

Highly recommended! (unless you are a weakling)