G. L. Pease Gaslight

Tin Aroma: A definite hit of the latakia, but not overpowering. Strong aroma of dark berries and a smoky warmth.

Initial Lights: Purely the latakia, though it is the first latakia blend I have smoked in a while so this may account for that.

Main Bowl: This is a mellow latakia smoke, with a warming berry note. It reminds me of Autumn walks followed by a pint of ale in front of the fire. Rubbed out it can be hard to keep lit but perfect when sliced into fine ribbons or cubed.

Room Note: Classic pipe tobacco room note.

Pipe Used: Small straight clay

Purchased From: gifted

Woah!! This stuff is strong, bold, and very flavorful. I would say it's a Lat bomb, but all the tobaccos have the same level of flavor potency as the others. The flavor is rich and the smoke is creamy and lasting. I found, even after rubbing out the dark bricks into fine ribbons, it was difficult to keep lit. Probably needs more drying time than you would anticipate. The tin smells like some type of gas ('gaslight' indeed)...it is strong earthy, leather, and smokey richness. The smoke is actually quite fragrant and almost has a floral note...in fact, yeah...a bit of floral. The turkish takes it's turn and you you get tobacco and leather. The virginia's peek in for some tangy richness, with just a hint of sweetness. Then the orientals and latakia play together to bring out the floral smokey incense quality of the smoke. The room note is actually more pleasant than one would expect from such a dense and dark smoke. Quite an impressive smoke, but might be a much for my tastes at this time. I'll save the rest of my last brick...let it age and see how it fares. Still it's a high quality tobacco!

**Update (2/2017):** Still so darn wet after 3+ years of age. Loads well and burns well. Full Latakia! Reminds me of a cigar with slightly sweeter and campfire notes, though very, very light on the sweet. Very satisfying smoke that is rich with lots of flavor....and wow it's strong!!

A while back I bought seventeen tins from an Ebay seller as a single lot and this tin was in that group. I sorted-out the tins to keep, including this one. After a couple of weeks I decided to pop it and find out what this blend was about. What I found was two bars of tobacco - very dark in color, very moist to the touch, very fragrant in a latakia/oriental kind of way and somewhat oily. This tobacco was way too moist to smoke straight away, so I let it air out for four or five days before smoking. Even after all of this airing-out, it was somewhat difficult to rub out and my fingers were stained dark and slippery when finished. I found this somewhat strange.

Upon lighting-up I was relieved to find that it smoked straight forward with a moderately heavy latakia/oriental character but very fragrantly - not perfumey, just fragrant. After three or four bowls I was satisfied that I understood this blend and put it in my micoblending lineup. Then I learned something about it. Gaslight is quite dense and I had to be careful not to overuse it in blending or it flavored the microblend too much. When it was about three-fourths consumed, I began to detect a change in it's tin aroma - a slightly rancid odor had crept into the fragrance. I attribute this to some compound used in it's preparation. All-in-all, not a bad English blend; just a strange one and not one that I will pursue or hoard.

I was gifted a 1x1x1-inch cube from a friend. It arrived with a bunch of other English blends, so the smells had sort of melded into one smoky slap across the face. Like walking into a bar as a fight was breaking out and getting caught up in the mess.

After separating the individual blends for a while this one seemed to peak my interest the most because I had never had a plug tobacco before and the smell was more than just smoky Latakia. The description may be (or was) a krumble kake, but it's a plug. It smelled like wood smoke of course but there was some sweetness poking through, so I sliced some off and packed my pipe. No waiting around for it to dry, just as is. It smoked well for me and the tiny slice filled the Pony Express I was using perfectly. To my surprise the wood smoke was not as dominant in the beginning as I would have expected but had some sweetness going on just on par with it. There is a constant of smokiness and spice though the whole smoke. In addition to that constant the flavors tend to go through three well defined stages as I smoke. First is of a cigar flavor, then to a heavy black tea (almost identical to Mississippi River) then at the end the sweetness and vitamin N kicks up a notch.

The only real negative that I could identify was that it gives me a serious case of cotton-mouth and I drink almost four glasses of water while smoking it. Might be unrelated, just thought I'd mention it anyway. The stuff can pack a big-ole vitamin-N kick, but not every time I smoke it. It would also seem that filtering it has no effect at all on the flavor or body.

A wonderful blend and I may very well purchase some of my own to see what cellaring would do to it.

Not my favorite English by Pease, but it's certainly well crafted and smooth! Wonderful spice from the Orientals but the latakia can be overpowering at times.

Several reviews describe this as spicy and earthy. I agree and I’ll add similar word, loamy. Breaking apart a piece that I have sliced is like working my hands into a piece of peated loam earth. The red Virginia leaves (large pieces) look liked they got pulled out of black dirt (Latakia) with some smaller pieces of leaf I can only assume are the orientals.

This tobacco is buttery and slightly sweet. It’s a bit spicy (but not peppery like Perique). If this was a coffee it would be a French roast flavored with cinnamon.

I tend to shy away from Latakia as it can give me a headache but this is so indulgent that when I DO want something smoky it’s what I’ll go for to scratch that itch.

For more of an all day English smoke I prefer C&D Stratfordshire. Similar flavors but not nearly as overhwhelming.

Nicotine hit is on the mild side for me but I smoke some strong blends (G&H) so take that with a grain of salt.

I don’t like to smoke this at night because my mouth feels like a slept with a peated cigar in it in the morning.

Definitely not a blend to snuggle up with the misses after smoking!

Tin note of super tart, slightly smoky, and a background spice note. The loose plug is black and dark brown. Moisture is not high enough to need drying. Slicing has some complications due to the loose plug coming apart, recommend a razor or sharp thin knife. Rubs out easily. Burns slow with a few more than normal relights. The strength is medium and nic is mild to medium. No flavoring detected. Taste is medium to full and consistent, with notes of very woody, lots of spice, smoky, tangy lemon, floral, earth, mild bitter dark fruit, mild sweet bread, mild sour/tart and a peppery retro. Latakia and Orientals are leading side by side with Virginia supporting. Room note is tolerable, and aftertaste is great.

A very pleasing occasional smoke. Very similar to Mississippi Rive in cut and taste. I pack it really tight in a large pipe when I have time to sit back for a while. Middle of the road latakia. This is probably in the category of an occasional tin, maybe a couple a year just to have something a little different. Just a slight hint of sweet. Makes a ton of smoke.

Excellent full bodied English blend tobacco that is great at the end of the day. It has the highest nicotine content of any pipe tobacco I've tried, including Night Cap which I have always felt the nicotine content was less than it's reputation. The nicotine c strength of Gaslight is similar to a light cigar. When I'm looking for a tobacco with more strength, this one fits the bill.

I typically don't like plugs but I have overcome the problem by cutting the plug into slices after first opening the tin. The slices I preserve in a glass container as I do all my opened tobaccos. This way it's much easier to prepare when I'm ready to smoke my pipe. If you have trouble with plugs try slicing it on a cutting board with a large chef knife when you open the tin and you should a much easier time of it.