G. L. Pease Gaslight

New smokers beware - this is a Vitamin N blend. I imagine more seasoned smokers might not be too fazed, but I haven't been smoking too long and Gaslight bordered on too strong. Smoky, spicy, and full flavored latakia-forward blend. No detectable sweetness. When I was finished the first bowl, I was dizzy, and I'm writing this fresh from the experience.

The good? No bite. Sliced thinly with a razor-sharp knife, it crumbles extremely easy. Penzance like preparation. A learning experience for me.

Ultimately not my cup of tea, but I will try a few more bowls and edit my review accordingly if I find my experience changes. GL Pease has some great offerings. I would suggest trying some other of his well reviewed blends before venturing into this kind of territory. Enjoyable, but definitely not for everyone.

Some reviewers have commented on the similarity among strong Lat blends, hinting at a "saturated" market. Maybe so. Good for us smokers! But I liken the tobacco world to the wine world: the best successes I've had with wine is to find a winery I really like and stick with them, because their particular style will almost always appeal to me.

Same with tobacco. I consider the Pease blends to be so very reliable and consistently good that I have very high confidence in any of Mr. Pease's blends. There are a few - maybe three or four - that I just plain dislike. But considering the number of Pease blends available, that's a very high batting average.

Gaslight is quite similar to many other Pease Lat bombs, but in a good way. This one seems to me one of the most austere, and by that I mean like a dry red wine. Not a lot of sweetness, lots of smoky latakia, but strong, complex, delicious. This tobacco stays more consistent from the top down than many other blends. One reviewer talks about the whole bowl being "the sweet spot." With that I heartily agree.

Smooth and full of flavor, slow burning as promised, relatively easy to prepare with a knife (I actually use scissors, then rub it out), and consistently delicious. Strong enough to stand up to some of my favorite libations, and flavorful enough where I often wish I had a larger bowl.

My go to blend. Number one in my rotation! If heaven was a tobacco blend, this would be it! Don't mess this up - you have to slice the plugs, across the grain, then crumble. Do it any other way and you ruin the blend! Strong, full, pungent yet sweet, with spicy Orientals interplaying with the smoky Latakia and sweet, delectable Red Virginia! The flavors change, meld, leave, and return so many times in the course of one bowl, it's almost like smoking 3 or 4 different blends, but at the same time, the base flavor is always there! Difficult to explain, I guess you just have to experience it. Gas Light burns nice and cool. No dottle at the bottom. My favorite evening smoke!

I've only had one bowl, so this isn't a true review, per se. I just want to say that out of all the blends I've enjoyed Gaslight is the first to truly have that "beef jerky" smell out of the tin. I smoked this out of a cheap Rossi I bought that just wasn't working as a Virginia pipe and was blown away. I haven't smoked much Latakia/Oriental blends lately, but Gaslight has let me remember why I enjoy the diversity of flavors pipe tobacco can offer. Once I go through a couple of tins I'll update. As of now I would recommend this blend.

Gaslight is a very stout, strong, full bodied plug. It was a little challenging cutting this up to the size I wanted, but a good thin blade solved that problem. This one really was superb after a good meal in the evening time, but if you have a robust constitution then try this anytime. This smelled amazing in the tin...a sweet, smoky aroma...delicious. In the bowl this lit well and burned down with few relights. The smoke was thick and fragrant, perfumed with latakia and Orientals leading the way. This is another winner from GLP. OFWAIHHBTN

This is a tobacco that is meant to be savored. Perfect for smoking on a still autumn or winters night. Although very full bodied, it is smooth with layers of flavor, leathery, smokey, salty, malty and nutty. like a fine single malt scotch. A must for Latakia lovers.

Right in the GL Pease wheelhouse! I primarily gravitate towards Virginia blends but something about Gaslight leaves me warm and fuzzy inside. English blends... This is what Pease was put on earth to do! The smokey character was evident from the start but it had a nice malty sweet component as well, lingering in the background. Don't let that mislead you, this is not a sweet tasting tobacco, you just sense there is sweet red Virginia under all of that velvety rich latakia. I was given a sample of this in an order from smoking pipes.com and liked it son much I had to order some. It has a smell akin to aged leather, fireplace, and old book, and perhaps strong coffee. It is quite pleasing and it seems I get something different every time. Just wonderful!

I like to smoke this one sitting down as it is fairly strong for me. Tried walking the dog with a small bowl of gaslight and I had to battle the swirlies, so, if you're like me... Sit down and take her slow. Room note might be a little strong but no more than any other English. I typically enjoy a quiet night on the deck with a pinch or two of gaslight, so no issues outside. Wherever you partake, the flavors come at you with a nice smokey flavor, and eventually I'm getting charred woody spice that just hits all the right buttons. There also seems to be tastes of espresso lingering on roasted bitterness. To me, this is a strong smoke... Big, earthy, sweetness there but not quite bold enough to pop his head. A beautiful full English blend for sure.

Tin note: Dung. Fermented gorgonzola left in a pair of dirty socks. It’s the worst tin note I’ve ever smelt... I smoked and smelled Pirate Kake and even pure latakia, and they had a decent tin note, but this one is horror. A friend who worked at SmokingPipes told me that it smells exactly like when they opened the barrels of perique.

Aspect: Two blocks of pressed tobacco, dark in aspect. Black, dark brown and a bit of dark gold. Quite moist. Easy to slice, not very easy to rub.

Taste: The first smokes I had were fairly sweet and smoky, silky, dark fruit tones here and there, even pomegranate. The orientals started to appear slowly and mildly, with a bit of spice. Some wood notes were definitely present. The red virginia is a key component in my opinion, blending perfectly with the oriental and especially the latakia. It is probably what gives the pomegranate taste, sweet and sour notes. At first it really is a good, balanced blend. The latakia became more prominent after the middle of the bowl. However, as I kept smoking and after I jarred the tobacco, it changed in taste... quite a lot! The smokes are woody with a bit of smokiness and lots of spice, but also a fermented taste. Perique, are you there? The sweetness went down two notes than how it initially was, and the spiciness has gone up a lot. The red virginias can still be detected, they are a little in the background. There’s wood and there’s smokiness. It’s not smooth or creamy like JimInks described it, I would say it’s sharp because of the orientals, so if you compare this with, lets say Margate, which is indeed very smooth and creamy, this is quite sharp. I would actually compare this to Dunhill’s Durbar, for the strength and spice. More of an oriental than an english blend. Is the taste full? Almost. It’s medium to full. It’s one step after medium. Nicotine wise it’s ok, it’s medium I’d say. Like Stan very well said, it has an almost cinnamon-like taste, which mixes well with the smokiness of the latakia and it becomes very very delicious. However the spiciness from the turkish it’s a bit too high, for me at least. Has quite an aftertaste. The taste stays with you after you finished your bowl or after you put your pipe away for a bit.

Lights up very easy. Slow burning indeed, but it’s burning great, it’s a very good burner. Burns well, with an even white ash. No bite from hot smoke, but it has a harsh spicyness. Room note is tolerable.

All in all it’s a decent blend, complex in taste (not super complex but definitely not dull). But it’s one of the few english/oriental blends that I don’t give four stars to.

P.S.: Review on the spot here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BpW5Q0l3vU

Presentation: Label is black and blue portraying a lonely, dark, and possibly rainy street. It looks very mysterious and spooky.

Cut: Comes in a plug, but not a rock hard plug. It is managable, although I despise plugs, so it is still annoying slicing it up... especially when you get to that last bit and there is nothing to hold on to. Moisture is fine.

Tin note: Smells musty, smoky, and barely sweet.

Tasting notes: Smoky and spicy on light up. It might be the coarseness of which I cut the tobacco, but it took a bit of effort to light, which made it a bit harsh on the first few puffs. Puffs consist of a VERY slight bready tangy sweetness which turns smoky, then a little spicy. Woody at times. A sharp breadiness came out for me later into the bowl, mainly on the finishes. Spice diminishes and smokiness increases later into the bowl. At the end of the bowl it gets a bit harsh—I don't mind, I just see it as a flavor change and some of you will enjoy it as it is a stout latakia smokiness.

Mechanics: Very cool smoking. As I said earlier, a but hard to light but that could be user error there on how thick I cut it. A well behaved blend.

Extra Remarks: Gaslight is one of Greg Pease's better known blends. This is a no frills, full flavor English blend. This blend reminds me a bit of Pease's Lagonda, as well as Captain Earle's Ten Russians. If you hate heavy latakia blends, avoid this one, otherwise you will find a pleasant, hardy smoke. It's not very complex, but I don't think that was the goal with this one. 3 stars.