Butera Pelican

I had long heard of this blend and finally got a tin of it in a trade with a forum friend for the common Escudo. This was a trade in my favor, I suppose, in a matter of value as the Pelican at the time was recently discontinued. From a standpoint in flavor, however, my friend definitely got the better end of the deal.

This one just didn't do it for me and it is likely the fact that I just don't like light bodied blend and this is one to my tastes. It has that hay like sweetness from the Virginias and a bit of sourness from the orientals. If there is Latakia in this blend it is barely detectable. It justs needs more.

So what to rate this blend. If this blend was available I would give it two stars and would say if what I described sounds like what you would like, then buy this. But since this is discontinued and tins are already flying off the auction block at ebay for greater than $40, I would be a one star out of realism as you would be better served by buying a couple of 250g boxes of squadron leader.

Keeping it objective I will give it two stars as I reserve one star for those blends that truly repulse me.

Butera Pelican, first off this is a little difficult to find. I was lucky to grab two tins just when the time was right. Anyways this tin required a bit of drying the tobacco has a nice fairly moist texture to it upon opening the tin. The tin note left me with a good almost Oceanside smell and is kind of unique. The lighting of this tobacco was not difficult to keep lit after some drying out. The Orientals really give you a lemon zest taste and the latakia used gives just enough of that smoke I personally desire. This blend gave me a good long smoke and was very enjoyable, but probably would benefit from a good bit of ageing. There has been debate on who is blending this now it was originally blended by JF Germain, but then Mccelland was blending for the US, and then it was bought out by Peter Stockelbeye. Although the tin does state it came from the British Isle which would trace it back to JF Germain. So with that being said I would say Germain is now making this blend again and it really makes sense do to the scarceness of this blend. Overall this is a fantastic smoke and if you get lucky to get your hands on some enjoy.

Bit of a letdown, it has to be said.

For as long as it took me to procure this tin, I was expecting to be really wowed.

What I got was a high quality, refined, well behaved but also predictable English blend that was remarkable for the high quality VA's that are present throughout, and for the transformation that goes on as the smoke goes on. It really needs a pipe that gets warm to get this one to play much, otherwise its rather boring, but in a good pipe with a well packed bowl, it goes from meh to really nice and sumptuous quite well.

However, it has nothing on McClelland British Woods which is similar in what I think they are aiming but, but BW blows it away for a fraction of the cost or fanfare.

Don't hunt this down, in my opinion. There are so many others.

Very "dry" tasting, with lots of oriental/latakia flavor, and very little virginia sweetness. Quite spicy and nutty, with some pleasant bitterness, lots of incense-like flavor. Dry in the tin, long lasting and extremely cool. A bit monochromatic, but very good. A no-compromises English blend which is refreshing and unique.

2008 Update: This tobacco is getting more and more difficult to find, but it keeps being worth the effort. Kudos to Butera for not accepting compromises: this is a great English blend, in a world in which English blends die and/or get worse every day (see the Dunhills, or Balkan Sobranie, or even Timm London Blend 1000).

Butera Pelican - An Oriental forward balkan blend that is a little buttery ,spicy and sour . The Latakia right behind with the usual flavor of the smokey leaf . The Virginias provide some grass and fruit and some citrus? It reminds me of Red Rapparee a bit . It tastes like there is cavendish in it but that could be the topping maybe . It is not a terrible smoke but the citrusy topping just doesn’t work for me . It covers up what I think the Virginias are supposed to do in this type of blend . The topping clashes with the Orientals and makes the blend too sour for me . Red Rapparee represents this genre of tobacco better. 2 stars

I wonder if this wasn’t how the original tasted and smelled. Sour/earthy aroma, that comes through in the taste. This is an outstanding Latakia mixture.

Tried it several years ago when Stokkebye made it and was meh, 2.5 stars, however this is the Germaine version and like most of what they do it’s fantastic.

It’s a bit of a bugger to find but would recommend it if you can lay hands on it.

Pelican is a mild, smooth, standard English blend, at least in its Jersey-produced iteration. Turkish forward, as you'd expect, with an appropriate amount of Latakia. The Virginias are good, not great.

There must be 1000 blends that fit this description. Fans of Germain's house style will like this better than some, but I can't imagine that anyone is pining away for Pelican when it's not available.

This is very much a take-it-or-leave-it blend. I'll pick up a tin if I see it on the shelf, but I'm not going to go out of my way to find it.

For a smooth and pleasant smoke lover i bet sure love this blend, but for those who find a "strength" complicated smoke must be just give 2-3 star rating to this blend. 1st i open the can i see an oily almost shag cut tobacco with oriental smells. Easy to pack and easy to light. is a great smoke but not with a strong Latakia flavor, almost dominate with the taste and flavor of Virginia. The spiciness of oriental also not too strong, just a smooth spiciness to give a hint on nose. Must be draw it slowly because it's cut form, if not the heat is not good and make the pipes damn hot and lot of moisture but if smoke it slowly, is beautiful to watch the oily layer on the pipe chamber. I really enjoy my smoking time with this blend so i will give this blend a good rating for the smoothness and the mildness.

for all the hype i found this to be a little disapointing good tobacco not great in any way