Friedman & Pease Aleister

This was named after the well-known magician/philosopher/Prophet Aleister Crowley, who used to smoke straight Perique soaked in rum. His successor, Major Grady Louis McMurtry, didn't even bother with the rum. My car reeked of the vinegar smell of Perique for days after I had given him a ride. So if the smell of Aleister, which is a pronounced Perique blend, doesn't disturb me, it's because it's not a patch on my previous experiences. Actually, it's a relatively mild blend--I know you don't believe me--with only a small percentage of Perique. Mr. Pease knows how to mellow it without losing it. It's expertly blended, and a pleasure to smoke. I wish I had a case of it. Personally, I tend to favor Latakia over Perique, but Aleister is one blend I am happy to make an exception for.

Pouch Aroma: The Rum casing has me constantly sniffing this - it's sharp bite combined with the sourness of Perique and sweet toasted Cavendish makes my nose tickle.

Appearance: A mottled mixture of yellow and brown Virginias, small broken cubes of Burley, stringy black Cavendish and a nice helping of Perique, this blend covers the tobacco spectrum rather well.

Packing and Lighting: F&P combines their tobacco cuts masterfully, making them easy to pack without clogging the draft hole. I'm smoking this in a Calabresi Canadian which has the smoke-hole bored just a little bit too low. Now, I usually reserved this pipe for flake tobaccos because they don't clog it up, but this doesn't look like it's going to be a problem with Aleister.

Drawing on the unlit pipe, I can definately taste the rum and the Perique over everything else. It made my mouth water, and this is usually a good sign.

Once the match touched the tobacco, I was overwhelmed by the sharp pungency of the smoke. It was rich and dark-tasting, but carried with it a tingling sensation that burned my nostrils and set my tongue aquiver. Once I tamped and re-lit, this had mellowed a little. This is NOT a smoke for the faint of heart!

Exposition: As I said, this is a very rich and piquant smoke. There are many nuances to pay attention to, and I find it difficult to concentrate on any single one. The rum comes through nicely along with the Perique, and I think it's this that made for the shocking start to this tobacco. The Cavendish is there as a sweet undertone which serves to balance and mellow, and the whole sits firmly on the base provided by matured Virginias. None of the flavors is particularly subtle; this is surely a pipe to savor when nothing else is there to clutter and dilute the experience. My full attention was demanded - it is rather like Dunhill #965 in that respect. No quarter asked, none given!

The Story: I find it hard to come to a decision on this blend. I like its fullness of flavor and sheer complexity, but there's a component - likely the Burley - that I can't come to grips with. As I smoke it, a bitter and distinctly ashy taste predominates, and just as I think I can't take anymore it fades into a musky bittersweetness that is interesting while not being fully pleasant. Then the ashiness returns, and so on in cycles through the bowl. There's no doubt that this is rich and medium- to full-strength and not an all-day smoke; perhaps I need to try it a few more times at different hours of the day and in different pipes. My first thought was to use my old brown meerschaum and maybe I should have stuck to that. I think it would go well with strong black coffee and deep philosophizing, but I'll have to say that the jury is still out.

This is puzzling - usually a tobacco strikes me one way or another. I'm not usually this wishy-washy, and I can't say I'm comfortable with that.

Denoument: Toward the end of the bowl the ashiness recedes and the bittersweetness takes over. The flavor and aroma remind me of the air after a big autumn thunderstorm, but intensified. It's rich and musty like decayed leaves, damp earth and yet tingling with ozone and a fresh breeze. If I could distill it into an oil it'd make an interesting scent, but as for smoking it...I just don't know. The nicotine level is relatively high and stimulating, the flavor rough and stimulating, and the aroma is heavy and redolent of too many earthy smells to single out and name.

It did burn down to a salt-and-pepper ash and left my pipe relatively clean.

Pros: It's stimulating, though-provoking, and deep, that I can say with some certainly. I liked first 1/3 bowl a lot, and the pouch aroma is heavenly.

Cons: Aleister is rough, earthy and leaves a tingle on the palate that made me fear tongue bite without ever experiencing it. I guess Mr. Crowley himself could be thought of this way (should one presume to smoke him), so it seems Messrs. Friedman and Pease have done justice to 'the wickedest man on earth'.