G. L. Pease Cairo

This blend caught my interest purely by name, as it is named after the city I live in and G.L. said he was inspired by the city when creating this blend. So, I tried it and I think that Pease created a masterpiece here. On opening the tin, you are welcome by a grassy, spicy aroma like an old spice market. It is yellow in colour like a bright sun and really fine cut to almost a shag. It packs stupendously easy and lights easier. It stays lit and burns cool though a little fast for my taste. The first puff is grassy, citrusy and spicy. Which was super annoying for me, as I prefer dark virginia with bread and yeast and I like more subtle perique that again is not available here. But the more I got into the bowl, the more I enjoyed it and the more it grew on me which put a smile on my face as this is basically my same opinion of Cairo, the city. It soon became a go-to blend for me, especially with morning coffee as it pairs well with it. It has a lovely, light room note and is perfectly fine to have all day long. And indeed it is such a spiritual inspiration of Cairo

The quintessence of how an Oriental tobacco must be. Spectacular in aroma and taste. Gorgeous Virginias and fabulous Orientals, mixed by Pease's genius. Fresh, fragrant, intriguing, fascinating tobacco. 4/5 in my personal rating system.

I went on a jag with this stuff a few years ago, and socked away a few tins. I remember being warned at the time by more than one person that it did not age well. I suppose that's the case if you're looking for a Virginia dominant blend, but if taken on it's own terms, this is a very fine blend. Age has pushed the oriental well into the front (I wish I knew the name of this particular tobacco, but if I ever knew, I've forgotten. It's not Drama, but other than that, I dunno.) giving the blend a taste that I would describe as sour, but think of that as "as opposed to sweet" not "gone bad". When combined with a little tongue-pricking from the perique, it reminds me of generic beer in a sense.

Later in the bowl, the virginias start coming through, both with sweetness (making an interesting dance with the oriental) and a lemony hint similar to that of Orlik Golden Flake. Towards the end of the bowl, the virginia pretty much takes over, providing a solid virginia finish.

While it's safe to say that this will never become one of my main blends, it's a fascinating change of pace for the virginia lover.

Sometimes we are successful in finding what we are looking for. In my case I wanted to enjoy the captivating and soothing tastes and aromas of certain oriental blends I enjoyed in my youth that did not contain Latikia. Almost a year now, and well into this...First impression in my nose was, and still is, very wine like. A lush, sweet and tart aroma like Chardonay. The cut is fine and texture is a little fluffy. A gentle char and tamp is all that is needed and you have ignition. The first few minutes are an explosion of oriental goodness. A large volume of delicate smoke. Those same tin notes are in there as well as a new array of floral scents and tea like spices. The Virginias follow along and very soon provide an excellent salt-water taffy like contribution. Depending on my cadence, sometime at or just after mid-bowl, the smoke takes on a toasty, salty sweet nut like taste that lasts until the end. Leaves a small amount of talc like ash. Certainly appealing for slow smoking. I enjoy a tobacco which can stand up to some strong puffing from time to time and this performed well for me with no bite. A great selection of orientals on a quality Virginia base. Notably smoother after only one year old, I was surprised by a nine year old example, all the same flavors remained but were more like a syrup or an intensified reduction. Highly recommended.

Date: 7/10/00

On par with all Pease's blends as far as quality and flavor. The smell was fruity reminding me of Haddo's some (Pease wrote somewhere that this smell is the aging of the tobacco). Cairo tastes light at first but then it goes to work on you. It's soft like angel food cake, sweet and has a sneaky nic kick. It gains in flavor quick, spreading its wings into a medium Va/Or/Per that is nice in the AM. The next thing you know your eyes are wide open. I think this is very good and the more I smoke it the more I appreciate it. Like Picadilly, which I also smoked recently, Cairo is not fully realized until you're about out and wondering how fast you can get another tin. One man in a pipe forum called Cairo "subtle". I like that description so much I'm stealing it. Very subtle, very good for a light virginia/oriental/perique blend.

This is not as bad as some say it is in my opinion. I can see how someone with a less seasoned tongue could interpret the spice as bite.

It is very simillar to montgomery just with a little perique in place of the fired kentucky.

However the nicotine is ultra potent. Cairo will kick you in the back of the knees. Like drinking a whole pot of coffee if you ask me.

I will smoke the tin up but might not order again as I prefer balkans and straight va's. This does not make it bad at all. Jut not what I call my favorite pease blend.

I really don't like perique but it is tollerable in this and present in a minimal quantity, in the smoking- the tin has its putrid odor sadly. I can look past the tin aroma. Perique almost gags me I hate its foul smell. Funny how we are different as I know many love its smell.

This is more of an occasional blend for me. If you like va and a strong oriental presence and don't like latakia at all you will enjoy this. However I find myself saying where's the latakia? So it goes. I reccomend montgomery over this. It is more smokable to me.

A well blended tobacco, just not my thing.

WARNING: This Product Contains/Produces Effects Known to the State of Euphoria to Cause Comfort and Joy or Other Pleasurable Sensations.

Chef no function Cairo well without.

My first thought was "Where's the Perique?" It started off as a very tasty Virginia/Oriental. Not that there's anything wrong with that. I like Va/Or blends. I really like Perique. A lot. After things warmed up a bit the Bayou Voodoo began, in a very subtle way. Unlike any Cajun I know or am related to, this was a very quiet, shy and retiring sort of Perique presence. Very elegant, and a nice surprise.

Yumbo!

***Saturday August 23, 2008*** Having gone through several ounces (okay, okay...half a pound) of this marvelous combustible concoction I feel I must add to my previous review.

This tobacco is very much like a fine malt whisky. Meant to be savored in sips, not quaffed like a lager. Move it along too quickly and you lose the nuance, elegant structure and interplay of the simple, yet excellent, ingredients. It is flexible in its ability to work well in all kinds of weather, any time of day, any size/shape briar and smoker's mood. I cannot recommend this tobacco highly enough.

Don't get it. Stings a good bit and flavors don't seem to work. As with all of Pease's tobaccos the leaf is first rate. The cut it is nice and the pouch aroma is wonderful, but for reasons I don't understand I can't get this blend to smoke well. I have no doubt that this is probably my fault. Nevertheless, this is one of those rare Pease blends that I cannot get. Que syrah... One of the few blends by G.L. Pease I would hesitate to recommend.

Cairo was the first of Greg's tobaccos that I tried, and from that day until this it's been a favorite.

When a fresh can is opened, the odor of high quality tobacco is the main aroma, although there is some nuttiness and a bit of a raisin/fig note as well. I find the moisture level fine from the tin. The tobaccos are lightly colored, with varying hues of beige throughout.

Packing is easy, and I tend to pack this in a medium-to-large bowl (Dunhill group 3 to 5). Once packed, it takes two matches to get this blend burning, and relights are few.

For the first third of the bowl, the Virginias are dominant. Early on they can bite with hard puffing, but with gentle treatment there are no problems. The Orientals are in the background at this stage, and the Perique wields a small voice.

About one third of the way into the bowl, the Orientals begin to come forward in the taste profile. The Perique strengthens as well, but only as a spice behind a wonderfully balanced Virginia and Oriental mix. I find that I can smoke a bit harder here if I want to, but generally I smoke Cairo slowly to extend the bowl as far as possible.

In the last third of the bowl the sweetness of the Virginias fades quite a bit, becoming a foundation upon which the Orientals appear at their most bold. Although they never become overwhelming, at this point the Orientals are carrying the majority of the flavor. The Perique strengthens a bit as well, although again it's simply a spice in the blend.

At the bottom of the bowl, the tastes once more blend, and the smoke finishes much as it began, but with a more intense flavor.

I've tried Cairo in small bowled pipes and have not had nearly the success as I've had in average or large bowls.

I recently plucked one of my gray-labeled tins from the cellar, with six years of age behind it. What a dramatic change! The tobacco is a mahogany color, the aromas that arise from the tin are much more complex and remind me of a fine red wine. The aromas of cherries, plums, leather, nuts, and a touch of citrus are all present. Smoking the blend after all of this time was an amazing experience. The bite of the Virginias is gone, the sweetness is deeper and no longer as much of a high note, the Orientals have smoothed without losing character...Cairo after six years is almost miraculous. I was fortunate to have lost a few tins at the bottom of an old wooden chest. I only wish I'd lost many more. My cellar is fully stocked with tobaccos that I intend to leave untouched for another half-decade.

Cairo remains one of my favorite GL Pease blends. I've flirted with many of the other tobaccos that Greg's created, but Cairo is one that I always return to.

(7/2010 - Edited to fix spelling mistakes.)