G. L. Pease Cairo

Cairo is really a fine smoke, even for a fellow like me who doesn't normally drool over perique blends. What is so different about Cairo is the fact that the blender (Mr.Pease), found a way to combine virginia and oriental leaf in a manner that did not cause one's tongue to be fried.

I don't think I will ever smoke another bowl of this tobacco simply because of the perique, but I did not find this to be a bad smoke at all, and for a perique hater like myself, that is a true testament to the quality of this blend.

I took the tin to my pipe club meeting a couple of months ago, and the tobacco didn't stay in the tin long. The majority of the guys loved this stuff. I suppose you will too.

I bought my first tin of the day it was introduced, I just happened to be at the B&M when they were stocking it. It came highly recommended from the proprietor and was my first "Boutique" blend.

This is one of those moments you remember, possibly even a holy grail moment, the smell, the sight of the blonde sprigs with flecks of... green? ...Really? This stuff was fresh! Lighting it the fragrance of the smoke was absolutely mind numbing. I went back to the store the next day and bought every tin they had and it was my daily smoke for a year... loved this stuff. I was one of those people that thought Greg had cut a deal with the devil... it was that good.

Financial hard times befell me and had to give up the luxuries in life for a while and expensive tins of tobacco were one of the first casualties to go.

Fast forward a year and I was back in the store for more Cairo. But this time it was different. It was much darker in color and not as fresh in the aroma department which was also apparent when smoked. Much more stout, almost harsh and nasty on the tongue, what the hell happened?

I don't know if it was my change in taste from smoking cheap tobacco and cigarettes or if it was the natural aging process of the blend itself but I was no longer smitten. I tried multiple times to rekindle that first experience but Cairo had morphed into something I no longer liked. The last of the most recent tin was reduced to a pile of dust after sitting so long untouched and finally ended up at the bottom of the round file this morning.

I appreciate it as something that defined my taste in tobacco in my early days of smoking. It still has desirable qualities and I'm not sayin it's a bad tobacco, just no longer something I lust for as I did when it was new.

If you like Vapers I still recommend you give it a try as most like it just fine with some age on it.

A short ribbon cut tobacco. Some of which is clumped rather like bud. Mostly medium to golden browns with a scattering of black leaf and green cast leaf.

Tin note is sweet and sour with predominantly dried fruit aromas.

Lights easily and burns without further attention.

Citrus notes predominate and the sourness on the tongue is very pronounced. The orientals provide a delicate aroma. As the bowl progresses this develops a Presbyterian-like complexity. The perique provides an effervescence that amplifies the lemon on the tongue. There is a faint whiff of ammonia from the bowl.

A little harsh for my tastes with regard to its acidity. My tin was less than 2 months old and I expect this tobacco needs a lot more than that to realise its proper potential.

I generally like Oriental-forward blends... but Cairo just doesn't really do it for me. Tastes a bit like a crushed up Camel cigarette. It's harsh, it bites, and there just isn't much else to it. I'm genuinely surprised by all the 4-star reviews. There is almost no sweetness from the Virginias, very little of anything actually. The Orientals are the only reason I gave Cairo 2-stars instead of 1. They have a nice sourness... but without the sweetness that Virginias usually bring... it falls flat.

Bottom line: I really wanted to like this blend, there is potential with the tasty Orientals, but the rest is mostly just harsh and unpleasant.

To me Cairo tastes like... a great car stereo system without any woofers.

The treble is great.

Hints of screeming banshees piercing the night with their seductive voices.

I bought this blend after reading some of the reviews and I have to say its an interesting one. The most experience I have with Orientals is in English and Balkan blends so I thought that a Virginia base might give me a different take on the flavors it can offer.

The tin is really plain, and to be honest, it's the kind of one I tend to skip by in my local. Opening up there is a nice yellow-light brown ribbon. The tin smells like citrus, hay, fermented Red Virginia, and tangy sour Orientals. It comes at a reasonable dryness, and is easy to pack and light.

When you light up, you taste citrusy, hay like bright Virginias. Bready, fermented Red Virginias. The Orientals here are tangy, herbal, and woody. There is Perique in this blend and it offers a little spice and fruit. Overall it has a mellow flavor.

The taste I give a mild-medium. It's not overpowering in any sense of the word but it just fails sort of a standard medium body. The strength is a mild-medium. Good for working in the yard on a hot day. For me this doesn't hold much to keep me interested, but for Oriental/ Turkish smokers this might be ideal.

Tin note is all Virginia. Hay, fresh grass and a slight sour from the orientals. The smoke is Sweet hay, a bit of nuttiness, some earth. Just a very faint pepper. Fresh tin, orientals are not really a showcase. Moisture level on tin opening is dry. Almost too dry which results in a fast, hot burn rate. Needed rehydrated to be enjoyable. After a year of age in the tin, the orientals have come forward a lot and Virginia’s have mellowed. Again some rehydration benefits the smoking mechanics greatly. In fact the dry condition is why I couldn’t fully recommend.

Sour is the better term I can find to describe this tobacco. Someone else did a better review of it, and I second it.

I usually like what's offered by GLP, especially Samarra, Haddo's Delight, and Key Largo. And I also usually like Oriental blends, but this one is a bit of an enigma to me. I can tell that it's made of some top quality leaf, but it just seems too sour for my tastes. Maybe it's the addition of Perique to a blend of mainly orientals or maybe it's the type of orientals used. I'm not sure. I'll put it in a mason jar and revisit it later, but it just doesn't do anything for me right now. I have a lot of respect for Greg Pease and I know that he knows what he is doing, so I'm torn; I'm having a difficult time rating this, as I couldn't decide on two stars or three. I'll leave it at two for now and come back to it at another time. Don't let me put you off, though you may love it. It's just not one for me right now.