G. L. Pease Mephisto

(3.46)
The devil's Weed and the daemon Rum conspire in this dark, long stoved mixture of Red and Golden Virginias, a pinch of fine Turkish leaf, and generous portions of Cyprian and Syrian Latakias. Finished with just a drop of Dark Jamaican Rum, then steamed and toasted to bring all the flavors together. Doubly wicked and sinfully delicious, Mephisto will surely lead you into temptation!
Notes: From Gregory Pease website: "In November, 2004, a warehouse fire consumed our supply of the exquisite vintage Syrian Latakia that was used in Renaissance, Raven's Wing and Mephisto, as well as Bohemian Scandal. These blends have been discontinued indefinitely"

Details

Brand G. L. Pease
Series Original Mixtures
Blended By Gregory Pease
Manufactured By Cornell & Diehl
Blend Type English
Contents Latakia, Oriental/Turkish, Virginia
Flavoring Rum
Cut Ribbon
Packaging 2oz Tin
Country United States
Production No longer in production

Profile

Strength
Medium
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Extremely Mild -> Overwhelming
Flavoring
Mild
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
None Detected -> Extra Strong
Room Note
Tolerable
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Unnoticeable -> Overwhelming
Taste
Medium
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Extremely Mild (Flat) -> Overwhelming

Average Rating

3.46 / 4
31

8

4

3

Reviews

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Displaying 1 - 10 of 46 Reviews
Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Aug 23, 2017 Medium Very Mild Medium Very Pleasant
Mostly dark with a plethora of cuts... broken flake, ribbon, chop... and a tin nose of latakia and orientals that Pease excels at creating. The Syrian aroma was there but was overshadowed by the Cyprian and orientals. The Virginia scent was nowhere to be found. There was a slight nose of the added rum, but it wasn't easy to find, either.

In the pipe, this tasted a bit different than the aroma indicated. The Cyprian was front and center but did not overtake the orientals, which were succulent and rich, with a spicy flavor. The Syrian is dark in flavor and pretty subdued but very noticeable. The big surprise was the Virginias - sweet, tangy, rich and full, with a huge depth of flavor. They added a sweetness that wasn't all rum, although that added a light sweetness but mostly it provided a really cool alcohol flavor that melded seamlessly with the tobacco. I'm not a big fan of booze and tobacco, but I do enjoy GLP Haddo's Delight. This is just as rich, but with a lower nicotine content. It's a rich but not strong tobacco, more of a mellow but full flavored affair. Nice and rounded with no sharp edges to wear out the smoker. I would call this a masterpiece and I wish it were still available. If you can find some at a reasonable price (mine wasn't!), it's well worth a try.
Age When Smoked: 16 years
5 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
May 19, 2011 Medium None Detected Very Full Pleasant to Tolerable
The drought endeth.

Sometimes the collaboration between briar and leaf breaks down; perhaps one of them goes on strike or the other is simply grumpy. It's hard to tell why, but it just happens. And I had a particularly bad run of it last month. I have a number of reliable pipe / tobacco combinations, and they all failed me. I got nothing but bland, ashy, flavor from everything I tried, and it was a puzzle. I've been doing this for a while (since the early seventies, actually) and I feel that technique is about 80% of the game. I can usually take any random pipe off the rack, pack it with any random tobacco in my stock, and simply enjoy. But the magic was not working. Even stellar tobaccos of renown were failing me -- and even in my very best pipes. Escudo! Three Nuns! Dark Star! Black Parrot! Bland, ashy, pointless "blah" pipefull after pipefull assailed me. I began to wonder if it had always been this way, and I was only deluding myself about a glorious and nonexistent past of fictional pipe glory. I began to wonder if my taste buds had gone awry and would never return. I began to wonder if every tobacco I own had gone hopelessly stale.

But the drought ended with a bang, and a glorious pipefull of G.L. Pease's Mephisto.

It's interesting that it turned out to be Greg who came to the rescue; he's a blender renowned for balance and old-world polish in his work. I was thinking that I needed something with "oomph" or straight "horsepower" to break through the grip of my pipe blahs, but it was Greg's pure finesse that did it. Mephisto simply woke up and sang for me, not just the Hallelujah Chorus but the entire Handel's Messiah, from start to finish, well over an hour of flawless pipe pleasure, rich, sweet, smooth as silk, complex, fascinating, and brilliant to the very end of the dottle. "Ah, yes," I thought, "now I remember. This is why I smoke a pipe, and this is how it's supposed to be." I could still taste the lingering sweet and smooth flavors eight hours later, even after a few mugs of tea and some X- Files reruns.

Finesse. Balance. Carefully managed complexity, with a beautiful grasp of the gestalt. Technical expertise. Decades of experience. It all shows. Bravo, Greg.

It was sad that Mephisto turned out to be the magic blend. Joyous, because it was so brilliant, but sad, because it's discontinued (still, as of 2011.) Only two unopened tins remain in my cupboard. Could I add my name to those who are clamoring for a retooling of this blend? The translation and evolution from Raven's Wing to Maltese Falcon was a great success; it's not the same, but still wonderful and very satisfying for those who lamented the loss of RW. Perhaps there could be a "Mephisto Waltz" of Cyprian, still wooed with a bit of dark Jamaican rum?
4 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Mar 09, 2010 Medium None Detected Medium to Full Tolerable
Hello All!

I am smoking my last can of Mephisto. This can is six years old, opened about 9 months ago, and laid away again. It is RATHER UNFORTUNATE that this is no longer available, as this is one of my all time favorite Latakia blends, and too soon, this can shall pass.

This is an exquisite smoke. Upon opening the tin, one is impressed by an aroma of smoky Latakia. This is not the case upon smoking.

A very nutty almond-like flavor strikes you upon first light, balanced by a generous touch of sweetness from the Virginia Tobacco. A minty smokiness from the Latakia frames the background, holding this perfect symphony together. This structure stays with you through the first half of the bowl.

The last half of the bowl presents a somewhat different structure. The Latakia comes on in the forefront, the mint and smoke taking center stage. This is balanced by a more subdued nuance of the nutty aromas, and the Virginia sweetness lingers in the background to hold everything together.

This blend smokes cool and slow, and works well in bowls of varying shape, size and design, and is simply delicious from start to finish. A salute to Mr. Pease, Master Conductor, Master Arranger, of this fine Symphony.

Mr. Pease, Please, Please bring this one back!!!
3 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Feb 17, 2008 Mild to Medium Mild to Medium Medium Tolerable
My first experience with GLPease tobaccos! The craftsmanship involved in this blend is evident: it does not look like a mass-produced, impersonal mixture. From the first look at the cut of the tobacco, you see bits of different sizes and shapes with the occasional broken flake, and the first tin smell is very subtle: an overall impression of a very natural blend. The latakia presence seems clear, but not overwhelming: the aroma is more of a unique, rounded, tone rather than a contribution from various elements. Only a slight hint of rum makes its alcoholic presence felt, but not too much. I packed it lightly (I found that this blend smokes much better if this trick is adopted), and lighted it: wow! Sweet, deep, full and perfectly rounded at the same time! The rum is barely perceived in the smoke, too, but adds an extra touch of sweetness and roundness. This is not an aromatic, but a medium english blend: traditional in spite of the alcoholic beverage added. I usually don't like medium english blends (if there is Latakia, make its presence strong and felt!) because I find them boring: as a matter of fact, I don't like stuff like Celebrated Sovereign at all. Mephisto has a Latakia rate which is the minimum acceptable for me in an english mixture, and this does not put it in my all-time favorites. Nonetheless, it is great under all other points of view (and certainly better and tastier than Frog Morton). Burns well, rather dry and cool, and perfectly satisfies when you are in need for a medium strenght, smooth, tobacco that is fulfilling and rich at the same time. I even like to inhale some puffs!

2008 Update: smoking a 2002 tin right now... Smooth, smooth, smooth!!!! A wonderful smoky sweetness, creamy and thick! The stoving of the leaf is wonderful. I appreciate this tobacco even more today, and I sorely miss its departure. Latakia content seems perfect now, not light at all: simply perfect, without being overpowering. A very welcome change of taste, absolutely unique... at least until my cellar reserve will last!
3 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Aug 23, 2019 Medium Medium Mild to Medium Pleasant
Devilishly sweet tobacco! Upon opening my 15 year old tin, I was greeted with the unmistakable fragrance of that royal temptress, Latakia, and a delightful dram of daemon rum. I’m not sure why some people are not picking up on the rum. Although it does not dominate, its presence is always hovering in the background— a “spirit”, if you will, that desires to always remind us of its presence.The blend is a nice ribbon cut mixture of light and (satanically) dark, easy to pack, but seems to require some relights. Mild nic hit. The Virginias, complimented by the rum, dominate for me producing a sweet, flavorful (if not sinful) smoke. The Latakia is noticeable and adds a great balance to the blend. I think of this as a light aromatic English blend. Heaven forbid, I like this one! To those, like me, who will miss this blend:

Yahweh: You've been unhappy because you've desired things that cannot be.

Lucifer: That's what desire IS. The need for what we can't have. The need for what's readily available is called greed.” ― Mike Carey, Lucifer, Vol. 11: Evensong
Age When Smoked: 2004
2 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Mar 15, 2013 Medium Mild to Medium Medium Tolerable
Dated: 3/2000.

I liken Mephisto to Odyssey with Syrian and rum sprayed on it. If you like Odyssey, this will certainly please you, I'm sure. Mephisto's rum adds the chutzpah and the Syrian adds mucho sophistication (i.e. Charlize Theron in perfume commercials). I thought the "steamed and toasted" Pease does with Mephisto gave it an unusual humid-basement-like smell that doesn't take away anything but translates into an all around stellar blend. It took a minute to grow on me but we're there now. Fantastic aftertaste! P.S. Don't forget to load it loosely. The lat needs room to work its magic.
2 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Aug 27, 2012 Medium Very Mild Medium Pleasant to Tolerable
I always find it sad when reviewing a blend that is no longer on the market, especially when it is a blend that is as well done as Mephisto. My only complaint, and it is a very minor one, is that the chopped ribbons were a bit messy to work with and there were a few too many stems. As a result, the tobacco needed a bit of preparation. The blending of both Syrian and Cyprian Latakia supported by good quality Virginias and as described a “pinch” of Oriental make for a very rich tasting blend. The added time in the tin (mine was dated 5/04) has only served to make an already sweet blend sweeter. I don't think the added rum overpowers the blend. I found the rum to just enhance the richness of the blend. As each bowl progressed, the rum flavor did tend to diminish a bit. Now, having smoked nearly the entire tin, it is a little bittersweet in that never having the opportunity to try Mephisto when it was originally produced, I'm left longing for the very rare eBay tin. Three and a half stars.
2 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Dec 27, 2010 Medium Very Mild Medium Tolerable
Like all well aged blends with Latakia- finish it fast or jar it up! The taste will lessen significantly after about two weeks.

Now the review. Very good blend. The Latakias (both Syrian and Cyprus) interact very well. The Syrians spicy taste is enhanced by a very gentle addition of rum. I can understand why GLP does not introduce it with only Cyprian, because this is what the blend is all about to me- an interplay between Syrian and rum with a background mild smokiness from the Cyprian leaf. Virginia is way back in my opinion, but I can't believe it is there for more than a canvas for the paint.

Do not fear if this is your type of blend, Ebay sellers will put these tins up pretty regularly and the prices are less than half what they were one year prior to this date.

This review is based off of three tins smoked. Most recent dated 2000. Please don't forget to jar it up after opening, or better yet enjoy it while you have it within a couple weeks, rum flavor will dissipate and Latakia will lose its "umph".
2 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Aug 03, 2005 Medium Mild Medium to Full Pleasant to Tolerable
This may be premature, but I am giving this a review halfway through the tin. I plan to stop there and break out only for special occasions since Mephisto is no more. It's been a couple years since I've last smoked this particular GLP offering, but I'm going to work from memory and from this most recent lucky acquisition. I have to say, it's every bit as good as I remember. Pease can add subtle flavoring to a quality Balkan blend like no other. Any other way would ruin a perfectly good medley of tobaccos.

To start, the rum is dominant right out of the tin, peaking curiosity. To the touch, the tobacco feels just right with moisture and packs easily. Upon lighting, the senses are flooded with the smokey sweet floral spice of the finest exotic Oriental tobaccos, with a good healthy dose of Latakia. The aroma is of the typical campfire Balkan scent, with the added hint gingerbread. I attribute the gingerbread like aroma to the rum presence. Aside from the tin and burning aromatic effect, the rum is virtually absent in the taste. I think the Jamaican rum provides a quorum to bring the tobaccos into fine agreement and produce a unique taste, but nothing more. I believe those who are disturbed by the rum topping, may be thrown off by the psychological effects of the tin and smoke aroma. Hey, that's just my opinion, but try some if you can find it - you won't regret!
2 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jul 23, 2005 Medium Mild to Medium Full Tolerable
Much has already been said. I like the burning proporties and the taste. It is smooth and provides a thick smoke that dances around in front of you. A unique english blend worth giving a try. I think this joins the ranks of my favorite englishis (others are penzance and squadron leader).**

Has now become my everyday blend and a most favorite for sure. Very complex but not too powerfull and great burning properties. Gladd I got about 10 tins on a trip out of town to a store that had got this in but never moved any because the locals didnt want the stuff in the strange not so flashy looking can. I dont think you can get fresh anymore as production has been stopped. Maybe it will pick up again some time soon. Airing out and ageing help the smothness of this blend. Truyly great.
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