G. L. Pease Renaissance
(3.68)
Renaissance is a classic medium English mixture, rich in Oriental tobaccos, a good measure of Cyprian and Syrian Latakias, and just enough golden, red and matured Virginias to provide substance to the smoke. The nutty flavors of the oriental tobaccos are the main focus, with the Latakias providing an almost leathery spiciness. These flavors are perfectly balanced by the subtle sweetness of the Virginas to complete this elegant mixture.
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 | |
| Cut | Ribbon |
| Packaging | 2oz Tin |
| Country | United States |
| Production | No longer in production |
Profile
Strength
Medium
Extremely Mild -> Overwhelming
Flavoring
None Detected
None Detected -> Extra Strong
Room Note
Tolerable
Unnoticeable -> Overwhelming
Taste
Medium to Full
Extremely Mild (Flat) -> Overwhelming
Average Rating
|
3.68 / 4
|
Reviews
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Displaying 41 - 50 of 50 Reviews
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 16, 2008 | Medium | None Detected | Medium to Full | Tolerable |
Update three years later..... The obnoxious greenness has indeed abated; I now pronounce it cured. It may have completed its journey after only two years in the can. I forgot I had an open tin until recently. I owed Greg this update, but not an apology- it really was initially nasty. Do I like it? Well... Yes, the tin I smoke from is quite adequate, damn good even, but having been opened in 2005, it has lost its subtle graces. The closest I can compare it to is Squadron Leader, a favorite of mine. I'm too cheap to crack open a fresh tin due to its appreciation on the open market; my tins will become gifts instead to a few pipe snobs who have taught me much.
From 2005: I hate to keep pissing on GLP blends, especially this one, his only 4-star (with more than 5 reviews) as of this writing. From the ingredients, it ought to be my favorite. I enjoy the smoky phenolic tin aroma and virtually every characteristic about it... but the flavor. All I can taste is harsh latakia with an undertone of coarse steel wool. Extremely dry, ammoniacal and *green, like uncured tobacco, like drying latex paint. Orientals? Can't taste any.
My (second) tin is now six months old, and I'm praying for a mellowing effect with age. Raven's Wing started the same way, but became smokeable after a year, and very nicely so.
This may be a bad lot or it may be my body chemistry. Why similar C&D blends with similar (same?)leaves don't share this quality is a mystery.
I cannot recommend what I dislike, but will give it two stars, borrowing one from a hopefully better update in December.
* I use the term "green" as a euphemism for harsh, raw, astringent and noxious. I've grown tobacco and unfortunately recognize greenness when I taste it. This has it.
From 2005: I hate to keep pissing on GLP blends, especially this one, his only 4-star (with more than 5 reviews) as of this writing. From the ingredients, it ought to be my favorite. I enjoy the smoky phenolic tin aroma and virtually every characteristic about it... but the flavor. All I can taste is harsh latakia with an undertone of coarse steel wool. Extremely dry, ammoniacal and *green, like uncured tobacco, like drying latex paint. Orientals? Can't taste any.
My (second) tin is now six months old, and I'm praying for a mellowing effect with age. Raven's Wing started the same way, but became smokeable after a year, and very nicely so.
This may be a bad lot or it may be my body chemistry. Why similar C&D blends with similar (same?)leaves don't share this quality is a mystery.
I cannot recommend what I dislike, but will give it two stars, borrowing one from a hopefully better update in December.
* I use the term "green" as a euphemism for harsh, raw, astringent and noxious. I've grown tobacco and unfortunately recognize greenness when I taste it. This has it.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Apr 22, 2006 | Mild to Medium | None Detected | Mild to Medium | Tolerable |
I had a tin of this that I had acquired before the notorious fire that caused the loss of the Syrian latakia. I had it sitting on the shelf, because I had not gotten to it yet. All of a sudden, tins are going for fifty dollars on ebay. It was mighty tempting to list this one. I did not.
I was looking for something special to celebrate passing the RS/REHS certification (an environmental health certification that involves a 250 question test that covers everything under the sun- nasty).
I pulled down the tin of Renaissance. Upon opening, I was presented with a very nice smoky, latakia aroma. The cut was very attractive.
Loaded a pipe, and put it to flame. It was too wet, and was hard to keep lit, but seemed to taste good.
I let the tin dry, and have worked my way about halfway through it. It is good, but does not seem to have all the nuance and the slight sweetness that Samarra does.
I will gladly smoke my way throught the tin, but I wish that I had sold it and bought five tins of Samarra instead.
I was looking for something special to celebrate passing the RS/REHS certification (an environmental health certification that involves a 250 question test that covers everything under the sun- nasty).
I pulled down the tin of Renaissance. Upon opening, I was presented with a very nice smoky, latakia aroma. The cut was very attractive.
Loaded a pipe, and put it to flame. It was too wet, and was hard to keep lit, but seemed to taste good.
I let the tin dry, and have worked my way about halfway through it. It is good, but does not seem to have all the nuance and the slight sweetness that Samarra does.
I will gladly smoke my way throught the tin, but I wish that I had sold it and bought five tins of Samarra instead.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Oct 07, 2005 | Medium | None Detected | Medium | Tolerable |
Renaissance is by far the smoothest English blend I've ever tried. Subtlties abound in its mingling set of very well balanced flavors. The room note and even the taste remind me a lot of the incense used in Catholic masses at the abbey near my childhood home. With all this going for it, this should be one of my favorites but for some reason it isn't. It's simply too light an English to fit into my regular rotation. I like blends that send a wave of orientals and/or Latakia washing across the palate. Call me a simpleton, but I prefer Squadron Leader or a good Balkan (like GLP's Charing Cross, actually). Nevertheless, I keep a can of Renaissance around for the occasional after-dinner smoke, when I feel like concentrating on the hidden treasures to be found in this exceptionally well made blend.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Sep 11, 2004 | Strong | None Detected | Full | Overwhelming |
I didn't get very excited by this one. I can't add more than the tin description says (it is a "classic English blend") except that it is a bit richer and thicker than I expected; definetly an extra-full flavored blend. If you like English blends, this one is worth a try. I thought it to be clean and to smoke well but it didn't really excite me enough to stock my cellar with it. It is a good tobacco (as usual for a Pease), it just dosen't suit my usual cravings.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 12, 2004 | Mild to Medium | None Detected | Medium | Tolerable |
Although I've rated Renaissance as "I smoke this on occasion," I did so more because I believe this is a high-quality tobacco, than because I actually liked it. I was searching the reviews and descriptions for tobaccos that might have the tangy tinge that I liked so much from Balkan 15 (by Smoke 'n' Snuff of Florida) and was very impressed with G.L.Pease's Samarra. So I branched out into his selections, trying recently Charing Cross and now Renaissance. Well, I find Renaissance as high-quality as the others, but much less Latakia than I'd like. It is a well-rounded, nutty, sometimes beefy taste, and that disappoints me. I want that Darjeeling thing. So I find the tin description ever so slightly misleading on Renaissance -- "a good measure of Cyprian and Syrian Latakia" should be reworded as "a hint of ...". It's largely a Virginia blend, to my unrefined palate, and it has more nicotine than I'd like.
I'll continue with this one tin for another few bowlfuls, unless someone emails me (hint hint) to offer a trade of my remaining Renaissance (approx. 1.99999 oz.) for Samarra or another zingy tangy blend by G.L.Pease, maybe Cairo or ... what's that other one ... Barbary Coast? Can't remmeber. Hint hint.
So, it's a high-quality smoke, but not the type I was looking for. People who like Virginia-based English blends with only the sneakiest suspicion of an Oriental zip to it would LOVE this tobacco -- hence the many positive reviews. I find it is too, umm, cigar-like, beefy, what's the word -- unhealthy tasting. Reminds me of musty old stogies.
I'll continue with this one tin for another few bowlfuls, unless someone emails me (hint hint) to offer a trade of my remaining Renaissance (approx. 1.99999 oz.) for Samarra or another zingy tangy blend by G.L.Pease, maybe Cairo or ... what's that other one ... Barbary Coast? Can't remmeber. Hint hint.
So, it's a high-quality smoke, but not the type I was looking for. People who like Virginia-based English blends with only the sneakiest suspicion of an Oriental zip to it would LOVE this tobacco -- hence the many positive reviews. I find it is too, umm, cigar-like, beefy, what's the word -- unhealthy tasting. Reminds me of musty old stogies.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Feb 03, 2004 | Medium | None Detected | Medium to Full | Tolerable |
Intrigued by the mixture of Syrian and Cyprian Latakia dancing clouds of sublime smoke above my head, and not to mention the rave reviews here, I had to give a go. First I bought a pound, well just in case, anyway, nice strands of brown, gold, black, with a bit of green? Not sure, maybe some cavendish. Tobacco comes as all Greg Pease blends do, just right. Packing was easy enough, so it was time to light it up, the charring light produced voluminous amounts of smoke, and what a treat, the olfactory senses were working overtime trying to assimilate the varying tobaccos. As with all blends, this too, changed it's complexity down the bowl, Virginia's wafting in and out, with the dueling Latakia's bouncing around, with the Oriental's as support. This left a nice grey ash, with no dottle, and a pleased palate, good stuff!
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Nov 07, 2003 | Mild to Medium | None Detected | Full | Tolerable |
While I love a lot of Gregory Pease's blends, I do not worship the Alter of GLP. What I DO appreciate is how well he balances his blends and makes each offering distinct from the others.
Renaissance (I always missed this one on spelling tests) is a great example of this balance. It is not a heavy hitter in the realm of latakia blends- and I am a fan of the heavy hitters- , but the interweaving of flavors in Renaissance is superb. There are so many dimensions to this blend that it justifies enjoyment with minimal distractions. A "must have" blend for those Renaissance moments...
I still prefer the heavy hitters and tried 1 part of Pirate Kake to 4 parts of Renaissance. (sacreligous to GLP worshippers, I know- 40 lashings) but this just ruined the balance. Now, I just leave it alone.
I wish that these GLP blends were not so expensive, or they would be more staples in my cellar.
Renaissance (I always missed this one on spelling tests) is a great example of this balance. It is not a heavy hitter in the realm of latakia blends- and I am a fan of the heavy hitters- , but the interweaving of flavors in Renaissance is superb. There are so many dimensions to this blend that it justifies enjoyment with minimal distractions. A "must have" blend for those Renaissance moments...
I still prefer the heavy hitters and tried 1 part of Pirate Kake to 4 parts of Renaissance. (sacreligous to GLP worshippers, I know- 40 lashings) but this just ruined the balance. Now, I just leave it alone.
I wish that these GLP blends were not so expensive, or they would be more staples in my cellar.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Nov 05, 2002 | Medium | None Detected | Medium | Tolerable |
This blend is the smoothest tobacco mixture ever . So smooth and subtle. It only seems to need one light. Much finer cut than Ravens Wing and more virginia based. The latakia content has been taken way down . A bowl of this is like a driving or being driven in a Mercedes, you may travel at the same speed and arrive at your destination just the same but what happened along the way was subtle and sophisticated. A smaller bowl size about a group 4 seemed to work best. A rare treat.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Oct 06, 2002 | Medium | None Detected | Mild to Medium | Tolerable |
Although Renaissance contains Latakia, it's impossible for me to think of it as just a "Latakia blend." This tobacco is simply too complicated and too refined to be compared to the hip-hop bass thump of many Latakia-heavy blends. The orientals and the Virginias in this blend carry just as much freight as the Latakias and the smoking experience is wonderfully tasty and complex. Like all Pease blends, the smoking characterics, cut, and consistency are all top drawer. Renaissance smokes down to a very dry light grey ash, and leaves your pipe quite clean.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Jan 16, 2002 | Medium to Strong | None Detected | Full | Pleasant |
See notes on Ravens Wing . This tobacco comes in a very close second in my cellar . A wonderful Latakia blend .
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