G. L. Pease Samarra

Credit to GLP, firstly for the accuracy of the tobacco's description, and secondly for the quality of this smoke.

In the tin it is a mostly mahogany ribbon, with occasional black and blonde pieces. It comes in an optimal dryness for my tastes. There is a natural Va sweetness to the tin note with the predominant scent of Latakia.

Takes a light beautifully and burns without attention for the duration. It produces a rich and creamy smoke that is complex and lush. Occasional pepper notes, I presume from the perique, assert themselves from time to time, and this becomes moreso as the bowl progresses.

This is a beautiful tobacco that deserves its high praise. For me, I'm not entirely comfortable with this sort of perique presence in what might be called an English blend, altho this sort of thing has a long history and probably deserves its own genre name. The red Virginia so often used by GPS does its usual complex spicy thing. Won't be a regular for me, but certainly earns a place as an occasional change of pace pipe.

This is for me a 'sit and think' tobacco that I enjoy with a pot of tea. In fact I found a soothing drink a requisite when smoking this, to ease back the spice and pepper. For some pipesters I am confident this will be a further plus.

I was pleasantly surprised by Samarra. The orientals tone down the intensity that I'm use to with most Pease offerings. Light enough to smoke a few bowls and enjoy equally and with enough taste to require you to focus on what your smoking. This is the one, for me. Reflective, gentle, and on the heavy side of mild. I didn't find it "big" at all. Four stars for sure as it hits on all points of my ideal flavor profile.

Update 2/1/13: I just finished a ten year old tin of Samarra. Age has been kind to it, but I think with less age it is still a masterpiece. I crave a bowl of this often, even with dozens of options in the drawer. This is my go-to, light/medium, Balkan- esque tobacco. Bright and sunny on a cold winter day...Highly recommended.

This is good but I find it a little bland in terms of taste. I'm not really finding the complexity or rich taste others mentioned. Yes I have used a few different pipes.

I am a big Pease fan and this one I can see why some would really enjoy, but it is not intense enough to keep me interested. Don't get me wrong, it is good just not what I consider a stand out from the crowd blend.

I can see why people liking this sort of strength would love this. I just find it to be a midweight in terms of flavor, and I hate to say it but just a touch bland. Each to his own.

Normally this would ask for a lower rating from me, BUT considering the quality of leaf used and the well behaved manner of the tobacco. This earns a very solid 3 stars. There is nothing bad about it- it just does not get up to the level I enjoy.

If it grows on me I'll update.

Update: This has grabbed my attention a little better lately. About 3 weeks after I opened the tin things greatly improved. I never left the lid off but opened it every 4 or 5 days and let it breathe about 30 seconds and replaced the lid. The tin aroma and texture of the tobacco improved. It seemed to fulff up a bit.

It was about the 6th pipe I tried it in- then it hit me, all the different layers of taste sometimes taking turns or blending into nice combos. I had previously only smoked va tobaccos in this pipe and it was very clean. I find the blend like most needs it's own pipe. A straight, punto oro 506 Mr G Savinelli seems to be doing it the most good. Too big of a bowl and it just blurs all the tastes together too much. The perique is elusive but detectable.

Also to be noted, This is a good first or second smoke of the day. It really does go much better on a clean palate. I have found it to be extremely pipe picky, but when you find the right one it can be very rewarding. What most people would call a small deep bowl favors it. Most pipes that smoke red/orange fine cut va's well will work ok.

Still a very solid 3.5 stars though. Not quite a 4. better than a 3. I think one of the key points to all pease blends is they they offer volumous clouds of pleasent tasting smoke. This allows you to smoke at a medium to relaxed pace and get a good satisfying quanity of smoke from the pipe. You should not feel the need to rush these tobacco's. Even though I don't care for every pease blend, They are all well done.

Update: 4 stars, very complex. took longer than usual to appreciate this tobacco for what it is. Must get more.

Presentation: Tin looks the same as all the others in the Pease Original Series. Black and white label with blue accent and pipes photographed in the background.

Cut: Coarse cut, perfect moisture.

Tin note: Has a smoky, raisin smell.

Tasting notes: Tangy, smoky, earth on the light. A hint of hay and spice.Tart, in a citrus kind of way at times. Bready sweet when sipped. At times slightly creamy. This blend is more complex than my tasting notes give it credit for. I have smoked 4 bowls in a row trying to wrap my head around this blend and this is all I could come up with.

Mechanics: N/A -- Well behaved blend.

Extra Remarks: This blend is great for when you just want to smoke and not worry about minute details of the tobacco, but it is also excellent when you do want to. Complexity out of this world, very flavorful, easy to handle. Ignoring preference differences among each of us, this is one of those blends I can't find a single thing to knock it on. Outstanding. 4 stars.

Wow . . .

Um, okay – so, this is a phenomenal blend. Samarra was introduced nearly twenty years ago, in March of 2000 -- 13-years before I even picked up the pipe -- which just goes to show how new I am indeed to the world of briars & whatnot. The difficulty with reviewing a blend two-decades after its release is that all the good stuff has already been said about it. “Wow” is what literally came out of my mouth (actual, audible verbalization) upon my first retro-hale of this blend. For me, personally, it’s always been “hit-or-miss” when it comes to Pease blends. Westminster, for instance, didn’t “wow” me the way Samarra did. Westminster was more of a “meh” for me, whereas I found Samarra to be extra-special, right out of the tin. (I should pass cold towels around for all who were shocked at my “meh” for Westminster). So, after reading all of the 1 and 2-star reviews on Samarra for constructive criticisms, all I really came away with is that (again), reviewing tobacco is a personal, individual, subjective and idiosyncratic affair: there are no absolutes. For me, however, Samarra is an exceptional creation by Greg Pease – absolutely. 4-stars.

In two words: Smooth and smokey. Its got good body but this is not an imposing tobacco. Other commenters are right about it having complexity. While the latakia is noticable this is IMO still driven by the Va's. Very nice and well worth a try.

My first few bowls of this were wildly variable. My first bowl was "wow -- this is great!". But my next few were "meh -- nothing special", or worse.

But I finally found a pipe (a large-bowled brandy) that brought out the potential I knew it had, and it is very nice indeed! Creamy -- even buttery -- smoothness, delectably spicy without dominating the blend, soft and well-rounded latakia tones. A beautifully balanced medium english blend with lots of complexity to maintain interest. It seems to straddle the line between english & balkan perfectly. Would make a good, classy all-day blend. Definitely recommended -- if you find the right pipe to bring it to life.

Update: 10/27/08 It is nearly a year later. Samarra has become my goto blend. At one point, I strongly considered not looking any further. NAH! This site is very enjoyable - so I must press on. However, Sammarra will remain a constant companion.

At the opening of the tin my olfactory glands noted what seemed to be the scent of a full-on English. To me that signals room note issues. That did not seem to be an issue after lighting up though.Upon lighting up, I tasted a wonderful array. Latakia was there with its wonderful smokiness and there was a stewed plum or currant taste. The lemon Virginia really shines in this one.There was some wetness in the bowl. However, the wetness was most likely due to my smoking it a bit fast during my fist bowl; as I wanted more of this wonderful blend.

I must agree with Pipeline here. Although Blackpoint is a fine blend this is more to my taste. Frankly,had this not been so I would have looked to another brand when I wanted something with Latakia. I would have returned to Mr. Pease for his wonderful Fillmore, though. Not to detract from them, but if you enjoy Mc Clelland's Frog Morton series - especially FMOTB; but were looking for more smoke - you might want to try this blend.

Complex? I've seen fewer moving parts in a Swiss watch.

I first tried this in my little "taster" billiard and was underwhelmed. I now smoke it in the largest bowl I have and, and, and HOLY SMOKE! This blend has more twists and turns than a roller coaster, without the dizziness. If this bores you in the proper bore, you aren't doing it right.

Great layering of flavors, aromas and textures, this one begs to be huffed, but don't indulge your inner shop-vac, and keep the pace slow.

Right Tasty! Get some.