G. L. Pease Sixpence

As a newbie VA admirer I can proudly say that this is the tobacco! This is absolutely well crafted and blended mixture. I have to give an applause for the blenders. Perique was noticeable on the nose, it slightly bits front of the nose, but not in disturbing way. the broken flakes have ideal humidity, easy to rub and fill in.

Good companion for drambuie. sweet taste of the booze balancing the smooth smoke of VA. highly recommended!

I've been smoking SixPence on and off for about 10 months and its one of my favourite blends.

When I first smoked it I felt it was very harsh especially at the beginning but then the "mystery continued" to draw me into this blend and harshness was nowhere to be found. The tin aroma suggests a spirit (I later learned from Greg that its Anise) as a topping but a certain fruitiness emerges from within the mix of alcohol and hay. Almost burry and/or fig. The smell is also very sweet I felt I could stuff some flakes in my mouth and chew on them. I cube cut it and filled my pipe.

Being a burlyphile I could detect the dark leaf but only enough to know that its at the party. The interplay between the Virginias and the Perique produces a very nice and sweet taste that is more than what a young tangy Virginia would otherwise produce on its own. I feel the perique is used with restraint which is good news for me. At the beginning the charing light produces a sweet and liquor flavourful smoke. A very encouraging start indeed. I feel that this blend changes as you smoke it. My mind wants to think that it starts young and exuberant then turns into a darker mysterious incarnation of itself (especially at the end) - I can also detect more of the Kentucky at that stage.

The room note is very nice on this one and will most likely never offend.

Final note, rubbing this out fully produces a noticeably different smoke. The flavours pop up more but of course its a substantially shorter smoke that way. I also like pairing it with a strong slightly sweet Coffee.

Like 99% of GLPs blends; another masterpiece.

Pease Pilgrimage Reviews (a tasting journey through every GLPease blend). Please check my other reviews on every Pease blend, except for the four latest releases including this one - I’ll get to the others soon!

I love popping a new tin of almost anything, but with a Pease blend it’s always a moment to be savored. Sixpence delivers that wonderful aroma I love of sweet fermenting hay and dried fruits, accompanied by the sourness of the Perique which is captivating. Some are turned off by the sour - but I love it. The topping comes through for the first 30 seconds and has a significant effect on the aroma, then the liquor vapors begin to dissipate, leaving in their wake that great nose that I could sit and enjoy for hours with my schnoz buried deep in the tin.

Ready to smoke right out of the tin, I rub it out and pack it a little more lightly than usual since it turns easily into a fine broken ribbon that is easy to pack too tightly. It took a little longer than usual to light, since I don’t (I rarely do) give it any time to dry, another reason to pack lightly. The slices are beautifully presented and it’s almost a shame to rub them out (almost). Many reviewers used the fold and stuff method, which I have not yet tried.

Many of those beautiful tobacco aromas translate into the smoke - the liquor, not as much. It seems to burn off quickly, and the effect on the smoke thereafter is minimal, but still present. Letting the pipe rest for 30 seconds or so seems to bring the casing to the forefront again, although it quickly gives way again to the tobacco itself, which really shines. The Virginias do what they’re supposed to do, and the Kentucky comes through a little more than I had suspected. The Perique balance is just right, adding the spice and another level of complexity to search out and savor.

The combination of Virginia with Perique became a classic for a reason - I like to think of a Vaper as a tobacco unto itself. Kind of iconic. So I see two things going on here, the Vaper part and the Kentucky part. About halfway through the bowl the various flavors have melded together into a rich smoky experience which should appeal to Latakia hounds, but also - surprisingly - a little more of Virginia sweetness comes through. Nowhere will you find the campfire smoke of Latakia, but the richness of the flavors provide a great respite from Latakia-forward blends. If you love Latakia but don’t like straight Virginias, you ought to try a tin of Sixpence.

Vitamin N is certainly present, a bit stronger than your average blend, but not overpowering, and slowly increasing throughout the bowl. The mouthfeel is clean, and more austere than a heavy english blend. It’s delicious right now, fresh from the blending table, but I expect it to age magnificently as everything blends and rests. I ordered one tin, but will obviously need to stash a few. An easy four star blend from The Man.

The bold, full-bodied character of this blend is characteristic of Pease's work. Here, nutty and somewhat woody Burley flavors are rounded with fruity Perique, and sweetened by soft Virginias. Slow smoking will keep the Burley bitters in check and generate complex and luxurious tastes. Great clarity, and distinct yet harmonious tobacco flavors. Very smooth.

The first thing I should note is that this is a very inviting and approachable tobacco, which is unique given its robustness. It’s a tobacco with depth of flavor and is interesting from start to finish. The texture reminds me a lot of C&D produced broken flakes and smokes / behaves similarly to stuff like Carolina Red Flake. If I didn’t know any better, I’d basically say that’s what this is with a lot extra going on with the perique and the dark fired. The additional top note sweetens, rounds and sublimates the tobaccos to where it blends together just enough to call it rounded. That being said, enjoyable puffs of dark fired jump out at me from time to time and I can pick out individual flavors now and again, which keeps the blend interesting. This would be good for anyone looking for looking for something to break up the more monotone nature of a straight Virginia or Va/Per or possibly someone that finds dark fired Kentucky to be a bit too strong on its own. The perique is here, and noticeable and enjoyable, but I wouldn’t let that stop you from trying this if you’re sensitive to perique like I sometimes am. It’s not as noticeable or as strong as it probably would be if it were in a Va/Per and mostly just adds another interesting layer to the overall mix. I could see this aging exceptionally well, so I’m probably going to end up buying a couple of tins for the ole cellar. Another wonderful and modern twist on an old tobacco from Mr. Pease.

Tin note is classic vaper, with a mild alcoholic topping. I don’t detect much Kentucky.

I love this cut. Pease has utilized this cut in several blends (Meridian, Chelsea Morning), and it is somewhere between a ribbon, ready rubbed, and broken flake. It is very easy to grab and stuff without any fuss.

This tin was a little moist for a C&D produced tobacco, but it didn’t require more than 15 minutes of drying.

Smoking was a pleasure. Classic vaper flavors, with a subtle depth and smokiness from the Kentucky. The Perique was present in terms of raisin and fig notes, without too much spice. Burns a little fast, and the alcoholic topping pokes through just enough to let you know it’s there.

Most Pease blends require time to tease out all the nuances and subtle complexities. I just sat back and enjoyed this one. Enjoy it I did.

Cold smell: When you open the tin, it immediately gives off a strong vinegary aroma without the need to bring your nose closer. When approached, the smell is quite spicy, penetrating, with some indescribable nuances for me, which I suppose are due to the coverage. These two factors suggest that the mixture has a significant load of perique. The very homogeneous broken flake cut facilitates the dosage to load the pipe, since it is possible to take the exact amount of tobacco that is needed to smoke, without having to leave “excess” tobacco. Visually it has a very attractive presentation, predominantly dark brown and alternating a good amount of reddish and black streaks.

When lighting the tobacco, the presence of the perique stands out as expected, and although it is not overwhelming as one might think when smelling it cold, it does become the protagonist during the first third of the bowl. In the second third and until the end of the pipe it gives the impression that the perique loses strength and competes for the leading role with the Virginias and Kentucky, the latter managing to win the game at times. It is curious to me that this happened to other smokers in reverse order. First they noticed the Virginias and the Kentucky and then the perique appeared. But I guess this is not so strange. The pinches, or in this case pieces of flake that we smokers are not exactly the same, so the proportions of the different tobacco that we are smoking will never be exactly the same. This happens to the same smoker each time he takes the tobacco from the can. I think that sometimes this aspect can confuse us and give us an illusory feeling that the differences between one smoke and another are due to a change in the pipe, of course without denying the influence that this aspect may have on the different smokes.

As for the coverage, it is barely perceptible to me. In short, the first tasting did not surprise me so much since I found a tasty vaper but rather more typical than I expected, although with a more changeable smoke than other vapers. Highly recommended for initiates who want to appreciate the flavor of the perique without being overwhelmed by it. For more daring smokers or in search of more intense flavors and aromas, I would recommend Telegraph Hill. I will remain attentive in the successive puffs of this mixture and I would not be surprised if I have to make additions or corrections to these first comments.

1st review on 09/19/2020: I recently tried Cornell & Diehl's Pennington Gap blend, flavored with bourbon, and found it to be the same carcass used in Sixpence, only there in much larger quantities and here so more subtle. As I have smoked this mixture more and more I have enjoyed it more and more. Highly recommended, especially if you already know other more typical vapers.

I expected to love this one, as I enjoy all the component tobaccos, appreciate most Pease blends, and don't mind a bit of liquor as a topping. While it's an objectively good tobacco, I merely enjoyed it.

The hay and mowed grass notes from the VAs really stuck out to me more than anything initially. The topping is more noticeable in the tin than in the pipe. I don't taste much from the perique or DFK. It's has some substance in terms of body, and a decent amount of nicotine. It's a good smoke, but I just felt like I wanted something more. May just be the limitations of my palate.

It may not be a good thing, but I normally only review blends I really like and this time is no exception. To me, this blend is great to smoke as my last pipe of the night as I'm doing at this very moment. I think it's obvious Pease was going for something on the ancient and mysterious side of things and he did well designing this one. All Gl Pease blends are manufactured by Cornell and deihl using the same basis tobaccos they use. Ironically, I seem to prefer Gl Pease blends to Cornell and deihl even though Pease is apparently far removed from the actual blending and manufacturing process. If you don't believe me, look up the Cornell and deihl factory tour and owners interview on YouTube. Very interesting video. This is a very nice va/per that has that grandfather's special stash quality. Or something from the Lord of the rings in middle earth if you know that I mean. I really like that. I usually tend to smoke Virginia heavy blends these days and I'm not a huge fan of most blends with dark fired in them, but with the way this one is blended it really is awesome. Well, let me get back to my pipe now. Happy smoking.