G. L. Pease Sixpence

Orignal Review 5/2/2016

I just recently finished a tin of this and was not that impressed. Perhaps, this is just a case of the VaBurPer being my goto blend of choice and this falling behind many of my favorites.

I am feeling at odds as I am reviewing two GLP blends today and both are receiving two star reviews although both are about one star apart. While the other was closer to one star, this one is right near three stars, but just doesn't get there to my tastes.

I did have a few good bowls of this though. My biggest complaint on this is there seems to be an odd sourness to this blend that I can't put my finger on. I think it may be coming from the Virginias that are used. It may also be a sort of topping or casing. Other than that there is still a faint nutty sweetness and a pretty good spice hit from the Perique.

I find this to be spot on in the nicotine department at least for me. One bowl will typically satisfy, but a second bowl will certainly not knock you out. So this one resides between two to three stars and drops to 2 for me as I can just list too many other similar blends that I prefer. I have another tin aging and will look forward to trying that at a later date. I will come back to this review at that time.

Update 6/8/2021

As happens so often, the description above changes sometime after I do a review. When I reviewed this the first time, it did not list any flavoring and now it says that it has an alcohol flavoring. To be more specific, it is the rum that C&D uses on the blends they produce. It did not take me long to figure this out. I just needed to try a few blends from C&D and Pease where Rum was the advertised topping. In the process I realized that they were using this in several blends including Union Square.

I really don't like this topping and I wish I knew the exact date that they started using it. For instance I started smoking Union Square in 2012 and it was a natural tasting virginia that was delicious. It seems that the tins dated in the 2014 and 2015 range changed and took on a funky taste that I greatly disliked. It was this same rum topping.

In any case, just because I dislike the topping does not mean you will as is evident by the reviews. I like some rums and dislike some rums (Bacardi White, I'm looking at you), and the same is apparently obvious with rum toppings on tobacco. Most of them I like, just none made by C&D.

Now first let me put a disclaimer, on my disclaimer. I am a new pipe smoker, still trying to find my bearings. Perhaps 4 months of experience. I've been a cigar smoker for over 10 years. Now to the review- As much as I wanted to like this blend. My throat just would not allow it. I'm not quite sure if it was the casing, the perique, or even the red Virginias. But something would make my throat swell up, and hurt for days. Every time Id be down for at least 3 or 4 days. I did give it a honest effort, I tried different cadences, different packing methods, different pipes, hell even different beverages along side the bowl. All and All this blend almost made me just give up pipe smoking all together. I know this is rare, and most people probably love this blend. Id recommend it to anybody who is interested in VaPers but again not my blend. I'm just curious if anybody else has had this reaction to this blend. I'm actually hesitant to try other GL Pease blends due to this experience. If anybody has any knowledge of what Im doing wrong, or experiencing please, I am all ears!

Presentation: Nice and easily broken apart flakes. Quite a dark tobacco given its components. Like all of GLPease flakes, I never really have to let these dry too much.

Palette: I definitely taste the red VA in this blend. As someone who smokes Fillmore quite often, it’s very reminiscent of that blend with the added Kentucky and topping. The VA is nice and rich with a spritz of a bread flavor in between. The reds really shine though. And offer a great earthy taste to them. The perique and Kentucky can be trade although I find for me that the Kentucky is able to be tasted more for me. The topping I’m unsure of. It does have a spirit like quality to it and once in a while pokes its head in for a surprise.

Performance: Burned a little bit faster than I’d like. Nicotine was a hair past the mid point mark. A few relights.

Conclusion: A good blend overall, but not something I’m too enamored about. If I want a Va/Per I’ll stick with my usual Fillmore. I might try this in a more wide bowl as I felt that using a deep and narrow bowl didn’t let me get all the flavors I was expecting.

I'm a huge fan of G.L. Pease blends. I suppose it was time that something came along that I didn't rave about. This blend doesn't impress me. While I'll agree that the component tobaccos are good, this blend doesn't impress.

This tastes like an experiment with muted Virginia's and mild Burly tobaccos. I'm told there is Kentucky's and Perique in this. I can pick up on some Perique, and barely any good Virginia's. The Kentucky claim seems like a vague reference to me. Perhaps some Kentucky burly, but definitely not dark-fired Kentucky. I like Dark-Fired, but I don't taste any here. I do taste old-time Kentucky burly though. I taste a lot of it. I like Kentucky burly, but not mixed with perique. This creates too much spice and not enough balance for my palate. There is very little sweetness in this blend. I've actually experienced more sweetness in straight Nicotaina Rustica than this blend offers. To me, this tastes like a slighting stronger flavored American OTC burly blend. Except, without the pleasing room note.

This might be a favorable blend for many pipers out there, but not me. I wanted to like this blend. I smoked a whole tin with every effort to make it enjoyable. Now that I've finished the tin, I feel relieved it's over. This blend just didn't agree with my tastes. For this reason, I'm giving it two stars.

It isn't all bad though. Here are the good things about this blend: It doesn't bite, it is smooth, it isn't overwhelming in flavor or strength, and my tin arrived at the perfect moisture level for smoking.

Something must have gone horribly wrong. A little searching on the interwebs confirmed my suspicion. I must have gotten an off tin. Opening it revealed some beautiful mottled Virginia and perique flakes, but after a day or two the tobacco grew mold. This is the only thing keeping me from rating it three stars.

The flavor was beautiful. The Virginias were deep and bread like, not as sweet as I would have liked, but it was a nice change of pace. The Kentucky might have toned the Virginias down a bit. The flavoring is present but ever so slightly. I really only noticed it on the initial light and a bit at the end of the bowl. It did need a bit of drying time but nothing to obscene. Mechanically the blend behaved pretty well. If I give it another shot, I will try rubbing it out thoroughly, this might have caused a few problems in my first bowl.

Again, I want to like this blend, but something went wrong. Others have noticed that there was a span of time that some of the C&D blends were off and I must have purchased the tin in that time frame. I believe it was around the release of the blend itself.

Six pence is an ok tobacco, but it has nothing that triggered or maintained my enthusiasm. The casing was nice, the tobacco was of a nice medium brown colour. What is odd is that Six pence smelled a lot like other tobaccos such as Navigator or Triple Play, for example; I'm thinking maybe it is the DFK or simply the anti fungus agent that C & D uses? The smoking did not unveil a tobacco that really has any complexity or develops significantly as I progressed through my bowls. Nicotine was medium, medium to strong. After having smoked two tins, it was enjoyable but not to the point where I would want to buy it again.

This one rates high on the Scoville Scale. It leaves my oral cavity burning like I've eaten chilli. I suspect the tablets have altered my chemical balances.

Shame. I get the impression that this is a really good baccy. But I can only give it two stars because I just can't tell.

Anyone want the 49 grams that are left?