G. L. Pease Sixpence

I must admit that I usually am strictly McClelland, Escudo and Dunhill DNR when it comes to VaPers and when of comes to Latakia... GLP. I was lucky to have a taste of this wonderful weed before it even had a name. If you have ever doubted GLP in this category, I urge you to tryus Sixpence. This is about as balanced as a VaPer can get!!! The Virginia's and the Kentucky kinda take the front seat upon lighting, giving the zingy VAs a nutty backdrop. About a quarter of the way in the perique kicks in. I don't know how to explain how this blends flavors meld but I'm going to try. For some reason.I get a taste of graham crackers when I exhale out my nose. As the pipe burns, all of the tobaccos join together creating one flavor that dances on my taste buds. This flake burns perfectly the whole way down, leaving no dottle and maintaining a solid smoke. The topping works more like a glue, holding all these flavors together without taking front stage. Age will only do this stuff wonders...I suggest cellaring as .such of this stuff as possible. For me this blend breaks all the GLP barriers and takes #1 in my rotation. All I can think of is balance......everything from room note to nicotine.. (actually the nicotine is a little more then usual GLP flakes....not quite JKP but more then Fillmore or Union Square). I can smoke this all day long without tiring of its flavor, its satisfying and bold as well as smooth. Just give it a try....I promise you won't be dissatisfied!

I am a big fan of Sixpence. I loved the way Greg Pease wove the Kentucky and Virginia together and topped the broken flakes with some sort of casing that was quite tasty. Sixpence burned a little more quickly than many Pease blends, and a slow draw was needed to fully appreciate all the different and wonderful flavors. I know everyone's chemical makeup is such that certain blends are loved by some and hated by others, but I can't imagine anyone not liking Sixpence.

Pipestud

G. L. Pease - Sixpence (Old London Series).

I normally like a blend containing Perique as my breakfast blend, and because I've just finished off the tin of Sunday Picnic which was my recent one, I decided this would be my morning smoke for the week.

Before I properly begin, I'll get the bad point out of the way: it's the dampest G. L. Pease blend I've had. It has to have a decent airing period, otherwise it won't stay lit for love nor money! Bad point dealt with.

The first thing to jump out at me attests just how vague the name Broken Flake can be. To me, they're simply flakes, unbroken!

The topping's a little tricky to pin-point, the tin-note implies alcohol, what sort's a mystery though. But, for me, the smoke clears this conundrum up: I'd say rum. It doesn't seem strongly flavoured, but it has a slight rummy sweetness that works impeccably alongside the fruity Perique. The tobaccos are obviously exceedingly high quality, they ooze eminence. Like I just said, the Perique's fruity, as opposed to being sharp. The Kentucky gives a smokiness, but it's not as headstrong as it can sometimes be. The Virginia's the lightest in flavour, it just gives a tiny amount to the mix. The burn's constant and even, providing it's not neglected, and the smoke's of a medium temperature from it.

The nicotine amount fits the morning slot well: above medium, and the room-note's quite nice.

This is one of those blends where it starts off good and just keeps getting better and better!

Highly recommended.

This tobacco is excellent. The Virginias taste full and smooth, and the Perique is noticeable throughout the whole smoke. The two weave back and forth with each other for the first quarter of the bowl, and then everything melds together into a perfect flavor for the rest of the smoke. One thing I've noticed is that this blend has an extremely potent amount of nicotine. Just about at my limit, I find myself putting the pipe down a couple times to give myself a break. The retrohale is fantastic, sweet with plum flavors, and a good 'sting.'

This is my first real experience with G.L. Pease, and I will certainly be trying every tobacco offered from this company. Top quality leaf, presentation, and flavor. 100% pleased and will definitely always have this tobacco in my supply.

The Perique is figgy, fruity and mildly spicy. The Virginias are fruity and sweet. The DFK is very earthy, mildly nutty and has a touch of spice. The topping is a mystery, kinda sweet and I think I detect some fruity notes from it as well.

Altogether it's a very earthy VaPer that's heavy on the fruity notes and light on the spice. A very nice smoke. Unique and satisfying. Nice fairly bold flavors.

Medium in body and taste. Flavoring is very mild. Burns very well rubbed out or left as is.

(Disclaimer: Only been smoking pipes for about a year, so take my little review with that in mind)

That being said! The tin note on this blend is very sweet! Plum, sugars, tea, hay, and some hints of a dark chocolate. The charring light/post tamping smoke was very very creamy with hints of plum, hay, and some spice from the Perique. After only letting a flake rubbed out dry for about 10 minutes, It took one light to smoke down the entire bowl! Luck probably had something to do with it, but it is pretty rare for me to only have to tamp to keep a bowl lit.

As someone who mainly smokes English blends, I can honestly say I will be ordering 5+ tins of this blend. Very full flavored, great burning, tolerable room note, zero tongue bite, and honestly the first VaPer I have smoked where I wanted to keep enjoying it the rest of the night.

The Fine Print

Tin Aroma: Premium Virginia goodness with just a sour hint of Perique and lots of sweet brandy.

Preparation: The flakes come tightly packed in the tin. As these are broken and not whole flakes, I rub them out completely and then fill the pipe with the Frank’s method. You can smoke it folded and stuffed or fully rubbed, the experience will not disappoint in any way.

The Flakes: Very classic presentation, Sixpence comes tightly and neatly packed. Broken almost full flakes delicately packed in thick paper with something that can only be described as a double cover on the tin. The broken flakes are one of the lightest, fluffiest you will ever encounter if you are new to GL Pease blends.

Charlight: First Draw, very creamy, very light, perfect harmony of the leaf, the smoke is rich but never owerpowering, the special spirit used gives a really sweet profile for the first 1-2 minutes initially. The perique is a delight, never assaulting the senses but rather caressing you at all times. Retrohale is quite strong and you can taste the tasty virginia with the hints of perique wonderfully.

The first quarter- Virginia Song: This tobacco is a wonderfully crafted dessert for the VaPer lovers, after the first charlight you barely would need a first light even, smoke it slowly and the wonderful nuances starts to heat up and slowly start coming out. Lots of virginia goodness, farm fresh hay !! a very good concoction indeed. As you progress further the perique starts to show its presence with the kentucky giving it a slightly fuller body. The taste of brandy lingers slightly with lots of virginia hay goodness, the chocolate coming out in the room note with the kentucky. Retrohale at this stage packs a lot of heat in terms of spice like cayenne but not pepper.

10 minutes into the smoke and finally the first true light was needed. Try to delicately light this leaf, as any extra heat will only add to the burnt bitterness in the taste profile. Very smoky, medium spicy, the broken flakes are now working wonders. Perique stays with you throughout; going up and down depending on your smoking rhythm. If you are a retrohale junkie, you will LOVE SixPence. There is strength in the blend but it won’t knock you out senseless. The sweetness rears its head up from time to time as an aftertaste but it gets muted by the Kentucky giving it an overall nutty, woody taste.

The second quarter - Perique awakens: 15-20 minutes into the experience; the Virginia has warmed up and blended well with the sidekick Perique/Kentucky. Expect perfect harmony, “balanced” is the keyword which keeps popping up in my mind. Miss Nicotine starts to show her presence in your blood stream as she tenderly cajoles you towards your daily dose of her in a very manner. She is a refined lover, show her some tender love and care and she will keep on giving you her wonderful attention. A very submissive partner appealing to your inner masculinity. As with all Virginia blends, go slow. You don't want this blend to burn at a higher rate as it naturally burns faster compared to the other Pease blends I have been smoking.

30 minutes into the smoke and I put my pipe down and reach for a chilled bottle of club soda.

Just a friendly reminder, if you haven't smoked a VaPer for some time, I would urge you to keep some cold water/club soda with you as you will certainly feel the nicotine slowly progressing on you.

After a few big swigs of the bubbly water and a little rest time. I light up my pipe again to continue the experience.

Second Half - Kentucky dominance: By the time you reach at the beginning of the second half the aftertaste of virginias has given away the stage to the woody flavor on your palate. The smoke is still rich and creamy without going overboard which is a welcome surprise as VaPer (Vrginia/Perique)blends tend to get more on the bitter side by now. The brandy casing is still detectable if you puff really slow and give sometime between each successive draws. A fantastic experience for smokers who love a healthy dose of nicotine in their blends but don't want to get dominated.

The retrohale has matured into a fuller version of the previous heat with a floral note in between. Never has my nose been treated to this royal treatment with any other blender's creations like it has with Gregory Pease's. At this stage, you would like to get rid of the ash in your pipe as you start the journey towards the last quarter or you might need a few more lights making the tobacco hot in the process.

Climax By this time I had put my pen down and allowed the experience to completely overtake me. Enjoying the perfect retrohale with every puff with my eyes closed; not wanting the bowl to finish but to linger on as long as possible. Bravo! Gregory Pease

Smokeability: Sixpence burns perfect all the way down, leaving no dottle and maintaining a perfect smoke. It stays rich and creamy throughout the smoking experience. The flakes pack perfect; you don’t need to rub them fully or if you want you can go ahead and rub them out. The experience more or less stays the same. The tobacco burns down to almost zero ash and maintains a steady pace. You might feel a tingle on your tongue because of the spice in the blend but this blend will never give a tongue bite or a tongue burn as long as you show proper respect.

Summary: If you are a big fan of Darwin you will love this blend, a lot. The tobacco constantly keeps evolving to a rich full smoking experience and keeps on giving you the subtle variations and complexities it has in store for you. As is common with almost all G L Pease blends;Sixpence would do wonders when aged. I wonder how would it taste like at 5,10,15,20 years. Hard work and lots of endless nights have gone into the alchemy which gave birth of this gem of a blend. A very welcome addition to anyone and everyone’s cellar.

An epic journey from tin to ash. I will give this blend a solid 3.5 out of 4.

Smoking Companions: A chilled bottle of Club Soda.

Will buy again? Hell YES!

A very attractive tin that promises a mysterious smoking experience, who would not want to give that a try! So here I go… the tin art is lovely, I’m opening the tin, I stick my nose in and … WTF???

I kid you not, I am taken by surprise by the off-putting smell of smelly socks (yes you read that correct), a wine that has gone past its peak by a few years, vinegar, mold, wet earth and smelly cheese! Dear god, Mr. Pease … really? The casing is all encompassing and washes away any smell of tobacco. I can easily imagine people throwing this in the bin right now. Not wanting to judge a book by its cover, I decided to light up anyways and thank God I did!

The tobacco is a beautifully constructed broken flake, very nicely stacked in the tin, just asking to be fondled. Moisture content is just right but I gave it a 15 min airing just for good form. It rubbed out very nicely and I left it rather coarse with a good mix between chunky and fine bits.

The tobacco takes a first light very easily and to my biggest surprise, the tin note immediately transforms. It does not disappear, it just changes into something different. I know it sounds fairly tale like but I promise, there is no longer that awful smelly socks and vinegar aroma! What’s best is, that from the start, there is flavor in abundance. No need to wait and suffer through one quarter of a bowl so to speak.

The first half of the bowl, I easily recognize hints of sweet and salty caramel, toffee, sizzling bacon, nuts and chocolate. Be careful to not pack too tightly as this baccy expands a fair bit in the pipe. Nearing the end of the first half, thoughts of quality street bonbons enter my mind, those chocolate pralines with a alcohol soaked cherry inside (no this is not a cherry tobacco), bright floral notes weave in and out keeping this a very fresh experience. The retrohale so far is pleasant, very creamy and does in no way represent any other perique blend I have tasted. As a matter of fact, the perique is so subdued at this point I really need to focus on it … raisiny and figgy notes can be discerned.

As I near the 2nd half of the bowl, aromas darken a bit with more nutty and salty caramel tastes coming through. There is definitely some tickling in the nose now. The perique has arrived but in a very civilized way, never harsh. It smokes down all the way to a fine white ash, leaving no dottle. As a previous reviewer pointed out, this tobacco burns a lot quicker than what I’m used to from Mr. Pease.

Nicotine delivery is gradual and picks up a gear near the bottom. Not too overwhelming but if you are sensitive to it, it’s better to have something in your stomach. I had this after a light lunch with a cup of coffee and only vaguely felt its effect as I was puffing the last bits away.

This has imho some very nice ageing potential and I will be stocking some up for years to come. I’m still quite baffled by it all because this must be the first time where I was so thrown off by the tin note, only to be turned around to really enjoy the smoke. In one word … amazing!

A must try!

Leaf: Kentucky, Perique, Virginia. Broken flakes, medium brown/grey with streaks and spots of lighter brown and gold throughout.

Tin Aroma: Strong! The first thing I noticed was a strong alcohol like note, there is surely some sort of flavouring here though I couldn't find out exactly what anywhere on-line. This however quickly subsides as the dark, sour, spicy Perique scent comes through, and an almost chocolatey and smoky liquorice scent from the Kentucky follows, the VA scent seems the weakest, but it is there in the background. The aroma is very flavourful, I found myself time and time again sticking half my face in the jar and inhaling deeply through my nose to get a taste of the taste it delivered.

Taste: Believe it or not, it tastes even better than it smells. At first the VA's seemed to take the lead, the smoke was light, sweet and full, very fresh, with the alcohol topping tagging along but disappearing quickly. As the smoke continued I found it getting deeper, darker, brooding. The Perique made an appearance in a big way about 1/3rd of the way down the bowl. There is an attack of delicious spiciness, it is sour, tangy, full of flavour, it stings on the retro-hale in a beautiful way. The Kentucky then seems to make itself known, there is a beautifully contrasting smoky aniseed flavour to it that intertwines with the sweet VA and the Spicy Perique, made more prominent when the tobacco is gently sipped. Down to the last 1/3rd of the bowl know and the Perique seems to have settled a little but doesn't disappear, the Kentucky also restrains itself slightly, I found the VA's taking the lead for the home stretch, by this stage of the bowl they are burning sweeter and fuller than before, expertly accompanied by what is left of the other components after the mid bowl crescendo of intense flavour, still spicy and dark, but not overpowering the VA's. This stuff is delicious.

Smokeability: The broken flake is easy to fold and stuff, sometimes with a few twisted together, I never rubbed it out. It lit easily even without drying time, it burns slowly and cool, stays lit, and burns down so fine it almost ceases to exist. Never bit or got hot for me.

Summary: Sixpence took me on a journey, the tin description wasn't just fluff after all. I found this to be a delicious, flavour filled, complex smoke. It constantly evolves and packs a huge flavour punch that blew me away, especially considering I normally prefer more lat heavy blends. The nicotine kick can be vicious and took me by surprise the first bowl I smoked, it hit me as hard as 10 Russians did, for those who have smoked it. I believe the Kentucky is to blame, I have smoked very little of it up until this tin. For any Va/VaPer/Kentucky fan this is a must try, it was a very welcome change of pace from my usual English/Balkan comfort zone.