Cyprian or Syrian? (Part I)

5th February, 2010: Posted by glpease in Tobacco, Editorial

I’m going to grumble a little. And possibly even rant. It’s my column. I can do that. No one will criticize the reader for stopping here, but there may be something informative, and my grumblings can occasionally be amusing, if not downright endearingly sharp-witted, so you may want to read on anyway, forewarned of what is likely to come.

The past five years have hosted continued discussion about the availability of Syrian Latakia, why can’t I get any, who has it, what blends it’s in, why some manufacturers seem to have no problems with supply, whether or not the whole warehouse fire situation was a ruse, and on and on. There seem to be a great many experts who know more about the supply of unobtainable leaf than I do. If you really know someone in whose basement bales of this mysterious supply of Syrian leaf are sequestered, please, be so kind as to make an introduction so I can get some. Seriously. Read more…»

Befriending those Beguiling Virginias

29th January, 2010: Posted by glpease in Tobacco, Technique

A great virginia can be a wonderful smoke, but for many of us, at least for me, getting the most from the experience doesn’t always come easily, or instantly. I recently read a post on one of the forums written by a fellow who enjoyed many mixtures, and liked the sweetness he experienced in virginias, but lamented that, for the most part, that sweetness is only delivered in hints. I can relate. One of the reasons I was a dedicated Latakiaphile for so long was this very phenomenon. I’d puff a bowl of virginia, enjoy it for a while, but before the end of the bowl, I’d find the experience lacking. Where did the flavour go? Where was all that sweetness I was promised?

The sweetness of a tobacco has to do with the levels of sugar in the leaf. This can be naturally occurring, as in some virginias, and especially bright leaf, or added, as is the case with many virginia blends. It’s not uncommon to find sugar levels of 20-25% in bright leaf, and if the tobaccos are cased, it can be even higher. Sugar equals sweetness, right? Read more…»

When the Door is Ajar - Opening Aging Blends

28th January, 2010: Posted by glpease in Tobacco, Science

The following question is paraphrased from one that was asked on one of the forums today. I suspect it’s a fairly commonly asked question, and figured it had a place here in the Chronicles, along with my response.

Does it ruin the aging process to open a jar once in a while to sample? Should I only open the jar when I’m ready to smoke the entire contents?

Ruin it? No. Change it? Absolutely.

The biological and organic reactions that are taking place in the tin/jar alter the little sealed environment. Gasses are being consumed (especially O2) and generated (CO2) by biological processes, and further organic reactions are taking place more slowly, depending on what’s present in that environment. The instant that seal is broken, there’s a rapid exchange of air with the surrounding environment, and everything — everything — that was going on before is going to change. Different reactions will begin — not necessarily bad ones, just different.

It will never be the same again. It cannot be. If you take two jars, age them for a year, open one and re-seal it, then come back in another year, you’ll find two different tobaccos. The will probably not be dramatically different, but they’ll certainly be noticeably different, and if you extend those times - five years and five years, for instance, the divergence of the two samples will be much more dramatic. Read more…»

Balancing Acts

22nd January, 2010: Posted by glpease in Editorial

Developing a new blend can be an interesting confluence of delight and frustration. When I conceived the notion of the Old London Series, I had some things in mind. The tobaccos would be produced in the style of the old London tobacco houses. Rather than blending cut ribbon, the leaf would be blended as strips - more or less whole leaf with the midrib removed - pressed into cakes to comingle for a few days, then cut and tumbled into ribbon form. The goal was threefold; the pressing would integrate the flavours of the different components a little sooner, and a little more fully, a slight fermentation could take place, increasing the complexity of the mixture, and finally, the cut of the blend would be more consistent.

Chelsea Morning was the first blend in the series, and I was instantly thrilled with the results. Because of this method of manufacture, it’s a very different tobacco than it would be were it made using today’s more conventional methods, and it does remind me in some ways of some of the long lost blends of yesterday. This all lands squarely on the delight side of the equation. Read more…»

Reflections in the Mists

14th January, 2010: Posted by glpease in Pipes, Enjoyment, Editorial

This morning, I took a somewhat extended walk after dropping my son at school. Our walk is only a few blocks, and I always seem to be in a rush to get back home to begin the daily routines that have become my work over the past few years. This morning, it just wasn’t long enough.

The air is fog-chilled, and the feeling on my face too inviting to ignore. I decided to take the long way home, wandering towards the shore, and stopping off at the water’s edge to watch some ducks and some coots (birds, not old men) fishing in the still tides. A Castello Collection stack, deeply colored with a rich mahogany patina from years of smoking, filled to its beveled top with some old Garfinkel’s Orient Express #11 was my sole companion. Read more…»

Review of the Day - Chelsea Morning

15th December, 2009: Posted by glpease in Review of the Day

Okay, it’s time to fess up. Sure, it’s fun to post these reviews, the ones that I really like, and that are well considered and well presented. That’s not under any sort of scrutiny, here. No, what I am confessing to is something else. It’s my excuse for doing this, not writing something new of my own, but letting the Chronicles be carried on the shoulders of others. Mea maxima culpa. It’s true. I’ve been busy with a few projects, some of which I’ve talked about on the News page, some of which have been hitherto submerged in murky secrecy, where they will have to remain for at least a little while. What’s life without a little mystery? It gives it spice. But, all will be revealed in time. Until then, there are Reviews-O-T-D. Read more…»

Review of the Day - Westminster

2nd November, 2009: Posted by glpease in Review of the Day

There is no poetic form more concise, more rigorous than the Japanese Haiku. The form consists of three metrical phrases of five, seven, and five mora, roughly equivalent to syllables, and traditionally, contains a seasonal reference, or kigo. English versions play a little looser with the structure, but where it’s become acceptable to veer from the more philosophical strictness of the genuine Haiku, the five-seven-five pattern is always retained.

I was delighted when scanning through one of the forums, discovering this gem, penned by Moe. I’ve corresponded with this gentleman a bit, and have always found his words engaging and thoughtful, but never suspected he might be driven to poetry by smoking one of my blends.

Pease outid himself
Orientals at their best
Who needs London Mix

Those who have followed the Chronicles for a while will know that Westminster was inspired by that venerable London Mixture, originally produced by Dunhill. The article, The Road to Westminster details the journey in perhaps too many words. Moe’s concise review may have served the purpose just as well.

That said, Moe was not quite the most concise. He indicates that his was inspired by Elpizo1’s five word review from another thread.

Westminster is a good smoke!

Thanks to Elpizo1 and to Moe for their kind words and compressed approach! I’ll try to be less wordy in the future.

Warmly smoldering
Delicately fragrant clouds
Dance in the fall air

Review of the Day - Union Square

9th October, 2009: Posted by glpease in Review of the Day

Union Square has been on the shelves for a while, and the reviews, both public and directly sent to me, have been very positive, overall, and often quite wonderful to read. Today’s caught my attention in particular because I really appreciate the use of language here. Putting words to something that is entirely sensory is always challenging. Adjectives are too often overused and diluted to the point of meaninglessness, and it just ain’t easy to find fitting metaphors that really do the job well. But, it can be done. Here is an excerpt from a lovely review penned by Wosbald that proves the point. It also really made my morning.

The flavor is of purely cane-sugar-sweet VAs without silage or funky ferment. The gold VA’s are dominant at first light while the reds ascend as the bowl burns down. The flavor profile is generous, yet tightly focused and elegantly crisp.

A fantastic straight VA, Union Square is laser-clean and flavorsome. A nobly aesthetic creation, it is highly complex within a tightly focused range. Though it will undoubtedly age well, it is remarkably smooth with only a month or two in the can. This went best in narrow to medium gauge chambers.

After reading this, I wanted to set down the Chelsea Morning I was smoking to grab another, filled with Union Square. He managed to express the blend in a way that almost brought the taste to my tongue. Granted, I’m somewhat familiar with the blend, so triggering my own experiential memories isn’t difficult, but this did more than that. The phrase “highly complex within a tightly focused range” describes perfectly what I set out to do with this blend. I’m really happy to know that the tobaccos came together to accomplish this. If there was room in the budget, I’d consider hiring this guy to write my label copy. Bravo!

I hope he likes Chelsea Morning as well.

A Stout Collaboration

18th September, 2009: Posted by glpease in Pipes

I can’t keep quiet about this anymore. It’s been driving me nuts not being able to talk about it, but we’re finally close enough to the release, and I’m thinking it’s safe to break the silence. After all, the first batch of pipes are done, and they’re stamped, and they’re coming to Richmond, so it’s pretty clear at this point that it’s really happening. It’s not so much that it’s been a Top-Secret, eyes only sort of thing. It’s just that up until this week, it might still have been just another dream. But, now it’s real. Now, it’s time to spill the fagioli.

Back in 2007, Luca diPiazza began discussing a new project to be done in cooperation with Radice. The idea was that Luca and I would create some fun designs that would be made by Radice in limited editions. The first design was to be a shorter, stouter rhodesian variant, almost a Brucianaso (nose warmer) in proportion.

Luca and I discussed the shape concept and the design parameters. I drew up the final sketch, and sent it off to Radice, from which three prototypes were made. Luca and I then selected the one that we felt right for the final model. I smoked that lovely ‘prototipo’ for a couple of weeks, just to make sure that the internal details were right. I’ve always really liked the way Radice’s pipes smoke, and fully expected this one to be great, but it seemed a good excuse to smoke a new pipe. It was fantastic, of course, and so the project was now officially well underway! Read more…»

Windswept Clouds

21st August, 2009: Posted by glpease in Pipes

There is playfulness and joy in so many of the Le Nuvole pipes of Maurizio Tombari, and it simply has to be that way. He and his wife, Stefania, who designs many of the shapes, are such delightful and lovely people, that something of them simply must come through in the pipes. The piece shown, a sort of windswept pot/billiard, reminiscent in some ways of the Castello 55 shape, is a beautiful example of this. Its form is elegant yet dynamic, strong, yet delicate and graceful, all while exhibiting that little bit of joyful whimsy that characterizes so much of Maurizio’s work. It’s what a 55 would choose to be if it were allowed to take flight on its own wings and soar amongst the clouds. Read more…»

Review of the Day - Abingdon

12th August, 2009: Posted by glpease in Review of the Day

Tim K. noticed this one, and called it to my attention. The author writes under the sobriquet of Sinister Topiary; that alone is enough to make me want to read everything he’s written on the TR site. Seriously. How can you not like someone who calls himself Sinister Topiary? I can’t be alone in this, can I? And, I’ll gladly forgive him his error about the tin size. [They’re 2oz tins, Sin; a full 13% more tobacco than the scrawny 50g tins other people sell.]

Enough rambling. The review is an absolute joy to read. His descriptions are evocative and he effectively uses his obvious gift for narrative to illuminate the development of his relationship with the tobacco, bringing us something that goes far deeper than the much more typical “tastes like chicken” pulp. In a word, it’s brilliant. I’ll shut up now, so you can read the review. Enjoy. Read more…»

Review of the Day - Robusto

31st July, 2009: Posted by glpease in Review of the Day

This is fun. Robusto is one of those blends that people either get, or they don’t. It was never intended to be a “cigar in a pipe” experience, but a blend that uses the cigar leaf to add a new dimension to the pipe smoker’s palette of flavour experience. It’s always been something of a “sleeper,” not getting the same exposure as some of the more mainstream blends, but it has its following, and is one of my personal faves, especially with some age behind it. I have one of those foil bags that I used for the 8oz packaging a few years ago, and it’s a delight to dip into once in a while.

Slow Draw definitely gets it. Here’s what he has to say about Robusto: Read more…»


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