Who the Heck is G. L. Pease?
I'm glad you asked...
I first became enchanted by the leaf while at university. Though I'd smoked a pipe intermittently for a couple of years (inspired first by a High School science teacher, whose delightful pipe smoke is one of my fondest memories), I didn't realize just how enjoyable a good tobacco could be until I walked into Drucquer & Sons, a true old world tobacconist's, where my real education began. I spent all of my free time in the shop, extracting every delicious morsel of understanding I could from the knowledgeable staff.
Over the past 20 years, I've continued my love affair with fine pipes and tobacco. In early 1998, one of my dreams became a reality when a friend and I started a small company to produce quality pipe mixtures, some of which have become well known. In November of 1999, I blended the last of the tobacco to be sold under that label, but the passion continued to smolder like the tobaccos in my pipe.
It was with that same passion that I founded G. L. Pease Tobaccos in early 2000, with a promise to keep the art alive, and dedicated my service to all who enjoy pipe smoking at its best.
G. L. Pease mixtures are created for true lovers of fine pipe tobaccos. They rely on the natural tastes and aromas of the finest new world and oriental leaf, blended in careful measure to bring out the best of each component, whilst delivering an experience that is far greater than the parts. Flavorings, when used, are added with restraint to enhance the natural character of choice tobaccos, not to obscure inferior ones. Our care in blending delivers tobaccos that are balanced and harmonious, with a wonderful interplay of nuances to both satisfy the casual smoker, and to engage and delight the palate of the more reflective connoisseur.
Our blends are created in small batches, by hand, in the traditional manner. This affords us with the opportunity to easily adapt to changing leaf supplies. Tobacco is a natural agricultural product, and occasional variation inevitable. Like a fine wine maker, we work with the best leaf available in a given season to ensure consistency in quality, even if it requires small changes to a blend's formulation. While some larger producers will employ chemistry and additives to maintain a consistent product from year to year, we rely only on Mother Nature, and our blending skills.
G. L. Pease tobaccos, in full 2oz and 8oz tins (13% more tobacco than the more typical 50g and 200g tins) may appear at first glance to be slightly more expensive than some other premium tinned products, but any small difference in the cost per bowl is more than compensated by the richness of the smoking experience - proof that luxury does not have to be expensive.
About the Site
There's lots to read here, but I hope you'll find it organized pretty intuitively. There are articles, essays, descriptions of all the tobaccos, and even some pretty pictures to look at. Come back often, and stay a while.
If you haven't, yet, I encourage you to check out the Briar & Leaf Chronicles, and also the News pages. They're now in a blog-type form, and can be searched and subscribed to via RSS, using your favorite news aggriator.