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GREYBEARD

Reviews

G. L. Pease - Bankside 2oz
I'm not a fan of modern art, but I do enjoy this blend
Light Virginia leads with a tangy citrus, and sweet grassy taste. Red Virginia brings a darker fruit note, and both are complimented by the spicy, peppery perique. Slight nuttyness in the background from Kentucky. The Latikia is very slight but adds a touch of smokey, leather. Flakes are broken, and are a tad moist so some relighting was needed unless I gave it more dry time. Very complex Virginia blend, I look forward to future smokes in different pipes. Highly recommended.

Cornell & Diehl - Sugarplum 2oz
Winter aromatic
The fruit flavor is there upon lighting, and lasts throughout the entire bowl. It's mild and sweet. I get both a dark fruit, as well as a lighter citrus flavor; it makes for an nice combo. Pleasant overall, no bite, and I hardly had to relight. No longer being produced, but it's worth a try if you can get a hold of a tin.

Cornell & Diehl - White Lightning 2oz
Raspberry zinger
Raspberry is definitely the lead flavor here, with a spicy zing from perique close behind. Sweetness from the Virginia is there, and some tangy flavor from the applejack. I don't detect much vanilla or any creamy undertones that much. Enjoyable aromatic. No bite, and didn't need to relight much until the end of the bowl. The cut is almost a cross between ribbon and broken flake. Recommended.

Cornell & Diehl - Granby Station 2oz
Aromatic Va/Per.
Highly enjoyable. Red Virginia, and spicy/figgy Perique. Complimented nicely by creamy vanilla flavor and some tangy/sour note from the brandy. Highly recommended.

Presbyterian - Presbyterian 50g
Sweet English
Virginia forward English blend. Orientals in the background. Maybe just a hint of latakia, but hard to detect at times. Excellent sweeter English blend.

Cornell & Diehl - Interlude 2oz
Excellent Red Virginia
Delightful smoke. Interlude has the expected Virginia bready note, with citrus, and darker fruit like fig. The honey adds a hint of extra sweetness in the background and is a nice compliment to the Virginia. It's a bit moist, so dry time will be needed. Doesn't bite or get too hot for a Virginia. Highly recommended.

Two Friends - English Chocolate 2oz
English chocolate
The chocolate aroma and taste comes through after the first light, as well as sweet hay taste from the Virginia. Later in the bowl a tangy, dark fruit note comes through, and the coco flavor is noticeable until the end. I had a hard time detecting the latakia throughout the entire bowl. It did tend to get hot at times. Give it some dry time before lighting. Overall, a 3.5 star recommended rating. It's pleasant, and enjoyable, but when I'm wanting an English blend I will reach for something else.

Mac Baren - Vanilla Roll Cake 3.5oz
Vanilla coins in a tin
Vanilla is lead in the tin note, and after the first lighting. The Virginias come through as well with the sweet hay, bread like notes. There is also a hint of brown sugar probably from Cavendish. The vanilla never dominates, but compliments the Virginia very well, giving this a sweet, creamy, bread-like taste. A note similar to being in a bakery. Should cellar nicely. Recommended

G. L. Pease - Sextant 2oz
Sextant
Upon opening, the tin note is a nice mix of latakia, and sweet rum. After lighting, it starts the same way with smokey, sweet latakia, along with a subtle hint of the rum in the background. The Virginia's are there as well with a touch of fruity sweetness. Slight floral from the Orientals is there but just hinted at in the background. Kentucky adds some strength to this blend. Overall, I find this to be another fantastic Pease blend. Similar style to C&D Black Frigate, but sweeter, and bolder, and with the rum more in the background. Highly recommended.

G. L. Pease - Meridian 2oz
A favorite
Very nice English blend. Smokey, leathery, and a little spice/floral from the Orientals. Not overpowering with the latakia, but you'll definitely notice it's presence. Virginia gives it a hint of fruity/tangyness, but it's not an overly sweet blend (more savory as the description says). No bite. I did have to relight a bit more than average, probably due to not giving it enough dry time. Highly recommended for any pipe smoker.

G. L. Pease - Chelsea Morning 2oz
Morning pipe
At first opening, I get mostly the fruit & fig note from the Virginia and Perique. The latakia is barely present. Moisture is good, but can use a little dry time. The Virginia and touch of latakia come through when first lighting. The perique with it's peppery and figgy flavor, slowly takes over and seems to be dominant for the 2nd half of the bowl. Has a few harsh edges here and there. While I do enjoy CM, for me it's not quite on the level of the other two Pease blends from this morning, noon, & night series (Meridian and Quiet Nights). Still, recommended for just about any piper, unless you do not like perique.

Cornell & Diehl - Sun Bear Mountain Flower 2oz
Love it
I missed out on the two previous versions of Sun Bear, but managed to get a hold of a tin of the Mountain Flower version. So, after three years of hoping to try Sun Bear, it finally arrived. Wow, I enjoy all aspects of this blend. Tin note is sweet and fruity. Was a little moist, so I gave it some dry time. Upon lighting the bready, sweet hay like Virgina flavor comes through, accented perfectly by the blackberry honey. Orientals have a sweet, spicy, & floral flavor, but are subtle. Smokes great; not too fast, but didn't need re-lit too often. Being a Virginia blend, it can get hot. Overall, highly recommended if you can find a tin. I regret now that I bought only one tin. I will have to nurse the rest of my tin, restricting myself to a few times a year to make it last, and it should age very well. Hopefully C&D will re-release this one again next year.

Cornell & Diehl - Privateer 2oz
Yard work smoke
Privateer is a mild-medium English that I enjoy, but I'm not wowed by it either. Smokes very fast, with no bite, and is easy to keep lit. Flavor of the tobacco is good, and I find I enjoy this blend while on the riding mower, or doing yard work. There are better English blends out there, but for a nice, easy, hassle free smoke, this is a good one.

Cornell & Diehl - Mountain Camp 2oz
Mountain Camp
Upon opening Mountain Camp, I get the expected latakia tin note. The tobacco is near perfect moisture and ready to light (perhaps a little dry time). Latakia is the lead after lighting giving this a nice smokey, leathery start. Perique and Virginia come through as well with a dark fruit, figgy flavor and that spicy perique tongue tingle. The perique becomes even more noticeable during the 2nd half of the bowl, and even seems to edge out the latakia at times. Overall, an enjoyable smoke, but a tad too periquey for me to consider it a favorite. Recommended for just about any English fan, and highly for perique lovers.

Cornell & Diehl - Purple Cow 2oz
Purple Cow
I'm not a cigar guy, but enjoy a good English, so I thought Latakia and cigar should be worth a try for something different. The Tin art is great. Note pretty good too. Nice smokey latakia start, with occasional dark fruit Virgina, and slight nutty burley. Since I'm not experienced with cigars I can't really say for sure if I'm detecting it or not. A couple negatives are that it smokes very fast; almost over before you know it. I also got annoyed as there seems to be a lot of smaller bits of tobacco that occasionally make their way into my mouth. Despite those two knocks, it's a decent blend that's worth a try, but is not going to end up on my regular purchase list.

G. L. Pease - The Virginia Cream 2oz
Excellent
Somewhat creamy, fruity/tangy, and just a hint of spice. I wouldn't compare this to normal aromatics, but the creamy vanilla flavor does come through at times. Can get a little harsh towards the end of the bowl, but it's really not bad. I recommend to aromatic/virginia fans, but probably not for beginners.