In this episode of "Tasting Notes," I was on location at 31 Farms in St. James Parish, Louisiana, to discuss G.L. Pease's fourth entry into his Zeitgeist Collection: Ellipsis Flake. This flake-cut, pressed mixture combines Virginias, Orientals, and a bit of Perique, tasty and naturally rich with a medium body to delight in. Ellipsis Flake is out now on-site.

I'm here on location in south Louisiana, St. James Parish, at 31 Farms, which is Cornell & Diehl's proprietary Perique farm, and today I'm excited to talk about a new release from Greg Pease in the G.L. Pease line that features that very same Perique. Today we're talking about the newest entry into the Zeitgeist series, Ellipsis.

A Singular Blend On The Market

The inspiration for the newest edition to the Zeitgeist line under the G.L. Pease brand is surrealism, particularly surrealist music and tritones, and the idea that the main players in this blend are the Virginian components, the Turkish components, and the Perique itself.

I'm so excited about this. I love Virginia/Perique blends in general, and Virginia/Oriental blends, and there's not a ton on the market where you have Orientals and Perique playing together, sharing the stage as condimental tobaccos without the addition of Latakia.

Inviting Tin Note

This is also a beautiful flake presented really well in the tin. It's supple and really easy to handle. It's on the lighter side, with a little bit of dark flecks, but mostly you're looking at some golden tones and a little bit of a medium chestnut.

The tin note itself is incredible. What I get most, I'm attributing to the Virginia grades here. You have that really nice, zesty, bready quality. There is some sweetness that you can perceive in the tin, and a little bit of a fruity note from the 31 Farms genuine St. James Parish Perique. Mostly what I get is that lightly sweet baked goods aroma.

This is the closest I think that I've come to a tin note in a long time that reminds me a little bit of Fig Newton and maybe like a Madeleine Cookie. It's really nice. It's on the brighter side, with a little bit of a zesty note. It's an inviting, all-day Virginia based on the tin note there. And I think that comes through in the blend as well.

Unique Components

Ellipsis is a very complex blend, starting with the Izmir component, which is actually from 2020; that's grade TKP-20 Izmir leaf. The base of this blend is formed with crop years 2022 and 2023 Canadian Brightleaf, or CA-BO-22/23 grades, and a mix of Red Virginia leaf, DH-17 grades from 2017, and TH-13 grades from 2014. To this, Cornell & Diehl's proprietary St. James Parish Perique from 31 Farms is added and a little bit of heirloom Burley, which is actually a 2014 White Burley, adding a little bit of body and rounding this blend out.

I am a huge fan of all of these components and I can't think of many examples out there on the market where Izmir and Perique share the stage, so to speak, and what you get is a blend that is easy to enjoy all day, very comforting to smoke, familiar to all the Virginia lovers out there but with the complexity and intrigue that I know a lot of us are looking for. Back to the blend itself.

Complex Development & Balance

I'm about a quarter of the way into this particular bowl. Going back to the initial light again, I did rub these flakes out. I gave them less than two minutes of air time. I think the moisture content from the tin is exactly where you wanna smoke this one. It's gonna feel maybe slightly spongier than you could be used to if you tend to give your tobaccos more air time like I do. But straight from the tin, this packs very easily and takes to the flame really well.

I really like the development of the blend, and I definitely did not want to lose any of the complexity by sacrificing oils in essential parts of the tobacco by giving it more air time.

Right off the bat, the first thing that I notice is a mixture of those lovely Virginia grades and the White Burley. They have a nice, toasty character, with a tiny bit of earthiness, a little bit of nuttiness from that Burley, and also probably from the Izmir. I'm getting sourdough bread notes and baked goods, and that really zesty quality and sweetness from the Canadian Brightleaf.

Ellipsis is extremely balanced on the surface. I say this a lot, and it's because the tobaccos that I gravitate towards the most tend to fit this bill and this descriptor, but this is one where your Virginia smokers are gonna be able to just puff away any time of the day. I'd say it's firmly medium in both strength and flavor and high in complexity, which is what I'm typically looking for.

What that does for me, personally, in my rotation is it allows me to enjoy this blend without paying super close attention. It definitely can fade into the background. It definitely can accompany a variety of situations and even a variety of pairings, but when you do slow down your puffing cadence and really pay attention and really focus on the pipe, you can spend literally hours and bowl after bowl trying to pick out these flavors and this nuance that Ellipsis offers.

A Chameleon of a Blend

As the bowl progresses, one thing that catches me off guard, at least a little bit here, is how much perceived sweetness there is. You have a pretty good sugar content in some of the Red Virginia grades and a high sugar content in some of those Bright Canadian leaf grades. I was surprised because we don't really think of Izmir as being a type of tobacco that's very high in sugar content, nor is Perique a tobacco that adds a lot of sweetness, despite those lovely fruity notes. I think what the earthiness from the Perique and the earthiness and floral qualities from the Izmir are doing is really amplifying the base tobacco blend and the sweetness that it does provide.

I get moments where I feel like I'm getting nearly as much sweetness as I've ever gotten from a very natural tobacco blend, and then you're also getting the really lovely, nearly incense-like and floral qualities from the Izmir and a little bit of dried fruit notes from the 31 Farms Perique.

The spice definitely amplifies as the bowl progresses, especially through the retrohale, but I think this one is very gentle and very refined on the spicy side. Like I said, you're getting a little bit of those warming spices, a touch of pepper, a little bit of earthiness, and the floral notes from the Oriental component here.

It's almost like a butter toast and marmalade kind of thing here. You have that grainy, rich, and almost buttery or fatty type of a flavor. It sounds strange, but really, it is a rich, palate-coating base. On top of that, you have this light spice that goes back and forth between a light peppery note and warming spices for me. There's also a darker fruit flavor, almost like apricot, and a zesty quality that's coming from the Bright Virginias.

This one's just a bit of a chameleon. Like I said, at moments I feel like I'm smoking a Virginia/Oriental blend. At moments, it feels very much like a really nice, all-day Virginia/Perique. And then there are moments where there's something that's almost indescribable about this combination of tobaccos.

Mindblowing Flavors & Excellent Aging Potential

Today, I am smoking G.L. Pease's Ellipsis Flake in a 120th Anniversary Peterson System Pipe in the Rua finish. It's just a great pipe for outdoor smoking, in my opinion. The System really does well to allow the flavors to come through and to trap the moisture. This is a Virginia pipe for me, and it's really loving Ellipsis.

If you are already a fan of Greg's tobaccos, as many of us are, I probably don't need to try very hard to get you to try this one. I will say that while Greg, over the last several decades, has been known for his ability to really work his magic with Latakia and Oriental tobaccos, and English blends in general, I personally have always been really excited to see him working with Virginias and Periques.

I think that if you like the Virginia blends in the Fog City Collection, or if you've liked any of the other stuff that he's done with Virginia/Perique in the past, Ellipsis is gonna blow your mind. It's a really interesting riff on the traditional Virginia/Perique flake, and I think that the grades selected here, the heirloom White Burley, that 2020 Izmir leaf, and the 31 Farms Perique, really get along in this blend, and that comes through in the bowl. You'd have to smoke through quite a few tins of this to really wrap your head around it.

As is the case with most of the G.L. Pease blends, I think the runway and the longevity of this blend in the cellar is gonna be incredible. There's enough complexity here, enough sugar content in the Virginias, and enough oomph from the White Burley and the 31 Farms Perique that Ellipsis, after five-to-10 years, is gonna be insane. Definitely go deep on this one and see how it evolves over the years, but also don't be hesitant to enjoy it fresh.