March ToM - GLP Maltese Falcon

[IHT]

place your reviews here for the March Tobacco of the Month.

[jgros001]

Smoked a bowl today in a Boswell.....need a few more bowls before I can put in a proper review but this was pretty good....good moisture content straight from the tin. Unfortunately this was my first smoke from the Boswell and I am not sure if the sweetness can be attributed to the tobacco or the bowl coating (I really hate bowl coatings). It wasn't terribly pungent with the latakia and kind of had that Grousemoor floral note to it (again not sure if all this was the tobacco or the coating on a new bowl). I'll return to put some more thought into this after a few more samples.

[solafid3]

Just smoked a bowl in my tsuge. It's got a more nuttier, smokier taste than Odyssey, with a bit of spice put in. That being said, I like it more than Odyssey.

Upon opening the tin and hearing that nice fresh "pop" whenever you open a brand new tin, the initial smell of the tin is alot like Odyssey but smokier. As a matter of fact, I can't stop sniffing the tin it just smells so good. The first thing I thought when I took a whiff of it was, campfire. Looking into the tin, you can see the tobacco actually shining, full of oil. It started off a tad bit wet so I let it air out for a couple of hours before I packed it.

But that's not the point we buy tobacco, we buy it to smoke it; and that's precisely what I did. Packing it was a breeze since it's almost all ribbon. I did have to relight it a couple of times probably due to me not letting it air out enough. Never smoked harsh and I did puff this particular bowl a little fast, so that's definitely a plus.

If you've read any of my previous reviews you know that I don't like Latakia, or at least I didn't. With all these blends I've tried I may have to reconsider whether or not I like Latakia. You definitely could taste the oriental (which reminds me alot of the Classic Samsun Grand Oriental) and the latakia, but I was kinda lost trying to look for the Virginia, probably something that makes its presence known as it ages. Even though I couldn't discern the Virginia, it definitely was a pleasing taste.

One thing to note was that I actually liked the smell of the smoke that it produced. Something that I never would admit of the Dunhill or McClelland Latakia blends. I snorked, french inhaled, and practically ran through the smoke that it produced.

So I defintiely would reccomend this type of tobacco for someone who enjoys tobacco. It smells good (at least to me), tastes good, and burns alright (but probably would burn better if you dried it out).

[hollywood]

I picked up a big sample of this new tobacco while at the St. Louis show. I also have a sealed tin to let rest.

I packed up a big bowl in my But Choquin special 1/8th bent brandy. This a great smoking pipe I had already dedicated to lighter English blends.

Not being from a sealed tin; this sample had plenty of air time to dry just a bit. The consistency and cut is easy to work with and packed well. The pre light aroma is typical of most Latakia blends but gives off a lighter sweetness that reminded me of Mephisto.

I liked this blend from the first puff. The orientals were a great addition to the mix and I believe added a hint of spice to the finish. This is not a heavy Latakia smoke and as much as I still like Latakia; I am glad for it. This is a very balanced blend that is sure to please many smokers.

The tobacco burned well all the way down; leaving an even ash coating. Did not have any burn issues during the entire bowl. I think right out of the tin it may be just a bit wet. I think I'll wait a few months to crack my tin, but we'll see what happens when I do.

I would recommend this to any smoker that enjoys a Latakia smoke, but isn't into the powerhouses like Odyssey or Penzance. The good balance makes this a winner in my eyes.

[Sawyer]

Rushed home today and my 2 tins of Maltese Falcon were waiting for me. Popped one open right away. Strong smokiness hit right as the tin popped. The tobacco in the tin is dark and seemed to be at a perfect humidity if maybe a little drier than I am used to with a fresh tin. Packed easily and lit right up.

It has nice spicy undertone that I don't get from the other English blends I smoke. I also got some floral hints occasionally. The Latakia balances really well with the other tobaccos in this blend. It is not overpowering and harmonizes well with the VA and Oriental.

While this probably won't replace Penzance or Odyssey in my rotation, it is a very nice blend and will be included.

I would recommend it to anyone, even those who are not Latakia lovers like myself.

[solafid3]

Question, has anyone who's had Raven's Wing tried this stuff. From what I heard Raven's Wing is the forerunner of Maltese Falcon and it would be great to hear from someone who's tried both.

Edit: Actually Mr. Pease himself has said it, it's the newest post on his blog, glpease.com

[hollywood]

Originally Posted by solafid3

Question, has anyone who's had Raven's Wing tried this stuff. From what I heard Raven's Wing is the forerunner of Maltese Falcon and it would be great to hear from someone who's tried both.

Edit: Actually Mr. Pease himself has said it, it's the newest post on his blog, glpease.com

I've had quite a bit of Raven's Wing prior to having this one. IMO it's not really that close. Without the Syrian Latakia and an addition of oriental; it just doesn't have the same flair. Although the Raven's wing I've had was well aged at the time I smoked it; which certainly changed it from it's original flavor. I do think this blend would be a good one to age.

[Slow Triathlete]

[SIZE=3]As most of you know, I’m pretty much strictly a Virginia and VaPer smoker. Not a big fan of Latakia and the only blend that I keep around just for something different is Frog Morton. I really enjoy the sweetness of FM when it is exhaled out of the nose. But recently I was offered an ounce of Maltese Falcon to try so I snatched it up.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=3]It was more out of curiosity that I accepted this blend. I knew that everyone on the forums were raving about it and a few of my friends have recommended it as well. I also knew that smokingpipes.com had sold so much of this stuff in the first week of its release that they couldn’t even keep it on the shelves. Now all of that hubbub causes a lot of interest. Interest even from non-Latakia smokers.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=3]When I took the plastic lid off of the tin I was greeted by a great sweet, smokey, woodsy aroma that really reminded me of camping out with my father and brother when I was younger. The tobacco was course cut and very, very dark. It had some lighter brown tobacco in there but the overall color was dark brown to almost black. Ironically, the colors match my black and tan Dachshund “Moose” exactly. Trust me, I held the tin up next to him to prove it.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=3]This blend lit easily and stayed lit through most of the bowl. It has that same sweetness to it when exhaled through the nose to me. This blend definitely has Latakia in it but not so much that it should scare off most people. I liked it a lot.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=3]On the Pease website, they stated that this blend started out as a replacement for one of their former blends called Raven’s Wing. Now Raven’s Wing was before my time (before my pipe smoking time that is) but if it was anything close to this then it was probably amazing! [/SIZE]

[JacksonCognac]

Perhaps this is just me but I'm having some trouble keeping this stuff lit (I haven't read any other reviews yet to minimize any bias). I opened my tin up tonight and pulled a little out to dry, it seemed pretty dry to begin with so after 5 minutes or so I packed a bowl. I'm not going to comment on the flavors yet but I had to relight more then usual... just an initial observation. I'll get a few more bowls under my belt and see how it goes.

[IHT]

Place & Date: cold garage, 8Mar08
Tobacco: GLP maltese falcon
Tobacco Cut: ribbon
Cut Width: thin
Cut Length: average
Ingredients: latakia, some other stuff that i couldn't taste due to the latakia

Evaluated Aspects scale of 0-6 (by twos - 0-2-4-6):
Appearance (tobacco): 6
Condition (humidity level): 4 - wasn't ready to smoke yet, let it dry for about an hour
Smell: 2 - this ain't my bag, baby
Packing (easy to difficult): 6
Lighting (easy to difficult): 4
Taste: 2 - this ain't my bag, baby
Room Note/Aroma: 0 - it has latakia, so it stinks
Consistency of taste: 6 - the same the entire time (6, cuz if that's what you like, then you're all set)
Combustion: 4 - it burned, had to relight a few more than i'd like.
Humidity during smoke: 2 - had some gurgle due to the humidity of leaf, relighting and possible overpuffing to keep it going.
Tongue irritations: 6 - other than taste, no irritations
Throat irritation: 6 - what a waste of a category
Satisfaction of smoke: 2 - if i were hard pressed, i'd smoke it
After-taste/Finish: 2 - not my bag, baby
quality-price rapport: 6 - quality leaf, i can't fault it cuz i dont' like it

Impressionistic Evaluation (choose one):
___this is one of the best of this genre.... (10 pts)
___I wouldn't mind paying for it... (7 pts)
___only if someone gave me a tin, etc (5 pts)
_X_I don't like it, but can understand other may (3 pts)
___one of the worst tobaccos I've ever smoked (0 pts)

TOTAL SCORE OUT OF 100: _61_

Freeform Thoughts/Impressions:
now i know how "pipestud" on tobacco reviews feels when he smokes a good VA or Va/Per and gives it a bad score.
to me, i won't buy this (was part of a trade), but i can easily see why others who like a good english blend would fall in lub with it.
if you like Penzance and want something a little less spicey, this may be your bag. it has a lot of that Penzance flavor, maybe not as sweet right now due to age, was actually a little sour to me, but it could get there.
surprised i gave it that low of a score. i tried to make sure i gave it high marks in areas that it deserved even if i don't like the blend (things that don't account for flavor). maybe i added wrong.

[[OT] Loki]

Originally Posted by solafid3

Question, has anyone who's had Raven's Wing tried this stuff. From what I heard Raven's Wing is the forerunner of Maltese Falcon and it would be great to hear from someone who's tried both.

Edit: Actually Mr. Pease himself has said it, it's the newest post on his blog, glpease.com

I'll let you know a back to back review if all goes well friday

[dogsplayinpoker]

Place & Date: car and then house, 3/12/08
Tobacco: GLP maltese falcon
Tobacco Cut: ribbon
Cut Width: thin
Cut Length: average
Ingredients: latakia and I do taste some orientals

Evaluated Aspects scale of 0-6 (by twos - 0-2-4-6):
Appearance (tobacco): 6
Condition (humidity level): 6, tried it dry, liked it better a little moist
Smell: 6 distinctly latakia
Packing (easy to difficult): 6
Lighting (easy to difficult): 4 did have to relight a few times
Taste: 6 while not a lat fan this is light enough to still be enjoyed
Room Note/Aroma: 3 stopped caring about this when I gave up Blue Note
Consistency of taste: 6 it does stay nearly the same throughout
Combustion: 4 -
Humidity during smoke: 4 only had to use a cleaner a few times.
Tongue irritations: 6 - none detected
Throat irritation: none 6 - "what a waste of a category" not really IHT. Some blends mess my throat due to perique content/quantity
Satisfaction of smoke: 4 when I am in the mood for latakia, this will be one of my go-tos
After-taste/Finish: 4 I did need some mouthwash before going near the SO
quality-price rapport: 6 - Pease does it right

Impressionistic Evaluation (choose one):
x this is one of the best of this genre.... (10 pts)
___I wouldn't mind paying for it... (7 pts)
___only if someone gave me a tin, etc (5 pts)
__ I don't like it, but can understand other may (3 pts)
___one of the worst tobaccos I've ever smoked (0 pts)

TOTAL SCORE OUT OF 100: _87_

Freeform Thoughts/Impressions:
I used to hate latakia. Something happened in the last year, don't know what, but I have begun to enjoy the occasional lat blend. Maybe 3 a week. Maltese Falcon is right up my alley in that the latakia isn't so strong that it overwhelms every other aspect of the smoke. I get a floral note(though I think this may be dark chocolate). There is spiciness but not enough to give me heartburn which many strong latakia blends do. It is quite accurate to call this an everyday smoke.

[JacksonCognac]

Ok well I've had a few bowls of this and TBH I don't think its my thing.

Perhaps it's too strong but it's also got a little bite and doesn't seem to burn well for me even after I've dried it.

It's got some strength to it, I'll give it that... compared to the other (admittedly, mild) english blends I've had it seems like it's been kicked up a notch in terms of flavor and nicotine level. The nicotine I don't mind but the flavor is a bit too much for me.

On the tobaccoreview.com scale - I give it 2 stars.

[SR Mike]

GLP Maltese Falcon

This is the first time I have tried this tobacco, I have not read any reviews on this, I wanted to come into this unbiased. My beverage with this was water.

From the start, this carries dark tobacco which is contrasted by the brown and tan tobaccos mixed in. The tobaccos are Cyprian Latakia mixed with matured Red Virginias, orientals, and a touch of flue-cured leaf. The aroma is musky, I am sure from the flue-cured tobacco. It reminds me of oak and burning pine, the strips of tobacco seem to be at just the right humidity, soft with a nice bounce.

I used my Butz Choquin pipe, this pipe has not been used in a few months now due to not having much to burn in it. So it should be just right for this tobacco. This packed easily in my pipe, once lit, this produced a lot of smoke. The texture was chewy and thick. the finish was long and lingered well.

From the get go this tobacco had a mesquite start, it was smokey like hickory. Deep in the smoke was a sweetness, but it was difficult to pick up. I tasted notes of leather and spice. This was an edgy tobacco, with a flavor I could not pick up. After half way into the bowl, I found out what I could not place, it was a garlic like dryness.

I noticed during the entire smoke how meaty this was, I placed the stem into the back of my mouth and I picked up a sausage flavor, it was a flavor like the smoke from cooking sausage was breathed into my mouth.

Into the final end of my bowl, the finish became salty, the taste was a tad fishy and the aroma inside the bowl was the same. I continued to get a hickory taste.

The aroma during this smoke was interesting, my wife said it smelled like barbeque meat. This is a unique tobacco and is a required taste. The body was medium-full, the strength was medium at the start, but built up to full towards the end. While writing this up, I still feel a buzz.

I decided to pack another bowl for this review, except the second time around I drank a diet Pepsi. Though my preferred drink would be diet Dr Pepper.

The meaty flavor was still there, the difference is I was able to pick up the sweetness much better. The smoke seemed a bit greasy this time, still barbeque in flavor and aroma. I also picked up a new flavor, this time it was a coffee and nuts, something a bit sweet like cashews or hazelnuts.

The lingering aroma on my hands is still that strong oak and burnt pine, even that hickory I tasted.

The second time around with the diet Pepsi, I enjoyed far more. It certainly is a smoke that I believe needs to be enjoyed with a favorite beverage, whether it is water, soda, or liquor, maybe none for some folks.

I would recommend this to those that like full body and strength tobacco and to those that have a more developed palate, in my opinion this is worth trying. I personally enjoyed this tobacco.

[IHT]

excellent review.