DrumsAndBeer
Well-known member
- Joined
- Apr 4, 2012
- Messages
- 6,603
- Reaction score
- 10
I have been smoking my fair share of this tobacco lately and it has become my go to cold-evening nightcap. I absolutely adore this blend and find it to be incredibly complex and satisfying. One cannot write a big enough review (at least I can't) to properly cover all that is to be experienced smoking a blend like Odyssey. So here's my really small feeling review 
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GLP Odyssey
Charring light brings forth flavors of smoldering oak wood, moist rich earth, leather, old books and salty sulphuric accents reminiscent of Eurasian black salt. To start, the smoke is soft, smooth, silky and altogether not too spicy. The forwardness of the latakia is nicely tempered by the other tobaccos. This creates a wide bold rich flavor that seems to blossom on the palate. There is a sweetness embedded deep within the flavor but it is oh-so-slight and is more of a bottom note in the wide spectrum of musty, moldy, smoked peat flavors. It’s similar to the role sweetness plays in a dry Islay malt. A subdued phenolic sweetness found in the undercurrent of the softer bottom-end flavors and nothing more.
As the bowl progresses rauch malt, rye, burnt popcorn, & strong Danish style licorice are some of the more prominent flavors I notice. The smoke is firm, complex and pungent, yet somehow still soft and fragrant. Nasal exhales and French inhale provides an intriguing cave-aged blue cheese like flavor and aroma. And like a strong blue, Odyssey remains full, sharp and flavorful but still soft and creamy. Any typical latakia edges are softened out nicely by the Orientals & Virginia’s and even through to the mid-smoke point the mouth-feel is still gentle and quite frankly, nothing short of "pillowy." When pushed Odyssey gets spicier & smokier, and pine pitch flavors accompany the heavy earthy overtones.
The thing that I love best about this mixture is that it has an absolutely amazing end smoke which reveals a slight Indian spice like flavor which is aromatically reminiscent of a staple spice mixture like Garam Masala. Layered within this is a zippy pepperiness that forms on tip of the tongue. I cannot convey how much I enjoy riding out the end bowl portion of this mixture. There is no bite whatsoever, only complex dark subtleties and nutty, semi-sweet wood smoke flavors. There's even a wee-little-bit of a fresh evergreen aroma I find similar to the scent of standard green Palmolive. Altogether this is an incredible tobacco mixture, and an absolute pleasure to smoke on a cool autumn or winter evening.
Odyssey stays lit out of tin okay, but does require a few relights both at the beginning and along the way. I would be somewhat reluctant to dry this tobacco, only because the flavors are so impressive without any dry time that I would not want to risk losing any complexities to moisture loss. With a bit of practice and with being careful not to tamp too much or pack too firmly, Odyssey is well behaved, user friendly and burns nicely for a Big Lat. 8)
:cheers:
..................
GLP Odyssey
Charring light brings forth flavors of smoldering oak wood, moist rich earth, leather, old books and salty sulphuric accents reminiscent of Eurasian black salt. To start, the smoke is soft, smooth, silky and altogether not too spicy. The forwardness of the latakia is nicely tempered by the other tobaccos. This creates a wide bold rich flavor that seems to blossom on the palate. There is a sweetness embedded deep within the flavor but it is oh-so-slight and is more of a bottom note in the wide spectrum of musty, moldy, smoked peat flavors. It’s similar to the role sweetness plays in a dry Islay malt. A subdued phenolic sweetness found in the undercurrent of the softer bottom-end flavors and nothing more.
As the bowl progresses rauch malt, rye, burnt popcorn, & strong Danish style licorice are some of the more prominent flavors I notice. The smoke is firm, complex and pungent, yet somehow still soft and fragrant. Nasal exhales and French inhale provides an intriguing cave-aged blue cheese like flavor and aroma. And like a strong blue, Odyssey remains full, sharp and flavorful but still soft and creamy. Any typical latakia edges are softened out nicely by the Orientals & Virginia’s and even through to the mid-smoke point the mouth-feel is still gentle and quite frankly, nothing short of "pillowy." When pushed Odyssey gets spicier & smokier, and pine pitch flavors accompany the heavy earthy overtones.
The thing that I love best about this mixture is that it has an absolutely amazing end smoke which reveals a slight Indian spice like flavor which is aromatically reminiscent of a staple spice mixture like Garam Masala. Layered within this is a zippy pepperiness that forms on tip of the tongue. I cannot convey how much I enjoy riding out the end bowl portion of this mixture. There is no bite whatsoever, only complex dark subtleties and nutty, semi-sweet wood smoke flavors. There's even a wee-little-bit of a fresh evergreen aroma I find similar to the scent of standard green Palmolive. Altogether this is an incredible tobacco mixture, and an absolute pleasure to smoke on a cool autumn or winter evening.
Odyssey stays lit out of tin okay, but does require a few relights both at the beginning and along the way. I would be somewhat reluctant to dry this tobacco, only because the flavors are so impressive without any dry time that I would not want to risk losing any complexities to moisture loss. With a bit of practice and with being careful not to tamp too much or pack too firmly, Odyssey is well behaved, user friendly and burns nicely for a Big Lat. 8)
:cheers:
