GLP Quiet Nights

[MisterE]

I've been enjoying this blend over the last week or so. An odd combination in that it combines Perique with Latakia, Orientals, and Virginias. I hadn't tried this combination critically before but it has proved far tastier than I had imagined.

What's interesting about it is that no particular flavor note is overly dominant. I can perceive all of them readily. I haven't really been craving Orientals or Latakia recently, so I opened it rather skeptically. Also, the idea of Perique in what would otherwise qualify as an English blend seemed out of place to me. Boy, was I pleasantly surprised! A very sweet flavor with the fullness of Latakia to give it more weight. Smokes very easily and intensifies as the bowl progresses. Not a light, all-day smoke for me but definitely a final bowl of the day sort of tobacco. So shortage of Vitamin N either.

So far I've smoked them in a Karl Erik horn, and a nice Lane Era Charatan Canadian, both of which are dedicated to English blends. This blend fits nicely and both pipes have greeted Quiet Nights well.

 

[Krusty]

Yer welcome, don't mention it

 

[Lesath]

How old was the tin, and how long has it been opened? I have some 2 0z. tins dated 7/29/2010 and from that lot came my introduction to Quiet Nights. I had a similar experience to yours. From the tins I opened, I saved a little more than two oz. that I jarred up in mid October to see how it will be this Autumn. The flakes have a bit of that lovely white coating we all seek as I look through the glass, and Mister E, I think you have given me good reason to break the seal and see how it compares with memory.

 

[MisterE]

How old was the tin, and how long has it been opened? I have some 2 0z. tins dated 7/29/2010 and from that lot came my introduction to Quiet Nights. I had a similar experience to yours. From the tins I opened, I saved a little more than two oz. that I jarred up in mid October to see how it will be this Autumn. The flakes have a bit of that lovely white coating we all seek as I look through the glass, and Mister E, I think you have given me good reason to break the seal and see how it compares with memory.

The tin I opened last week was just a year old, dated 7/13/2110. A year might have have some effect on it but I have nothing to compare it to so I can't really say. If you do decide to pop that jar, let us know if the age made any difference from what you remember.
I am just starting to get into aging tobacco and most of the stuff in my cellar is only a year old at best. I purposely received a few orders up in the US instead of at home in Mexico just so they'd have about 8+ months on it by the time I try it. This is one of the tins from that lot.

 

[Lesath]

MisterE,

After my post, I knew what had to be done. Upon opening, it seemed the latakia was not as dominant as I recalled. The simple solution, I popped a fresh tin. A true assessment. I love the texture of the flakes, how they just fall apart. The moisture level had decreased, but I let it dry about a half hour before breaking it up a bit and loading a fresh cob. I paired it with a bottle of O'Dells Imperial Stout and pondered on it. This morning, I did the same thing, only with coffee.

The latakia has mellowed and the Virginias are more pronounced. The relationship between it and Chelsea Morning is far easier to distinguish. I like what happened in that jar, but tonight I intend to try the fresh batch while this is all fresh in my memory. If it were possible to ship you some of the aged, I'd be more than happy to so you can make the comparison as well. I'm wondering what a few years of age will do now, I suppose time will tell.

 

[Dottleman]

I ordered (among others) a tin of Quiet Nights and am expecting it to arrive tomorrow. After reading this post, I'm really looking forward to it.

 

[MisterE]

Lesath:

Interesting! Seems like your year old jar was similar to the year old tin I opened. The Latakia was in no way intrusive. There, but as part of the whole picture. What I'll have to do is get a more recent tin and do the same experiment. I agree that even fairly wet it is easy to smoke because the flakes just fall apart. I just might get a couple of tins and forget about them for a while and see what more time can do for it.

I've read that Latakia doesn't improve as noticeably as Virginias over time. I have no personal experience with this yet, but it might me a nice experiment. Perhaps it's mostly the the Virginia that accounts for the difference?

Thanks for sharing that!

Dottleman, I hope you enjoy it as much as we are! :cheers:

 

[Lesath]

The newer tin I popped last night is indeed more forward with the latakia; not a bad thing at all. You did get me thinking about how tobacco changes over time, and I am certain this is something GL Pease takes into consideration. What you mentioned about latakia not changing in the same fashion is true. I've been playing with the aging concept for quite a while and I can say that my stash, inventory, or whatever it should be called seems to be about 2:1 in favor of latakia blends. What do you think I smoke the most of? Escudo; and yes I have it in a variety of vintages, odd that it's a Virginia/Perique blend. Aging tobacco is interesting, but to me the latakia blends draw my curiosity the most. An example is Dunhill Nightcap from the Murray era. I don't know what exactly happened in those tins over the years, but they have changed. It was always good, but time or scarcity has worked some magic. Sadly, I have only two tins left. The current incarnation is good smoke, and I am hoping time will work some wonders with it, but I know it won't be the same as whatever variables landed in those Murray tins. So in the present, there are some tobaccos that have caught my attention, one of them being QN. Something about it stirs my memory of some quality that existed in Nightcap of old, and that has urged me to put a goodly quantity of it up. Two things I hope for, one being I am correct in how QN will age, the other that my palate and I live long enough to see this project through. This has been an interesting thread, and Dottleman, I hope you gain at least a measure of the pleasure QN has provided the rest of us.