My first taste of GL Pease Triple Play

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d4klutz

d4klutz

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I was cruisin' eBay and stumbled on some GL Pease Triple Play from 2011 (from what I understand is first year of the blend). I went ahead and sprung for two tins, and a tin of Jack Knife Plug of the same year. I have been wanting to try these two blends, but have heard they are way better when aged. Well the Triple Play came in, so I figured I would try some tonight after supper. I cut off a couple slices of the plug, cubed, and then rubbed it out as best as I could. I then let it dry for and hour and a half. Remember, my area is a permanent sauna as far as humidity levels go, so drying times vary greatly with different tobaccos.Tin note of this blend is amazing. Sweet, tangy, and almost salty all rolled into one.

So, after supper, I decided to pack this in my Briar Spirit pick-axe and give it a whirl. I lit the charring light and got a wonderful sweet and salty tasting smoke. After giving it a minute, I lit it up and all I can say is "wow". There are hardly any words to describe the flavors that constantly change and blend on my tongue. It is almost a dessert in the sweetness, but it does have a tangy/salty flavor too. I must say that this is a very good blend, and I cant wait to try it in a bit more of a dry state. It constantly invites you to sip some more. This blend really comes into its own if you sip it and smoke it as cool as you can. Any hotter, ant it starts to get ash-y. It also gurgles a bit, and requires a lot of relights due to the moisture and not letting it dry long enough. However, it is oh so tasty!

I have not been a fan of any of the GL Pease blends until now. Most of his blends, i find a bit heavy on the latakia side. However, this being a blend of two Virginias and some Kentucky, it really sings and is blended very well. Note: This tobacco is aged for 3 years. I have another tin that I am going to sit on for another year at least. I am sure that it will do nothing but get better with age.
 
Thanks for the review! This sounds like a blend I really need to try.
 
d4klutz":3sklpkjd said:
I have not been a fan of any of the GL Pease blends until now.  Most of his blends, i find a bit heavy on the latakia side.  However, this being a blend of two Virginias and some Kentucky, it really sings and is blended very well.  Note:  This tobacco is aged for 3 years.  I have another tin that I am going to sit on for another year at least.  I am sure that it will do nothing but get better with age.
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If you liked TP and have otherwise been put off by the Latakia ratio in GLP blends, there are number of top-notch Vas and Vapers that you might like which feature many of the characteristics you seem to enjoy in the TP.

Since I'm SURE you (like the rest of us) don't already have a "to try" list as long as your arm, you might have some good luck with blends like Montgomery (VA+dark fired), Union Square (VA), Stratford (balanced VaPer), and - my personal favorite - Telegraph Hill (a VaPer that is basically Stratford's stronger, bolder, brother).


Good review, btw - my impressions of TP were almost identical. I'm not sure what the salty/briny sense is all about, but I LOVE it!

 
d4klutz":1zzme072 said:
I was cruisin' eBay and stumbled on some GL Pease Triple Play from 2011 (from what I understand is first year of the blend). I went ahead and sprung for two tins, and a tin of Jack Knife Plug of the same year.  I have been wanting to try these two blends, but have heard they are way better when aged.  Well the Triple Play came in, so I figured I would try some tonight after supper. I cut off a couple slices of the plug, cubed, and then rubbed it out as best as I could. I then let it dry for and hour and a half. Remember, my area is a permanent sauna as far as humidity levels go, so drying times vary greatly with different tobaccos.Tin note of this blend is amazing. Sweet, tangy, and almost salty all rolled into one.  

So, after supper, I decided to pack this in my Briar Spirit pick-axe and give it a whirl. I lit the charring light and got a wonderful sweet and salty tasting smoke. After giving it a minute, I lit it up and all I can say is "wow". There are hardly any words to describe the flavors that constantly change and blend on my tongue.  It is almost a dessert in the sweetness, but it does have a tangy/salty flavor too. I must say that this is a very good blend, and I cant wait to try it in a bit more of a dry state. It constantly invites you to sip some more.  This blend really comes into its own if you sip it and smoke it as cool as you can.  Any hotter, ant it starts to get ash-y.  It also gurgles a bit, and requires a lot of relights due to the moisture and not letting it dry long enough.  However, it is oh so tasty!

I have not been a fan of any of the GL Pease blends until now.  Most of his blends, i find a bit heavy on the latakia side.  However, this being a blend of two Virginias and some Kentucky, it really sings and is blended very well.  Note:  This tobacco is aged for 3 years.  I have another tin that I am going to sit on for another year at least.  I am sure that it will do nothing but get better with age.
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DAMN FINE review guy !! Sadly I've not found GLP's choice of Va leaf choices as good as McC's, finding many of their blends to smoke somewhat raw and ashy due to that. I find the same thing with many of C&D's blend s but that stands to reason as they do GLP's blending. But again, that is one nice review and it sounds like you've found yourself a Lat forward blend you enjoy !! :twisted:
 
I know Kirk loves Triple Play. Interesting that you chose a Briar Spirit pipe to smoke it in. :D

I'll have to revisit this tobacco when I get a chance. Last time I smoked it, it reminded me of a juicer/sweeter version of Cumberland. I enjoyed the interplay of flavors, I don't recall the salty/briny aspect. Time to unearth the rest of that plug..

Nice review JP.
 
A review truly worthy of the Dark Lords masterpiece sure enough, nicely done JP. :D

DrumsAndBeer":06zwwvrl said:
I know Kirk loves Triple Play. Interesting that you chose a Briar Spirit pipe to smoke it in. :D
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Quite so Chris, Triple Play is one of my favoured tobaccos ever, it has even surpassed my passion for Jack Knife Plug, I know, such a thing is impossible surely but it is true none the less.

Ah yes, it was my fault JP has gotten into Triple Play, me and my big mouth I guess but when one comes across a blend one enjoys so very much how can one help but sing its praises. :cheers:

My only regret with Triple Play is it not being available here in the UK but then again it would end up costing us £20 (about $32.40) for a 2oz tin which is way out of my budget any way, I rely on getting my grubby little mitts on a bit here and there through trade when the chance comes around. :sunny:
 
DrumsAndBeer":unxla9xs said:
I know Kirk loves Triple Play. Interesting that you chose a Briar Spirit pipe to smoke it in. :D
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Yes, it is Kirk's fault that I tried Triple Play. I had not enjoyed any GL Pease blends up until I tried Triple Play. The choice of the pipe was made by the tobacco and how it rubbed out. It required a wider bowl than my normal .75". Well,the Pick-axe happened to have the perfect bowl for it. Thus, the match was made. I have since tried Triple Play in a different pipe, and it didn't smoke as well. I think the Pick-axe is the way to go on this blend. :)
 
Digging up an old thread. I had to, because lately I'm falling hard for GLP blends and falling out of love with my on hand McClelland blends, which include Boston 1776, Red & Black, Backwoods Flake, Beacon Extra, NO. 25... I'm not saying these aren't good, but they just aren't what they used to be for me, and honestly, I'm a tad broken up about it.

Approximately two years ago I bought a tin of Triple Play and kind of liked it, but now I love the stuff! JP's review was/is spot on! Smooth, rich, sweet, bold and stout! This could be because this stuff now has some age on it, but I think it might be due to experience as a pipe smoker, changed tastes, etc. I like to compare GLP to a great book or an Oscar award winning movie, such things are intricate, they develop beautifully over the course of 2-3 hours or 200-300 pages. Then there's the action packed movie that grabs your interest. It's exciting and delivers a punch, but there is nothing nuanced about it. Everytime you come back to this movie that punch line is a little less impressive, until it's ho-hum. And this to me is the McClelland line of tobaccos. I like them, I enjoy them, I'll continue to smoke them... but my Oscar goes to GLP!
 
DrumsAndBeer":a5g22snj said:
Comintern":a5g22snj said:
McC virginia's tend to be really sweet to my palate.
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Me too, but that's why I love their tobacco.
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Same here. I love the sweet stuff! Just dont always get consistent sweet smokes w those McKetchup brands.
 
The only Pease smokes I've had were either from counter sample tins at B&Ms, or running across the occasional pipester packin' it. They were all pretty fresh tins.

I know it's not good to judge a blend by one bowl. However, at this time, I have yet to find one of his that makes my eyebrow raise.
 
Ozark Wizard":twmpmgj9 said:
The only Pease smokes I've had were either from counter sample tins at B&Ms, or running across the occasional pipester packin' it. They were all pretty fresh tins.

I know it's not good to judge a blend by one bowl. However, at this time, I have yet to find one of his that makes my eyebrow raise.
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I felt the same way when first introduced to GLP blends, but now those I found to be boring are actually really nice to great. Keep in mind I've only smoked 5 or 6 of his blends. I'm still waiting to crack the lid of my haddos jar... that one just had too much going on when first tried.
 
To date the only GLP offering I have any experience with is Key Largo which juanmedusa introduced me to. I like it quite a bit and it's a regular part of my rotation. TP sounds interesting and I may have to give it a shot.
 
Old Nate":jgdtff2a said:
I'm still waiting to crack the lid of my haddos jar... that one just had too much going on when first tried.
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Ya, Haddos is overwhelming when fresh. But give it a few years and it really comes around. Still kicks my lil' arse when aged but what a wonderful flavor!


Cheers,

RR
 
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