“You enter the dark paneled room, its walls lined with ancient books. An antique table stands beside a leather club chair. Upon it, next to a small silver coin, an open tobacco tin entices you with an aroma deep, rich, authentic. You fill your bowl, strike a match. The first puff stops time as the smoky magic weaves its spell… Sixpence. The mystery continues.” – G. L. Pease
Considering the fact that I maintain a blog of tobacco reviews and write articles for Tobacco Pipes, I do my best to stay in touch with trends. More than anything, I keep tabs on popular tobacco’s that seem to be taking the pipe world by storm.
Sixpence by G. L. Pease is one of those blends that all of the sudden started appearing everywhere.
I was eager to try it.
As I am sure that most of us know, G. L. Pease tobacco is always of the highest quality. With their wide array and specialization in non-aromatic’s and english blends, I knew Sixpence was going to be unique, and I suspected it to be delicious.
I was not let down.
First Impression
Immediately upon opening this tin you can tell there is Perique. While the majority of the blend is various Virginia’s and Kentucky, for me the Perique took center stage (as it should).
Because of the pungent tobacco’s that make up Sixpence, the tin note is a balance of sour Perique and smokey Kentucky tobacco’s.
Sixpence comes in a 2 oz tin and is broken flake.
The issue I found with my Sixpence packaged is that it was a little dry for me. I would have preferred to have a slight more moisture in my blend, because often with broken flake near the bottom of the bowl, the fine ash can get drawn into the shank.
Smoke
Lighting this blend a gently alcohol taste steps forward first. About a third of the way through the bowl, the Perique seems to burst forth with an instant rush of spice (and nicotine by the way). About another third of the bowl down the Virginia’s subtly come forward with a dry sweetness that accompanies the spice without pushing it aside.
The flavor combinations are quite simple yet extraordinarily delicious and clear.
As I mentioned above though, be ready for a larger hit of nicotine than you would usually find in a G. L. Pease tobacco. As long as you can handle the stronger flavor, and are smoking on a full stomach, there is no reason you can’t smoke this blend all day long.
One issue, although not a large one, I had with Sixpence is the ash. The ash seemed to burn incredibly fine. I was forced to nock three or four times a bowl. If I did not do this then ash would fall to my bowl and either get mixed with the moisture or travel up the stem.
Room Note
Sixpence definitely left a room note, that’s for sure!
Surprisingly, the room note was much more tolerable that I expected.
Anytime I put Perique in my bowl, I expect the room note to be quite harsh and unpleasant to bystanders. However, while the note filled the room easily and quickly, the note was not terrible. It seemed to leave my car (where I smoke strong blends to get a taste of the room note so I do not pollute my wife or apartment) smelling like I smoked a cigar in it for about 2 minutes in it. It wasn’t bad at all. I’ll take that with a Perique tobacco any day!
Pairing
Pairing tobacco and food/drink is always tricky.
Everyone seems to have different favorites and they do not always line up.
For me, a glass of red table wine went well with Sixpence. The red wine cut through the flavor in my mouth without causing any clash of flavors. It seemed to partially cleanse my palate and it made me more sensitive to the next draw. I would say pick up a bottle of your favorite red wine and try having a bowl of Sixpence with it after dinner.
Strength
While you can find stronger flavored tobacco, Sixpence is quite imposing.
It can be especially imposing if you are used to smoking Burley blends that have a low nicotine content.
Sixpence is a Medium Full/Full flavored tobacco.
While you can definitely find some stronger blends out there, Sixpence is not one to disrespect and take lightly.
Overall Score
I really see why everyone loves this blend.
It is strong, but not overpowering. Has great flavors, but they are not masked behind “umpteen” different flavors causing the smoker to not know how to taste each one. It is able to be smoked all day long without getting boring.
I give Sixpence an 8 out of 10.
The only reason I cannot give it a higher score is because some tobacco blends are just absolutely out of this world.
While Sixpence may not be a super rare tobacco, yet, it certainly exceeds expectations and deserves to be given a spot in your smoking rotation.
To purchase Sixpence, click here.
Sixpence provided by Tobacco Pipes for the purpose of an un bias review.
Picture Provided by G. L. Pease, Tobacco Pipes, and Smokers Mag.
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