Blend Information
Blend name: Fillmore
Manufacturer: GL Pease
Tobacco contents: Virginia, Perique
Standard delivery size: 2 oz Tin
Cost: 9.78 at pipesandcigars.com

Ambiance/Physical Description
Tobacco cut: Ribbon?
Tobacco appearance: Light brown
Approximate age: ? Received in a MAW sample from Mad Hatter
Drying time: Stored in a baggy, this baccy was plenty dry. Perhaps even a little too dry.
Accompanying food/beverage: None
Pipe used: MM Cob - Straight Stem

Flavor Profile
Sweetness: Chocolate/Caramel notes detected in 1st third
Fuitiness: None detected
Floralness: None detected
Smokiness: Smokey flavors present. After the first third, this baccy had strong hints of a full bodied cigar flavor. Definite tobacco flavor present.
Earthiness/Spice: Peppery overtones present. The "tin" smell reminded me of peppercorns.
Nuttiness: May have been present subtly for a moment, but I did not notice a significant amount.

Ratings (weights are in parenthesis)
Tin Smell (1) - 3
Burn Quality (2.5) - 4
Room Note (1) - 3
Complexity (2.5) - 4
Overall Taste (3) - 4

Modifiers
Bite - 0 (10% bonus)
Cost per ounce - 4.50-5.49 (0% bonus)

UNWEIGHTED SCORE - 18/25

WEIGHTED SCORE - 38/50

ADJUSTED SCORE - 41.8/50

OVERALL GRADE - B

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Notes:

I received this baccy in a MAW sampler from Mad Hatter. He sent a generous amount. The baggy smelled quite peppery with some hints of tobac smell. The beginning was quite smooth with the baccy lighting up nice and easy. This baccy was quite dry however, and I think that may have led to it becoming less complex as the smoke went on. I am going to try re-hydrating it a little and have another go at it.

About halfway through, the baccy started really reminding me of a cigar. I enjoy full bodied, peppery cigars and that is exactly what this reminded me of. I have read it is smoother than it tasted to me, so I am wondering if this may be due to the dryness.

I enjoyed this vaper, though it does not hold a candle yet to Escudo or Anni Kake in my mind.

Still a solid blend from GLP.

Thanks for reading.

-Tyler
[Reply]

I usually do not like straight VaPer's but Fillmore was an exception. I find that with the Vaper's I have tried they tend to be really sweet then spicy, and they alternate flavors like that. Fillmore melds very well and the flavors mingle rather than compete for attention. The virginias are very good in fillmore and have that natural fruity sweetness that we all love so much. The perique is used in very good quantitites and as with most Pease blends the quality of the leaf is top knotch. I found this to be leaps and bounds above St. James Flake, in fact after smoking both I can't believe anyone would actually choose St. James over this. Great blend. I score this at an 86.
[Reply]

does this ribbon need to be "rubbed out"
I just purchased a tin, and see that it is.. in that "ribbon" like fashion ( haha Excuse me, still very new to these terms)
I remember reading that if you do not -rub it out- asap after opening it will become quiet difficult to do so.


Great review!
[Reply]

Yes,

I would rub out this ribbon, but beyond that I would crack open the tin and let it sit for about a month. I know, but this blend is real deceptive. The casing used in this is pretty potent, but once it airs out for a while it yields a very flavorful and complex blend. This really benefits from drying. :-)

ATL
[Reply]

Isn't Fillmore a broken flake? :-) At least that is what I remember. I also remember that it wasn't for me when I tried it although a lot of other VA/Per lovers swear by it.
[Reply]

You're right sawyer it is a broken flake. I have smoked it both ways, rubbed out and just stuff the pipe with the pieces. Both seem to smoke well. Although I prefer leaving flakes or broken flakes in this case in flake form and smoke them. It depends on the blend and the person. That's what makes pipe smoking so unique.
This tobacco does need to be dried out some. I have some of the larger tins stashed away for long term aging. It's a great Va/Per smoke.
[Reply]

fillmore is a flake (or broken flake, depending how much your tin gets tossed around before you get it). i've had some that were beautiful flakes that just fall apart, and others where you had to hunt for a large enough flake to even bother rubbing it out.

it took me a couple tins to appreciate this blend, but i really started to love it. might have to have a dedicated pipe for it, the amount of perique in this blend is pretty stout, if i recall. can't go from this and then Escudo and expect to get much of the sweetness out of Escudo when covered up by such a perique ghost.
[Reply]

This is one of my favorite VAPers. Interestingly enough, it actually has a touch of latakia in it.
[Reply]

did greg pease tell you that? if so, i'd reply with, "why did you attempt to ruin a good blend".

might explain why it ghosts a pipe like it does.
[Reply]

Yep yep...he has confirmed that. I think it was on SF but can't remember for sure.
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Hater! :-)
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Interesting. GLP is also a rap production company from Fillmore that was up and coming in the late 90's. They still play "Game Recognize Game" on radio stations every summer. I wonder if there is a correlation? J.T. was a pretty smart guy.:-)
[Reply]

bah on two counts. that would explain why i missed that topic (hard to wade through 400 million replies of "nice pipe" "thanks for sharing" to get to a real reply); and now i might have to dedicate 1 pipe to only Fillmore.
i noticed that it would ghost up a pipe pretty good after continual Fillmore smoking, i just attributed that to the heavy amount of Perique.

---

hey doyle, i'm a smoker, not a hater. :-)
[Reply]

C'mon now, that's how these cats build up post count and rep. I see guys
with 6 mos on the board smashing my post count into bits. :-)

Nice post, lol.

Oh, snap, I forgot. I was all set to order a tin of this, but I had to put the brakes on.
I have more tobacco than I could smoke in years, now it is time to hit it. It was very hard
getting a note from my vendor that she could NOT sell me 5 cans of Escudo, she only had two.
:-)
Shame, the Filmore sounds like something very close to top class as I read the showdown
and reviews here.
[Reply]

Pease told me the reason for the touch of latakia, but that was years ago and I'm not certain of this information. But I believe it was to darken, just a bit, the flavor of the blend. I also believe that this technique did not originate with him, and that it is an old blending technique.
[Reply]