Tobaccos Seattle Pipe Club - Deception Pass

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Flatticus (24)	2015-03-05		Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

This is a blend primarily composed of some truly delicious virginia leaf, with at most small condimental amounts of perique, Turkish, and black cavendish. The Virginia is very much the forefront taste from the char on, with only a hint of perique and, to my tastebuds, no notice of the black cavendish at all. The Turkish, largely smyrna to my tastebuds, is present throughout, but in just the right amount to be a musty aftertaste, not an overpowering flavor. As the bowl carries on, the virginias become more rich and the perique starts to stand out as a plummy sweetness, no doubt aided by the cavendish. Highly recommended in a deep chimney or after an overnight DGT, this is an easy and smooth smoke I could easily enjoy all day. It reminds me of the kind of blends Milton Sherman wrote about, an old fashioned smoke where the condiment leaf is just that, a condiment, and never overpowering. It is very much unlike the bulk of va/per blends out there, and is fast becoming a favorite.

Pipe Used: Meerschaum, Briar

Age When Smoked: Fresh

Purchased From: Pipes and Cigars

25 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JimInks (3047)	2017-08-29		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

The base of the blend is stoved black Virginia, which provides fermented tangy, sugary dark fruit, earthiness, bread, wood, a little tart and tangy citrus, and some grass as the lead component. The mildly spicy, plummy, raisin and fig-like Acadian perique is a supporting player. There’s a little tangy dark fruit, earth, wood, bread, and slight touch of vinegar from the red Virginia, which plays a small role as well. There’s a little floral mustiness, earth, vegetation, herbalness, some tingly spice and wood, a light buttery, creamy sweet and sour savoriness from the Turkish/Oriental that continually plays to your taste buds in a small, but distinguishing role. The unsweetened black cavendish offers a little smoothing brown sugar as a condiment. The strength and nic-hit are a couple of steps past the center of mild to medium. The taste falls a tad short of the medium threshold. It won’t bite, and has very few small rough edges. It burns cool and clean at a moderate pace with a well-blended, nuanced, mostly consistent, mildly sweet and spicy floral flavor from start to finish. The blend leaves little dampness in the bowl, and requires an average number of relights. There is a pleasant, lightly lingering spicy, savory after taste. The room note is a notch stronger. Can be an all day smoke. Three and a half stars.

-JimInks

21 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2015-06-12		Medium	None Detected	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

Small ribbons of dark brown color with a tin note of rich, savory Virginias with a touch of oriental. Packed easily and I rarely had to relight once it took hold. I have to think that each relight reduces a blend's effect, but I really don't have any science to back that up. But no problems here.

That savory, earthy tin scent translated to the taste but was considerably subdued. The Virginias were front and center throughout the bowl and were spiced with a touch of perique and a smidge of oriental. The Virginias were not of the juicy McClelland variety but more of the darker, drier stuff that I recently tasted from a lot of Peretti blends. There was black Cavendish here as well, and it mildly detracted from the experience, leaving a kind of resiny mouthfeel. The overall taste was mild and mellow, and snorking was critical to get the best effect. I also found that this blend smoked much better for me in a briar pipe than a meerschaum, which always makes me suspicious, as if the blend needed to hide behind the flavors imparted by briar. Still, this is good blend, if not the last word in tastiness and oomph, nor living up to its initial hype (which is my typical response to SPC blends). But I enjoyed smoking it when I wanted to tone down my usual big flavor blends. Nice morning smoke, this one, with more going for it than EMP. Coulda used a bit more oriental for my tastes, or perhaps more perique. The Virginias couldn't quite carry the load they were asked to carry. I'd place this one on the low end of 3 stars... good but nowhere near a rotation-maker.

17 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pipestud (1829)	2016-03-02		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

In addition to being one heck of a nice guy, Joe Lankford is also one heck of a blender. I don't think I ever received a tobacco he created that I didn't like at least a little bit. Deception Pass greatly reminds me of the old Presbyterian Mixture if you tossed in a little Perique. And the layers of depth in the Virginia in this one, combined with the body building power of the unflavored Cavendish, all combined to create a smooth, creamy and delicious smoke.

Pipestud

16 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	DiscPiper (1)	2015-03-14		Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

As a Va/Per lover, I've had my eye on this blend ever since it was announced. I love SPC blends and I knew this one had to be right up there with their other blends.

Straight to the chase! This is one of the most perfectly blended Va/Per's that I've smoked in a very long time. A wonderful mix of up front natural sweetness that transitions into a tangy floral citrus with a nice light musty spiciness on the back end, that won't burn your nose on the retrohale. A taller bowl only enhances this blends profile. Nice and light with a medium strength, this is the perfect all day smoke. No after taste is left on your palate and it burns down to a fine black and white ash, with no dottle left in the bowl. Easy to light, with no drying time needed, when you first open the tin.

I ordered 5 tins initially and I'm going back for more. It will be very interesting to see what a years worth of age will do to it. I have never recommended/rated a blend as high as Deception Pass. When this catches on, I can see Mississippi River giving way to Deception Pass, as SPC's best selling blend. I have my fingers crossed, that it will be available in bulk very soon. Enjoy!

Pipe Used: Mario Grandi Ramses

Age When Smoked: Fresh

Purchased From: Pipes & CIgars

15 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Autumn joy (47)	2015-03-13		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Seattle Pipe Club Deception Pass This is a Virginia, Perique and Turkish oriental blend. The tin note is a good vinegary ketchup note reminding me of red cake a bit. The cut of this tobacco is a ribbon cut and is very easy to work with as far as packing. The light of this tobacco is very good and I had no issues keeping it lit. I used a char light method and had no problems. The first 1/3 of the bowl I really got the taste of the Turkish oriental a bit but mostly the virginia blend. The Perique is noticeable but not much yet. The 2/3 of the bowl is where the Virginia and Perique really shine. The combination of these two tobaccos kept it a fairly cool and very smooth smoke. The last third of the bowl actually did give me a good spice but nothing overpowering. Overall this is a great start for people looking for a good Virginia blend as well as a good starter if your wanting to try a VAPER. Mostly because this blend is very light on the Perique and I think the Turkish oriental is what helps tame that down. I would recommend this to any pipe smoker and the VAPER lovers out there because this is truly an old day smoke. There is little to no bite from this blend and it will leave you with a nice salt and pepper ash. So enjoy everyone I personally got 4 tins of this and I am glad I did. That said this review is coming from an aromatic and English smoker. This blend has opened my eyes though and will be in my rotation. Enjoy everyone and get some this stuff it's good.

Pipe Used: Bent Dublin

Age When Smoked: Fresh

Purchased From: Pipes and cigars

12 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	½ bowl (103)	2015-06-11		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

This blend suffers from the heavy-handed use of an unflavored black Cavendish that is sweet, chalky or parching; and it leaves a saccharin-like aftertaste. (It wouldn't surprise me a bit if I was tasting propylene glycol, or sorbitol, or such.) DP is classified as a VaPer, but the black Cavendish takes it out of that genre.

Too bad. The VaPer-Oriental components could have carried the blend on their own. Adding this black Cavendish is like blending carob into your coffee. If you're transitioning from OTC aromatics to natural tobacco blends, give it 2 stars; but Vaper aficionados will be disappointed.

Age When Smoked: new

9 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	TallPuffO'Burley (633)	2016-03-16		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

I just finished up the sample of this that I picked up at the 2015 Chicago Show. I should say both samples. I picked up the first on Saturday and smoked it that evening. I was sharing how much I enjoyed it to the guys manning the booth for SPC, that they gave me second sample. I also ordered a couple of tins when I got home.

I think when I first tried this, it was no doubt at the four star range. I think my initial impressions were slightly influenced by how unique the blend is. This was before knowing the ingredients. I had just assumed this to be merely a vaburper. And there is no doubt it still has that feel. Sweet, earthy and spicy. The oriental addition is what gives it that unique edge a little sour twang here and there as you are puffing on it.

After finishing two samples, I will say that this is a good blend, but not mind blowing enough for me, at this point, to give it four stars. With the two tins aging, I will no doubt return to this review later in time with an edit, but for now I will give it three stars and say that for a four star blend with a similar flavor profile, but IMO, a little better, I would recommend HU's Flanagan.

8 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Ryan G. (5)	2015-04-15		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant

An outstanding smoke, rich, creamy, slightly sweet. A very cool and smooth blend that is very enjoyable. It also has a subtle background note that I just can't place, I get the Virginias, the Perique, and very subtly the Orientals But there is something else too. I love it so much I smoked nothing else for almost 3 weeks and bought 12 more tins for cellaring, I think it will age quite well.

Pipe Used: Savinelli bent pot, Peterson Kinsale

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: Pipes and Cigars

8 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	StevieB (2081)	2017-01-07		Mild	Extremely Mild	Medium	Tolerable

Seattle Pipe Club - Deception Pass.

There seems to have been a lot of furore over this blend, creating a lot for it to live up to. I ordered a 2oz tin with high expectations.

When I opened the tin I immediately observed its hydration's good, and the cut appears to be quite even. Then I filled one of my favourite Rattray's pipes (didn't want to insult such a grandiose blend with anything other than the best!), and if I'm honest the first few puffs left me feeling a little disconsolate; you see, I had this for breakfast, when I like a strong Perique blend, or heavy English, but this is more refined: there's grassy Virginia, slightly fragrant Turkish, a diminutive amount of honey-sweetness, and a gentle pluminess. I could see this making a better relaxation smoke, as opposed to a 'get up and go' smoke in the mornings! I get a good burn, one that doesn't need lots of re-lights, just regular tamping. Deception bites me, only delicately, so this won't adjust the rating!

The nicotine's quite mild, and the room-note's tolerable.

This is a nice blend, and despite the fact it bites me a bit, I'll still highly recommend it.

Four stars.

Pipe Used: Rattray's 2016 Pipe of the Year Poty Bullcap

Age When Smoked: One month

Purchased From: Smokingpipes.com

7 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Lochinvar (78)	2015-11-06		Mild	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

A real surprising little blend, it took me a few bowls to get it. By the end of the 8oz tin, of the 4 or so bowls a day I smoke, it accounted for 3/4 of them. A great ribbon cut, easy to pack and easy to light and keep lit. The smoke was cool, and I never got bit in the least, even when I got a little absent minded in my puffing. The flavor starts out light,but seems to build up on your palette as you smoke. The Virginia gives good structure and a clean, sweet, citrusy taste, the perique stays mostly tangy and lightly peppery in the first half of the bowl, getting a little more plummy toward the bottom. The Oriental adds citrus and musty notes. The interplay between Oriental and perique is what really makes this blend awesome, not being paired together as much as either varietal with Virginia. I didn't really pick up on the cavendish, I assume it mostly serves to smooth the blend out. The mouthfeel was odd, it was almost the same as a carbonated drink, kinda tingly on the tongue , effervescent almost and very light. It has a pleasant aftertaste, and kinda begs for another bowl when you finish the first. Thus far, this is my favorite new tobacco this year, so much so that as soon as I finished the first tin, I ordered a pound of it. It's the first time I've ever found a blend light enough to be an all day smoke, that i would like and be interested in enough to smoke all day.

Pipe Used: Castello Collection bent bulldog

Age When Smoked: Fresh

Purchased From: Pipes&Cigars

7 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	steppx (186)	2017-10-01		Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

My favorite of joe lankford's Seattle Pipe Club blends. Reading the reviews there is the usual criticism of unsweetned cavendish. I see it when people complain about mcClellands Navy Cavendish, or rattray's Marlin Flake. All of these are favorites of mine. So its subjective i suppose. The Cavendish, or this sort of true unsweetened black cavendish was hugely popular in the late 19th century and early 20th. Many old british blends used it, and often based the blend on it. It seems far less popular today (be interesting to examine the reasons for that, as I have no clue). This is very much a retro sort of blend. Its something one might have purchased at your local tobacconist in Liverpool or London back in the 1920s.

in any event this is medium blend of black virginia (mostly), with a bit of Perique and probably some drama or smyrna....i cant tell which as there isnt that much. The oriental leaf, whichever it is, does provide a kind of haunting aftertaste while one puffs away. But this is a virginia and cavendish blend. Ribbon cut. Id like this more if it were flake I think, and stoved more. Its good....and it reminds me a bit of something Rattray's might come up...in fact its not all that distant from Old Gowrie, or perhaps more correctly, to Dark Fragrant. Its dark fragrant minus the slight casing. Overall its a very very nice blend. Nic hit approaches medium, and this just wont bite regardless of how you smoke it. 3 and a half stars.

Purchased From: 4noggins

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Gentleman Zombie (729)	2017-05-10		Mild	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

A mild yet spicy VaPer. Nice sweet fruit from the Virginias. Plums and figs and a nice amount of spice from the Perique. I'd say that their influence is near equal. The Black Cav smooths the rough edges and provides a little toasty note in the second half. I think it also "waters this down" and makes it a bit milder. The Orientals are nearly invisible. All in all, a very good smoke.

Mild in body. Mild to medium in taste. No added flavoring. Burns very well.

Pipe Used: MM Little Devil Cutty, Little Devil Acorn, Marcus

Age When Smoked: fresh

Purchased From: smokingpipes.com

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Armeniandude (13)	2016-09-07		Mild	None Detected	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Pleasant

Looks and smells lovely in the tin. However, all I get from this tobacco is too much perique and an extremely dry mouth. It burns hot the whole way no matter how I try to fuss with it to keep it cool. There's not much in the way of flavor either once you get halfway through the bowl. It's not complex and borders flavorless. All I can hope is that I got a bad tin or that storing it will bring out more complexities. I was really excited and really want/ed to like this blend. If any kind of epiphany happens, I'll edit this.

Pipe Used: briar

Age When Smoked: fresh- a few months

Purchased From: smokingpipes.com

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	J.R. Patton (106)	2016-08-03		Mild	Extremely Mild	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

I really had high hopes for DP, and I hold out hope yet, but I found this smoke to be a bit disappointing. The uniqueness of the blend coupled with my experience with Mississippi River prompted me to order an 8oz tin without first sampling. Smells like a quality vaper should in the tin, along with some floral aromas imparted by the oriental leaf. To my dismay, though, I don't get very much flavor from the actual smoke. It comes off as thin and too mild. I'll admit, my preferences are normally in the realm of strong and full, so if you're into mellower blends this may be an original blend that's right up your alley. The VA and perique dominate from the start, with only very faint occasional citrus/spice notes off the orientals. I suspect that where this blend falls short is from the black cavendish. Perhaps too heavy handed? I think the mellowing effect of the cavendish takes so much of the edge off the other components that no real identity evolves. I would definitely like to taste more oriental. This is one of those tobaccos where I catch myself subconsciously puffing harder and faster to try to release and develop the flavor profile, but this just sours the smoke...literally, like the unpleasant sourness of a super-moist, under-fermented cavendish. The tobaccos seem to be of typical McClelland high quality, though, so I do really hope that some age will do this blend some justice. I plan to return and update this review in the near future.

Pipe Used: MM Great Dane

Age When Smoked: Fresh from tin

Purchased From: Pipesandcigars.com

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	WmZiggy (81)	2015-12-25		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Overwhelming	Tolerable

Deception Pass is one tobacco I am going to pass-by the next time I place an order. And, I don't blame McClelland Tobacco, the blender of this blend. Maybe I got a bad tin, or a bad batch, in which case it is McClelland's fault. However, I think this is the Master Blender - Joe Lankford's fault. This blend just lacks balance.

I like Va/Pers as a rule, and was the reason I ordered it for Christmas. But this blend is one in a long, long time I could not finish. It is stuck on high 'C' to use a musical analogy, without any low notes to create a harmony of music. From the charing light until I couldn't take it anymore this blend is sharp sweet and hot. I haven't had a tobacco burn my tongue in a long time, but this one did in short order, and it never improved throughout the smoke. I tried to like it, but finally gave-up. In my estimation there isn't any balance to this blend; it's all Perique. The Virginia and Turkish leaf just doesn't cut it in creating a harmony, or enjoyable complexity of smoke. There is no complexity. It's all a hot, high 'C'.

Deception Pass is all that the name implies - it is deceiving and if you are smart you will pass-by.

Pipe Used: Astley

Age When Smoked: Christmas 2015

Purchased From: Cigars and Pipes

Similar Blends: This is uniquely bad. I haven't had a Va/Per this poorly blended, ever..

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30171)	2015-12-23		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

I was realy looking forward to try this SPC blend, just because, I loved the poster, really. As I say in other reviews I made, I am not quite THE reviewer, ... yet. So for now, it's really "I like this because ... ", "i don't like that because..." ... And so I discovered this blend on SP.com and I got really intrigued by the image. I clearly stood out from most of very classical ways of doing tobacco labels I've seen before. I noticed that all SPC blends have very nice logos and so I decided to order a tin of DP and one of Potlatch. I haven't been disappointed. Recently, I found myself at a crossroad finding most aromatics very nice and sweet and all, but lacking substance, most English being too strong on the latakia, and not enjoying Virginias or Vapers much.

And there they were, in the same posted package were my 3 new best friends, FMC, Potlatch and Deception Pass. All sharing the same thing I wanted to find in a tobacco, strength, substance, but also some sweetness.

DP is smoking very nicely and cool, it's has smells and tastes like a Virginia, but like a cup of coffee might need a sugar in it, this one here felt, at least to me, the same.

Pipe Used: Own made Apple Straight

Age When Smoked: a week in a jar

Purchased From: SmokingPipes.com

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	moniker (220)	2020-08-17		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Four pipes and several sessions in, I am calling off my putative trek through Deception Pass. I wish I could but I can’t seem to get around awful, mouth oiling, chemical tastes that start soon after I light up. I was able to get decent aromas from a big pot, but that pipe only exacerbated the chemicals. When I was able to keep the bad tastes further in the background, the smells and tastes from the tobacco were insipid. Overall, I just can’t recommend it, so 1 star.

Pipe Used: various briars

Age When Smoked: from undated tin

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	cm1648 (108)	2020-01-11		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

VaPer and English blends with cavendish have typically deterred me from purchasing them, as I'm not a huge fan of cavendish blends. Yet Joe Langford proved me greatly mistaken in this blend. Deception Pass is quite an interesting and intriguing smoke. If you were blindfolded and were told to smell the tin, you would think you were smelling a box of raisins with pepper sprinkled on top.

The dark, fruity, (raisiny?) notes from the Virginias and Perique claim the main flavor of the blend. The citrusy flavor of the bright Virginas come into play, though in more of a back role. The tang and spiciness of the Orientals, though a secondary player, are consistent throughout the blend. Though certainly the Perique provides added raisin notes, the spiciness isnt overbearing and in fact, may not be up to standards for the perique connoisseurs. However, it is perfect for my tastes.

Now the Cavendish. The Cavendish not only mellows the blend (which may be why the perique doesnt come across so heavily, but it also adds a brown sugar note to the blend quite consistently. Its addition is very appreciative. Deception Pass is easily an all day smoke and is quite a dry smoke as well. The moisture level out of the tin was almost perfect, maybe slightly on the wet side but not enough to dry it.

If youre looking for a traditional, heavy Perique blend, this may not be for you. If youre looking for a unique VaPer based blend, you will be quite pleased I believe. A highly recommended smoke and a job well done once again by SPC.

Pipe Used: Peterson system and other basket briars

Age When Smoked: Not sure. Bought it in 12/19

Purchased From: pipesandcigars.com

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	43Bulldog (5)	2019-09-15		Mild	Mild	Mild	Pleasant

Sweet, smooth, creamy with sweet waves of flavor from the Oriental/Turkish. I keep coming back for this one as has a different profile from other VaPers

Pipe Used: Morgan Bones

Age When Smoked: 1year old tin.

Purchased From: 4Noggins

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Earthmane (11)	2019-03-23		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

This is one of the first blends I've had that made me immediately want another bowl as soon as I'd finished. Tastes sweet and bready, with wonderful tangy and sour notes to balance it out. Notes of pumpernickel bread and balsamic vinegar, molasses cookies. Smokes very easily and has just the right amount of nicotine. Goes great with coffee! Perhaps not as complex as some other blends out there but it is deceptively intriguing.

Pipe Used: Stanwell 141 Straight Brandy

Age When Smoked: about 18 months

Purchased From: smokingpipes.com

Similar Blends: H&H Louisiana Red.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	arpie55 (77)	2018-12-06		Mild	None Detected	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

Only two bowls in but I like doing early on reviews because first impressions usually determine whether I will stay with a blend or not. I like this. It is a sweet start and mild throughout. The blender makes the ingredients known and as most I would say that it is Va forward but with all of the ingredients working well together to make a mild and flavorful smoke. I did find however that it required a few relights and reuires more than average pipe cleaner passes. I found the burn aroma to be pleasant enough but the lingering note to be typical of Va/Per type blends (somewhat spicy and pungent), I am not a mixed company smoker but I doubt you would get a lot of complaints if you did. The smoke volume is medium. I am not sure yet whether this will make it into my regular rotation or not but in all likelihood it will not be something that is around forever anyway, that being said, if you want to try this excellent blend, you had better not wait too long. As I continue through the tin I will try to remember to come back and update. Hope this helps.

I am down grading my original 4 star to 3 because after several more bowls I feel there is not enough complexity in the blend to warrant 4. This does not mean that it is not a very good blend though, it is! Sweet, consistent, and a good any time of day blend. I hope I am wrong about it not being available for years to come and that if I decide to make it a regular it will be there when I want it.

Pipe Used: Briar- Radice and Savinelli

Age When Smoked: Fresh

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Stefanos (222)	2018-08-15		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Very nice tin art. The tobacco is cut in ribbons of light and medium brown and darker hues. It smells vinegary, all natural otherwise, with no other detectable added flavor. It smells nice to me, very much like the McClelland’s signature smell.

Initially I was not very enthusiastic about Deception Pass. It did not taste like a Va/Per nor did I taste much of the Orientals. Actually it seemed like the major flavor component was the unflavored Black Cavendish and moreover I did not seem to get much flavor out of it anyway. On the other hand there was nothing to not like in Deception Pass, pure tobacco of good quality, nothing sharp, no bad taste, just not a traditional Va/Per and not very tasty either. It also burned well, had medium strength, good nicotine content. So I continued smoking and slowly it kind of grew on me.

I came to realize it is a subtle blend, not a flavor bomb, but a very agreeable tobacco with considerable sweetness reminiscent of McClellands 5100 which comes out especially when sipped. Of course it is not as flavorful as 5100 but a similar taste does come out. It is mingled with unflavored black Cavendish and a touch of flowery Orientals. Now Perique could possibly contribute to the taste but I cannot distinguish it from black cavendish.

If you’re looking for yet another Va/Per, Deception Pass is not something I would recommend as it barely qualifies as a Va/Per. Yet I would recommend it if you’re looking for good, subtle tobacco based on red Virginia and unflavored black cavendish with a touch of oriental spice.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	point9 (114)	2016-08-19		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant

Among Seattle pipe club blends, Deception Pass is not as famous as the other two: Mississippi River and Plum pudding; however, the latter are latakia involved, DP is a Vaper with oriental with unsweetened cavendish, which blend in good balance as a result of smooth, sweet and sour flavors. May be the best among the three IMO. I jarred several oz to see how it ages.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	HabaneroHardy (403)	2022-02-21		Mild	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Unnoticeable

SPC was on sale and I fell victim to ordering a few as for the most part I have abstained from buying more blends. Over the past few years, I have come to the realization that my hobby is buying different pipe tobaccos much like a wine collector does as I will absolutely never, never consume all that I have hoarded over the past twenty years due to my wise old age of 62. With that being said this blend was one that I chose among the several that I bought to equal the free shipping. Not sure why they do this but my 2oz tin of this was twice the size of other 2 oz tins of tobacco I have bought. Maybe it is to let the tobacco breathe or maybe to make the consumer feel they are buying a lot of tobacco or maybe for no reason at all. I have tried to find out who made these blends prior to Sutliff but it must be a trade secret for all I could find was a mention or two on reviews and the web saying that it was McClelland. It is possible but I cannot ascertain for sure. Upon opening the tin my senses detected a slight vinegar smell and that was about it. There were large ribbons and portions of black leaf through out the tin and fairly moist to boot. Upon the first light I detected a slight sweetness at the start and then most of the smoke was hard to describe, slightly sour, astringent, nothing bad but nothing to pique my interest. Another reviewer felt like this blend had too much going on and suffered an identity crisis which may well possibly be. Unfortunately for me I knew that this tin would be one to sit on my shelf and collect dust until maybe once a year I revisited it. Who knows, I may grow to like this more as time goes by but that is not to be as I took it to the pipe club and everyone who tried it really liked it so I gave it all away. Not a bad blend at all but not one I will revisit.

Pipe Used: Briar and Cobs

Age When Smoked: New

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Baubriar (10)	2021-10-06		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

Given to me as an aged to sample. A solid three star, I don't see it getting any better or worse. Good enough to smoke on occasion when I don't feel like something aromatic. Leaves a wonderful peppery aftertaste reminiscent of a cigar. Packs easy and isn't hard to keep lit. I will enjoy the rest of my sample.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	LiterarySmoker (143)	2021-04-23		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I haven't smoked a lot of the SPC blends so buying this tin was a step in the dark for me. From what I know SPC is known for their English blends. The tin is attractive with a small picture of Deception Pass. The only gripe I have is that there isn't much of a tin description. When you open the tin you will find a course cut ribbon. The smell is Red Virginia forward, sweet, tangy, bready, herbal. This blend loads well and lights well. I don't think it needs a dry time, but as always, your milage may vary.

Once I light up, the Red Virginia is up front. I taste bread, hay, herbs, and tang. There is an underlying sweetness to this whole blend, which is kind of toasty to my taste. I think that comes from some Cavendish. The Perique is in back adding stewed fruits. The Orientals are very soft, woodsy, and slightly citrusy. This doesn't come across as a spicy blend by any means. The burn is very consistent from top to bottom.

The taste is a medium. Everything is smooth and consistent. The strength is also a medium, so don't expect any tricks from Lady N. This is a decent, smooth VaPer for the money. Does it have enough bells and whistles to get into my regular rotation: no. Is it a good blend to pick up once in a while: yes.

Pipe Used: Peterson Donegal XL90

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: Smokingpipes.com

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	dixcreek (184)	2021-04-20		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Mostly stoved Virginia, with a dash of Perique, some black Cavendish, also a bit of Oriental for a sour note. All around good blend that satisfies the nose as well as the mouth. Sutliff does an excellent job of mixing Joe’s formula. Not a bitting Virginia, but one that provides a good bit of Ketchup and even a taste of Carolina Barbecue sauce. This taste is enhanced by the fruity and spicy Perique. The Cavendish provides some sweet note while the Orientals offset with a sour taste. Good blend all around. Can have a little roughness at the finish though. Burns clean and completely with no dottle or any goop.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	MangoLegs (72)	2021-03-10		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Preparation & Burn: 8/10 Nice ribbon cut. Spongey-feel, as I like it. Burns cool, no bite. Stays lit. A bit of harshness if puffed hard.

Taste: 10/20 This is a fairly tasty and subtle smoke. Smoother than most VaPers. It does lack a nice spicy kick that other SPC vapers have, like Gertie.

Mildness: 9/10 My idea of a good smoke is a relaxing, low nicotine session. Therefore, the milder the better. Not much nicotine at all!

Total: 27/40

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	blottomotto (1)	2020-03-07		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant

This tin appears like a clompy mix of bright yellows and dark, mottled browns, giving off a pleasantly funky and sweet, aroma... Dry enough to put into the pipe right away.

The sweet fragrances immediately move towards the tangy side of things when lighting, producing an entirely savory mouthful of smoke. This kept up for me for the first half, with plenty of complexity to not get bored with my bowl.

The second half develops a nutty, more tamed profile, without sacrificing any of the notes from before. Sweet, salt, tang and cream are all still there ten fold. I have a difficult time distinguishing the quality of the blend from the quality of tobaccos, but both are plenty present.

Pipe Used: Savinelli Billiard

Age When Smoked: <1 year

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Stah (152)	2022-01-13		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

The tin I opened had the date "October 26, 2021," so the tobacco in it was fresh enough. The tins from Sutliff (who make all of the brand's tobacco now) are pretty big, and usually it seems like 100 grams would fit in there, but this time the tin was full to the top.

Appearance: a mix of different varieties from light brown to dark brown in color with some chopped perique and cavendish, with some big leaves among them. The tobacco is lush, loose consistency, because of its volume it seems that there is more than in reality. It is a bit dry to the touch, and dries out in the open air very quickly.

Smell: dense bread note on par with the lemon and floral bouquet from Virginia, supported by a persistent spicy perique bouquet with a salty hint, a little sandalwood and dried apricots.

Taste: quite bright wheat bread taste, which is joined by the taste of dried fruit, very soft, slightly astringent sweetness (as from a slightly unripe pear). A fair amount of pepper and nutmeg, plus a slight saltiness and an almost imperceptible wine note overlay this base. The sharpness of the pepper drops off quickly, giving way to just a mild spicy sweet taste. Towards the middle of the pipe I suddenly had a more pronounced woody cedar note (don't be surprised, but at one point I flashed the feeling that I had just tasted a pencil in my teeth), but overall, the taste doesn't change much - it just becomes softer. The strength is just slightly below average, but in very large pipes there is a possible risk of nicotine kick. The tobacco smokes medium-hot, but does not overheat the pipe, burning out in a medium fraction of ash, light gray with a subtle yellowish hue. Despite the apparent apparent dryness, the tobacco had quite a lot of moisture in it - by the middle of the pipe I could literally pour it out of the pipe and mouthpiece. Despite this, the tobacco has only a slight roughness in flavor, and doesn't bite. That said, the presence of a filter in the pipe does not practically detract from its taste. The aftertaste is bread and wood.

The smoke from the tobacco has the flavor of fresh bread with citrus and a slight hint of nutmeg. It is almost weightless and easily dispersed.

Bottom line: I don't know what association the author had with the name of his blend, but it turned out to be a fair enough representative of the Virginia Peric, despite having a bit of Cavendish in it. I can't say it's outstanding, but it's great for a pleasant everyday smoke. I'm not sure it will change much after a few years, but I will keep the second jar in my collection for a few years.

Pipe Used: Peterson Mark Twain, 106, 306

Age When Smoked: Fresh

Purchased From: Online

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Bushleagueosu (20)	2021-09-20		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

With all the recent SPC hype I was very excited to try this blend as it is one of their only blends without latakia. While the tobacco is of very good quality I was not very impressed. To me there was just to much going on with this blend. I would really enjoy it at certain points during the smoke then it would go off a flavor cliff in another direction. It did not seem to have an identity or particular direction and was often times overly sweet for me.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Leon (85)	2021-05-31		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

I had to let this blend grow over me. I did not like it at first. However, by the end of the tin, I think it has a decent future of being filled into my pipe.

If you hope to get the Virginia/Perique equivalent of either Plum Pudding or Mississippi River then I hate to disappoint you. This is in a different level, a lower one.

First thing that stands out in the tin note is the fermented Red Virginias. Made by Sutliff, these remind me of other Sutliff Red Virginia blends that smell like red wine and vinegar. The tin note is nice and inviting.

However, the smoke is very different. I get less of the fermented, red wine, vinegar Virginias, and a lot more of the aromatic Balkan/Turkish leaf. The Virginias are still the main actor, but this is far from a typical Va/Per. The Perique pops up from time to time to add some plum and a bit of spice. The Cavendish mellows everything so it's not too sweet, sour, or spicy. I won't lie, I hope to see how this would've come out without the Balkans and the Cavendish. That, of course, would be a completely different blend.

Ribbon cut, easy to pack and smoke. Requires couple of relights. Needs a bit of drying time. Can be an all-day smoke.

Mild-medium in body and strength. I'd prefer a different balance of the flavors with the Virginias and Perique coming in stronger. But the way it is gives it a nice complexity of sweet/sour/spice.

I know that what I'm asking for is an entirely different blend and that if I want to smoke a Va/Per there are plenty out there. Considering that the blend is what it is, I think that it's a good one. Just not top notch. After SPC's Plum Pudding and Mississippi River being among my favorites, this gets 2.5 stars, which I'll round up to 3 because despite my personal taste, this is a good blend.

Pipe Used: Medium-size billiards and Lovats

Age When Smoked: 6 months

Purchased From: pipesandcigars.com

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	TheOtter (72)	2023-02-15		Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

The tin note is very vinegary, but the amount of perique is subtle. That vinegariness seems to transfer into the smoke as well. It gives it a crisp taste, allowing the perique to give the Virginias a fresh hay quality to their flavour. This is supported even more by the Orientals adding a touch of earthiness. This is not my favourite Va/Per, but it offers something refreshing. It's great in all weathers, and I am excited to see what age does to this blend.

Age When Smoked: Fresh

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JaWiBr (562)	2023-01-21		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Tin note of pungent, sweet fruit, and spices. Tobacco is a mix of black, dark brown tan and yellow ribbon cut. Moisture content is good, no drying/prep needed. Burns moderate with few relights. The strength is mild to medium and nic is mild. No flavoring detected. Taste is mild to medium and mostly consistent, with notes of sweet, vinegary, tangy citrus, wood, bread, spicy, floral, leather, spice Rasin, earth, dry hay, herbal, acidic, mild peaty vegetation a stewed sour fermented fruit background note, and a peppery retro. Virginias is leading with Black Cavendish, Oriental/Turkish and Perique supporting. Room note is pleasant to tolerable, and aftertaste is great.

Pipe Used: Peterson Bard Rusticated 221 Fishtail

Age When Smoked: 2 years

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Antonius Blok (192)	2023-01-07		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

When opening the tin the color combination of the strands of the different tobaccos presents a very pleasing appearance to the eye. The aroma is somewhat chocolatey but I don't think it is reproduced later in the flavor during smoking. It comes with a perfect degree of humidity to load the pipe immediately. In the first puffs, an acid or citric flavor predominates that I attribute to the Orientals, specifically to Smyrna, but before finishing the first third it fades, although it never completely disappears. I would say that the oriental tobacco is quite present in this mix. From the second third the spicy flavor appears more strongly.

An interesting mixture if you like oriental tobaccos. I would not present it as a va/per but as an Oriental ahead.

Age When Smoked: 2 years

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Regor A (3)	2022-12-11		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

This is a wonderfully complex, delicious and satisfying blend with sweetness, fruitiness, and a touch of spice. Adding some age only makes it more so. It’s one of my daily go-tos.

Pipe Used: MM Cobbit, Meerschaum

Age When Smoked: 7 years

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Scottmi (5)	2022-10-25		Mild	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

New tin, tried with a virgin cob. Pleasing look when opening tin, nice scent. Easy to pack right away - no drying. Lit easily after initial char and required almost no relights (not till toward the end), just gentle tamps and light puffs. I’m a fan of English blends and lower nicotine and this was a light and easy smoke. Perfect with some iced decaf. update Nov 29, 2022: More bowls smoked in various pipes. Love it. Have already cellared more tins!

Pipe Used: Various

Age When Smoked: New

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Mijnnif (130)	2022-10-19		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable to Strong

Tin note is quite pungent sour citrus and grass smells. Sort of a thick ribbon of small pieces. the tobacco packs very easily and the moisture content is perfect. The aged Virginias are the most prominent flavor and bring quite a bit of natural sweetness to the blend hay, grass, sweet citrus. The perique brings the fig raisin spice flavors and the Orientals provide a back note of spice. This is quite a complex blend with lots of different flavors. I suggest a deep bowl not to wide as it burns fairly quickly and stoves as its smoked. As you progress though the bowl the flavors change and develop. strength and nic hit are medium. The room note is quite strong. Not sure I would smoke this al day but I would smoke more than one bowl.

Pipe Used: Dr. Grabow duke tasting pipe

Age When Smoked: 3 months old

Purchased From: Smoking pipes

Nobody has rated this review yet.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	WoodcraftSmoker (21)	2022-08-04		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable

This is a very unique Va-Per. True to the other Seattle Pipe Club blends, its base is deep, rich red Vrginias, which provide the considerable depth I find in this brand. The Virginias add a plummy, earthy quality to the smoke, and a depth not often found in the Va-Pers I've smoked. The black Cavendish highlights the sweetness of the Virginias and adds considerable fullness to the smoke. There are bright Virginias as well. My first batch was heavy with them, and they provided a wonderful lemony, grassy quality. It is much more subdued in my second tin, a year later. I miss them. Added to this are the orientals, which add tartness, and the occasional zing of the Perique. This is the deepest, richest and most varied Va-Per I've smoked. It still has the lightness of other virginias, but with considerable more body. It could be an all day smoke, but I appreciate it more on its own on a warm summer's night. One of my favorites.

Pipe Used: Peterson Sherlock Holmes

Age When Smoked: 1 day to 1 year

Purchased From: Smokingpipes.com

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