Petersen & Sorensen Premium Blend

It has been a long time since I've seen Premium Blend by P&S. It was made by Planta and a good quality aromatic with plenty of Virginia flavor mixed in with what to me tasted more like ripe figs than anything else. Kind of semi-sweet. A little on the cloying side but when I smoked my tin (back in 2006), it was pretty fresh and very moist. I did like this one due to the figgy Virginia flavor and actually consumed the entire tin in less than a month. I gave it a 6 on my old rating system (1-10 scale).

I wish that I had found this site (and specifically these reviews) before I bought a tin of this stuff. The packaging was the most attractive of the very few brands offered at my local tobacco shop, that being said their isn't much else good about it. From other tins I had seen I expected to open the tin and see loose tobacco in a, shall we say, "paper cupcake liner" type thing...it wasn't. It was in a small plastic bag that when opened emitted one of the stronger tobacco smells that has ever hit my nose. I have smoked cigars for some time and know that sometimes the cigars with a little "stink" (pungent aroma) are the best as far as flavor is concerned so I took this seemingly negative thing to be a positive...once again I was proven wrong. Due to the fact that I was under the impression that this was a very lightly cased blend with alot of virginia I had allowed the tobacco to "age" for about six months before cracking it open. If this helped the flavor then God help those who smoke this stuff fresh. The flavor begins nice and sweet with the raisins and other dried fruit flavors standing out obviously. Midway into the bowl I began getting a foul bitter taste from the tip of my pipe that I hadn't yet experienced. In my opinion the burnt sugar began to take over at midway and aided in biting my tongue to death. This is not a "heavy bodied" tobacco but it will damn near kill your tongue if you don't let it dry a little and smoke it with patience. If you like dried fruit (alot) and don't mind the burnt sugar taste then you may enjoy this tobacco, as for me I'll stick with something else.

When I first opened the tin, I immediately noticed the STRONG, almost overwhelming scent of dried fruits. The smell is hard to describe, but it reminds me of dried fruits, maple syrup and flowers.

The tobacco was very moist when I opened the tin. It didn't make my fingers soggy, but I had to let it dry for several days before I could smoke it.

This stuff smokes well and hardly leaves any moisture at the bottom of the pipe. The aroma is absolutely fantastic. The taste is fairly sweet and rich, but it's far from overwhelming. Gentle with no tongue bite.

Despite the strong tin aroma, this tobacco was nice when I smoked it.

09-20-04 A suprisingly good aromatic!

Appearance and Tin Aroma: Medium ribbon,some small square cut leaf, smells sweet.

Moisture and Packing: Not too moist, remember this is an aromatic. Packing is easy, lighting is easy as well.

Initial Flavor: You may laugh, but it reminds me of 50/50 Orange and Cream Ice cream bars, but I like it!

Mid-bowl: Aromatic mellows somewhat, VA and Cavendish is of high quality. Room Note is delicious.

Bottom of Bowl:Doesn't get bitter like some aromatics, slight increase in strength, really mellow. Finishes surprisingly dry, very minimal dottle.

Overall: For one who normally smokes Balkans and VA blends, this blend is a nice change of pace tobac that I can smoke around those of the non-smoking pursuasion! It isn't particularly strong, it is feather smooth on the tongue. Obviously, you get very little tobacco flavor, but what is there is nice.Don't forget to dedicate a pipe to it, the flavoring sticks around.

Rating: 4 out of 5 Points for the aromatic category. I'll definitely keep a tin or two in the cellar!

November-2003.Premium Blend. 'Sorry' Just to artficial for me in everyway!

If anyone has tried the Spanish liquor 43, this is it. We are talking highly aromatic, heavily cased and extremely moist tobaccos. Chocolaty and fruity, S&P Premium is Danish to the bone (though most of Larsen?s offerings are different in composition and moisture).

Opening the tin you get a dazzling blast of dried fruits and some vanilla/chocolate scent. The tobacco comes in a plastic bag. When you touch this mixture, you fingers actually get soggy. Airing is not only recommended: it is absolutely necessary for you to light it. I had to leave the tin open for three days before I could actually pack it in and apply a light to it. The tobacco is composed of dark Black Cavendish, as gooey as the one in any American drug store blend, and bright Virginias. It seems to me the Cavendish has been steamed cased, because once you smoke it has a very pronounced bitter sweetness and produces quite a lot of steam. Following the esteemed Eulenburg?s contention that Virginias do not absorb artificial flavours as much as Burleys or Cavendish leaf, in Premium it is the Cavendish where most of the aroma and flavours are concentrated.

Once you are able to pack it and get it going, things get a lot better. What I thought would be an unbearably sweet and syrupy taste came through as a silky smooth, not overly sugary and very palatable smoke. Rounded in flavour, the tobaccos? natural taste was timidly present in the background, amidst the Cavendish rich undertones. Surprisingly, the dried fruit casing did not carry on to the pipe. As a wonderful Danish aroma pervaded the room (to the point that the LSW came downstairs to see if was baking something) I was taken in by a rich, smokey, agreeably bitter and deep smoke.

If anything, this an excellent tobacco to break in a new pipe with. It immediately provides a carbon lining without actually leaving any taste. It has a very slow burning rate, which makes it last long, and in spite of its mildness produces no tongue bite whatsoever. I don?t think I could smoke this often, as the hassle to dry it up and pack it in is too much. But if now and then you have kind of a sweet tooth, or wish to try a non fattening dessert (at Xmas, in cold weather, this can be legitimately smoked in public), it is a very good option.