This tobacco doesn't deserve the rather low rating it has - put it this way: if you don't like aromatics, you won't like it; if you do, then come on in, the water's fine!

The pleasure of smoking a pipe is on the tongue and the nose - taste and aroma. I have no problems if fruit, flowers or spirits are used to provide a pleasant aroma. I do not consider gin to be a spirit inferior to vodka merely because it has been flavoured with botanicals. I wonder when some intrepid manufacturer will produce an aromatic scented with that most masculine of perfumes - sandalwood. The crux of the matter is whether the additions to tobacco work or not. And while degustibus non disputandum etc etc, it is possible to distinguish between the quality of aromatics on a variety of factors, most of all the quality of tobacco: no matter how treated, one does put tobacco into one`s pipes and not other substances.

De Luxe Mixture has a rather nice, subdued aroma, rich in the heavier notes. Vanilla can cloy, and it has been tamed. The mixture is an attractive melange of blacks and tans, and burns slowly in the pipe. It would be three star stuff but there is something wanting in the basic tobaccos. Davidoff`s Scottish, by way of comparison, has superior tobaccos. Still, not a bad smoke.

With that being said I decided to pick up a tin of this simply because my pipe collection is largely Peterson pipes, and yet I had never tried a Peterson tobacco. I bought about six different tins of different types of Peterson's tobaccos, and this one happened to be in the mix.

Upon opening the tin, I was greeted with a very pleasent nutty almost buttery aromoa. The moister was just about right, and with a couple weeks on the rack the tobacco was perfectly dried for my taste.

I loaded up a large bowl Peterson Billiard pipe with this, and decided, though it had been quite a while since last I smoked an aromatic, I should dedicate some time to this as to not have it nip at the tongue.

This blend took a charring light quite well, and with minimal tamping, was extremely well behaved.

After the first two lights, I could defiantly smell the sweet nutty casing burning off, but that was not at all unpleasant. This was a well balanced blend of VA and Cavendish from what I could tell. The casing actually lended something interesting and positive to this tobacco. Unlike too many aromatics, this was good quality tobacco which had a nice sweet casing added to it to enhace the sweet balance; not hide the poor choice in leaf.

The aroma was almost intoxicating. I sat under the big covered porch, and simply enjoyed the cloud of nuts and berries swirling around my head.

This blend is pretty mild on the nicotine, and defiantly not an everyday smoke for me. I find this to be enjoyable while out in public or out for a walk with the pup. It does not offend those around you, however it does not offend the smoker either.

I was surprised to find this to burn down to a nice white ash, and leave no gooey messes in the bottoms of my pipes.

I try to keep a tin of this on hand for when we are out amongst the general population. It brings in quite a few complements from almost anyone nearby.

I would easily pair this with a low gravity stout. This is a great tobacco to smoke while sitting out on the patio at your favourite pub.

If you are either an occasional aromatic smoker, or an exclusive aromatic smoker, I would recommend you give this treat a whirl.

The subtle flavoring, the mix of honey and vanilla (I can barely taste walnuts here) is pretty unique, and the tobacco burns easily with no tongue bite whatsoever.

It's 3/4 only because there are similar tobaccos at much lower price.

Letting this blend breathe out for a bit will make it 10 times better, from my experience. The smell and flavor comes out a lot more natural once it is aired out. Packing and lighting is easy. I just light, tamp, relight and forget about it.

Yes it's light, but you can still taste the tobacco in there, and it tastes, in my opinion, really good. The flavoring is also very nice - not too strong, not too light. Just the right amount of balance.

Recommended.

Looks and smells great in the tin. Tried making cigarettes from it in the end.

Don't bust a gut to try this one.

I liked the smell when opening the tin - reminded me of MB Black Ambrosia of which I have smoked one tin. This tobacco was slightly dryer than I like upon opening. The smell of honey and Vanilla was nice. I did not get the "soapy" smell that others have mentioned.

This tobacco packed well into my Dunhill Cumberland and I packed it a little tighter than normal based on the feel of the tobacco. Easy to light it burned almost to the bottom of the bowl without a relight. Definately a light smoke. It took a few minutes for the vanilla and honey flavors to register. I doubt you could make this bite unless you really tried.

***Update*** After putting this aside for a couple of weeks I smoked some more. The more of if I smoke the more I like it. I have upgraded my recommendation and have decided to keep some of this in my regular rotation.

I agree that it was very very light on the tobacco taste but I found this a nice change. Overall taste was mild to very mild. It did not produce a thick smoke that I like in some other honey flavored tobaccos I smoke, but was very pleasant. I think this would be a great tobacco for a new pipe smoker and also makes a good morning smoke with a cup of coffee.

I hate motor sport, but do you see me forcing myself to go and watch the dull, repetative noisy crap that I think it is?? Of course not! Anyway I digress....

DLM.... A 'fruit free' version of it's stablemate (and another Peterson aro that I enjoy) 'Connoissours Choice'. DLM has mild, soft vanilla overtones, with a hint of nutty tobacco. This one strengthens towards the end of the bowl as some of the flavours make way for the baccy. So far this blend just edges Connoissours into second place for my favourite Peterson aro..

A quality mild vanilla blend, that ABSOLUTELY doesn't deserve the hard time it's getting here. Try it through your own mouth though, instead of from the 'black and white' lyrical waxing's of others..

I like...A lot.

However, good number of bowls in I really started enjoying the subtle flavor of the tobaccos. The first several bowls tasted like I was smoking air. I think this is due to it being a very light aromatic. It's not a "candy vanilla" smoke. Just a hint of vanilla. Eventually I started to really enjoy the taste of the Virginias. Mild tobacco and vanilla flavor. Basically, a mild aromatic and a great blend for the neophyte.

Though apprehensive, I've recently decided to venture into new territories beyond my usual english/balkans and stoved virginias, so I started giving aromatics a try. The first aromatic I tried, which I enjoyed more than I expected to, was Peterson's Connoisseur's Choice. So my first dip of the toe in aromatic waters promised new vistas of smoking pleasure. (Yeah, I know, mixed metaphor -- so shoot me.) So I figured if Peterson got one aromatic blend right, perhaps I should try their De Luxe Mixture, even though I was a bit wary because of all the negative reviews here, and besides which I think their Sherlock Holmes blend is mediocre at best; but for some all-too-human reason I decided that perhaps the reviewers were being unfairly harsh, and so I persuaded myself to ignore their prudent advice and give it a try.

So I tried a bowl. Then I tried another, 'cause I wasn't sure if I was "getting" it. My third bowl I started wondering if aromatics should taste like this or not. So I tried a fourth. The thing is, I wanted to like it, I tried to like it -- primarily because I didn't want to feel foolish for willfully ignoring the negative reviews and spend all that money I was ambivalent about spending in the first place on this blend.

I have decided that, aromatic or not, tobacco shouldn't taste like this. Indeed, I didn't taste any tobacco. Others here have commented on the chemical, artifical taste. I don't know that I'd agree with them -- I think the flavor was more metallic or industrial, with some notes I tried to convince myself were vaguely vanilla-like emerging into the foreground, steaming up from a substratum of burning mud. (I am being only somewhat hyperbolic...)

Ok, so it didn't have any bite, but it still smoked hot. And it didn't even taste like quality tobacco to start with that was polluted by the casing. The only positive thing about this smoke is that the room note was ok, but not good enough to put up with all the negatives. The only reason I don't hate this blend is because it's not worth the bother.

I'm sorry I didn't listen to the sage advice of the negatives on this one. I want my $24.50 back! (Yes, that's the amount I threw down the toilet in Canada for this.)

Run -- do not walk -- away from this "tobacco".

This is a heavy aromatic a la captain black with heavy casing of sugar/caramel/chocolate/vanilla...etc, the main difference from captain black is first- Peterson tobacco is always top quality, second- the flavoring agents here are natural, the smoke is mostly good for an aromatic with excellent room note and without chemical after taste. also this tobacco improve with age very well since there is no chimical agents.

Finally, this is a good heavy aromatic tobacco for those who prefer a 4 star captain black, with peterson tobacco quality and without chemical top flavoring.

EDIT2: After beginning a second tin, I have to mark it down, frankly, this blend is just to soapy and two wet, I guess my tastes have mature some what, it is a nice nutty vanilla baccy, but to conclude, maybe it sells so well in their Dublin shop because a lot of toursists buy it. Just say no to soap.

Stay away from this stuff