A fresh tin comes pretty densely packed; ever so slightly moist, with a medium balance of aromas, albeit a standard looking mixture. I wouldn't normally go for an orange casing, or anything of a citrus nature in a tobacco, but it seems rather subtle, and married well with the top note, which is undoubtedly honey-sweet.

I'd echo the sentiments of others here by suggesting that this would be a great tobacco for caking a new briar in double-quick - and most likely - record time. The first two or three bowls were winners; lighting up easily and burning consistently and with a marvelous nose, leaving one hell of a residue on the pipe walls in the process! The smoke was lighter and more flavorsome through to the mid bowl, with the nutty Burley and lightness of the Virginias refusing to be overshadowed by the casing, which, in itself, was far from the sugary kind I half expected.

Strangely, the tin begins to dry rather rapidly (think hours, rather than weeks), and the vanilla manifests itself in place of the orange. Upon a subsequent smoke, no less than a day later, I could've sworn that this was a different tobacco. It was much flatter, almost leading me to surmise that Luxury Blend had been poorly top-dressed after the tin had been filled. Plough through the top layer over a couple of days of amiable piping and there's nothing left to get particularly excited about - a bit like a failed excavation at a Roman site. Indeed, the residual casing, or whatever was left after the orange oil had receded, seemed to make for an unnatural bitterness and a sharp aftertaste.

Not the worst I've ever tasted by a long chalk, and Luxury Blend is capable of delivering some fine smoking moments in bursts. However, I think It's moniker is certainly a misnomer, and I'm expecting much more from the Connoisseur's Choice that will follow suit.

I have already tried Connissours choice, De Luxe Mixture, Gold B lend (dissappointing), and the awfully chemically saturated Sunset Breeze.

Luxury Blend sits between Connissours and De Luxe. It's less fruity than the tropical extravaganza that Connissours choice is, but it does have a mild fruit overtone (maybe the alleged orange?!) mixed with vanilla/honey.

De Luxe is the blend without the fruitiness, with just the vanilla, honey, and mild walnut taste.

I may actually make this my go to aromatic when I want a break from FVF, 1792, VAP'ers...

Well done, good qaulity tobacco to boot as well..

When forming an opinion on a pipe tobacco, and before offering a review which could influence others, I pay attention to the what-where-when-how. I keep my tobacco at 70% humidity and 21 degrees C. I smoke at least 1 tin or 50gr over time, I use different pipes which I clean before returning to this blend, I smoke in a peaceful environment away from drafts where I can relax and enjoy 3 or 4 pipes full at a time and fill the room with that smoke. I refrain from using silica filters and choose my accompanying drink, if any, carefully. The same tobacco will be experienced differently if you have it with tea or whisky or coffee. I prefer the latter, black with 1 sugar. I will sometimes have sparkling mineral water without lemon but never fizzy cooldrinks. I light my pipe using a soft butane flame, not a match. My views are based on smoking 50gr of this tobacco over about 2 weeks.

This blend delivers on the description given on the tin with noticeable upfront top notes of honey and vanilla. You have to look for the orange but I must admit it is there. The second half of the bowl delivers base notes of barley and light oak on top of the aromatic notes. The tobacco has a light floral core throughout which is pleasing in the case of this blend. The smoke is cool and dry and I can have 3 pipes full using the same filter before I detect the first slight slurp. Hardly any tongue bite and very little bitterness. A big plus is that it does not leave the feeling of a wax coating on your palate. I highly recommend this blend as a daytime smoke and as a regular choice for new pipe smokers. I find it to be especially rewarding in a pipe with a large bowl that will take 3 to 5gr of tobacco. Cudos to Peterson on another great tobacco. Hein Garbers, South Africa

I noticed the orange on the first few smokes out of a fresh tin. Personally, I'm not a big fan of orangey flavors, but here it was fine. Tin note has changed since I first opened it up, and now seems to have mellowed out a bit. If it drops more of the orange, this could become a regular. Moisture content was just fine, without any need to dry this one out before smoking.

I have not tried Sunset Breeze by Peterson yet, but if it's lighter on the orange I'm sure it will be a winner.