Anyway, it resembles the modern Planta take on Presbyterian mixture but it misses a couple of spots that Presby hits straight on. There's some topping in there and I don´t really know about the Basma component, it certainly does not taste like any other Basma containing tobacco I've tried.

Anyway... It is not really yummy good, but still semi- interesting. I shall give it some time to see if it grows on me, but first impression is a little "meh!"...

Oh, remember to be away from people when you smoke this. I mean I am used to Latakias and their smell, but this is cigarettey and has another type of acrid smellyness to it. Still, Petersons best offering to date. Not that it says a lot though since every tobacco from Peterson that I've tried has disappointed me deeply. This is one step ahead of the others!

I first tried a Balken mixture (six months ago) and I was far too inexperienced for it. I felt I'd give Old Dub a try as it seemed to be a popular blend that most reviewers recommended as a way into English Blends. They were right. The smell out of the tin was earthy, deep and ever so pleasant. The moisture in the tin was almost perfect and only required a little air drying. The first smoke wasn't amazing purely because I was so used to aromatics and it knocked me with flavours I was not used to. After a couple of smokes my palet started to open up to the blend. The sweetness of the virginia was just enough, the Latakia isn't too prominant which was good to ease me into its flavour. I loved the slightly peppery taste on the tongue. The blend smoked cool as long as I paid attention to it. It really helped me develop my palet and smoking technique.

I can see why smokers like this blend so much it has no huge thrills that I can detect (though as mentioned i am new to smoking). It is just a lovely smoke that makes you feel really satisfied. Through smoking this tin I am ready to try new, stronger blends to further develop my tastes. I will always remember my first Enlish though, Old Dublin

My initial opinion of Old Dublin was that of a boring, indistinct smoke, which I attributed to the Cavendish--a tobacco which I assumed had little unique flavor, mostly employed by blenders to stretch out a blend. But other English blends I enjoy share the same component, from Black Mallory to 965, and I can't imagine 965 lacking flavor.

I think, more accurately, the primary cause for my initial disillusionment was a perceived lack of strength...having just come off a tin of Abingdon. To be fair, I picked Old Dublin up because I liked Presbyterian Mixture very much, to somewhat of a surprise. Old Dublin appeared similar to me in its inclusion of a less common Oriental leaf--Basma, like Presbyterian's Macedonian leaf, and I was curious to compare the two.

Here the Oriental component is readily apparent, spicy, and always detectable, a wonderful contrast to overly heavy Latakia Englishes, with the bright Virginia providing a high note that avoids heaviness. After polishing the tin I would now characterize the strength at the lighter end of medium, again, along the lines of Presbyterian--the two seem to be natural peers.

The leaf moisture was drier than I expected (certainly much more than Presbyterian, which is sopping wet), which avoids wetness and translates to billowing smoke. Tin presentation is immaculate, though I criticize Peterson for ditching the very classy art work on the old tin design in favor of a simple blue, and unimaginative, graphic. In short, the presentation is all quality and shouldn't detract anyone from enjoying Old Dublin.

And now, having thought that I would probably will not pick this up again, I've changed my opinion. I will revisit Old Dublin, though truthfully, I'm not sure when.

Four of Five.

The room note is woody, and smooth and pleasant even in the car *to my nose anyway... The best judge of room note is always your significant other and whether or not they throw you outside with your 'stinky pipe'!* and the taste has an Earthy brush with a nice spice from the Oriental. The Latakia is not prominent *but definitely noticeable* which may make this a great introduction if you are normally an aromatic smoker.

I enjoy this enough that I could smoke it all day. Not too heavy, not too light... Just a nice cool smoke.

On that note, Petersons always seem to smoke a little hot to me. I usually smoke English blends in one of my Peterson System pipes (saving aromatics for corn cobs) and this one stays cool and lit all the way to the bottom of the bowl, especially in my 304.

Upon opening the tin the storm clouds of foreboding which had clung tenaciously over me parted a little. The reason was the delightful aroma, smoky with a heavy tinge of earthiness. Not what I had expected. I said to myself: You just might be on to a winner here. The tobacco was little on the moist side, requiring a few hours drying out. It was cut into thin strips which packed easily and behaved implacable all the way through. Upon lighting, the clouds fully parted to reveal deep sapphire skies, as I was greeted with a divine smoky coolness which lasted the whole bowel. The interplay between the VA’s and the Orientals was superb, although the Orientals remained the dominant force throughout the bowel. There was a nice pinch of latakia that let your taste buds know it was there, but for the most part it remained restrained, lurking in the background and only occasionally jostling its way to the fore. The tobacco burned evenly to the bottom, leaving a neat pile of grey ash. The whole tin lasted less than a week, which is exceptional going for me and although there was the occasional sour note, I found this tobacco to be a remarkable consistent performer and one which is now firmly in my rotation.

In truth there are other English blends out there which have more of a ‘wow’ factor. But if you’re looking for an ultra solid medium English, with a nice but not overpowering amount of latakia, then Old Dublin could be for you. Recommended

This is a fine semi English blend but There is not enough latakia in it.

To my taste, this is a very well balanced tobacco with nice spice from the Latakia and Oriental, and sweetness from the Virginia. I find it thoroughly enjoyable; plenty of flavor without being obtrusive. Probably a good introduction for aromatic smokers looking for an introduction to Latakia and Oriental flavors.

I found the tobacco to be on the wet side out of the tin, and would benefit from a bit of drying time. A good all day smoke.

Beautiful sweet flavour. Highly recommended. I will definitely buy this again and again..

My wife is away at the moment, but I've got a horrible feeling that the room note will not meet with her approval :)

It smokes dry, and cool, with no tongue bite. The flavors are just right for me with the smoky latakia, orientals, and virginia for some sweetness. I'm not such a big fan of the much praised Penzance, but that might change as my pallet develops.

A smooth and rich tobacco, it is however not very strong in terms of nicotine content.

The only downside to it is that it quickly becomes kind of bland, which defies the imagination when considering the mixture's content. I would suspect I ended up with the odd tin.

It still remains a tobacco worth the try.

The tin aroma is very appealing, the Latakia is present and very provocative. Give it a try.

Three stars on account of the aftertaste (my opinion).

I bought a tin based on the reviews here. I cracked the tin and...WHEW! Not a smell I associate with pipe tobacco. It's hard to describe, but it was pungent. Not the sweet smell of Cavendish I prefer.

The first bowl was... interesting. It bit my tongue, tasted strong, and I failed to find anything to make me want to have another bowl.

I went back a few weeks later to see if I could find something I missed in the first bowl. Maybe it was too wet or something... Second bowl was OK for the first half of the bowl. Then it failed me again. I couldn't finish it.

Again, I may be new to smoking, but this isn't for me. At least not yet. Perhaps I'll find some endearing qualities over time..

UPDATE 8/16/11: OK, I'll freely admit that maybe I should've stuck with the familiar when I first tried this blend. Not for someone with no previous smoking history (of anything). I wasn't prepared for this level of complexity or the aromas from this blend. Granted, I'm sure a year of aging has helped this blend mellow some, but it was like smoking a different blend altogether. The orientals really sing in this blend, and the latakia adds some depth. It won't be a regular smoke since the room note isn't a crowd-pleaser by any stretch, but I smoke this for MY enjoyment. If I want other people to like me, I'll smoke a nice aromatic like 1888 Mid Day or Mac Baren Vanilla Flake. If I'm looking for a blend to sit back and contemplate, this is one that I will reach for again.