Peterson Holiday Season 2015

Peterson-Holiday Season 2015. A thick, cool, flavourful smoke.

I loved last years Holiday Season from these guys and this is every bit as good, if not better!

If you smoke for N then skip this but if you enjoy a full, slightly gloopy aromatic this won't disappoint you.

The mixture's made up of a higher proportion of Black Cavendish and this is perfectly reflected in the smoke. The Burley and Virginia are very subtle in the flavour.

The added flavour? Well, the moment I opened mine up and took a whiff I new this was a strongly flavoured aromatic! In the smoke the blackberry comes over in a more indomitable fashion as opposed to the cognac at first. Don't get me wrong, the cognac lends a touch of class but it's just not quite as formidable until about halfway through a bowl. At this point the cognac and blackberry become more equal.

The burn is a good one, giving off a cool, thick, delicious smoke. I find it superbly enjoyable and comfortable due to the temperature, thickness and lack of bite.

The room note is wonderful. Very berry!

I absolutely adore this blend. It would be perfect in front of a fire, with Christmas tunes on and a glass or two of cognac!

Highly recommended.

I've only had a few bowls of this tasty blend, so this is not a comprehensive review, only my first impressions. This is my first Holiday blend by Peterson, so I was extremely excited to pick this up. To build upon that, I decided to break in my new Bing's Favorite with this blend...it just seemed like the thing to do.

The tin, I absolutely love the tin. In all honesty, it was a major factor in buying the tabac. It is much more detailed in person...and shiny!! There is no seal, it just pops open. The actual tabac is in a clear bag with "Peterson" printed all over it in a yellow/gold color. To be quite honest, it is a little anti-climatic to open the tin and have a clear plastic lump just sitting there. The inside should have had a paper/foil cover with a description or something equivalent. Apart from that, presentation is nice, the tin is a total display piece.

When opening the tin, definite fruity aromas flood the nose. It is a very berry-like smell, not citrus or melon, berries, I also smell plums and raisins as well.

The look of the tabac itself is rather dark. Lots of black Cavendish, a few bright yellow and brown leaves popping through, also some ruddy red leaves in the mix.

I let it sit for a bit. I wouldn't say it was wet in the plastic pouch but as it seemed like it would be a gooper, I let it sit out for 20 minutes or so. It packs well, no loss of aroma. Takes to a flame rather easily, usual char and re-light.

Instantly taste the fruit. Berries of some kind, some have said blackberries, which seems pretty spot on. I also taste raisins and dates and plums though, or at least elements of these sweet fruits. I find that the alcohol/cognac flavor is sporadic. It is, to my palate, very subtle. It seems to me that it is designed to give a creamy/smooth texture to the smoke. It also leaves an aftertaste, it's not bad though. Moments during the smoke I can actually taste the tabac, it works well with the fruitiness, adds a nutty flavor and kinda rounds it out, reminds you that you are smoking tobacco and not figgy pudding. Towards the end of the bowl an ashy taste folds over and the fruity profiles start to fizzle out.

It does not burn very hot, and I've not yet experienced tongue bite, even with my usual excited puffing. The vitamin N kick is barely there, but comes through once in a while. Room-note, everyone loves it so far, very pleasant. It burns down very well, grey to fine white ash is left with a little dottle. No goop or unusually nasty odor is left, just the normal spent pipe smell.

I have paired this with a few holiday drinks. I highly recommend a ruby port, the sweetness of the wine really compliments the sweetness of the blend. I also would recommend a mulled wine. It being hot and the added citrus, it just makes for a Christmas flavor overload. I'm soon going to make some wassail and pair it, I'm not too sure how it will match up but I'm optimistic. I disliked it with eggnog and whiskey/brandy flips, they did not work at all, I do not recommend pairing this tabac with any type of flip or eggnog, the creaminess does not work.

I would most definitely call this a candy tabac, however; I would be hard pressed to call this a gooper. It plays well with the tobacco and is rather forgiving. As mentioned before, I am braking in my new pipe with this and it is really doing the job nicely. So, all in all, based off of my first impressions, I highly recommend! It was most definitely worth the money, it tastes like Christmas, I'm really digging it!

The smell of the tobacco is very sweet, and almost overpowering. The taste is like a blackcurrant cocktail, with notes of cognac. For my personal preference I found the tobacco to be a little too sweet, but if you like the fruity aromatics this may be for you. The tobacco burns well and is not to strong, but I do not feel I will be buying this one again.

I found this to be a nicely balanced aromatic. It comes nicely packaged and smells great with the berry essence certainly prominent and at the forefront. The question is does the smoke translate as well as the initial presentation... well, I believe it does. My tin came ready to smoke (not too wet), it lit right up without issue and did not require frequent relights. The berry favor is prominant and comes through nicely with each draw. What I liked about the fruit note was that it seems like a genuine fruit note - not all fake and overpowering. If you enjoy a berry note, I believe you will find this very pleasurable. I will say I haven't been a big fan of berry aros to date - but this one gives me hope there may be others out there that may be enjoyable as well. The cognac creates balance nicely by not allowing the fruit to totally overtake the smoke. It is certainly smooth and tasty on the palate. As an aro I would rate it at four stars . For its genre it is spot on. If you're not big into aros you may not find it quite as high. A great holiday blend.

I picked up some Peterson Holiday Season 2015 because of the positive reviews from previous year's editions. The smell from the tin is delicious -- I smell chocolate and fruit. The smoke is a pleasant and delightful one. You will definitely feel in the holiday spirit having this blend waft through your room.

This tobacco oozes cherry flavour! And I'm not exaggerating but it is the smoothest smoke in the world...period.

A lovely christmas smoke and a must try. I ordered mine with the new Christmas pipe from peterson which makes it even more "christmasy".

Holiday Season 2015 has a solid Burley and Virginia taste along with a sweet berry like flavor deep in the background. The blend mixes the holiday flavors of Cognac and winter berries to compliment the creamy black Cavendish, Virginia and Burley. I never really tasted the Cognac, but did get a sort of alcohol presence whenever I blew smoke out through the old sniffer.

Peterson knows how to do Christmas tobacco. Wonderful smell ,wonderful taste, wonderful room note... Real christmas inside the pipe. Why it's limited edition tobacco ? Sad.

I really wanted to like this blend more because I love anything berry flavor. This had a little of that, but I tasted mostly the cognac. Other than that it burned nicely and did not bite. Two and half stars.

when 1st open the plastic pouchthe aroma of it automatically gets u into the holidays spirit... lits well and puffs like a cho cho train without burning hot. For me personally tastes like a very rich fruit cake....goes well with port or for me very well with a nice glass of neat single malt (Bunnahabhain 25 year old)