Peterson Founder's Choice

The topping really jumps out when the tin is popped, mostly sweetened mango, with restrained vanilla, a splash of orange and apricot, maybe some pineapple, and a mere breath of rum, rather like a tropical “umbrella drink” at a Chinese restaurant. Eventually, the topping scent fades to allow the tobaccos to come up just enough for me to smell cocoa, wheat, and faint, roasted cashews, with fragrant, slightly earthy meadow grasses and flowers, all of it rather “savory”, like mild, middle-eastern kabobs. The tobacco is moist, cut/chopped into good sized cubes that are partly crumbled from processing, the lot ranging from golden, to mid browns, to black. I usually try any tobacco “as is” first, straight from the tin, and in this case it works well enough, though a little drying makes it better, IMO. Dried some, it takes readily to flame and burns down to some black dottle, with no other issues, apart from the usual cube “boil” at the light, if it’s not rubbed out. The smoke smells and tastes much like the tin note, top to bottom, except the tobacco is stronger than the topping when FC is smoked, and the tobacco itself develops quite nicely over the course of a bowl. There is a nice range of VAs, with sweet, well-aged, flue and air cured lemons, reds and browns. The Orientals are rich and savory, with spices that are more “exotic” than peppery. The Burley is nutty, round and full, and it’s just tannic enough for interest. The Cavendish smooths the blend and ties it together, and it significantly enriches the ample, creamy smoke. In a nutshell, FC is a well-melded, savory, sweet, sour, and subtly complex blend that’s delicious and deliciously fragrant, top to bottom Strength is more mild than medium. Tastes are toward full the way I smoke it. Room note is terrific. The aftertaste is a lingering “best of the smoke”, with no chemicals. While it’s not the sort of tobacco I’d smoke all day or every day, it is a first rate aromatic. Four Stars.

Peterson - Founders Choice.

I admit I have a tendency to sometimes whine that "I'm not an aromatic smoker" so I didn't know how I'd get along with this. I was rushing when I placed my order and selected this instead of Signature Flake by mistake! I couldn't be bothered with faffing around posting it back to get it swapped so I decided to hang on to it.

When I first opened the tin I was met by some rather chunky cubes of tobacco; these had to be rubbed down a touch. On the plus side they had the right amount of moisture to them though!

The aroma from the tin is a little different to the smoke. This, is fair with the different aromatics whereas the smoke is dominated by the fruit. It has a taste somewhat reminiscent of a fruit salad! To me, it seems a little pointless including so many different varieties of tobacco as the casing pretty much masks any of the separate characters from them. The most noticeable (for me) is the Burley; this is more due to it having a medium to strong nicotine amount than the flavour of it alone.

Providing it's been rubbed down a little it gives a good burn. If not, it isn't bad but it needs either vigorous puffs or regular re-lights.

This, to me, instantly conjures up the feeling of summer. I think it would suit many aromatic lovers, lay in the sun with a glass of punch!

I think this is definitely worth three stars.

Recommended.

Possibly the finest aromatic I have smoked and my current favourite. This burns nice and slowly, so don't rush it. No discernible tongue bite from moderate smoking. Smells great and tastes great too. Nicely rounded flavour of burley makes itself felt about halfway through. I smoke this in some Peterson Sherlock Holmes Series pipes (Milverton & Watson mainly) and I get over an hour from each bowl. It burns down to a reasonably fine ash and leaves virtually no moisture. Requires a few relights if not rubbed, which I never bother to do. The Virginia and Oriental tobacco remains nicely in the background adding flavour but are never overbearing.

Update - my second tin is not in the same league as the first one. Doesn't taste nearly as good, much simpler and lacking depth. Tins must be from different batches. Will buy a third one, but if it is the same as the second one my search for the perfect tobacco continues, if it exists. Second tin is two stars. Not offensive just desperately bland.

It smells good in the tin and in the room. It has a lot of quality ingredients. It packs well. It has just about everything I like. However, it burns really hot. Use this on a well caked pipe.

Garbage. Although this tobacco does have a hint of flavour it burns very poorly and when it does burn it tastes bitter and unenjoyable. It is a real burden to smoke and really not worth the effort.

Nice Aromatic from Peterson. Lits and burns easily, no tongue bite, so far natural taste of aromatic tobacco. Recommended to try for all aromatic tobacco lovers.

What a disappointment. After reading the manufactures spiel on this blend I just had to try it. It’s only available in 100g tins and at £29 a pop it was a risk. Money down the drain. Firstly it burns hot! Dam hot! Had to keep putting my pipe down to let it cool. Secondly it bites like a hungry Scottish Midge on a summers day. Strange tin note, quality looking cube cut baccy though. However the only taste I can detect is some chemicals. No Mango, Vanilla rum or even tobacco. Minging! Avoid like the plague or at least try before you buy. You can have this tin from me!!!!

First of all, I'm not a big aromatic fan but love them on occasion for a change of pace. Peterson Founder's Choice is truly an admirable aromatic. Upon opening the tin, one will get a whiff of the most pleasing bouquet & banquet of flavors that you can imagine. It is by far the strongest & most alluring aroma of any aromatic I've ever smelled. It will make you salivate & maybe entice you to reach for a spoon or a shot glass rather than a pipe. This is about a quarter inch cube cut presentation of black, brown & light brown tobaccos. Oriental, Burley & Virginias flavored with Rum Vanilla & Mango.

Thus far, I've only sampled two bowls. This is not a goopy, heavily cased aromatic but is heavily topped with the combination of flavors. The cubes rub out easily and I haven't tried any other method. I dried a bowlful amount out on a sheet of plastic coated pasteboard to an almost crispy state & loaded up my GBD Virgin Apple. Drying it out didn't seem to diminish the smoke aroma & the flavor on the palate was delightful as well as the room note which further enhanced the smoking enjoyment. It also provides a little more Vitamin N than most aromatics.

I'll have to admit however, after the charring light, it did bite a little after a good burning rate commenced, so, I set my pipe down for a little while & let it cool back down. After the next light the mixture tamed down considerably. I sipped on it until about the halfway mark, enjoying the awesome flavor. Then the flavor started improving even more as the tobacco blend started the melding process & conjoined with the topping. At that point, the overall flavor seemed to improve. I sipped on this and toward the very end, the topping flavor diminished enough to leave mainly the taste of a regular tobacco blend.

I was actually surprised by this feature as it was something I wasn't expecting. I was expecting harshness & blandness to increase toward the finish but that never happened. It was just the opposite as the tobacco flavor came into play toward the end. The condensation was very minimal & left a dry gray dottle in the bowl upon completion. This is one of my favorite aromatics with Erik Stokkebye Family Reserve being my top choice... it's drier & ready to smoke right out of the bag. However, the toppings are different but both are delightful but FWIW, ES Family Reserve was less harsh and had absolutely no bite & burned perfectly clean & dry. About 3-3.3 stars for PFC

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The cut in cube, is curious, I have tried rubbing and without rubbing and the result is the same. The humidity apparently seems correct but in various pipes has produced seals and forced me to different ignited. The smoke starts with all the flavors of black cavendish, vanilla and mango plus hidden moisture. I did not know how to taste the rum. The added flavors diminish while smoking, demonstrating the background of the Orientals and the burley. Creamy smoke, does not bite the tongue even when we smoke heavily against tamponade. It's very good. Very natural flavors and tobacco quality.

Note: The blend of 60% of Peterson - 1865 Mixture + 40% of Peterson - Founder's Choice looks something like Perfection by Samuel Gawith.

What starts as a sugary and rummy smoke is quickly accompanied by a playful mango presence and a hint of sweet vanilla. The cube cut burns slow and a tad hot, producing a creamy and pleasant smoke. While I am tempted to claim the rather faint tobacco taste is its only defect, I cannot in good conscience do so, for the joyful flavors in this blend do not make me wish for more.

This is quite possibly the best Peterson aromatic blend currently in production.