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.