Peterson Sweet Killarney

Update- 01/13/2009

I have solved the problem of lackness of darker leaf by incorporating some black CA into the mixture. It gives it a bit more complexity and removes the possibility of tongue bite.

SK is an interesting aromatic with the addition of BC; if smoked on its own, it quickly becomes bland.

I will rebuy occasionnally. For those who prefer milder tobaccos, this is a good entry point.

2 1/2 stars

Original review - 01/25/2008

With SK, Peterson managed to create a medium cased aromatic which allows both tobacco and casing tastes to reveal themselves in a harmonious fashion throughout the smoke. I can taste the tobacco and casing simultaneously. Outstanding!

The tin aroma is of caramel, but not overpowering. The tobacco is a long cut combination of golden, light brown and just a bit of black cavendish (not enough, sadly to my taste...),and partially broken flakes are quite present, adding some substance to the loose cut.

Filling is easy - I like to reduce the length of the leaf- and lighting up also is. As much as I cherish latakia, dark matured VAs, orientals and perique, this mixture is surprisingly delicious and constitute a refreshing change of pace...

The discreet caramel taste combines perfectly with the natural tobacco taste and both last all the way down to a pile of little, dry gray ashes. Past mid-bowl, the tobacco taste will dominate.

The room aroma is very pleasant, ensuring nobody will be offended (but ask me if I care!).

You must be careful with the puffing though: due to the lack of dark leaf, it can esaily bite. An unsufficient load of tobacco shall also provoke biting.

This cool, refreshing and charming blend is better enjoyed in pleasant company around a glass of port and philosophical discussion.

Not as into aromatics as I was when I first reviewed this tobacco. Sooo.... I think it's a good aro. I don't smoke it much now and when I do I am dissapointed. If you leave this stuff to air out a LOT then there is some nice rubbed out VA there and it can be an ok smoke but if that is all that you are going to do then why not buy the real deal. I'd pass some off to an aro smoker with confidence and will keep it at ***

Original Review.

I am new to the site so the first reviews from me will be from the blends that I keep around all the time and love. First thing is first. This is not an extremely over the top aromatic. This is topped with caramel and it is very apparent when first lighting the bowl. As with all aromatics you need to let this dry quite a bit. In doing so you will lose some of the strenght with the topping but as a straight virginia smoker primarily I am not interested in loads and loads of topping even on my "desert" smoke. Once you have let this dry a bit (I do this bowl by bowl because I do not smoke this every day and dont want the whole jar to dry out) it will smoke much cooler and lose all bite provided you don't smoke too fast. This blend is lovely to mix in with other blends when you want just a touch of sweetness as well. I will mix a touch of this in with almost anything but a virginia flake (which is perfection and therefore should not be messed with =)). recommended but remember to dry it and smoke it slow or you will get a wet smoke and a nice bite.

its a mild blend with no intresting features other than te slight touch of maryland which i oftenly miss,,V/B are traditional,,not too sweet and gies a clear ash burns good,,i would try other blends bcz this one is less intresting

I am reviewing this blend based on my memory of 1 tin I v smoked 3 years ago.

The ?Sweet Killarney? doesn?t really mean that this is a sweetened tobacco, so please just make abstraction about the name, On clean palate (specially in the first morning pipe) you will notice clearly the cream caramel on the first half bowl, then it will disappear giving place to the tobacco taste, and its good tobacco, not very topped and not very sweet, just well balanced.

I will buy another tin to keep it around for now and then.

This is a reasonably complex aromatic blend. If you dry it out, there is little to no bite and it actually tastes like tobacco. If it was not for the price, I would keep more around, but for an imported tin this is a fine aromatic smoke.

Accompaniment: Corelli's Concerti Grossi.

I got a chance to try this tobacco at a friends place. It was a fairly old tin (approximately 2 years) so it had some time to dry. I found the tin note to be a bit standoffish pretty sweet and chocolaty. I primarily smoke English tobaccos but not wanting to be rude gave it a try. What I found was a bit more tobacco taste that I expected, still less than I like, and a "Baileys Irish Cream. It was a bit better that I expected but still not my cup of tea. The blend of tobaccos made it an specially mellow blend that if the taste was your fancy could easily be smoked all day. I did notice that my mouth felt coated with wax when I was done, so that was not a high point. Overall as aromatics go, this is another in a long line of average tobaccos that I will probably not try again atleast for a long while.

Every now and then I like to add an aromatic to my line-up as a change of pace from my usual rotation of Balkans/English and matured Virginias. And while most aromatics don't appeal to me, this one works, delivering real tobacco flavor without being overly sweet (despite the name) and with an aroma (at least for the smoker) that is rich with vanilla and caramel overtones.

Nothing objectionable here -- it's dry and flavorful -- but also nothing that will likely knock the socks off die-hard aromatic fans. Although the flavor does vary down the bowl, there's no great complexity to explore. Just an enjoyable smoke.

I'd especially recommend this one to smokers who enjoy MacBaren's Vanilla Creme or Dunhill's A21000, vanilla blends that share similarities with Sweet Killarney but which burn hotter and with a tendency to bite, at least for me.

UPDATE: For whatever reason -- maybe I'm just not an aromatic fan at all -- I ended up tosssing much of this tin after it sat around for months without being smoked. While initially pleasant, there just wasn't enough on offer here to keep me interested.

A mix of tobaccos Virginia, Burley, Maryland and Black Cavendish with a flavor of crème caramel.

This tobacco fills easily the bowl, and usually offers dry and cool smoking. It is dry enough but the perfume of caramel which you discover basically after the 3-4 first puffs, burns your tongue enough.

If you like him after the first puff, then you will also like the rest. It has a very nice perfume in the room and finally I believe that it makes the people around, more happy than the smoker.

I envy the reviewer of this tobacco who goes with his wife to choose tobacco even if she doesn?t smoke. Happy ?..

Good Virginia and Burley tobaccos cased with Bailey's Irish cream liqueur--that's how I figure this blend. And I like it. Everyone loves the aroma, and I can still discern the tobacco beneath the casing. It will burn a bit hot, so puff slowly. Two point seven five out of four stars, generally speaking, but a solid three stars for aromatic fanciers.