Peterson Sweet Killarney

Typical Peterson's blend. On opening the tin a nice (but unidentifiable) aroma will greet you.

That aroma doesn't hang around for long and after lighting I can detect no aroma whatsoever and can taste absoultely nothing. It doesn't burn particularly well, either. Needs constant relighting.

Thought it needed a little drying out as it was rather moist, but that didn't make any difference.

Half a tin later I still haven't changed my mind. Won't buy Sweet Tastlessness again in a hurry.

Sweet Killarny was recommended to me by a tobacconist I've purchased most of my pipes from. I opened the tin and it smelled wonderful. The tobacco was not too moist and not too dry, but seemed just right. I packed the bowl of a fairly large Wiley pipe and lit the top. After going for the full lite up, I was surprised to find the flavor lacking. I thought it might get better after it burned down and was maybe tamped again, but it did not.

About half way down the bowl, I started getting ash through the bit and the bottom of the bowl was gurgling with moisture. I ran a pipe cleaner through the stem with going too far into the bowl, tamped and relit. More ash. Yuck!

I thought it may be too large of a pipe, so went to a smaller Neerup. Nope, still had the same experience. The flavor was weak and combined with the ashy experience, I won't buy this again.

I bought a tin of this because of the name Peterson. And, I've been looking for that illusive tobacco that is both aromatic and full of taste. I assumed that Peterson could put together a good aromatic. They didn't on this brand. The tobacco packed well and the moisture level was a little high. Even with the high moisture, the stuff lighted up reasonably well. There was never a need for a re-light. The tin aroma matched the smoke aroma. There was the smell of caramel and honey. There was also a fruity essence to the taste. These are the positives. The first thing one notices is that the caramel taste does not transfer to the smoke. The second thing you find is that the taste flattens out when the sugars burn off and there is nothing left but the tobacco. By this time, you note the lack of nicotine. Some may consider this a positive, but I do not. Finally, there is serious tongue-bite. The stuff just gets hotter and hotter! I have mentioned that the taste disappears, but that may be due to the incredible amout of heat. There are some aromatics I enjoy and you do have to know how to enjoy them, but wow! For the price, with a prestigious name, and from a smoker who enjoys aromatics, you should look elsewhere. I have had some Smoker's Pride that behaved better!

Tiger's review hit the preverbial nail squarily on the head. The only thing I will add is It bites like a Rabid Ferrit.

I was really hoping to like Sweey Killarney but that was just too much to hope for. Bear in mind I'm mostly a medium-English type so take this with several grains of salt. To me - the casing wasn't so much "caramelly" as it was just "too much". It was like smoking one of those cheap scented candles from the grocery store. It was also wet and poorly behaved and, surprise - bystanders were not particularly enamored with its' room note at all. One likened it to "some kind of dish soap". For no other reason than I know aromatic smokers who are nice people I'll give Sweet Killarney one star, a small one.

Tiger

Very similar (slightly better, maybe) to Sunset Breeze: a bit less sticky to the touch and nauseating to the nose, but the philosophy is identical. There's some black cavendish less, and more broken flake, but what dominates is the topping. As usual, great for those around you (I have got many compliments from colleagues at work!), but very unsatisfying for the smoker: while there is some taste of the casing, it is not as pleasant and sweet as the smell would suggest (and if it were, it would probably be too nauseating). There is some tobacco taste here and there, but I keep getting a much nicer natural, pleasant and fulfilling sweetness from some uncased Virginia flakes! Not to mention about the acrid notes that emerge towards the bottom of the bowl. Bad? Well, no, at least if this is your kind of tobacco. But I can't find any reason to buy another tin of it.

I've been looking for a nice aromatic, and being part Irish, this was my first choice. This was too much, though. Upon opening the tin, I get the feeling someone poured caramel all over the tobacco. That's close to what happened. Now this relates to a nice caramely room aroma for others. But for the smokers, with so much casing, this amounts to tongue bite. Beyond the caramel and the bite, the flavor is nondescript, but again, with so much sugary stuff burning, your tongue is going to get scorched.

People who live with caramelophiles will be right pleased with this, but I'd be careful sharing this with most pipe smokers. The effect on the smoker isn't worth it. Too bad, I really wanted this to work out.

I received a tin of this from my spouse's mother, not because she hates the unflavored tabac I usually puff, but because she was unsure what to purchase for me. After smoking the entire tin, I can only say:great thought but I'll pick my own leaf. Casing is aggresive to say the least and the burley shows up to score your tongue whenever you attempt to pull hard enough to taste anything remotely like tobacco, which may or may not be lurking in this putrid concoction. If I ever have an inclination for a sweet smoke I'll reach for Golden Diced or Vanilla Cream, but not this abbhorent offering.

Now don't go thinking I'm not the sort of guy to give this tobacco a fair chance; I smoked the whole tin of it before making up my mind. Please don't think I don't like aromatics; occasionally I'll still reach for 509 or Cn. Black. And virginias are my staple choice. So with that in mind, let us continue to the review.

The stuff has a good appearance of lemon and bright virginia and an aroma good enough to eat right out of the tin. The charring light gives one the impression that one might like the tobacco.

The charring light lies. This is the most unpredictable, badly behaved tobaccos I have ever smoked. Some whiffs were pure flavoring, others were pure cigarette tobacco. Still others were an unpleasant amalgam of the two. Making matters worse, the flavor lingers in any pipe you smoke it in.

You might very well like this tobacco. Unfortunately, I do not.