Petersen & Sorensen English Blend

This is a very good, lighter English blend. It was recommended by my tobacconist. I immediately refused before he explained that this was Petersen, not Peterson, which I find universally boring.

The tin opens with a light smokiness and nice ribbons of tans, browns, and blacks. The moisture was perfect and the tobacco packs easily. The light and burn are great.

This blend is on the lighter side, probably mild compared with Dunhill tobaccos. It is about the same strength as early morning, but less smoky. The latakia is there, but adds to the experience, does not dominate it. This tastes lighter than Midnight Ride to me.

I like latakia, but as I learned it was meant to be used, as a condiment. I do not like the 25 plus percent blends, because it dominates the experience so that smokiness is the only flavor. I find the lighter English blends excellent because they take great Virginia tobacco and compliment it with latakia, Turkish, etc.

Petersen is a lighter English that burns dry and easily. It tastes great and does not smoke out your palate, so you can smoke anything afterwards, or drink anything during.

I have had little exposure to Petersen tobaccos so I do not know how available this blend is in shops. If you like Dunhill EMP, Gawith Skiff or Squadron, this tobacco should appeal.

2016 Update: Apparently, this blend has gone the way of the dodo. Fortunately, I have a tin that I bought nine years ago, and it's truly remarkable. I won't bother to bore you with details on a blend that you can't find, other than say it has aged remarkably well, and I kick myself for not buying a dozen tins when it was available. Sic transit gloria mundi. For some reason, this blend is unheralded and, IMHO, underrated. It is well-balanced, with a constant, but subdued, Latakia presence that plays off the VA and Oriental tobaccos perfectly. A bit of Perique gives this blend a nice taste. It burns well and smokes smoothly. A surprisingly good all-day smoke. If you enjoy English blends, this product is worthy of your attention.

Surprise, surprise, surprise! This Syrian Latakia/Perique blend rang my bell. Few such combinations normally do. The no longer produced Syrian Latakia here is superb with a rich, dark and very smoky presentation. The Perique only whispers its presence from time to time, and the added Orientals provide a tickle of spice - how nice!

This is an OK English blend. It really does remind me of CAO's Midnight Ride. The main difference being this one is slightly amped up in the Perique department. A good medium mixture that can be enjoyed before a meal. for some reason it did not "ROCK MY WORLD" but it did not destroy it either.It burns well and smells good. I would definitely give it a whirl. 3 solid stars.

The first impression I got from this blend is the smell in the tin is reminiscent of a good single malt. Its earthy and rich the Latakia is unmistakable and the perique a perfect complement. It was my first venture into the BIG BOY tobacco's. The first thing that struck me was how cool this smoked with virtually no tongue bite. English Blend is the definition of a tobacco that will grow on you. My first bowl was a stiff shot that reminded me of my first Glenlivet, but bowl after bowl it has become a constant that I love to "sip" daily. This is a full smoke that always satisfies. The only drawback is the room note, it is not particularly pleasant but cant have everything.

This one was a surprise!

Appearance and Tin Aroma: Fine ribbon cut of a mixture of browns, yellows, and of course, black leaf. Smells of a rich oriental component, with a slight duskiness from the latakia.

Packing and Lighting: Very easy with mousture not an issue. 2-3 lights max.

Initial Flavor: This is an English, but tilted to the orientals. Reminds me of CAO's Midnight Ride. Heck!, it probably is...

Mid-Bowl: Delicious! Plenty of flavor, the interplay of the leaves is perfect.

Bottom of Bowl: an ever so slight build up of strength and flavor and, before you know it, you are done.

Overall: This is a solid, delightful, flavorful, English blend that is tilted toward the oriental leaf. The Perique is applied gently and is noticed as a nice light spicy kick at the end of bowl. It is reasonably priced as well, about US $9.50 a tin in Southern California. I will definitely add more tins of this to my rotation! Enjoy...

This blend is neither particularly good nor particularly bad. I get a little bit of a tickle from the perique early in the bowl, but once that settles down it?s a pretty boring smoke. The Virginia dominates the blend. The cut and moisture level seem very Danish, or at least they are very consistent with the few Danish blends I have tried. It?s a decent blend, and if you like perique in your English mixtures then you should definitely give it a try. Another point in its favor is that it?s priced fairly economically for a tinned blend.

I found this tobacco too wimpy for my taste. I expect a more robust flavor from an English Blend and this was just unexeptably weak in my opinion.

Having said that, it packs well, lights well, and smokes evenly. Its acceptable in that regard. But geez, given that it has both Latakia and Perique in it, one would expect it to have some guts to it!

I picked this up for its ingredients - Syrian Latakia and Perique. I believe it also has Virginia and Orientals in the mix.

It is actually quite nice. I did not start with high expectations, but was very pleasantly surprised. The Latakia offers a full hit of its possibilities without overly dominating the mixture. The Virginia and Orientals keep the blend on an even keel and the Perique hangs in the background, noticeable and intriguing.

This is a well blended mix that provides an excellent example of a pure English Blend. It packs easily, burns well and smokes smoothly start to end.

A truely great find that beckons each time I look for something to smoke.