Peterson Gold Blend

For me, a good blend...not a great blend, mind you, but a good one.

Starting at the beginning, the tin aroma is wonderful...kind of a vanilla, nuts, cinnamon, and spices mixed with a sweet cavendish and all rolled into one. This translates quite nicely to the room note. I'd say that the room note quite literally smells like a "smoky" version of the tin...nothing misleading at all.

As for the smoking, I'll start with the taste. Mild, but not too mild so as to become boring. The taste tends not to change for most of the bowl...the only exceptions are that the first few puffs (1/8 bowl, maybe) seemed quite sweeter than the rest, and the last few puffs (1/8-ish again) seemed to be less flavorful. This is par for the course, though with cased aromatics. I also didn't get bit at all smoking this, although I don't think it'd be too difficult to let the heat get out of hand with this one, so be sure to puff slowly.

The flavor itself was very pleasant. Much like the aroma, although spicier...by spicy I mean like nutmeg/cinnamon/all-spice, not what we often equate with perique blends. Very much a vanilla cavenish with the addition of these nutty and spicy qualities...it makes for an enjoyable smoke.

The only downside is that this will definitely not be for those looking for a "strong" smoke. If you typically smoke English blends (or anything heavy on virginia, oriental or perique tobaccos) and are looking for an aromatic to change the pace, you probably won't find much redemption in this one. But, to those who enjoy aromatics (or even the lighter of the English blends) this makes for a good "dessert" tobacco...great for late at night when you want something sweet and not too serious. I also find that its a great first smoke of the day...with my coffee, its as good a compliment as spice cake or a good muffin.

I enjoyed this very much, I could definitely taste the cinnamon as well as nutmeg, very spicy, not in the peppery perique way, but in a walk through a spice shop way. Not for all the time, as it is too distracting for relaxation, but if you want a nice aromatic with a wonderful aroma this would be a fine choice.

I'm a big fan of aromatics, and vanillas especially. Although the vanilla and spice flavoring is very understated, this is a terrific tobacco. I usually smoke this in the mornings. It is a mild, hospitable first pipe as well as a good evening smoke. Excellant tobacco quality and variety. It packs easilly and lights well. I did not find any significant bite to this, unlike a great many aromatics.

I like the flavor as well. It goes well with coffee or tea. It doesn't overpower the pallette or the pipe, and tastes like tobacco, of all things! It's a good, cool smoke, easy on the nose and of those in the room. Potentially an all-day kind of tobacco. I'm keeping this in my regular rotation.

This is one of several aromatics I've tried with a strong plum type sweetness as a background. Gold Blend is similar to Dan Tobacco Blue Note, but turned down a few notches. Or Evening Stoll or Sunday's Fantasy turned up a few notches. Peterson uses good tobacco too.

I'm not usually a fan of highly aromatic blends but, for some reason I decided to plop down some of my hard earned dollars for a tin of this stuff. Upon opening the tin I was met by the typical aromatic blast of sugary sweet cavendish that was matched to a nutty aroma, just as the label describes. I bought this blend just to see how the burley effected this aromatic. After the initial light I thought to myself, "this might be nice after all." After a few puffs I was starting to loose interest in this smoke. The initial taste on the pallet was no longer pleasent but obtrusive and overbearing. This blend is so overbearingly sweet, that not even half way through the bowl I felt like a child who had gorged himself on a mountain of cotton candy. The other draw back to this blend, and many other aromatics is the intense tounge seering that I get. I have a passion for the most robust of tobaccos and almost never experience any form of bite. My mouth and smoking style just not condusive to heavily processed and cased tobacco. I curse myself for spending money on a tin of tobacco that will surely go untouched from now on out. My opinion of this blend and other aromatics falls back on a matter of taste preferrence. Some brothers of the briar prefer aromatic, some latakia, some natural, and many other types. I just happen to shy away from anything scented cased, flavored, perfumed, etc. To each his own I say. Tobaccos of this nature just don't "float my boat."

This blend had me vexed. It is a very strong aromatic much like Blue Note, although a little lighter. It is also very obviously made with quality leaf. The problem I had is that it bites like a rabid ferret! The taste is wonderful- but that just gets me to smoking faster and getting bit that much worse. Smoking slower didn't help much either. Drying out and DGT were also useless. I finally had to give the rest of the can to a friend who ended up having the same problem. The blending in the can was also very inconsistent. There were all sizes of cuts involved and even a ball of paste I can only hope was casing! All in all a tasty tobacco that I just couldn't handle. (And I regularly smoke red VA flakes!!!) Stick with the pricier Blue Note- It's worth it!!!

Fragrant burley? Mmmmm....?

Whenever I read "black cavendish" my eyes glaze over; whenever the flavour of this processed leaf predominates, I fall right down to sleep. This is the mildest, lightest aromatic excuse for wasting a match.

The hickory nut, a Dixie cousin of the Tonka bean, more usually seen hereabouts as a flavouring agent for basse cuisine cheeses and meats, gives this concoction a cute smell when you burn it, but you cant't rally taste it. Ditto the cinnamon.

For fanciers of the lightest aromatics.

Tin note of sweet nuts, vanilla and spices. Tobacco is a mixed cut of light brown, brown and black. Moisture content is great and larger chunks may need some attention. Burns moderate with few relights. The strength is mild to medium and nic is mild. Flavoring is mild to medium, with notes of Hickory Nut, Vanilla and Cinnamon. The nut and vanilla are very evident in the initial light up but fade to the background. Cinnamon seems to stay in the background. Taste is mild to medium and moderately consistent, with notes of sweet vanilla, spices, nutty, wood, molasses, sugar, savory, mildly bitter, bready, tangy and tart dark fruit, cocoa, orange peel/zesty, sweet grass, citrus, a cinnamon and graham cracker background note, and a peppery retro. Burley is leading with Black Cavendish, Flavoring and Virginia supporting. Room note is pleasant, and aftertaste is good.

Flavourful medium strength tobacco with balanced casing. Gentle honey sweetness with a hint of nutty spice throughout. Verging on transcendent! Strongish pleasant distinctly tobacco room note. Smoke is warm and there is a tendency to a little bite toward the end of a bowl. Packed lightly in a largish packed bowl reaps the greatest rewards.