Peterson Irish Flake

Ohh, this is the stuff! I've gone a week smoking St. Bruno's Flake, Peterson's Old Dublin and Irish Oak and - despite the many notable and diverse pleasures these blends provide - I just wasn't getting into the zone (and my tongue was getting a bit fried).

Today, I finally got a couple of tins of Irish Flake and all is well! A delightful smell of prunes from the tin and gives a creamy-smooth smoke. A superb tobacco: undemonstrative yet tasty and with a long-lasting and satisfying belt to it. Heaven. Lesson learned.

A very good flake, just not a amazing one for myself. I do rate Peterson's University Flake a four while this is a 3.5 for my tastes.

I'm tightening up on my ratings and only give 4 stars to my top 5 blends that are in my core rotation of tobaccos. Those at this date are Escudo, Penzance, University Flake, Churchill & still deciding what the 5th will be.

This is a good tobacco if you can handle it. Good tobacco taste with good smoking qualities but this stuff kicked my butt. I read the reviews and thought maybe I can handle it....I was wrong. This is a tobacco for the hardcore veteran piper. I need some hair on my chest before I'll come here again. NICOTINE!!!

My default setting tends to be St Bruno, simply because it is so readily available from my local supermarket. But with a narrow boat holiday on the horizon I thought it best to stock up on some different experiences. So I looked at tobacco reviews.com for some inspiration. 3 tobaccos came to light, Dunhill my mix 965, Cornel and Diehl black frigate and this little beut. So I took a trip from Beeston on the new tram system in to Nottingham and headed up to Gauntley’s. Oh boy, I savoured the experience, firstly by gently perusing in the window at the finest display of wine, whisky, cigars, lighters, pipes and tobacco. A proper good old English tobacconist. I walked through the door.... It gently hit me, a gradual realisation of the fanfare of delights laid out before my eyes, everywhere I looked yes I looked everywhere. I had to stop myself, I announced my requirements. Of course sir, she said. The lady then selected my tobacco from the well stocked shelves and cupboards, although I am sure the lady must have visited Narnia for my selection, not because of the length of time it took but because of the mystery and dreamlike constitution of the products received. So this needs some serious contemplating

Pause....

I head down to my local pub. The Crown in Beeston Nottinghamshire. A pint of Sunchaser I reckon will go well with this. So to the review...I open the tin.... sssppsss the sweet-tempered hiss of air meeting merth. Not knowing my Burley from my perique this review will be based purely on my experience with flavour and satisfaction. Next I open the crisp paper wrapping to expose the perfect flakes of joy. The nose heads towards the exposed flakes to gather the first fresh aroma of the newly opened tin. Nuts, especially walnut husks and dried figs wrapped in slightly damp deer skin with a hint of sultana. I rub half a wide flake gently but firmly with my right thumb pressing into the palm of my left hand, just as my father did when I was a boy. Packed gently into the bowl of my 1960’s Peterson system standard 313 restored by yours truly. It half fills the bowl, the other half of the wide flake is carefully bent in 3. This sits wholly in the top half of the bowl. Lighting and the first full burst hits me immediately, walking in a dry peat earthiness with wool socks and an aroma of burnt heather. It is liken to a smouldering fire of Ash logs and the texture on the nose is as a tweed jacket. That’s it, I am walking through moors of heather burnt yesterday wearing a slightly damp tweed jacket with some dried figs and walnut husks mixed with sultanas in my pocket. Now that’s an experience I can only get by going to Scotland or Ireland or by smoking Peterson Irish Flake. The depth and lingering experience of these flavours is an earthy journey only known and savoured to the experienced pipe smoker who’s depth and knowledge can only come through the quiet contemplation of peaceful felicity.

Marvellous

Don't be scared off by the strength hype this gets. This is a strong but very well refined, tasty, elegant and smooth smoke with rich VA and Burley.

There are stronger out there. I haven't got a great tolerance for high nic and folded 2 and a half flakes into a big billiard of this and smoked for over an over without being much put off, only right near the end did I get a bit woozy. MacBaren Dark Fired, GH Rum Flake, even GLP Sextant knocked me over far harder.

Its a great mix. The proportions are just right. I didn't get much or any sweetness, just pure, unadulterated tobacco throughout, and it got warmer and richer as the bowl went on. This for me is the closest you can get to straight tobacco right now, you just have to know that before you fire it up.

The burley comes through with some nutty niceness near the front, mellows at the middle as the VA's really set fire and come into high gear, and then at the bottom its heavy VA's with the Bur still peaking out here and there.

The smoke was rich, I dared not draw a lot, I sipped for most of it.

Very very good.

Really strong natural flavor. Spicy, creamy, rich with real heavy bass notes all the way and not too much in the highs. This is a truly honest offering, mixing the major types of old-fashioned leaf in fine proportion. Not for everyday, as it is a bit one-dimensional, but a nice relaxing mid-evening smoke especially before something sweeter & more complex. I don't find it sweet or raisiny, but it tastes & smells just like the tin note to me. Good stuff, but I like University a bit more.

I reserve 4 stars for a blend that has "something special", so although this is an excellent tobacco, I give it 3 - I have tried other flue cured/dark fired blends that have more character. Definitely a strong blend, not for the faint-hearted!

Smooth and even burning, although the last 1/4 is a little harsh. I like the sliced flake cut, although because of the density a 50g tin does not yield as many pipefuls as (say) a ribbon-cut. E.g., a medium pipe of Amphora is about 2 gm., the same pipe holds nearly 5 gm of this blend (rubbed). OTOH, a pipeful lasts a long time. I have been looking for a strong, old-fashioned blend, and this definitely qualifies.

For a somewhat lighter sweeter smoke, this blends well with a Black Cavendish, and for a more "Oriental" taste blends very well with various blends containing Latakia & Yenidje.

I was attracted to IF because of my enjoyment of University Flake, also by Peterson. I would describe this as a bit stronger than University Flake and less sweet. After smoking my first full tin, I promptly bought a sleeve. However, after another couple of tins, I found myself growing bored with it and getting more of a medicine taste from the topping. I enjoy the strength of Irish Flake and the tobacco is of high quality, but on the occasion that I choose a powerhouse flake, I'm looking for a little more pure tobacco taste and less topping.

As a Bold Kentucky and Old Dark Fired lover I was really looking forward to try this one. I was expecting something like those two, but now that I've smoked Peterson's Irish Flake I have to say: They may be living in the same alley - yet they are TOTALLY different. First thing I want to mention is that I don't find the Nicotine overpowered. Is it strong? Yes! Is it too strong? Hell no! At least if you like a stronger smoke.

Peterson's Irish Flake comes in a classy tin with a simple lable, which is typical for Peterson's backys. Inside there are appetizing flake slices stacked. Dark brown in colour, with a few yellow/golden dots.

The tin smell is tempting, and at the same time hard to describe for me. I get nutty-scents, along with a bit of woodsy notes and a aroma that reminds a bit of anise or licorice. Very savoury. Flakes are a bit moist when you crack the tin, but they can be smoked without drying time.

Packing, lighting - no problems! Quality tobacco in quality condition.

The taste is building up throughout the smoke. On first light I only perceive a slight nutty note with a whiff of tanginess. At the beginning I was a bit suprised of it's simple, honest taste, but it diddn't dissapoint me in any way. I was expecting a bit more "oomph", a complex blend with a bunch of different notes to it. But Irish Flake is rather simple - but definetly not flat!

Irish Flake gives me some deep bursting nutty notes, along with a bit of woodsy-notes and a gentle sweetness. A hint of licorice/anise is lurking in the back and enriching the taste. There's a gentle sweetness that's always present, which marries well with the slightly sweetish nutty taste. Accompanied by a woodsy note thats shining through in the back. Every few puffs a delightful note of the said licorice/anise flavour comes through. A nice condiment is always present. Tangy, slightly sweet and aromatic.

Also worth noting is that I find the Kentuckys to have a very different taste than the ones used in Bold Kentucky and Old Dark Fired. It's a bit more dry in taste and has a different taste-profile to me.

EDIT: Smoked in a wide bowl (in diameter) it's even better for my taste. More sweetness and nutty flavours comes through.

Even tho I was expecting something totally different, I diddn't get dissapointed. Irish Flake is a smooth, palatable and unique tasting tobacco of fine ingridients that melt into some tasty smoke. A taste that's matchless imho. I guess it's rather you love - or hate this tobacco.

By the way: The only additive in this tobacco is ~28mg of flavoring on 1000mg of tobacco! ** https://service.bmel.de/tabakerzeugnisse/index2.php?detail_id=104601&site_key=153&stichw_suche=irish+flake&zeilenzahl_zaehler=1 **

4/4 Stars for this honest and seductive blend! Takes a place in my tobacco-bar for sure.