Peterson Irish Flake

After reading so many helpfull reviews i decided to purchase a tin of this tobacco.when you open the tin you get aromas from burleys and kentucky mostly wich include nuts ,sourness and some dark fruits perhaps from the virginias.also i detected a descreet topping of anise.rubs easy and needs some drying time.packs and lights ok and needs several relights.while smoking the flavours are really strong combing nuts,woods,dark fruits in a sharp taste.i also detected some cigar notes occasionally.the nicotine level is very high.first time i felt the nicotine in my esophagus.no chance of biting.burns medium to hot and leaves some moisture at the end of the bowl.the room note is unpleasant.i wanted to like this blend but i didn't.

IrIsh Flake used to be a favourite of mine, but the crap I bought today is not Irish Flake. I cannot remember a time I forked out hard earned cash for such a disappointment. If I could, I would have given this a zero, but I can't, so one it must be.

Gone is the "... full bodied blend made of equal proportions air-cured, flue cured, and dark fired." Replaced with "A dark brown Virginia flake." I never knew Virginia could be so insipid. I would rather smoke old socks.

I once tried washing tobacco to get rid of a somewhat heavy casing. Suffice it to say that it did not work and the tobacco ended up tasting like absolutely nothing. I wonder if Peterson tried to do the same. If they did, they washed it even longer than I did.

I think they thought that if they abruptly discontinued Irish Flake, they would lose customers, full knowing that, if they kept on selling it under the old name, they would still lose customers, but, keeping the old name they could, for a while at least, continue to ride on the good reviews this tobacco has received and, furthermore, manage to sell at least one last tin. Well, they succeeded. They managed to sell me one last tin.

I do not think anybody at Peterson is ever going to read this review and that is a pity, but still. I have to ask the question; is it worth ruining your reputation for pittance? Coca-Cola had the decency to go back to the original recipe. Will you do the same?

P.S. Tobaccoreviews.com, please change the "Blend Type" and "Contents" headings in your description, because they are misleading.

As the label says, this tobacco is intended for "the experienced smoker".

Most probably, this is because this tobacco contains much, much more Nicotine than many others. However, as a Nightcap and Old Dublin smoker, this has never been an issue for me.

Nevertheless, I have smoked some tins of it, waiting for an enlightenment which never occurred. IMHO, this tobacco has no taste. Very strong, of course, but without any personality…

I would much rather stick to my Nightcap and Old Dublin (University Flake, although very different, is also much better than this one).

Gag...burp...ugh!! This is a revolting flake. I don't know if its the high amount of nicotine that accounts for the reaction I get, but this one makes me sick. The flavor is strong and that's it, just grossly strong. I used to love UF and was hoping to love IF, but it was not to be. Peterson's baccy as of late have been a great disaster, not one in the line I really like any longer.

Been smoking a pipe since 1962, tried a lot of things. It's hard for me to understand why any firm would make this as a pipe tobacco...or why any pipe smoker would want it in a good pipe...it is like a lousy stinking cigar, and I even like a good cigar. This is a reference of what is to be avoided, wouldn't even call it a pipe tobacco....can't understand, this downgrades the opinion I have of the validity of some reviewers...sorry.

Well. What a difference a change of blender can make. When i heard last year that Petersons were changing over from K&K to STG the words 'here we go again' resounded in my head. This is no longer Irish Flake. It's a mere shadow. Now with K&K blending for Rattray's we have Stirling Flake.To my palate Stirling Flake is no match to the 'old' flake either....believe me i've tried to get on with both flakes and i can't. Now with STG phasing out Warrior AND Mick McQuaid plugs i can only assume that they have come to the conclusion that, as they now produce Peterson's 3 P's plug, it would be ridiculous to compete with THREE products of their own manufacture. This is what happened with Stokkebye's Irish Slices and Sinclair's Highland Sliced, both STG and comparable to IF and coincidentally no longer in production since the merge. A great shame indeed, as to me at least, W & MM are far superior plugs and both IS & HS being far better flakes than this new incarnation. STG have squirrelled away many a fine blend from the UK and either abandoned production or made them only available in Central Europe. I'm tired of being dictated to. I'll vote with my money. I don't suppose either of them will miss it unfortunately, far too bloody complacent.

There's something wrong when you've got to treat a pipe tobacco like booze. This one caused me to take a trip to the ER. Had a similar reaction to Peterson's University Flake (albeit without a visit to the ER). Don't know if it's attributable the slower burning qualities of flake tobacco or what, but what many of the other reviewers have said is true regarding the vitamin N in this blend.

My feelings regarding this tobacco are almost identical to those of CaptainPete, whose review I would like to quote:

"When compared to such heavyweights as Gawith & Hogarth's Dark Flake or Consiston Plug, it may as well be corn flakes."

Spot on, Captain! And after reading so many other positive reviews I have to say that it really was more than a little disappointing to find myself in such agreement. I was hoping for a fruitier version of CCP, but this limp-wristed effort fell well short of its hype.

Tin aroma is almost negligible. Charring light yields a harsh, raw and rather unpleasant take on fire-cured tobacco, which quickly dissipates. For the majority of the bowl, the characteristics are akin to a very mild, slightly sweet cigarette. True, nicotine is adequate, but personally I want some flavour and mouth feel to go with it.

This tobacco has obviously earned itself a good number of devotees, and all power to them. Nevertheless for me, with Highland Sliced available at my local B&M and Dark Flake and Coniston Cut Plug only a mail order away, Irish Flake simply isn't worth smoking.

Given the fact that it is (in my opinion) inferior to all similar blends that I have smoked, I cannot with good conscience give Irish Flake a recommendation. I know I am the odd one out, but I give Irish Flake one star only - not recommended.

I don't really know what to say about this tobacco. It does have a nice flavor of darker virginias with a nice sweet overtone to it. However, this tobacco is simply very strong with a foul odor to me. I find that the smoke makes me sick when I smell it and the tobacco is very bitey on my palate. On one hand, there are probably some guys that will enjoy this, but on the other I know that the typical pipe smoker just isn't going to like this. Try Gawith and Hoggart's Dark Flake for something comparable. I actually preferred that blend though.