Peretti Smith's Own

Whenever I am in Boston, I make the pilgrimage to the 140 year old Peretti’s. When I think of Peretti’s I tend to think of their great Burley blends, but they make some fine English blends too, especially Tashkent and Royal. While going through my many sample’s from last year, I found the remains of an ounce of Smith’s Own. Smith’s is a full flavored, rough cut English blend that also has somewhat of a nic hit too. I don’t know where Peretti’s sources their tobaccos from but they are always of high quality and this is no exception. There is a lot going on in this strong, rough cut, English blend. When adding so many component tobaccos to a blend, it’s easy to get things muddled, but not here. Each tobacco plays a role here in harmony. Personally, I think the Turkish component is what makes this blend for me. While it isn’t mentioned on this site, I believe that there is some perique in this blend in addition to the other tobaccos mentioned here. Smith’s comes fairly dry and ready for the pipe. At first light, you know that it is an “after a steak dinner” kind of smoke. Smith’s quickly settles down though and burns cool, while gathering some strength along the way. By mid bowl, the complexity of this blend really shows its face. It is a bit spicy rather than creamy, but doesn’t bite, although I didn’t venture to push it. The Virginia’s add a touch of sweet in the later stages of the bowl. I don’t think this will replace Tashkent as my favorite Peretti English, but lovers of full English blends can’t go wrong with this one from one of America’s oldest pipe shops.