Peretti Smith's Own

I have just finished another bowl of this superbly crafted blend and it is finally time to write a review.

I had never heard of Peretti's before poking around on this site. Like many I am especially curious about tobacco blends and blenders that rank consistently high. I have also found a couple of reviewer's whose opinion I have come to respect and Pipestud is one of them.

When I checked out the Peretti website I was pleased to find that they have a nice selection of estate pipes, and one of them caught my eye - a stately Charatan poker in a blast finish that I happen to like and offered at a price I could not pass up. While I was ordering the pipe I decided to try a few 2-ounce samples of their house blends that I had read about here. The three I ordered were Cambridge Flake, Royal Blend, and, at the recommendation of the gentleman on the phone, Smith's Own (I told him I liked Esoterica Stonehaven and asked which of the house blends he thought I might like, and he recommended this one).

The first thing that comes to mind for me with all of these blends is QUALITY. All of the blends I tried are of superb quality. A couple of reviewers here have complained about how dry the tobacco was when it arrived and I have to say that seems rather silly to me. Since tobacco is sold by weight, the cheapest thing in the world for a tobacconist to do is sell their tobaccos nice and moist so as to maximize their profits. Not so Peretti. The tobacco was on the drier side to be sure, but still nice and springy and READY TO SMOKE. If they had watered it down I suppose they could have made a few more pennies on the sale but they didn't. The only explanation I can find for that fact is that they are more committed to quality than profit margin. (And all of the samples they sent well exceeded the weight I paid for - which also tells you something about the merchant).

I pack this nice springy, somewhat coarsely cut tobacco using the airgap method in a large bowl Wellington. With a single match it consistently delivers rich, full, buttery and leathery flavor that keeps my interest and is consistent from start to finish. This blend is wonderful and of superb quality. All I can say is try it - you won't be disappointed. My favorite pairing is with a snifter of 50/50 brandy and orange brandy (Grand Marnier or similar). Four stars, hands down.

Yet another bell ringer from one of America's oldest pipe shops. This Peretti's combination may have a "plain" name, but there is nothing plain about the complexity of the smoke. Peretti's has long been known and appreciated for the use of quality leaf in their proprietary blends and this is a shining example.

If you are a lover of predominantly Latakia blends with a smidgen of other leaf, then order a batch of this stuff ASAP!

Absolutely delightful and reeking of quality. As most of the previous reviews indicate, Perriti's Smith blend will surely please.

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.

The gentlemen at Peretti have done it again! This is yet another new favorite. I went into the shop in Boston looking for their 'Omega', which has pretty much replaced Dunhill's Nightcap in my rotation (I still smoke a bowl of the night cap every once and a while, as I had just put a tin into a mason jar the week before I discovered 'Omega'). The very kind gentleman who was helping me, informed me that they were currently sold out of 'Omega', but he had something I might like even better. He prefaced that by introducing himself as the blender of this particular product, the Mr. Smith who is the namesake of this gem.

This has become my go-to blend over the past month, surpassing even my old favorites of Dunhill's London Mixture and Balkan Sasieni. The only other blend in my collection currently I would smoke as frequently is the Germain Balkan Sobranie, but with the difficulty of procuring tins of that fine blend, I ration it carefully.

I returned to pipe smoking last year after a 20 year hiatus. I have been smoking Smith's Own for about 6 months at a rate of about a pound per month.

I think this is an outstanding English style tobacco, which tends towards a Balkan blend. I find it very well balanced. The aroma of a newly opened tin is fabulous. Another reviewer mentions the presence of Perique. I'm not sure of this; it is more spicey than say Squadron Leader, which I'm smoking today.

I tend to smoke too hot. This is a mistake with this tobacco as doing this ruins the balance and taste. For maximum enjoyment, you must slow down.

My only "complaint" is that this blend makes me smoke too often!

Wow what a smoke! If you like full flavored English blends give this one a go. You won't be disappointed. I purchased several blends from Perettis to try this is so far the very best of all these quality blends. Steve Smith was not blowing his own horn when he commented on my choice of tobacco when ordering this blend. Steve knows how to blend an outstanding full flavor English tobacco.

This blend smells great in the pouch. S.O. has just the right amount of moisture for an English. The blend of quality VA's, Oriental and Turkish is masterfully perfect. Just the right amount of a nice smokey Latikia showcases this blend and makes it an absolute delight for any full English fan. S.O. packs nice and burns complete to a nice mottled grey ash. This blend packs a nicotine wallop and is a great after dinner or evening blend.

I will be calling the good people of L. J. Peretti and ordering more of this blend. I can't wait for my next trip to Boston so I can drop by the shop.

I hanker for B&M visits where there aren’t just pipe tobaccos but actual tobacconists and pipes!

I live in the Boston suburbs, and don’t actually get to visit this institution as often as I should.

My latest visit was last Saturday and I walked away with a few samples of some of their English blends.

I asked for Latakia heavy blends and they offered several fine options but this one, Smith’s Own, has grabbed me.

It’s remarkably smooth, and in each puff there’s another level of flavor that draws me deeper and deeper in to love with it.

This tobacco is exactly what it claims to be. A full and flavorful traditional English blend that is extremely well crafted. It stands out as an exceptional example of the genre and is well worth smoking.

I discovered Peretti blends around 2 yrs. ago and have tried about 10 of them. They have all been wonderful blends and this is no exception. High quality leaf, good burn to the bottom to a fine gray ash. A flavor bomb with the Lat out front... Great stuff!

Tin note is surprisingly light given the tobacco’s in this blend. There is a Latakia smokiness and some VA sweetness. Nutty and smoky what comes to mind. I think Peretti uses a peppermint top note on all of ther tobacco’s and it is what mutes some of the aromas I would expect from a blend like this.

This comes about perfect from the shop, I like my tobacco’s on the dry side and for me this is perfect and ready to smoke The first light brings a bright sweet and and smokey and uniquely Peretti flavor, again I think it the top note that boosts all of the all of their blends. The latakia a sweet and smokey. Ther is a malty flavor that comes with the harmonization of all of the great leaves the masters at Peretti put into this blend. The VA’s are sweet and a bit grassy, but more breads. The mix of stoved and bright VA’s creat a nice base but the star of the blend are the orients that are spicy and woody. The Perique is barely noticeable but it is in the retrohale and may contribute to the spiciness. The peppermint becomes noticeable at the midway point of the smoke but works with the other flavors. There is a lot going on with this blend, very complex. As I write this I am thinking I needed a few more smokes to review this properly so I will provide an update after I smoke another ounce (good thing I bought 6 oz’s) As an aside the staff at Peretti’s is top notch. There were two blends that were running low and both were a hair unde 2 oz’s and they charged me for 1 oz in stead of doing 1.5 or some other closer to the weight price. They also had a great selection of hard to find tins and recommended a few cigars based on my pipe and maduro cigar preferences. If you are in Boston by Boston Common you should stop in.