Peterson 3P's Peterson Perfect Plug

I opened a new tin of this today from my local B&M store. It had floated around at my pipe club and I had put it in my memory file that it was a different tobacco. Felt stupid with a senior moment. Opened up the tin to a very nice and dark tobacco brick. I was not in a mood to peal it off so I quickly broke off a chunk and tossed it into my coffee grinder. In 10 seconds I had the perfect cut tobbaco for my pipe. Filed it in a MPB GOLDEN GNOME Super Brebbia. First light was smooth and it took to the match very quickly. I tamp it down and relit. The smoke was on. It was a mild tobacco and paired it with Dumont coffee. Flavor was rustic. I got a lot of Virgina and a little spice. I had to relight only one time and the flavor stayed throughout the bowl. I did not get a heavy hit of nicotine and the coffee made for a nice smoke. My second bowl was slightly different as I peeled off and crumbled it into my bowl. This lighting was much harder and took more effort to keep lit and smoke. Flavor and taste was about the same. I think I will stick to the coffee grinder to prepare in the future. Never burned hot. Gave a good ash and my pipe stayed clean. Smoke time was slightly over an hour. I enjoyed it and think I need to go back to pipe club and thank a friend or two for correcting my senior moment.

Looking back, and being honest with myself, Peterson’s Perfect Plug was not an impulse purchase for me, despite I bought it locally after striking out on what I went to the shop for. The truth is, it had stuck in my mind at some point that 3P sports a “fruit topping”, and, based on my experience with Irish Flake, I somehow came to hope that 3P would be a less-fierce and less-oily IF that leaned toward Penzance. I know, right? Where do I get ideas like this?!?

Popping a fresh (to me) tin, I found 3P’s tin note to be somewhat muted, and it did not match my hopes and/or expectations, being rather funky and reminiscent of “clean” barnyards rather than floral or fruity, with incense. 3P smells fermented, all right, but more like it’s gone random and/or awry than anything done especially for analgesic effect. The plug is dark and quite dense, and it is moist in a way that suggests propylene glycol, albeit it actually dries quickly – like water - after it’s rubbed out. For my first bowl, I cut a thin flake off the end of the plug, and I tried to twist it to smoking condition, as is my wont with most flakes. Because the plug is so dense and moist, I wound up rubbing it out, then I stuffed it into my pipe and I lit it until it burned. I won’t bore you with the results of my first encounter. Succinctly, it turns out that I much prefer to thoroughly rub out and then dry 3P before smoking it. This makes it more like, say, Brown Irish X; not as strong, but that sort of Old-Timey, uncompromising, he-man type of smoke. And, despite 3P is nothing like what I sought out, and despite I don’t like the best of it as much as I like the best of Irish Flake, nonetheless I rate 3Ps 4 stars, overall. It’s deep and “dark” and funky and rich, and it stays itself from top to bottom. It’s strong and full, and – reputed VAs notwithstanding - I recommend it only to seasoned Burly smokers. Aftertaste is nothing more or less than the smoke trailing off. Room note is not for the faint of heart.

If the foregoing sounds like faint praise, it is rather meant to be somewhat cautionary, as IMO, the best of 3P is not very accessible, and it’s not really aimed at the Crowd, in the first place. OTOH, I would not have given it 4 stars unless I thought it has something special to offer experienced smokers.

Update, 10-14-15: I recently got into ½ a 3P plug that I had stashed in a jar for over 1 year. I’ve been smoking this cubed, in a pot, and I have to say, it’s especially nice this way! It’s fragrant and delicious, and a bowl lasts a while. But be careful, because it boils up like hot lava when it’s lit! As an unexpected bonus (I don’t know why), it now leaves my pipes smelling sweet! Now it has to go on my favorites list!

This plug was a surprise to me.

Recently, I've exchanged tins of tobacco with a friend, and knowing his taste and Peterson tobacco, I didn't have any expectations. I couldn't be more wrong.

From the moment I opened the tin, I knew this would be a good thing. Smells good, the moisture was at perfect level, you could cut pieces, rub them and smoke 'em right away, and the taste is ... delicious. I loved it. Knowing that it's Burley, and I'm not a great fan of burleys, i was ready for a dull, metal - chemical note of a burley. A lot of tongue bite, a lot of artificial flavour.

Well, It's nothing like that. Everything about it is perfect. I enjoyed it in my car while driving, and immediately after that in my smoking dan in front of the computer with some tea. Boy, that was good. It's been a long time since I enjoyed a tobacco so much.

Highly recommend it!

In a word, sublime. Not complex, but full and splendid. Coming from cigars, I've only been piping a few months, but THIS stuff is wonderful. Course there are a lot of great tobaccos. I peel off individual leaves, then crumble them into the bowl. I enjoy the ritual/ordeal. Still on my first tin, 6 more arrived today. I hope to NEVER run out of this fine smoke. I did stove one tin to experiment.

Revisiting the stoved tin after 5 weeks (220F for 2 hours 20 minutes (remove plastic before cooking)), I'm finding it sweeter, fruiter & more complex. I've tried cutting flakes, then rubbing, dicing into tiny cubes, but I'm going back to peeling off the individual leaves, then crumbling. I think it's a surface area thing going on.

Stoved 7 more of these wonderful little bricks o' joy

A good, strong Virginia in plug cut. Do not try this if you are just getting started. It is indeed flavoursome, but a tough one. Very austere in its structure, no subtleties or exquisitness: just a strong, plain Virginia (far bolder and less sugary than Gawith's Full Virginia Flake), presented in tightly pressed chunks. Diffiult to break appart, but once done it can be a delight; cool, long lasting but beware. Sitting is advisable.

No trouble with prep. Slice thin, gravity, with minimum push. Only one or two lights. Smoking now in a M/M General. Love this stuff. My new and probably long term favorite. Slow burning, dark. Not wanting anything else. Replaced my Kentucky, Brown Twist, Dark Flake, and Kendal Dark. Less oily. Doesn’t seem like an aromatic. Fruity is almost nonexistent. Subjective yes, but strong, smooth and meditative. Comforting…no complaints from wife…

On one of four tins I received, to my surprise, I found the date "June 16, 2017." No dates were placed on Peterson tins prior to 2018, when plugs were produced by Kohlhase & Kopp. Given that all four tins belonged to the same batch, according to tax exempt marks, I will be guided by that date.

Appearance: the tobacco is a brownish-brown colored bar, similar to the color of oil. You can also see individual light straw streaks in the bar on the cut. The bar is very dense, and a pipe cutter will need a very sharp, unbendable knife to cut it. It is also worth noting that the tobacco in the pipe will somewhat increase in volume, so I do not recommend hammering it very tightly, so it can be smoked without strain.

Flavor: Very smooth, without the bright notes. The main note is a sweetish boiled dark fruit overlaid with rye flour dough and a bit of nuttiness. If you cut a slice of tobacco from the bar and then pull it apart into fibers, woody notes of cedar and sandalwood become apparent. A faint fruity aroma only complements the overall bouquet, adding a very light citrus note.

Taste: the extremely smooth taste of the blend hides the true amount of burley in it. The tobacco is so well processed and tightly pressed that the overall bouquet is very soft and solid, it is quite difficult to separate the individual notes. Nevertheless, the tobacco has a flavor, and it largely repeats the flavor: notes of cooked dark pears, raisins and apricots, bread flavor, some wood and a little bit of almond nut. As you smoke, the woody and almond notes increase slightly, joining the fruit notes but not crowding them out, and the bread note almost disappears. If you fill the pipe correctly, the tobacco smokes extremely evenly and dry, it doesn't go out, it doesn't bite, though it requires some attention to the burning temperature. It is worth to note that tobacco is rather insidious as to its strength: the first half of the pipe, though it feels a little stronger than the middle one, does not promise a catch. However, from about the middle of the pipe tobacco begins to gain strength, and by the end of the smoking it represents a serious test of the nicotine resistance. For this reason I recommend not rushing into it, not smoking it on an empty stomach, and being careful with the choice of pipe. Speaking of the difference in flavors in the different forms: in straight pipes the burley notes feel a little brighter than in bents. The tobacco has an understated woody aftertaste, and as it burns into a fine light gray ash, it leaves almost no moisture in the pipe.

The smoke from the tobacco is almost imperceptible in the room. It has a cedar smell and is easily dispersed.

What's the bottom line? Over the years, my love for this blend has not faded, even considering that, for me, it has quite a bit of burley in it, and its strength makes it impossible to smoke it all day long. What's more, it has now moved into the category of dessert afternoon tobaccos, which means that the supply I have can be stretched for a while.

Beautiful, cool smoking, Virginia Burley mix of pure delight with notes of Condor minus the dressings, very reminiscent of the old defunct Gallaghers Warhorse. Beautifully sweet and full smoke that left me more than sated and with fond memories from a lost world, spent ruminating with good old fellow pipe smokers.

This is one dense plug!

When I originally got this tin, I opened it up smoked a bowl or two, and jarred it up. That was about 4 years ago. I recently came across this again, and decided to smoke the remainder of this tin. Moisture content was great for immediate smoking.

Tin aroma of rich, dark tobacco, some fig and raisin. I preferred to slice very thin and rub out. Rubs out nicely, and still leaves a bit of an oily sheen on your fingers. I'm excited!

As stated by Tall Puff O' Burley, this is a great blend for smaller bowls. It is a bit strong, but not overwhelming. Smaller bowl suggested mainly for being one-dimensional, not strength issue.

On packing, pack this blend loose! The initial lighting swells the tobacco quite a bit! After the charring and secondary light, tamp it down and you'll be all set

Slow, deliberate sips offers the best flavors. If puffed to had this can get extremely harsh and sour. Even with the slower smoking pace, this still offers volumes of smoke that doesn't have too bad of a room note. As stated in the description, I do detect some type of casing, but I have no clue what it could even be. It does offer a sweet, smoky beef-like flavor, if smoked slowly.

This blend is great with a strong, dark, French pressed coffee. Great fall weather blend, and smoking outdoors. If you like stronger dark fired blends, give it a go!