A & C Petersen Caledonian Melange No.421 Superior Mixture

Stumbled onto a tin of this back in February and it has taken me until today to finish. Pretty cheap, too, considering the tin was from the early 1990's. I had smoked a tin or two of this back then and recalled it as an aromatic, which it essentially is. It's a mottled ribbon that appears much darker than I recall, which may be due to the age. A fruity, almost tea-like scent, but not overly strong. Good moisture content and I didn't dry this out much.

This smoked like what one would expect a Danish aromatic to smoke like, but what set this apart was the whisper of oriental that ebbed and flowed throughout the bowl. It was sweet but not glaringly so, moist but not goopy, and had a nice grade of Virginia leaf as a base. Tasted like lemon VA, which added to the sweetness while also adding some tartness. That light breath of oriental really made this work wonderfully. It added some spice and zest to the sweet, while also contributing to the room note. Once again, I wish more of our U.S blenders could build a quality aromatic like this one, where the primary taste was tobacco instead of the topping (whose flavor I couldn't pinpoint... they say hazelnut here, and I'm fine with that). Not a dribble of goop in the bowl and no need for multiple pipe cleaners. It reminded me a bit of McClellands Oriental Cavendish Mixture (#2050) but dialed down on both the oriental flavor and the black Cavendish. Not as flavorful, but easier to smoke and much less of a powerful room note. This is a high quality aromatic, which is rare, and it's too bad this one is no longer in production.

A very mild and pleasant mixture, with a casing of what seems to be maple syrup...and that is not overwhelming as the no 10 Highland Cream. The pipe is easy to fill, the tobacco is easy to light up and it burns nicely and evenly. Ideal for the smoker seeking to venture into high quality and mild aromatic mixtures.

Good friend and co-founder of the NASPC, Regis McCafferty, recently slipped me a tin of this blend which he says is no longer being imported into the USA. Too bad.

My review is extremely similar to that of Noorrmm's a few review's above this one. (In fact, his thoughts mirror mine, so, if you skip this review I will not be offended.) I don't know whether it's because my tin is 8-years old, but the moisture content was perfect. And surprisingly, not a bit of goo in the bottom of the bowl after my smoke either.

While hazelnut is the easily recognized topping here, it is indeed a tobacco tasting blend as well, which I appreciated. A delicate mist of the topping ensured a delightful "aromatic" presence that did not overwhelm me or my pipe. The soft Oriental spice came through like a champ, too For me, it was a nice after dinner smoke and I sure wish it was still being made.

I will finish the tin eagerly.

This was my first choice some years ago, when I still was a strict aromatic smoker. (Nowadays I don't care much for aromatics).

Really very nice taste! Round, nutty and a little bit spicy. Satisfying every time!

Smells nice, but hard to discern any specific notes. Taste is lovely, quality tobacco with a hint of a nutty flavour, just really pleasant and fairly mild without being bland. I almost always have a cup of Earl Grey with my pipe, and the two flavours of the tea and tobacco work amazingly well together.

Moisture content has been fine on all tins I've tried, it lights easily and stays lit with a minimum of effort. I've never had a toungue-bite issue with this one but it can burn a little hot if you don't go easy on it.

This has evolved into one of my favourites along with its sibling the A&C Caledonian N.10. Greatly recommended for lovers of aromatics that actually still taste like tobacco, just with something a little extra added.

I really wanted to like this but the encounter was a bit bumpy. It certainly is a quality tobacco and devoted aromatic smokers should definitely go for it, nothing to do with with the usual Captain Sugar drugstore blends. On the other hand its pastry shop content has me around midbowl, running in the cellar for a nice comforting VA flake. I will try another tin sometime to see if I am wrong

Very fine cut tobacco, almost a shag cut.

Too mild for my liking and it had a little tendency to bite.

The tin aroma was very enjoyable, though. Something like maple syrup!

The word goes around saying that Caledonian Superior mixture is cased with real maple syrup, which is a treat if it is true.

As a matter of fact, the aroma reminds me of maple syrup - I know, I'm Canadian! The casing is not obiously overwhelming at all, just right.

A nice mostly golden medium brown leaves, with a hint of black Ca.

Easy to fill, easy to lit up, easy to smoke. Can bite just a bit if puffed too hard.

Once more, a bit too mild for my own liking, but a fine aromatic of very good quality.

It will be difficult to smoke this regularly if they no longer make this tobacco blend. An exceptional Aromatic. Smokes very nicely. Perfect moisture content, lights quickly, a good puffer. Tastes more like a black cherry flavor than hazelnut. Quality tobacco. 03/12/2005

Update: 11/05/2006 Down graded to three stars. Didn't take long to put aside. Still four stars if you smoke mainly Aromatic blends.

Although I've yet to be disappointed with the Caledonian line, they are becoming hard to find in the US. #421 has an ideal tin moisture content and consists of coarse ribbons of red VA with some brownish and just a hint of black cavendish. The nutty topping is evident in both the aroma and taste but does not overpower the tobacco. I still prefer the slower burn rate of my usual, unbroken VA flakes but this blend smokes evenly and dry for an aromatic. I'll revisit this mild smoke as the weather gets hotter and I shy away from heavy blends.