Peterson Elizabethan Mixture

Now I may be a bit biased, because this was the first VaPer I had ever tried, but having gone through dozens of others, this is still the one I come back to.

When you open the tin, you get hit with the citrusy, bready, grassy Virginias with a hint of the perique. There’s also a slight tinge of vinegar in the background if you smell long enough.

Lighting it up, the flavors are generally the same as the aroma. It’s like sipping a lemon iced tea, slightly sweetened. I would characterize this blend as being more tangy and grassy/earthy than sweet, but there is sweetness there. The perique comes through more in flavor than in spice. You can taste it in the background, but it isn’t super spicy, at least to me. The spice does pick up a little bit in the second half, but still not super spicy. The aftertaste is really nice on this as well.

Overall, this is my favorite VaPer. Yeah there are sweeter ones, spicier ones, more complex ones, but I think the bright citrusy notes are what do it for me. It’s refreshing, and great for the warmer months. It’s also great in the morning with a cup of blonde coffee. Highly recommended for beginners and veterans alike.

I wasn’t supposed to like this one. I have very little tolerance for perique, as my tasting faculties can hardly tell the difference between that tobacco’s distinctive spice and the sting of tongue bite. It’s not the tobacco, it’s me. So I don’t smoke a lot of Vapers. Take the review with a grain of salt, then, if you like. I wasn’t even looking for a Vaper. I’ve been finding it harder and harder to find tins of straight Virginia at any of my local tobacconists, and thus settling for blends with Virginia in them. This has had some lucky results. Picked up a tin with few expectations other than of disappointment.

However, this was a pleasant surprise. Right from the charring light, there is a wonderful blast of spiced honey and figs— that classic Virginia perique profile. You don’t taste it on the tongue, but in the back of the throat and in the nose, especially strong on the retrohale. Rich, distinctive and delicious. A note of buttered toast— buttered toast with honey is maybe the best way to encapsulate the flavors. Quite a sweet smoke, but the sweetness is all natural, much to my liking. There is a very slight bitter counter-note, as of walnuts or almond, maybe even loam or dark soil, that both balances and accentuates the sweetness. It also accentuates the sweetness of whatever drink you’re pairing it with— in my case, a watermelon shandy or bourbon. Quality all around. I’m pleased to see that Peterson has kept those wonderful ribbon cuts from the Dunhill line. This is a one-match smoke, if you pay attention and puff consistently.

I could see this being a regular in my rotation, especially in these summer months. Do I feel the need to start deep-diving into perique blends? No, but I’ll definitely throw in a tin of Elizabethan Mixture along with my usual Englishes and straight Virginia.

I first bought this blend four months ago, I tried it in one of my briars and it was kinda meh. It tasted like Virginia’s coated in a heavy dose of Tony chacheres, okay but didn’t blow my socks off. So I kept it locked in a jar over the winter in the back of my cellar, with no plan on any future repurchases. Well I decided to give it another go the other day since the weather is changing, and I loaded a bowl in a different pipe. Man I gotta tell you I had a dang near religious experience that second bowl of this stuff. I don’t know if it was the aging, the different pipe, or my palate changing, but it was one of the best smokes ive ever had. Funny how that kinda thing can happen with piping, along with growing tired of a blend you once liked. Anyway, when I say this do not think of it in a sense of goopy, sweet, topped aromatic, but more of a subtle sense, it was like someone baked a bready yeasty cinnamon roll, but mixed in was a little dash of cayenne, and some fig. Delicious. It can get a little acrid towards the bottom, but if you sip you can still pick up bits and pieces of the goodness. The fine ribbons pack very well, and I’ve smoked several bowls without having to relight and burns mostly to a fine white ash. Ever since that day all I’ve thought about was Elizabethan Mixture, and when I’m going to smoke it again. I’ve already almost smoked the whole tin. So with that, final thoughts: It’s not the most complex blend, and certainly not the most flavorful, but it is warm and comforting. To someone whose been into non aromatics for a couple years like myself I would even say it could be an all day smoke. So, give it a try, and if your like me and that first smoke didn’t get you, then put up in a jar for a little while and come back to it, or give her a try in another pipe.

Edit-08/27/21 I have fallen for this lady hook, line, sinker, and it has become my go to blend. I find myself sometimes smoking something different only find myself thinking about Mistress Elizabeth, and how I would rather sail away with her. It really is such a simple blend done perfect. I know that there are more prestigious VaPers out there.. Perhaps if Escudo were Marilyn Monroe, then Elizabethan would be Liz Taylor, 1950s smoke show Taylor at that. Classic Beautiful.

I hate to go against the popular opinion on this one but I will. Peterson's version of this old classic taste like a cigarette. I get no flavor or complexity to the smoke. It's a Camel short stuffed in a pipe. I would occasionally smoke the Dunhill version and recall liking it. The Peterson blend bears no resemblance to what I remember. Just my two cents worth.

A blast from the past!

First time I smoked it was back in 2017-2018, and what I remember was that it had enough vitamin N and that it was quite spicy for me, but nonetheless, pleasant. Other than that I don’t remember much, so right now I’m going to make a review for a tin from 2016.

The tin note wasn’t very strong when I opened the tin. It was quite sweet actually, smelled very good. After I placed the tobacco from the tin to the jar, it bloomed. There are some fruity notes, sweet notes but also some spicy notes but not very pronounced. Very pleasant and natural smell.

The tobacco presents itself with some dark yellow, brown and few black leaves. Mine also happens to have some sugar crystals, which is great. 🙂 Quality tobacco, and the cut is of course, the Dunhill cut! Perfect ribbon.

The tobacco is just a little moist. Since I’m not the type who leaves the tin open for the tobacco to dry, I just pick the amount I need to fill my pipe and leave it to dry. In Elizabethan’s case, I had to leave it about 5 to 10 minutes to dry.

Lights up super easy and burns excellent.

The room note is that of a good, natural virginia. Very pleasant smell. Wonderful, actually!

When I smoked the first two bowls the perique wasn’t very present, only after half of the bowl. But after the first two bowls, for some reason, the perique could be detected right from the first match (or from the false light).

Good, well balanced between the sweetness of the virginia and the spiciness of the perique. For me, it’s the perfect level of spiciness I think I can handle from perique (not a great fan of VaPers). Quality tobacco for sure! The virginia is sweet enough to compete with the spiciness of the perique (it could be different with a fresh tin though. since this one is 4 years old, the sweetness of the virginia could’ve developed in time). However, there are hay and grass notes in there and even some fruity notes. So the virginia and the perique dance together beautifully in this blend. Doesn’t change its taste, very easy to smoke, very pleasant. Retrohaling is very pleasant, you can feel the spiciness of the perique, but it’s not like you just sniffed black pepper. 🙂

Delivers a thick smoke, doesn’t bite, doesn’t get too hot, and I really recommend you smoke this one easily, because it gives much better taste and pleasure. This is a tobacco that should be sipped like a good wine. Puff gently and you’ll be rewarded. 🙂

Leaves a perfect white ash. Might be too strong in nicotine for some. The nicotine part is perfect for me. Also leaves a good aftertaste in your mouth, natural tobacco taste with some peppery notes.

Goes great with a cold beer, but I like to drink it in the summer with an icecream frappe. But I think that any cold drink would go great with this blend.

It’s an amazing experience, finding the same taste that I’ve first experienced back in 2017-2018 when I first smoked Elizabethan. It was a jump back in time. It’s the same, wonderful tobacco.

A much loved VaPer blend by many, and for good reason. In short, this EM is rich, more complex, and smoother than many other VaPers on the market. Though the darker Virginias seem to drive the bus, the brighter ribbons are evident, with a citrusy note always in the background. With that said, the flavor does fluctuate throughout the bowl. Sometimes its primarily dark fruit notes, at other times, it is a fairly even mix.

This isnt a heavy Perique blend either. It's certainly evident but it stays in the backseat. As with the other Dunhill/Peterson blends, the quality is there. If I had to compare this with another blend, Rattray's Marlin Flake comes to mind. Both have similar component percentages. 8/10

https://youtu.be/oti-ZmAeHqU

Just got my first tin of Elizabethan Mixture (first go at the Peterson re-releases--though, as I understand it, the only difference between this and the most recent Dunhill version is the name on the tin). Decided to do a play-by-play type review just for the hell of it.

Just had my first relight. Up until that point, I was able to get the spiciness of the Perique and a (very) light hay taste courtesy of the Virginias. Though, to be honest, the one overwhelming quality I found was blandness. So much so that I began wondering if this was the final conformation that I was, indeed, a latakia man through and through. A little bit more taste is beginning to make its presence be known, though, thus far, not nearly enough to my satisfaction (cue Keith's riff).

Second relight--a little bit more grassy-hay-iness is coming through now, though not nearly enough for my liking. It's very likely that it could do with some aging (especially given that it's a Virginia blend), so I'm going to cut it some slack and come back to it after it's had a bit of time to cellar. Though, for the time being, I can't give this any more than one star. Nothing against those that love it, just not my cup of tea. Will be interesting to see how much it improves with age (and I do expect it to improve).

Elizabethan... Yes, this is a straight Va / Per blend that stands by its proposal. Out of the tin, a light german bread / hay smell from the Virginias. Smell it deeper and paying attention and you will get a bit of that perique raisiny smell too. Packs easily as it is presented in fine ribbons. Burns very well from top to bottom seldom needing a relight. Fine ashes at the bottom of your bowl. Taste wise - it tastes good, real tobacco taste, slightly sweet and the full flavour you will get by french smoking and retrohaling it from time to time - smells toasty . Medium to high nicotine for me here, so take your time... Very statisfying. blend.

The first time I smoked this blend was right after I came off of a strong latakia binge for about a year and I thought it tasted like cigarettes, so I jarred it up to be re-visited at a later time. Eventually on I realized that strong latakia binge had compromised my taste buds and it took a little while to get my taste back for something that wasn't latakia based. I finally got back around to this about a year later. I popped open the jar and a fruity, figgy, slightly hay-like smell hit me. To be honest, it smelled delicious and I could hardly wait to pack a bowl and get to smoking. It took a few lights initially, but after a good light and tamp it practically smoked itself. It turned out to be a beautiful, cool smoke, tasty with that delicious figgy, slightly peppery and hay-like taste all the way to the end. This is a regular smoke for me now. It's a nice hearty, uncomplicated, easily smokeable tobacco... no it doesn't have a lot of complexity and its not multi-faceted, but it is dependable. I get the same great smoke every time, regardless of the pipe. I also enjoy the relaxing, medium nic-hit that I get from it, the key to enjoying this tobacco is to not overthink it. I give this blend 4 stars.