Peterson Nightcap

Boys and girls... do not be put off by the Godzilla-like long-haired-Samson strength that so many whisper about; sipped properly, in a good broken in pipe, slow-to-medium cadence, this is one of the most ethereal, smooth, and delicious smokes out there...

I often mention the "Dunhill dosage" (see Champagne = dosage) and this certainly has some of that-- i.e. that delicious matured/cedar like musty-richness that is part of the Dunhill landmark. Quality, Quality, Quality...

I don't know Murray's Nightcap... nor any other iterations but the current (circa 2015) one... and you know what? So what?

I didn't hear Chopin actually play a piano-- but the version that the Cleveland Opera or Emannuel Ax play is still magic; and this is no different.

Dark and broody this tobacco, upon opening and sniffing, makes you want to say... "Oooooh..."

There is some creamy Latakia here, its smoky spiced-sweetness permeating the smoke, matured Virginian's provide a creamy underbrush that keeps the smoke heady but smooth, Gothic orientals give the cocoa-nib Imperial-stout heart of the mixture an exotic and 101-Arbian nights mystique.

Bottom-line it's delicious.

Now, I've one my proper progression to get to this Tobacco-- starting with the Aromatics, then soft Aromatic, the English, Periques, American blends and the Signature Dunhill line-up of London Mixture, Durbar, and Aperitif to name a few.

Been through my Peretti's (and their heady blends like Tashkent and Cambridge Flake...)

After a steak-and-sausage dinner with some southern France Grenache-- the human body is ready for a Tobacco with enough power, grace, intensity, and mystery that only Nightcap can deliver.

Is it for the faint hearted? No.

It's for the ready...

Disclaimer that this is my 2nd English-style pipe tobacco. I might compare it to Squadron Leader more than once.

Apparently, despite this not showing up on tobacco reviews as being available in bulk, Edwards carries bulk Nightcap. I'm glad because they were charging over a twenty for a tin of the stuff.

Baggie smells a lot like other English, woodsy, a little campfire, barn-y, a little sweetness of rum raisin... but not much.

I may be an odd duck, but the same thing came to mind on first light as what came with Squadron Leader. Bread. Although this time the bread was much more specific... rye with excessive caraway seeds. Really strong in the rye department. Room note, mostly tobacco with a sneaky bandit whiff of charred campfire marshmallows.

This blend is exceptionally balanced. Nothing stands out as a prime player... I get a mild spiciness, a bready/toasty burley that reminds me of warm rye bread, and a little pickled beet at the end from the Virginias. Everything plays exceptionally well with each other.

I smoked two huge bowls of this, and didn't notice the nicotine until halfway through the second bowl, but when it hit, it sunk my freaking battleship... it hit hard, and despite my choice of a particularly spicy bourbon to pair it with, left my head aswim with Vitamin N flush.

I am very surprised with this tobacco. The balance is incredible, nothing plays solo here, but everything works well together.

Due to the flavors, I strongly recommend a rye-heavy bourbon like Beam Devil Cut, Wild Turkey, Four Roses, etc.. with it... it's a perfect pairing.

I really like this English blend.

This can only be described as a heavy latakia blend in the traditional English/Scottish sense. To use a football analogy, this is the Left Offensive Tackle of tobaccos... hefty, brutish and pummeling, without a whit of elegance or delicacy. It seems to say "Nobody comes in my house but through me!"

That alone does not make for a bad tobacco blend, and this one is not bad. But the point of it seems to be to take the strongest tobaccos, mix 'em up, and let 'em battle it out while treble-ing the headbanging explosion for the smoker. This is about as subtle and refined as a sledgehammer to the skull. I hasten to add that such a tobacco should and does have its followers. I just prefer a little more depth and a little less "over the top" flavor. Note that I smoked an aged tin from the Murray era (which perhaps means I shouldn't review it!) and I'm not at all inclined to try the Orlik version since the aged blend should by rights be smoother. Smooth? Yep, just like rollerskates on gravel!

But mercy sakes, does this stuff smell like heaven, both in the tin and in the room! I'm going to give it to a friend with the promise that he smoke it in my presence. As long as he doesn't insist I partake in it with him.

Tin smells strong of high quality Latakia. My grandfathers leather boots, my Anatomy notes, my office chair and my leather covered desk. Orientals are seriously subdued, in the tin that is.

It burns cool, dry and full of taste. First hit is filled with the black leaf. It reminds me of these rainy nights i used to study dentistry. It was my third year, last exam was periodontology. It tasted then and tastes today of soil after its been wet. Of wood in the forest, after the rainfall gave life to it. Of burned leaves out in the field, right after the rain from the grey clouds put the fire out. Then the orientals kick in, bringing back to my memory all those ''spicy'' moments i lived as a student in the university. The butteriness of the orientals gives the satisfying taste resembling happiness and nostalgia. Yes, this is a nostalgic blend.

First half of the bowl is full of leathery, buttery and tasty flavor. Like the Goldberg variations of J.S.Bach, its a Major harmony to your tongue, your nose and your brain. Second half it gets darker, more serious and kind of bitter. There is still much taste, only this time it takes your hand and sinks you deep into your thoughts. Orientals turn spicy and the Latakia becomes stronger and smoky. It seems that the Perique rises to the stage as well. Now the melody turns to Bachs' Prelude in C minor. I am alone in my office, drawing the lobes of the brain, trying to understand the nature of reality. Its still raining outside. I wish it never stops.

Room note is strong of Latakia. You now the drill. Either you love it or hate it.

It leaves little to no moisture in the bowl. After taste is strong and kind of harsh. I personally enjoy this.

It is falsly consider to be an only before the nightsleep smoke. It is a heavy , and extremely full bodied blend, the name implies it, but it can be enjoyed all day long if you are nicotine tolerant. I use to smoke 2 packs of cigarettes a day. So now i smoke nightcap from day to night, all day. It is officially my favourite blend. Maybe im not objective and its only the nostalgia i associate it with. It is what it is. A heavy full bodied english blend, full of quality.

Kind of hard to believe that I have been writing reviews on this site for eight years now and have never reviewed this blend. Truthfully, I've had a tin of Nightcap, but the Murray version, which I found years and years ago at an antique store, of all places. And I could never bring myself to crack it open. And I still haven't.

A few weeks ago while visiting my tobacconist, I saw that he had managed to bring in several tins of Nightcap.

I bought them all.

Right, tin note. Earthy, woody, leathery. There is a hint of sourness almost as well, which must be from the Perique. I can pick up the Orientals quite easily well because, I'm Turkish. I've known that smell since I was just a little boy, when tobacco was smoked around me. The Virginia's you can also smell, and of course the star of the show - the Latakia's.

Again, not sure how they do it so consistently, but the moisture content is absolutely perfect. You also get that famous Dunhill ribbon cut, which is my favorite cut of all pipe tobaccos.

Packing is easy as can be. I still use the three pinch method which has always worked well for me. Char, tamp, light, and before you know it, you're all the way at the bottom of the bowl with just a few tamps in between.

The flavor is the really astonishing part, however. I don't think there's ever been a tobacco with four very different types of leaf where you can both smell and taste them all individually. It's not a Latakia bomb. It's not a Virginia, Perique or Oriental bomb, either. It's just a wonderful combination of all those tobaccos, where you can taste each individual component.

The nicotine was also not a problem for me. I don't think it's too heavy handed with the nicotine, but then again, I have been smoking a lot of Bracken Flake and Royal Yacht lately so maybe I've just built up a tolerance to it.

Sadly I cannot compare it to older Nightcap variations like so many other reviewers on here have done so, so I just have to take it for what it is - and that is an extremely high quality, delicious blend of pipe tobacco. I can see why people go crazy for this. It's exceptional.

Peterson Nightcap begins it's nocturnal symphony with rich earthy redolence and smokey flavors of Cyprian Latakia on bass. Orientals chime in on strings with cedar and dry spice while sweet Virginias add a bit of hay and citrus. Perique sings baritone with lots of dark fruit and some pepper notes. Burns smooth and cool. Strength of the blend is a solid medium, But is very full in body. Needs above average relights when sipped slowly as it should be, very satisfying finish and benefits from jar time.

Nightcap is the king of full English blends. Unlike others that contain ponderous proportions of Latakia in an effort to impart "fullness," Nightcap delivers a melange of flavors in a full bodied, strong smoke that is never bitter or overwrought. In fact, this could be an all-day smoke if you can tolerate the nicotine.

For me, it is a perfect after-dinner smoke that pairs beautifully with an Islay single malt.

This is a tobacco with great balance. It is smooth, rich, and is magic on the palate. Enough complexity that it hooks you from beginning to end. A tobacco to be truly enjoyed by any smoker - unless you have an absolute disdain for latakia. I see why everyone gives kudos to this one. It's truly deserving. If you haven't given this one a try, you really need to give it a shot. It is bound to please with the various nuances it offers. An outstanding smoke.

I need to write a glowing review of this blend now that I've come back to it after a 3 year hiatus and finished a couple of tins - in fact I am having my last bowlful as I am writing this.

First, some history about our relationship. I started pipe smoking with a cherry aromatic which burned my tongue without giving me any sort of flavour, I soldiered on with it until a friend told me his dad used to smoke Dunhill blends. I read a bit, not knowing anything about anything about pipe smoking and ended up getting a tin of Nightcap (that was around 2013 or so). Opening that first tin gave me goosebumps, I vividly recall thinking "THAT'S WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT!". I smoked just Nightcap until production was stopped after which I felt destitute, nothing would hit the spot. I smoked Greek company Wolfway's excellent Pyramid blend (reviewed here) which scratched the itch some, then branched out to VaPers, burleys, Virginias, GOOD aromatics, Gawith ropes, HU, Dan Tobacco, some Cornell and Diehl, got to ordering from several countries until the day and the announcement came that Peterson would revive some of the Dunhill favourites. Of course I had to have Nightcap again so I did, now for the review.

Visually it is not at all as dark as other Latakia blends I had these past couple of years. It is a good mix of black, brown, and bright ribbons, at perfect moisture to light up immediately after opening the tin (though I will come back to that). The smell is Latakia of course, but smoother than other English blends.

The moment for first light was highly anticipated, I was eager to see what it will be like after I'd broadened my palate these couple of years of trying other blend types. Lighting up gave me the goosebumps again, I knew the taste instantly. Three words came to mind again and again: smooth, complex, refined. This tobacco really is perfection for my taste.

It is smooth, no roughness, no discordant notes. It burns cool, relatively fast due to being ribbon, as well as being a tad on the dry side (I opened the tin, shook everything out in a jar and let it air for a couple of hours before sealing it again for a few days before my first smoke). It burns down to the proverbial fine grey ash with very few relights needed, and no moisture.

It is complex, Latakia is the main player, but it does not dominate. There's spice from the Perique and Oriental as well as some incense, and noticeable sweetness from the Virginia. There's also a lot of body and substance but the taste is not too full, as other blends can be. The Latakia is smoky, leathery but does not have the occasional hot tar notes I get from other blends. The exhale brings sweetness, occasional grass, supported by spice, and an unmistakable taste and body I haven't had elsewhere.

Maybe I am boring, and maybe it is cliche, but it doesn't matter to me. It oozes quality, it tastes amazing, it is refined, has impeccable smoking properties, it introduced me to smoking proper pipe tobaccos. I am not saying I could go back to smoking just Nightcap but it takes the last spot of my top 5 tobaccos.