Peterson Hyde Park

This is a coarse cut ready rubbed, more like wild cut half flakes and when I opened the tin I found them to be too damp. Initially, I was a little put off by a faint toothpaste-like smell but now that my recently opened tin has been aired, this is gone. Smell deeply for a lovely potpouri of fire-cured tobacco's, maple, a little rum, a little chocolate but most of all, pure tobacco. Because not all the ready rubbed flakes seem of consistent composition, sometimes the sweetness of Virginia prevails, sometimes the sheer bruteness and strength of Burley but to me, I find this very appealing. There is a nice saltiness from the fire-cured tobacco's, a very good overall body, a slight sweetness from the maple (and rum) and a very decent level of nicotine. This will appeal to smokers of English flakes or ready rubbed. A very satisfying smoke! Rob

As someone who prefers aromatics to English style blends, I was very surprised to find how much I liked Hyde Park. It has a pleasant, clean, comforting taste to it. It makes me think of being a kid, and going to visit your grandfather, and smelling his cologne or aftershave when you gave him a hug. Bit of a soapy flavour in there too, but not overwhelming or off-putting. No BBQ sauce taste at all, which is a huge plus for me. Just enough nicotine to make me feel it. Not one to impress the Mrs or non-pipe smokers with the room note though. I only had a 10 gram sample of it, which was probably only about 3 bowls. If pipe tobacco in Australia wasn't $85-96 for a tin, I could easily see myself buying a whole tin of it. Unfortunately because of the nanny-state and the ridiculous cost, I'm going to probably end up buying an aromatic I like more instead. It might make it into a regular rotation of <$20 samplers though.

Definitely recommend it.

Break seal, open tin, sniff tin... smell sweet rum/maple topping aroma mixed with tobacco... so far, so good & no plastic bag in this tin. Rub out partially broken flake mixed with regular broad cut tobacco, dry tobacco, stoke pipe, smoke pipe. A very slight taste of rum & maple flavoring & a very light, ever so slight aromatic essence in the smoke. There are only two basic types of blends... English & aromatic. The writing on the Hyde Park lid states "A traditional English blend". This is not a heavily cased aromatic blend & has a topping which was only very lightly applied... enough to create a captivating tin aroma, tame the bitterness of the Burley, detract a little from the tobacco smell in the room while adding an extra taste dimension to help make the blend more alluring so one could savor the flavor, buy more, smoke more, cellar more, etc.

This blend doesn't bite if dried properly & the initial taste was that of a slightly bitter, nutty Burley flavor... nothing unusual. Actually the flavoring was so lightly applied, the taste is almost non-existent. I perceived very little aromatic essence in the smoke but there was no strong tobacco smell either. So, if you're preference is for aromatic blends with an alluring or appealing room note, you won't find it in this blend. The topping is just enough to detract from a strong tobacco aroma only. After about a half dozen good tokes to get a good even burn, I let the pipe sit and cool. After a few more tokes I could taste a little VA & a little of the flavoring.

Most of the initial bitter flavor from the Burley subsided as the varied leaf & flavoring melded & then I heard a knock on the door. I yelled, "come in"... thought it was one of my friends. It was Lady Nicotiana who said she was from a tobacco field on the Indian continent far, far away. She strolled on over, made herself right at home & sat down on my new hat... while it was still on my head. My meaning by this is that this mixture is a pretty potent blend with some species of Indian tobacco mixed in with the Burley & Virginia. I have no idea what it might be. Whatever, makes no difference as I liked this blend really well & it will remain in my rotation along with other Peterson favorites.

The Burley is the predominant player in this mixture but is tamed down somewhat by the Virginia & a little by the flavor additive. Then, slightly more of a detectable flavor from the rum/maple sugar infusion about 1/3 down into the bowl. I favor this blend because it is not overly cased & only slightly topped with a flavoring that helped to make this strong tobacco taste & smell better & one will notice the nicotine blast early on. I don't inhale pipe tobacco whether it be strong, mild or especially if it is cased with a Propylene Glycol humectant. I tend to stay away from those blends but enjoy a good flavored tobacco... like a few Erik Stokkeybye's & especially their Family Reserve which is my favorite aromatic, St. Bruno Flake with its alluring floral/citrus flavor, Brunello Flake, University Flake with its plum flavor, etc.

This is another fine offering of Peterson blends especially if you're into more of a strong, Burley forward blend. I would purchase this one again but have many other blends cellared for sampling before I replenish this one. If you like good, fairly strong VA/Burs with a mild, slightly sweet, aromatic topping that is barely noticeable, you might be interested in giving this one a try. For me, this one turned out better than anticipated & the strength will get your head right. This probably won't be an all day smoke for everyone but one that can be smoked on a daily basis or relaxing on a day off, an after supper treat or before beddy-bye. I smoke it any time of the day or night & I'm used to strong blends & prefer them over the milder, wimpy stuff.

It's been a few years since I've smoked a Peterson blend, but I remember them for their high quality tobaccos that left a lasting impression on me. After picking up pipe smoking again following a pretty lengthy hiatus, I was pretty anxious to try out a new Peterson blend once again. And the one that really caught my attention was this one, for two reasons. The first one is the rum flavoring, which is one of my favorite flavorings in a pipe tobacco if added properly, despite the fact that I don't drink alcohol. Second, because this one is blended by Gawith Hoggarth, unlike most other Peterson blends. I have yet to sample a true GH blend, so this is the closest I've got to that so far.

The tobacco presents itself mostly in dark, brown shades, completed by lighter, golden nuances from the bright Virginias. The tin note is a savory mix of that identifiable Virginia flagrance and a pretty strong smell of rum, honey and a hint of maple. The cut is a broken flake, but a pretty rough and coarse one. Some extra rubbing is recommended to make the tobacco much easier to work with. Comes pretty moist in the tin, so a bit of drying time is required.

Because of the cut, it may be a bit more difficult to pack the pipe, get it lit and under control. But once that's settled, then it shouldn't pose any problems. Burns well, pretty cool, dry, doesn't leave moisture of any kind and requires a small to average number of relights.

As far as the smoke itself is concerned, this blend is a real delight. My own senses detect more Burley than Virginia, at least through roughly the first half of the bowl. And that chocolaty, nutty, earthy Burley flavor complements the rum flavoring very well. Speaking of the flavoring, the rum is there and I mostly taste rum. There is a hint of maple to sweeten the taste, but the rum is the star of the show. Being a GH blend, I was looking for that famous Lakeland essence. Sometimes it's there in brief episodes, but very subdued and coming as a faint perfume, almost aftershave-ish taste. Once through to the second half of the bowl, the tobacco moves towards the stronger side of the spectrum and more of that dark fired Virginias come to the front, sometimes in a pretty smokey, almost barbecue-like taste. The rum is tempered a bit and the smoke becomes a much more balanced mix between the Virginias and the Burley that's maintained all the way down to the heel.

While it has a rum and maple flavoring, I wouldn't consider this one an aromatic. It has more strength and much more natural tobacco taste than most aromatics. If I'm to place Hyde Park in a particular type of blend, then I would say that it's the closest Peterson has come to crafting a Navy blend.

In the end, Hyde Park is a worthy member of Peterson's catalog of high quality tobaccos and it's obvious that this one was put together by skilled blenders. From start to finish it was a true delight and relish. I wouldn't consider this one an all-day smoke, but a very enjoyable one whenever I have the opportunity. It's an amazing blend and a new, welcomed member of my favorites list. Highly recommended, without a doubt.

Break seal, open tin, take a whiff... smell sweet rum/maple topping aroma mixed with tobacco. So far, so good & no plastic bag in this tin. Rub out partially broken flake tobacco, dry tobacco, stoke pipe, smoke pipe. A very slight taste of rum & maple & a light aromatic essence in the smoke. There are only two basic types of blends... English & aromatic. The writing on the Hyde Park lid states "A traditional English blend." I wouldn't call this a cased aromatic blend with the usual PG humectant infusion, but a topping which was only very lightly applied... enough to create a captivating tin aroma, tame the bitterness of the Burley & detract from the tobacco smell in the room while adding an extra taste dimension to help make the blend more alluring so one could savor the flavor, buy more, smoke more, cellar more, etc.

This blend bit a little upon the charring light... not to worry as it tamed down & developed a nutty flavor which melded perfectly with the Virginia. The flavoring was pretty much non-existent initially. I perceived very little aromatic essence in the smoke but there was no strong tobacco smell either. So, if you're preference is for aromatic blends with an alluring or appealing room note, you won't find it in this blend. The casing & topping is just enough to detract from a strong tobacco odor. The Burley is the predominant leader in this mixture but is tamed down somewhat by the Virginia & a little by the flavor additive. I favor this blend because it's only lightly infused with a flavoring that helped to make this strong tobacco taste milder & smell better & one will notice the nicotine blast early on.

If you like good, fairly strong VA/Burs with a mild, slightly sweet, aromatic topping that is not overwhelming, you might be interested in giving this one a try. For me, this one turned out better than anticipated & the strength will get your head right. I'll purchase a few more down the road.

Break seal, open tin, sniff tin... smell sweet rum/maple topping aroma mixed with tobacco... so far, so good & no plastic bag in this tin. Rub out partially broken flake mixed with regular, broad cut tobacco, dry tobacco, stoke pipe, smoke pipe. A very slight taste of rum & maple flavoring & a very light, ever so slight aromatic essence in the smoke. There are only two basic types of blends... English & aromatic. The writing on the Hyde Park lid states "A traditional English blend". This is not a heavily cased aromatic blend & has a topping which was only very lightly applied... enough to create a captivating tin aroma, tame the bitterness of the Burley, detract a little from the tobacco smell in the room while adding an extra taste dimension to help make the blend more alluring so one could savor the flavor, buy more, smoke more, cellar more, etc.

This blend doesn't bite if dried properly & the initial taste was that of a slightly bitter, nutty Burley flavor... nothing unusual. Actually the flavoring was so lightly applied, the taste is almost non-existent. I perceived very little aromatic essence in the smoke but there was no strong tobacco smell either. So, if you're preference is for aromatic blends with an alluring or appealing room note, you won't find it in this blend. The topping is just enough to detract from a strong tobacco odor only. After about a half dozen good tokes to get a good even burn, I let the pipe sit and cool. After a few more tokes I could taste a little VA & a little of the flavoring.

Most of the initial bitter flavor from the Burley subsided as the varied leaf & flavoring melded & then I heard a knock on the door. I yelled, "come in"... thought it was one of my friends. It was Lady Nicotiana who said she was from a tobacco field on the Indian continent far, far away. She strolled on over, made herself right at home & sat down on my new hat... while it was still on my head. My meaning by this is that this mixture is a pretty potent blend with some species of Indian tobacco mixed in with the Burley & Virginia. I have no idea what it might be. Whatever, makes no difference as I liked this blend really well & it will remain in my rotation along with other Peterson favorites.

The Burley is the predominant player in this mixture but is tamed down somewhat by the Virginia & a little by the flavor additive. Then, slightly more of a detectable flavor from the rum/maple sugar infusion about 1/3 down into the bowl. I favor this blend because it is not overly cased & only slightly topped with a flavoring that helped to make this strong tobacco taste & smell better & one will notice the nicotine blast early on. I don't inhale pipe tobacco whether it be strong, mild or especially if it is cased with a Propylene Glycol humectant. I tend to stay away from those blends but enjoy a good flavored tobacco... like a few Erik Stokkeybye's & especially their Family Reserve which is my favorite aromatic, St. Bruno Flake with its alluring floral/citrus flavor, Brunello Flake, University Flake with its plum flavor, etc.

This is another fine offering of Peterson blends especially if you're into more of a strong, Burley forward blend. I would purchase this one again but have many other blends cellared for sampling before I replenish this one. If you like good, fairly strong VA/Burs with a mild, slightly sweet, aromatic topping that is barely noticeable, you might be interested in giving this one a try. For me, this one turned out better than anticipated & the strength will get your head right. This probably won't be an all day smoke for everyone but one that can be smoked on a daily basis or relaxing on a day off, an after supper treat or before beddy-bye. I smoke it any time of the day or night & I'm used to strong blends & prefer them over the milder, wimpy stuff.

30can in my storage~! The 1 n only peterson i like~!