Peterson Hyde Park

Have Peterson started packing their tobacco in plastic bags now instead of the crimped paper/card deal?

Hyde park come in a plastic bag and is quite moist, so needed 10 mins drying time. Its a ribbon cut with a few busted flakes here and there.

Aroma before lighting smelt just like Christmas cake to me. Definitely an aro then.

Upon lighting and a few slow draws, I was instantly reminded of Rum Flake by Gawith & Hogworts. It was a kind of watered down ready rubbed version of the a fore mentioned flake (of which happens to be one of my favorites).

I did try and sniff out the nuances, and thought for a nano second on a couple of occasions that there was a hint of latakia (?) There was zero bite, but I did find that the stuff burns quite hot even with slow smoking.

It was pleasant enough, and vaguely more complex than most aro's I've tried, but if I want something similar again, I'll stick to Rum Flake which is richer and sweeter. Hyde park really is to me, a weaker ready rubbed version of Rum Flake.

(Connoisseurs choice remains my aromatic of choice when required)

However YMMV....

2.5 out of 4

Wow.. I think I really missed the boat on this one.. I was really looking forward to an under the radar lakeland produced by Gawith Hoggarth for Peterson.. This is clearly now an STG blend through and through.. No hints of lakeland at all.. Looking at older reviews that mention a broken flake with all the hallmarks of Gawith really just put salt in my wounds.. A day late and a dollar short.. Disappointment aside.. This is actually one of the better STG blends I have tried.. It is barely topped but does have something subtle going on.. I don't really taste rum at all.. but maple maybe a tad.. it tastes well rather like a plain virginia/burley.. A lot more red virginia leading than I anticipated.. It has a little strength but not nearly as much as I had hoped for.. I was hoping for something close to rum flake.. That is what I had heard this was similar to.. I imagine when g&h were producing this it was just that.. Oh well.. Everything does change.. and this blend is not bad.. just a lot more straightforward and bland than I had anticipated.. I actually wish they had gone a bit heavier on the topping somehow.. I did notice a touch of toastiness which either comes from the burley or dark fired virginia.. if that were amped up a little more and more rum came through it may have distinguished the blend a little more.. This just tastes like a lot of other STG ribbons.. better than most because of that little extra strength.. 2 stars accounting for my disappointment.. but I will say it would be a 3 for a more fair assessment as I think this is still a pretty good blend especially for Peterson.. I guess I just need to wait for Rum Flake to come back into stock to get what I really want.

I’m an intermediate Pipe Smoker at best and am no way an expert. I started on aromatics and switched to Virginia’s and am trying to get into English Blends. I was suggested this by a friend and thought I would give it a try. The pipe I used was a Peterson 2017 Christmas Pipe.

Packaging was great and I found the Tobacco is a ribbon cut, and had a nice moisture level and burns well and even.

The tin note is great, you defiantly get the sweet smell that does remind you of rum and maple sugars. However, I find that smoking it, it does have a “soapy/floral” aftertaste that does turn me off. I have had this blend again and made sure to smoke it slow which I enjoyed more than the first time.

Would I buy this again? No. Being from Canada, the average tin is $45.00 can and would rather try something new at that price.

I have never smoked anything that is close to this one. The smell reminds me of African tobacco sold in jars and plastic pouches. Being someone that has never consumed alcohol, i now know it to be Rum

Leaf quality is excellent as one expects from Peterson.

The taste is where this one gets away from me. I really do not care for the topping at all. It is cloying and very strong. I have had this tin for a little over 2 months now and it has spent about a week of that time airing out and still that topping is ever present to the point that when i handle the tobacco i can feel it to be sticky. Tongue bite was not an issue once the tobacco aired out for a bit.

I knew it was an aromatic when i bought it so i should not complain, my gripe is that i am searching high and low for a tobacco that is exactly this MINUS the topping. My, what a blend THAT will be.

For what its worth, i can see how some folk enjoy this blend.

Expect, at least, four flavors to play off each other in this blend: Central, and from first-light to the finish, is the flowery essence of Lakeland Virginia. Second, and complimentary to this, is the sweetness of the Rum Sugars. These lend a bit of extra sweetness to the sugars already present in the Lakeland, without saturating the leaf—indeed, it burns rather well, whether dried out or not. Burly adds the third, and remains throughout, while providing body and fullness. But beware of this fullness, because unless the smoker is used to the ruggedness of Burly, it can be overpowering—others have described it as "harsh". Harshness is neither inaccurate or unfair; rather it remains subjective. Lastly, Maple, which dances in and out with an evanescence that's...well, beautiful.

Now that STG will be taking over the production of Peterson tobaccos, it shall be interesting to see if this rather "controversial" blend will survive. Love it, or hate it, the blend is unapologetic but worth a try. And if it's worth a try, it might be worthy of a slot in a piper's rotation.

As for Peterson's claim that this is a "traditional English blend", they also would not be incorrect. The modern concept of what makes an "English Blend" has gotten off the mark. I shall leave the great G.L. Pease to shed some light on this. Please follow this link to his essay on the matter. http://glpease.com/BriarAndLeaf/?p=90

Edit 30JULY15: After leaving the tin sit for a year I resdicovered it. Thinking it would be terribly dry and nasty I had a strange curiousity about this. I tried it in a Peterson X220 and found it to be actually fairly decent. Decent enough that I'm raising the rating I gave this. And ordering tins to cellar.

Original review: I can usually find something good about any tobacco I've tried. This simply wasn't the case with this. The tin note reminded me of Redman Silver. Not exactly what I was expecting. It was a nice quality leaf and packed easily. No stems or such pollutants. The floral soapiness is very strong to me. Not something enjoyable which is strange because I like Lakeland tobaccos. The taste never built or changed. Just the same over powering taste all the way through. Simply not my cup of tea here. I encourage everybody to try this. I hope your experience differs from mine.

The name of this tobacco couldn't have been better. Much like Kensington, every smoke is a different walk through the park.

The note on the tin is what you would expect from the label- sugary and rich with a background of rum/ raisin that doesn't carry through to the smoke, especially. On first light the blend is smooth, sweet and floral. Much like stepping into an old Kensington mews house in the early 1900s. Soapy is the wrong word, but certainly hints of perfume and "poshness".

Perhaps this would be a good introduction to the "Lakeland" taste for those curious.

I would not have said the rum accounts for the sweetness, this is very much a background note. In fact I wouldn't have even considered rum were it not for the label. The sweetness seems to come from the tobacco itself and the feeling of the smoke in the mouth. The smoke is cool, rich and dense; very fulfilling, if a little acidic.

The strange thing about this tobacco is that, at least for me, the taste was not pleasant. I have to put it down several times and come back to it because it's quite sickening. Yet still I find myself reaching for it because it's such a curious smoke.

As has been mentioned, the ghostly touch of Lady N waltzes in about 10 minutes into the bowl and grief does she give you a fright. Smoke slowly and with lots of sugary drinks/ snacks.

Speaking of ghosts, Hyde Park has left an odd buttery, nutty taste in the pipe I've been smoking it in. In fact I can smell it across the room right now. This blend could do with an assigned pipe.

Overall, very curious. I don't know whether I would say it was enjoyable for me; the lakeland taste isn't really my cup of tea. But it's an experience. I would recommend trying a sample rather than a full tin.

Revised June, 2020

Lately a rather rich and full blend made by GH, it struck me as being not unlike their Rich Dark Honeydew.

Well, that's no more.

STG is now making it in Denmark. Whether one is speaking of appearance, flavour, or strength it is now lighter. Pity.

I imagine the two tins I got without knowing of the change of blenders will constitute a lifetime supply for me.

I was a little taken aback by some of the reviews of this tobacco. So I bought a tin. Opening the tin, I was impressed with the aroma held within. It smelled of dried fuits and berries as well as a hint of some woodiness. The tabacco was both a combination of ribbons and large chunks of flake and felt a wee bit on the dry side, which may be from spending a couple years in the can. It was easy to light and held on right to the bottom of the bowl. I was a bit off-put initially because of a likeness to incense, which thankfully was deemed to be "pepperiness" as described by a previous reviewer, which I turned from being off-put to intrigued. As well a pepper, I tasted mahogany, a touch of highand single malt and maybe a bit of dried prune. The room note was nice, and certainly added another level to the enjoyment of this tobacco. I would gladly recommend this blend and would caution, this is a blend that really stands on its own so try before dismissing.

***2015-08-09 Update****

One year sealed in a mason jar and this blend has not gotten any better. It now tastes as though it has has woman's perfume sprayed on it. Disappointing