Peterson Special Reserve 2014

Peterson - Special Reserve 2014.

This has a fabulous unlit aroma, you get a great Virginia smell with a delicious fruitiness to it. The actual mixture is very intriguing in appearance as it contains a broad spectrum of different colours, right from jet black to light Golden. Moistness is good as well, making for superb lighting up.

Once lit you realize how special this is, it burns very evenly and steadily delivering a fantastic smoke. The flavour is divine, you get a great Virginia taste with the mix being leveled out by the Burley, whilst all along there is the berries just adding there eminence in a gentle fashion. Nicotine level is brilliant, neither making your head spin nor is it unnoticeable. I can smoke this for hours without any bite even if heavily drawn. Room note is pleasant as it is nice and light so would suit any non-smokers around. I really cant find any negative points for this.

Highly recommended.

I started Buy'g Peterson Special Reserve(each year)..Since 2011. Every Year..Peterson uses Virginia+Burley;as"Core"Ingredients(with Cavendish Tobacco-with Different,,Flavours+Cuts)The tin description..Usually mentions"Cavendish"..This tin does not.I find this blend,has Cavendish...But i find it Smokes"Drier",than Other..Annual Reserve Offerings. I find the Tin Aroma,is More Berries,,of the Dark Variety(black-rasp.-cherry-currant)I tried it in A BrighamGiant,LorenzettiJulius,PioneerGourdCallabash...Regardless of pipe size,Non filter,or Filter..This tobacco is Very Nice.Smokes cool;Room Aroma is Fabulous.When finished..Ash is White(most Aromatic Tobaccos,,finish off Grey),,Very Good Indicator-How Pure..Tobacco-Is...This Tobacco a BEAUTY...And by far the Nicest PetersonAnnualOffering..I've Smoked

I'm relatively new to pipe smoking having tried and given up a few times in the past. The 2014 special reserve seemed like a good place to start. Its beautiful tin, bright and vibrant and the description sounds like it should be a winner.

Upon opening the tin, you are presented with a nicely packaged cellopane wrapper, in which sits a brick of gold and black wide cut ribboned tobacco. Opening the package, you are immediately taken with the aroma, like hard boiled sweets or cherry lips. Threading your fingers through the tobacco, it feels moist but not too much, and it is apparent to the eye that this is a quality product, with autumnal colours and hints of compressed flakes. Despite this not being quite what I expected, particularly on the nose, I am eager to try this

Unfortunately I just cant get on with this. I've smoked about half the tin and whilst the room note really is delightful with a rich sweet berry flavour, the mouth feel is somewhat chemical. I don't get any enjoyment from smoking this as it just tastes a bit artificial. I'm left for some time afterwards with a gummy saccharin palate, which will probably only go away once Ive smoked something more robust.

Its a very light smoke, but seems a little unsure of itself. Would have been really nice without the omnipresent berry casing, because the tobacco itself seems very nice. As it happens, I'm glad I bought it, because it helped steer me away from aromatics, Petersons and special edition tobaccos quicker than expected. However I'm still searching for a reliable smoke to be my mainstay while I try out other things.

I enjoy this one emensely. I bought a tin and opened it immediately. The fruity sweetness is very similar to Concorde grapes. The cut ribbons are a nice contrast between lights and darks. The can is nicely done. It looks a fair bit more "classy" than the "cartoonish" tins for other specials. The tobacco is packed tight in a neatly folded cellophane pouch. Gravity feeding into a large bowl, charring, tamping then relighting gives a very mellow, smooth and sweet smoke with no bite. The moisture level is adequate for immediate use. Top to mid to bottom gives a very relaxing smoke. I tend to inhale these mild ones through my nose and savour the flavour. I am a predominant English flake smoker and love Latakia and perique, but this one is one I will savour. I bought 3 more tins to let mature a year or two. I will update accordingly. Having said that, this is definitely worth trying.

I bought the tin in November 2014 and opened it in March 2015, so one year after its production. A little dry in the tin, so easy lighting. Very strong aromatic flavor in the tin. Smells like opening a jar of blackcurrant jam! The aromatic comes straight when lighting the pipe. Nice cool smoke, the aromatic tending to fade away. My first impressions were to just recommend it. Getting used to the blend, I highly recommend it. Not to be missed if your stockist as a tin! No remarks from non-smokers who tend to ask the window to be opened when I smoke some aromatics, so I suppose the room note is pleasant.

Upon opening the new tin I just received from Smokingpipes.com, the tin wafted a wonderful berry fruit scent, dark maraschino cherry? The visual appeal is enticing and has something for everyone, thin light ribbon cut, a few slices of a medium brown flake/crumble cake, some large pieces of leaf here and there, and quite a bit of black Cavendish. It had a good moisture level to pack and go right from the tin. It lit easily, and immediately the berry room note exploded onto the scene, wonderful, just wonderful. Char, tamp, relight, and away we go. It had a nice, ever so slight sweet flavor and smoked all the way to the bottom (as far as a full bent Savinelli 601 can) without so much as a nibble on my tongue. It burned to a nice ash with one relight 3/4 through and didn't leave the bottom of the bowl soggy. A most satisfying smoke for me. I love a good, smooth, aromatic. I highly recommend this tobacco, especially for those who love aromatics. Excellent. I have since purchased a tin of Sillem's Red and found it to be very close to this Peterson Special Reserve 2014 blend. If you want to try this tobacco and you can't find the Peterson's Special Reserve Limited 2014 then the Sillem's Red should have you covered, although not quite as much berry.

Every once in a while a get a craving, a real craving, to smoke a good aromatic. With this blend just coming out, and being higher on the nic side, I just had to try it. I was disappointed. While I wish it had more depth and flavor at the end, it's an aro. The smell is wonderful. I will smoke a bowl on my way to work in the morning and find myself craving the next bowl all day long at work.

I bumped this up to 3 stars. If you mix it with about 1/3 C&D Dark Burley, it's awesome.

I steered away from aromatics a few years before engaging this blend, which I actually bought to give it to my uncle, whose an aromatic enthusiast. When at his place, I do smoke this though, so that the mixture of different blends don't intoxicate anyone in the house.

Tin note is very fruity, like berries. Same goes to the room note upon smoking it. While I won't say that it is overpowering, but some may be turned off on how strong the aromatic smell can be, but not in a bad way. For myself, I wouldn't be smoking this in an enclosed room. The taste? Sweet, no chemical-like taste during or after the smoke.

The entire smoking process was quite pleasant; easily kept lit, no gurgling (unlike many aromatics), burns down well and steadily.

Despite all that, I found it to be a very light smoke.

These Peterson's Reserves and Special Editions don't come cheap but I am always impressed by what money can buy when you spend it for something of quality. I always buy at least one of the specials when they are presented and I'm never let down.

Easy to light, easy to pack, cool easy burn, the fruit taste was a little too much for me. It was a natural taste but felt like I was smoking a fruit tea. If you like summer fruits you will adore this, give it a try. Not for me though.