Peterson Special Reserve 2014

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 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.

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.

This is another solid aromatic from Peterson. I am convinced they make the very best aromatics. The toppings never seem to have any chemical lilt to them and they remain with the smoker from light up to ash albeit in varying degrees. They also never overwhelm the underlying leaf; which in this case, rests a bold and flavorful Virginia Burley blend.

This one is a little different than the other Peterson aros that I have tried in that the cut is a mishmash of ribbon and squares of flakes mixed together. It was interesting and kind of fun. It made for varying ways to pack the bowls depending on how you used the flakes. I rubbed out some, bent and stuffed some and even had some all ribbon/all flake bowls.

The performance of the leaf was splendid anyway I tried it. It took a light without issue and remained lit throughout the entire smoke. I used this as my truck smoke. The one that I keep in the truck with a pipe for when I am driving. It was the perfect smoke for this due to both how well it performed and the wonderful way it made my truck smell.

The topping is the key to whether I will give a Pete aro 3 or 4 stars. I really don't think I have given any of them below a 3 star. This one I liked a lot, this is no doubt influenced by my bias toward berry flavored aros. The topping tasted like a blackberry brandy with a touch of Vanilla that seemed to add a bit of a cream element to the smoke. It was nice. In Berry flavored aros it was among the best I have had, thus I am giving this one four stars.