Peretti Omega

I split an order with a friend of mine of this and Tashkent as he had asked me if I had it before. Tashkent I really like but this one I do not know how to evaluate this. I find this a very pronounced full tasting blend, excellent character but my taste buds feel something is lacking. This if compared using wine for an example would be on the dry side, not sweet. Maybe I am picking up more of the Latakia and Turkish even though I know a certain amount of sweetness can be derived from the latter. Maybe it has less Virginia, not sure. I have been smoking this on and off the past few weeks and though very good not one that I would elevate to the top of my list. It is definitely not a 2 star but not a 4 star for me. Side bar, I think there is some issues with this site as I cannot believe Jiminks is the only one to review a tobacco in the past six days. Guess we will see if this one posts; my other ones have.

Masterpiece. Peretti may be known for their expertise with burley but they also source there finest Turkish/Oriental and blend it with skill. The Orientals are the star, woody, spicy, butrery and toasty. The Latakia is lightly applied but offers sweetness and even some creaminess. The VA's are sweet and hay like and melted with the other leaf. A classic English of old

Absolute top English blend here for me. I'm still relatively new to tobacco (2y) but I lean toward English blends. (I also drink Lapsang Souchong tea and love a campfire.) This was a knockout and I can't wait for more of it. I had jarred up a few ounces that I ordered, but left a few bowls in a bag, which I lost track of for a month. Typically too long for a bag, so it was a bit dry. But, even though it smoked quick, it didn't bite. And, was smooth, smoky, and packed a little punch. I loved it. The room note here is always tricky for me, because a strong smoky smell is pleasant for me.

Wow!!! I can't believe after living in MA for about a year now I only just today made my first trip to the Perreti shop in Boston. The staff was very helpful and informative, especially the young man who helped me with the in-house blends, they called him Tom Jr. (I believe he was the owner's son, but I'm not sure)

I purchased this blend, their "British" blend, and a Peretti pipe, also very nice. This blend knocked my socks off; earthy, smokey, and everything else I've been looking for in a blend. A new favorite, right in my back door all this time!

A note on room note: After smoking a bowl of this in my car, I picked up a friend who smokes cigarettes. His comment was, "It smells like a bonfire in here!"

Pouch Aroma: In the pouch, this tobacco has a smoky, campfire smell, due, no doubt, to the Latakia in the blend. Evident also is the much-discussed ?horse bedding? aroma of the Turkish leaf.

Appearance: This tobacco made up of predominantly (60%?) brown, medium-cut leaves. The remainder seems equally divided between black and blond leaves, also medium-cut. The quality of the leaf is very good, with no sticks or stems in evidence.

This tobacco, a two oz. lot, came a couple of months ago in a plastic bag without the zip-lock type of enclosure. (It was rolled and taped.) I put it into a zip-lock sandwich bag, and then tossed it into my ?cellar,? which is a box in the closet. I mention this because the tobacco is not overly dry after a couple of months stored in this less-than-ideal fashion, but just right for smoking. This may be an indication that the tobacco may be shipped a little wet. The data is, of course, insufficient.

Initial flavor: The first flavor to come through is it tangy, spicy Turkish tobacco. It plays a subtle, piquant note across the entire palate, which is quickly followed by the cool, smoky taste of the Latakia. There is also a very subtle sweetness, which must be Virginia tobaccos making their presence known.

Mid bowl: A very full and complex flavor has developed, heavier now on the Latakia, then on the Turkish, with the Virginias adding structure and depth. This is a very solid blend.

Finish: The tobacco burns down to the bottom of the bowl with few re-lights, leaving a goodly amount of dark gray ash. There is a not-unpleasant metallic aftertaste owing to the piquant Turkish component of this blend and the taste buds are a bit numbed by the Latakia.

Summary: This is a high-quality blend that will be sure to satisfy the English smoker. The taste of many Latakia blends can be described as "creamy," but not this one. This one is best described as "spicy," owing to the solid presence or the Turkish tobaccos. True to the catalogue description, it is rich, flavorful, and very enjoyable. I don?t save this one for after dinner, though. I smoke it all day.

Highly recommended.

Appearance: The tin that fell into my hands was of course blended and packaged in the current year. It may make some sense to buy "house" blending for aging, but I appreciate the creations of Ken Byron Ventures, Peretti, John Wilke and other "house" blenders precisely for the freshness of the tobacco. The blend of tobacco was rough and wide ribbon cut and consisted of several varieties of Virginia (I counted three varieties), some very dark Latakia, and some lighter, brown Orientals that seemed to be taken in more than one variety as well. The moisture and quality of the tobacco is just perfect.

Flavor: for those who distinguish between English and Balkan blends - definitely closer to the Balkan than its elder sister. Slightly sweet and spicy aroma of orientals (turmeric, a little coriander, nutmeg and literally a pinch of ginger) with notes of incense and overlapped with a dense fresh mixture of peat and leather from latakia without any interference of sour tones, which, together with boiled fruit of dark virginia with a little support of floral-citrus bright virginia gives, for me personally, the just right bouquet of flavors and voluminous, almost tangible composition, for which I appreciate American tobaccos, and which is rarely achieved by European fabric blenders, who often sin to add cavendish to create a similar bouquet, in which then appear wine and plum notes.

Taste: bright, dense and well announcing. Virginia, Orientals and Latakia are blended in just the right proportion to give the creamy, smoky, slightly sweet taste for which fresh Latakia is so beloved, without overshadowing it with the fruity, woody or hay notes of the Virginias that are present in a support role. Spicy, with a hint of sweetness, Orientals notes at the very beginning seem a little too sharp on the retrohale, but this sharpness, waking up your receptors, disappears after just a couple of minutes. A very faint salt note is also present. Of course, the blend is not a latakia bomb, but it perfectly gives the density and brightness of this component. Gradually the tobacco gains volume, intensifying in taste for all components and, at the same time, becoming even softer. By the middle of the bowl the volume and brightness of the flavor of this blend can argue with such an authority as Odyssey, but, unlike Pease blend, there is a little more sweetness here, and the shift towards orientals is more pronounced, while the overall bouquet of Odyssey is more dry and shifted towards latakia. The blend burns extremely smoothly, cool, tolerant to overheating, but still requires attention - when smoking in a hurry, the spice disappears from it, and the blend immediately loses volume. Strength is at the level of medium, in very large pipes nicotine hit is possible. Tobacco burns into whitish ash without lumps, leaving no moisture in the pipe. The aftertaste is woody, with a touch of fruity sweetness.

Smoke from tobacco has a rather clear sandalwood aroma with shades of peat and spices. Of course, it is dense and takes a long time to dissipate.

What's the bottom line? I ordered this mixture for the second time, and I am ready to do it again, despite the difficulties with its delivery and some costliness, compared to what you can find in our stores. Sometimes, when I close a jar of it, I think, "If it's Omega, then what blend at Peretti's would carry the name Alpha?" I'd rather not know that, or I'd probably spend all my money on it and stop writing my reviews.

Excellent, fine burning, quality full English. The full English seems to be the most common variety of tobacco out there anymore, but this one is top flight. In terms of quality the only other one out there I can think of right now is Wilke 400. The only negative here is I'm not a big fan of full English, I prefer Balkan and Oriental blends... my only issue with full English blends is I find they don't really have an enormous amount of complexity or evolution over the course of the bowl. I have tried many of the more common varieties (and God knows there are plenty available, each one a tiny variation on the same theme) but whatever Peretti is doing here, in terms of cut and quality of tobacco used, makes Omega must try for anybody who's an English aficionado.

When I first read reviews about Peretti’s, on this site, everyone was extolling the virtues of their burly blends. After trying four of their oriental forward blends (Tashkent, Oriental Nr. 40, Royal and Omega) I’m baffled that they are not more well known for their oriental forward latakia blends. Of the four I mentioned I would say that Omega, though still oriental forward, is the least oriental forward of the four, and with the heaviest Latakia. Omega also has the most pronounced Virginias and the most pronounced vitamin N. If it weren’t for its lovely, fragrant, orientals you might be able to pass this one off for a standard English mixture. This is a truly great blend. Peretti’s may have no peer when it comes to blending oriental forward tobacco mixtures.

L.J Peretti does such a wonderful job blending their tobaccos that you can taste every component. Omega is a spicy, woody, leathery blend with the lightest touch of sweetness, almost like a crunchy pear or apple. I agree with JimInks, that the Orientals and Latakia trade back and forth as the central components of this mix. Needs on drying time and burns cool with a minimum of relights. This is not a Lat-bomb but a highly refined English, so much so there is no need to invent anymore. Hence the very appropriate name Omega.