Peterson Irish Cask

In a Churchwarden pipe and with a good brandy in other hand this Irish Oak is very-very relaxing smoke... and if you are in the mountains close to some forest is a big plus to that relaxing feeling. But, strange but... in a city environment and with the rush style of city life is almost incompatible IMHO. Anyway, try this one, you deserve it! PS. Is not necessary to be technical about this blend... not at all....

Starts off non-descript and muddled. VA delivery builds, with a touch of Cavendish, and nice spice (Bergamot?) on the retrohale. Floral and slight wine background weaves in and out. Mid bowl the burley comes into play, melding with the VA. This holds, along with the background notes, until the final third. Lit well, easy to manage. Last third is somewhat harsh - Vit N predominates. 2+ stars.

High quality tobacco, but not one of my favorites. I usually enjoy the first third of the bowls, but after that the Burley starts to dominate the mixture and, combined with Perique, it becomes too sour to my palate.

It's high on nicotine and low on taste. It lacks the mild sweetness and nuttiness one usually finds in good Burley mixtures and the complexity of good VaPers.

Summary: a Virginia/Perique mixture bolstered by Burley and sweetened by Cavendish for a soothing but powerful smoke.

The Va/Per genre works best when Burley is included to provide a low note to the middles and highs of Perique and Virginia. "Irish Oak" tucks in some Cavendish to sweeten the mix, resulting in a pleasantly fragrant smoke that mostly emphasizes the cut hay and roasted nuts flavors of the Virginias and Burleys interacting, with the Perique and Cavendish combining into a flavor more like citrus and honey. Together these work to provide a solid all-day smoke. At first, the Perique is most noticeable, then the Virginia, and finally the Burley with the Cavendish giving it a caramel overtone. Among the Va/Pers, "Irish Oak" is one of the most flavorful and nuanced, perfect for long slow smokes down by the waterfront.

UPDATE OF PREVIOUS REVIEW: Smoking this out of my very favorite pipe, a beautiful vertical grain Neerup half bent that is closet in shape to a Dublin. Totally different experience here than when I wrote the review, which was smoked from a Søren freehand that I have acquired fairly recently (but which is pretty well broken in, so no big factor there). I am now slightly tasting the cavendish, which I previously could not detect. Also, the oak aging characteristics are much more apparent with this smoke. Much fuller, rounder taste this time, and I really really like this tobacco. It's very subtle, so I would understand if the big full English smokers don't really love it (and I'm a big full English smoker myself, I just happen to also enjoy subtle things of this sort). This is truly a great smoke, and also, the nicotine is more apparent this time.

If there is one thing besides the briar that I did differently this time, it's that I didn't dry it at all this time, just smoked it straight from the tin. Well, that made a HUGE difference. I have always maintained that over-drying a tobacco even a small bit will turn the taste from glory to hay very fast, and this is the case here (although this would not quite make the "glory" category in which Nightcap resides, heheh). On account of being so overwhelmingly surprised at the character of this smoke, which I missed the first time around, I am bumping this to four stars, which I generally don't give up too easily. Call me crazy, but I'm a huge fan of this weed right now. Very, very pleasant surprise here. DO NOT DRY IT. SMOKE IT STRAIGHT FROM THE TIN. The results will not match this review whatsoever if you dry it out prior to smoking. You might get a tad bit moisture, but that's a fair enough sacrifice to make for a great smoke, if I say so myself.

Ah, yes, and one other thing: upon completion of the bowl (which lasted a pretty long time for the relatively small quantity of tobacco I used), the nicotine in this is about as close to perfect as anything I've smoked. Beautiful, slight lightheaded, mellow, relaxed feeling. It's 35 below zero (fahrenheit) here, and the feeling that comes from this tobacco matches the weather nicely. I am very relaxed in my warm little house at this point, whilst a blizzard rages out the window. All is right with the world, folks. Who would have thought something called Irish Oak would be such a great smoke for winter time in Alaska, eh?

---

ORIGINAL REVIEW: I know this blend is not a proper VaPer, but I might just put it in that category if I had to categorize it. I cannot detect the cavendish that is specified at all, and although the burley is there, it is faint. Really what shines through here is medium-bright Virginias and my friend Perique. And before the Perique snobs arrive, I am well aware that this is not "the real Perique", but whatever the Perique that they use these days is, I like it very much, and I tend to buy blends that contain it. I do detect the oak aging characteristic, but it is certainly not up-front. Pretty straightforward stuff, contrary to what the tin notes would have you believe.

I like the presentation, as with all Peterson products. The tin is tasteful, and the stringy ribbon cut is possibly my favorite of all cuts. Partially that is because it packs well, and partially because it has no possibility of being sucked through the stem and into the mouth. With some cuts, even my jaw-hangers will pull a bit of tobacco through sometimes, but not so with this one. The tin aroma, unfortunately, is much bigger and bolder than the smoke of the weed itself, but that's certainly not to say the tobacco isn't good tasting. It just doesn't taste quite as good as it smells.

As far as the smoking and taste of this stuff goes, it's quality. It takes a light nicely, and it burns to a particularly fine, white ash. The taste is mostly of Virginias and a nice aftertaste of Perique. It's not some complex monster of a smoke, and I would say it's not as round as they promote it to be, but it's still a good weed that I could see myself smoking all day if I were craving Virginia. If I had to sum up the taste, it is of tobacco, plain and simple. I like it, and I give it three stars.

Peterson's Irish Oak is one of those "kind of" Va/perique blends, in that it has burley and cavendish as well. It falls into the category of "quasi-Va/p". For my tastes, this is unfortunate because it lacks a virginia fullness of character, but probably has less of a bite this way.

The tin aroma is of a restrained Va/p, not surprising since the other constituents have little in the way of smell. I did not detect any added flavor, though perhaps the cavendish and/or burley could be cased to sweeten things up. Not really detectable as such, though. No indication of sherry-barrel aging here either. The first bowl seemed a tad steamy and hard to keep lit, so I let the tin sit open for a dry summer day before reclosing. This yielded better results.

The taste on lighting is kind of unique, but quickly settles down to a virginia blend. Initially, the perique is only evident in the room note. After a few minutes, the strength builds and the perique starts to come to the fore. An astringent tartness also comes into play. The bowl definitely finishes with a perique bang. There is a noticable nicotine hit here as well, though not enough to be a problem. That being said, I do not think that this qualifies as a "strong" tobacco. Partly this may be due to the aging and mellowing in sherry casks.

All in all IO is a quality product, even if it does not have a lot of character. I am occasionally left with the feeling after a bowl of Irish Oak that I wish I had smoked a more traditional Va/p. Not sure why really. Guess that is why I do not consume it more frequently.

I don't know if it's an old tin or a new tin... but mine states- 'a blend of Virginia leaves from Malawi and Brazil is mixed with brown Cavendish tobacco '... no mention of perique. . My perspective - this is an odd but pleasant smoke... it starts like a va/per... Lovely sweet sour fermented thing... but... unlike anything I've ever smoked, about a third of the way in... things change... suddenly it's 'oak' driven... less Virginia... burly takes over... it's still sweet but woody... it's already tasting like the bottom of the bowl and I'm about half way through... and that's how it continues... it's lovely... but how do i review it... what is it? It's certainly not a va/per when all said and done.. it's not a burley... not a Virginia... not an English... it's a mixture... and it's a good one... but it's a specific thing.. I kinda like it.. u may not.. certainly interesting

Upon lighting, I sense dull oak, plum, and a pleasant citrusy sweetness. There’s also a dry sweetness that’s reminiscent of Dry Sack. This must be the sherry topping.

The smoke is sweet and flavorful until the halfway point, when the spicy perique takes the lead. The sweetness remains, lurking in the background.

It’s just shy of a medium body blend. I didn’t notice the nicotine until after the halfway mark. It’s strongest near the bottom, but not overwhelming.

The bowl can get warm with fast puffing, but the taste is never harsh. It burns at a moderate pace.

Irish Oak is a nice change of pace for VaPer fans. For those interested in trying a VaPer, this is a good blend to start with.

Peterson - Irish Oak.

Note: I reviewed this years ago after a few bowls from my first tin. After years of piping it on and off I decided it was another review I should re-post.

The ribbons are fairly slight in build, mostly medium brown with just a few dark and light spots, they can be a little 'squashed' into the tin, and the nose is one that has a mild sherry character.

The Perique is the most formidable ingredient. But, unlike some VaPers, it doesn't seem vinegary, or sour, the flavour from it's very peppery and spicy. The other leaves are miles behind, the Perique does a grand job of consuming things! The smoke doesn't have as much of a sherry flavour as the tin-note implies, until the final quarter. Up to this point any embellishment from the maturing process passes me by, but the closing part of the bowl has a surer sherry trait. The burn's good and I've never had a bite.

Nicotine: quite a lot. Room-note: not the best.

One word sums this up: peppery!

Irish Oak? Highly recommended:

Four stars.