Peterson Irish Cask

Uggghhh....if you want to quit smoking cigarettes and "hide" your nicotine addiction, this is your tobacco. Smells like a half cocked English blend when you open the tin. It's advertised as being aged in barrels and yada yada yada.

What you get is HEAVY smoke that doesn't have a nice room note. Let's just say by the end of the bowl, you'll be buzzing like a cheap speaker.

Wanting to get a pure taste from this Peterson blend I smoked a bowl in a new corncob.. From the start it was a promising tobacco, the blend smelt nice, a wood / oak aroma and when lit didn't really change.. It was ok, fairly pleasant, but to be honest boring. With very little perique, a subtle monotone flavour (that doesn't really change), a very slight sweet flavour (I guessing naturally occurring from the Virginia's) and low nicotine, this blend wasn't anything special. This blend simply doesn't excite me and make me want to go any buy more, If offered it I'd say ok, but defiantly not going to purchase any more any time soon!

This was my first experience with perique, and I can't see myself becoming a perique guy. I didn't really like the smell from the tin.

Smoking it gave me spicy feel in my mouth, like eating pepper food. It also gave me a mild short lasting buzz.

I think I'm going to prefer the sweeter aromatics over this blend. I wouldn't recommend this to new pipe smokers. Maybe cig smokers might like it.

I'll probably finish the tin but only because it cost me 50 bucks.

This is one of two oferrings I have tried from Petersons, the other being Old Dublin. Although they are two different types of blends, this one blows Old Dublin out of the water. And this is not because I do not like Englishes. In fact, the only reason this doesn't reach a 4 is because it lacks latakia's richness.

That said, this is a great tobacco. I won't even bother talking about the mechanics... it lights well and smokes cool, usually with only a few relights at most. What I enjoy most is the flavor. There is such a great interplay of tastes that enter and leave, and although I am not experienced enough yet to distinguish all the tobaccos separately, I can say that they all work together well. There are rich, nutty flavors, and deeper undertones, accompanied by an occasional sweetness and spiciness... very satisfying. When first lit there is an alcohol-like flavor, but nothing too strong, and it goes away quickly, or else plays some beneficial part in the flavor as the bowl progresses. It goes GREAT with any darker drink, especially coffee. I smoked this in the morning and found it perked me up without knocking me out... the perfect amount of nicotine. Therefore I could see it as an all day type of smoke... mild enough without a bad aftertaste so that other tobaccos could be enjoyed. Even with the last little bits in the bowl very dried, I lit it up and the flavor was still there, lacking the subtlety of a fresh tin but making up for it in richness and strength.

I will be buying more of this soon to balance out my routine. 3.5 of 4 stars

UPDATE 8/14/09

After a long smoking hiatus, I opened this to find it had dried out significantly. My fear is that room temps have degraded this tobacco, but I haven't had the same problem with other tobaccos. The tin can just keeps rotating when twisted, though I may have opened it too hastily when I bought it, damaging the can. I smoked it out of a new corn cob, so my impressions concerning taste should be accurate, though it burns hot when this dry. The perique stung my nose and by the bottom of the bowl it was somewhat "musty" and "tangy." I'm lowering my rating because there are far more "tasty" tobaccos out there. Went well with a cup of yerba mate which even out the harsher flavors. Will attempt to rehydrate using pease's method.

8/16/09

Rehydrated very well but found what seems to be a piece of plastic cut in ribbon form in the tin. Really hesitant to smoke this anymore. Losing patience with this tobacco.

Smoking the properly and slightly rehydrated bowl of Irish Oak, I find it "chemically" and "airy" flavored as a I did Old Dublin. Don't know what happened. I don't think anything happened to the tin. I think it's a combination changing taste and low quality finally making itself known to me. Started to get somewhat interesting mid to 3/4 of the way down but with an added bite and musty flavor, then went out. Thin smoke. I wanted to try other Peterson's and give them another chance, but now I am not so sure.

At some point you have to be honest with yourself: There is nothing otherworldly or too intriguing about this tobacco, so why spend your time and money on it when there are so many others that are?

This is not the worst tobacco but not the best surely. You can buy this one once in a life time only. Peterson name is blinking much more things on my mind but this one is really strange. It gives feeling of smoking cigarettes... Empty tin of this one is much more useful 🙂 I'll store my other tobaccos in.

My first review in a couple of years, and under a different name, so hope folks don't get the idea I'm a nasayer in general, but I gotta say if you're gonna try this one, be sitting down when you fire it up. Recently my all day/every day smoke of Gawith's Skiff has become unavailable, so I ordered some of this as I had smoked some in years past. Admittedly Skiff is a mild one, but after a few minutes of smoking this, pondering a rather ordinary taste, I was hit with a huge wave of all-over malaise until I realized it was this baccy. Holey smokes. It is strong. I've tried some "full" english blends before, even some with lotso perique, but this knocked my socks off. Too much for my blood, anyhow.

I must have got a bad tin, since Irish Oak tastes exactly like warm air, no taste at all. I tried several bowls of other tobaccos and then another bowl of Irish Oak, all through the same pipe. I repeated this process several times and I could definitely taste the other tobaccos. I'm now certain that it's not me or my pipes, but other reviewers seem to notice some taste, so it must be a bad tin.

With this tobacco: My flavor needs are not satisfied. Nicotine kicks. After the first half bowl the perique is overwhelming.

If you like the perique just in second roles like me, stay away from this.

Opening the tin my nostrils were invaded by an inviting aroma of baked fruit. This aroma promised a plant rich in pulpy blackberries... but once lit the tobacco I didn't find any blackberry, just a bare and thorny bramble! This blend is incredibly bite on the tongue, incredibly tannic, too woody in taste and flavor. Maybe this is a reproduction exactly wanted (as the name suggest), but what a waste of time and resources: it's easier to fill the pipe with oak chips!

Highly NOT recommended.