Peterson Irish Cask

Discrepant blend... And all the reviewers has expressed their opinion so munutely, that I even don't know what to say else. Ah, yeah, as for me, this blend is perfect in the night, with a good glass of a good brandy (armenian, I think), existential thoughts comes through after that....

I was pleasantly surprised with Irish Oak. Kind of a Virginia and Perique blend that smokes cooler than a standard Va/P.

The Perique stays in the background, as does the Burley. The Perique maintained a comfortable level of spiciness throughout, and the Burley added not only its nutty flavor, but a bit of the flavor picked up while aging in the barrel. There is a bit of a flourish of Perique at the end that tapers off as quickly as it came.

This blend seemed to be a touch tastier in a meerschaum than in a briar.

Peterson?s Irish Oak is a plain, indistinctively tasting smoke that is blended by Murray & Sons Co. of Belfast.

Irish Oak has a singular tin aroma. The odor of the blend is very musky with similarities to a sharp cheese and wet hay. The aroma itself is not overly pleasant. Irish Oak is a mixture of familiar varieties of tobacco obtained from what one would consider nontraditional locations. The tobaccos employed in this blend are: Zimbabwean Virginia, Thailand Burley, unflavored Cavendish, and Perique. The color of Irish Oak ranges from a dark brown to a lighter brown/orange.

The cut of Irish Oak is a longer stringy ribbon cut. No rubbing of the blend is needed and the packing of the blend is average. Irish Oak benefits from dehydrating and doing so reduces bite and allows for a more complete burn.

Irish Oak lights well and burns completely to the walls of the pipe bowl with a fine medium gray ash being produced without any dottle. Not many relights are needed and if enough attention is given to the burning cake, a single match could very well be all that is needed. The Irish Oak tobacco blend does tend to burn quickly and the room note, being of the cigarette-like odor, is not inviting.

The taste of Peterson?s Irish Oak is plain, straightforward, and has a slight bit of spicy wood-like undertones. The taste can be considered more bitter than sweet, with very little of the natural Virginia sweetness dimension being expressed in the flavor. The spicy characteristic becomes more and more pronounced as the burn continues, most likely due to the medium high Perique content. Irish Oak has an unfortunate ashy aftertaste that certainly downgrades the blend. Irish Oak may have some alcohol topping but it is not noticeable when smoked. Irish Oak also has the ability to produce a somewhat nauseating effect when smoked, especially in larger amounts. Tongue bite is a factor with this blend but the tobaccos do cool to a certain extent later in the smoke. A dirty white smoke is given off in medium thick amounts.

Although possessing commendable burning characteristics, Peterson?s Irish Oak blend lacks any truly enjoyable flavors and can be categorized as a bland smoke with a disadvantageous aftertaste.

This is a classic Irish/Scotch blend. Strong and deep. This isin't for beginners. The whisky taste is that of Irish whisky. I think a bourbon flavor would have been better due to it's sweetness. Irish whiskey isn't sweet and makes the taste of the tobacco really strong. Im not knocking this blend it's just not my cup of tea. If it had a different flavoring I think it would be better.

Out of all of the peterson blends this is my favorite. I find that this blend can be very rewarding or unforgiving depending on the the pipe and the humidity level of the tobacco and the air around you. If you smoke this in the right pipe in low humidity after the tin has been opened for a little while this blend is excellant, if you are not careful and don't give this blend attention it can be unforgiving. When I smoke this in my petersons shirlock holmes baker street pipe or one of my Walt Cannoy pipes with the above preperation this is a wonderfully complex, cool and smooth blend. When smoked slow I get a wonderful lightly sweet virginia flavor that is interwoven with hints that are earthy and nutty. The perique comes in and out through out the smoke and there is even hints of a raisinesque essance at times. This blend is highly recomended to those who like virginia and perique but does take alot of attention and special care with trial and error to fully appreciate and some people may not enjoy this process.

I like to add just a pinch of perique to this blend just to make sure I'm smoking pure perique. In other words, this stuff is heavy on the perique. The oddest thing is that, as other reviewers noticed, it's not even noticable early on. By mid-bowl, it has a pleasant role. By the final third of the bowl, it's dominating.

Stay away if you don't at least like perique.

Not much flavor for me; too much nicotine. It seems to me like a cigarette tobacco. Yes, I do lean toward the cavendishes, but I also love Englishes for their earthy and botanical notes. This has no real flavoring that you wouldn't find beyond a cigarette or cheap cigar. The nicotine level got me to the verge of swimmyheadedness, but not completely. If I'm willing to take in so much nicotine, I'm going to want some good flavors to go with it, as found in any good English.

I see this as a work-shop, puttering around the yard smoke. It lets you know that it is there, and has some decent flavor. However, it is not in the class of blends that I would describe as sit-back and "Experience It" types.

It definitely has a unique taste. "nice, pleasant, unobtrusive." The cavendish is probably responsible for keeping this blend smooth and consistent throughout the run of the bowl. One needs to take care not to puff too fast as this can be an unforgiving blend in this regard. The perique seems to be the main character that interplays on the way down the bowl.

It burns to a fine grey-white ash with little dottle left. Nice, O.K., smoke

This is a pleasant Virginia/Perique/other stuff blend. It starts out very mild with a very mild flavor and strengthens to medium by the end of the bowl. I could smoke this regularly, but given the array of superb tobaccoes along these lines blended by GL Pease I can't see this as part of my regular rotation.

Certainly worth trying.