Peterson Irish Cask

Seeing how many other smokers give this blend such a high rating makes me wonder whether I received a bad tin. I recall the smell upon opening the tin was strong, earthy, and pleasant. But the moment I lit up, it all changed!

I won't go into many details since this blend has so many reviews. What I puffed on was a salty, cigar flavored tobacco that I found intolerable after smoking only a few bowls of it. I do wish I had kept it and let it age in a jar; but I was so overwhelmed by just how bad it was, it went straight into the trash. Hopefully my particular tin was an aberration for this blend because it rates as one of the worst tobaccos I've ever tried.

I just picked up a tin of this at my local cigar shop. Great stuff! I was looking for another virginia blend with perique, something without latakia as I smoke so many other blends heavy with the stuff. I love Escudo and am finding myself discovering I like Virginia based blends without all the heavy condiments.

I don't necessarily agree with the reviews by a few others. I find this to be a nice woody Virginia Perique rounded out with the Cavendish and Burley. It isn't sweet at least not in the typical Virginia way, I taste the oak quality from the aging in barrels, or at least that's what I think I taste, not so much a sherry quality though.

Tin note: I found similar yet strikingly different to Escudo, grassy, hay-like, with a distinct fermented dried fruit sort of smell.

Taste: I love it! I taste the woody Virginias, the slightly peppery, but to me fruity, Perique, the Cavendish and Burley lend some body and depth but I don't taste as much Burley as I would think, and I know and love a good Burley. Perhaps it's the Cavendish that has picked up a tinge of the sherry, less of a wine flavor than an oaked dark fruit sharpness. The retrohale exhibits the same tastes as Escudo with variations, to me it's a smooth, creamy, toasty, slightly caramel with raisins or figs taste. I don't get the comparisons to cigarettes, perhaps that was a trait of the original blend, I don't know this is the first I've tried it. But to me it lacks the acrid taste of cigarettes, at least American ones typically blended with Turkish. Maybe, just maybe I could see the comparison to an all Virginia cigarette, but even then I find Irish Oak to be far tastier and less one dimensional.

Smoking: Lights easy, packs easy, I smoke it in my other Virginia pipes with no trouble, no ghosting, my tin might be a bit aged, so it's the perfect moisture level right out of the tin, no tongue bite. Doesn't smoke hot at all, no matter how I might get puffing, which surprised me considering the components of the blend. I can get carried away puffing for more of that great taste on many virginia or burley blends and will find the bowl heating up quickly, not so with this one.

All around I find it to be a superb smoke! If you like VaPers give this one a try, I have and it's a nice change of pace. If you like aromatics this probably isn't for you.

This one works for me. I love it. I really like the plain no nonsense woodsy taste and the strong nicotine. You might have to kick back. You can taste the oak that it was cured in. The virginias in here are not bright and sweet and difficult to find the sweet spot with. They are up in your face, smooth, and woodsy and you can enjoy smoking this with little concentration. Each pull gives lots of thick smooth white creamy smoke. It's a little monochromatic but does get a little spicier down the bowl. Maybe too monochromatic to be an all day everyday smoke for me. I like variety. But surely good enough to be once or twice everyday smoke.

It's not for everyone however. The roomnote is nothing special I'm sure. But to compare a fine tobacco as this to cigarettes is foolish. It's not a raspberry mango rum creamcake by any means. And there is no latakia for the other end members. It is however a strong easy smoking pure tobacco mixture that taste really good, gives nice thick creamy smoke and behaves well in the pipe.

It's perfectly suited to fall day in the woods. Makes me want to chop word or skin a mammal or something. At least not shave. I enjoy sitting outside watching the leaves change and smoking on this one. The nicotine can put you in a totally different frame of mind. So much so that when I come inside after smoking I get the second glance from someone whos wondering exactly what I was smoking.

I'll keep this one around for days when I don't care what people think of the smell coming out of my pipe. Wait that's everyday. I'll keep this around for days that there's mud on my boots. That works.

4 stars for being a tobacco I will keep one hand.

I did not know what to expect from this blend because of the mixed reviews here but nought love it that i though it was time to try it. So with a 50 gram tin in hand I loaded my large pot and settled in to a pick me up smoke with a cup of dark roast coffee very strong. It looks like quite a mix and is of a number of tobaccos. It was mostly ribbon cut and smelled sweet and pungent in the tin. It loaded nice and seemed to be just the right moisture level. I lit and right off noticed was that it is very mild with no tongue bite at all. Has a sweet fresh VA taste but the Perique makes it's presense known throughout. Has a slightly tart sweet flavor and aroma. I have found in this a nice VAPER that just tasted darn good and I am a burly smoker normally. This one could become one that I always eep some aroound. No tongue bite whatsoever and burned all the way down. Highly reommend it.

This is a great tobacco! I was not expecting Irish Oak to have the complexity that it does. Virginias definitely play a role, however, there are multiple nuances of vanilla, leather, oak, and just overall tastiness with a tangy tinge!

To me this does not taste like cigarettes although it does require the small degree of maintenance that cigarettes do (don't smoke em') and lights extremely well right out of the tin.

I will definitely be purchasing more tins and highly recommend that others who enjoy non-aromatics also sample this pleasant surprise.

Edit...... I up it to 4 stars. There are simply too few blends like this around.

A good tobacco, but a bit too like cigarettes for me. People often recommend this if your switching from cigs, that I don't get, because the nice thing about a pipe is you can get so much more sweetness and flavors than cigs. I finished the rest of my tin in roll-up cigarettes after letting it dry out a lot. And that experience was one of the best cigs/rollie's I have ever smoked. Buy a tin to mix with your shag (hand-roll) tobacco!

General impression: The tin smell is unique among tobaccos - a bit like sour dried fruits. Packs easily and stays lit pretty well. This smoke is VERY tasty - spicy and mildly aromatic (but not overly cased). Best description is maybe a VAPER/aromatic crossover. Room note is slightly sweet but might not be appreciated by non-smokers.

Who should buy this stuff: Any lover of VA and/or VAPER blends would enjoy this. If you like aromatics, this is a nice change of pace since it is not super-sweet and has some complex flavors. This is not an English-style blend.

Final notes: As others have noted, this stuff leaves a coating on your mouth and teeth - have your toothbrush handy! The nicotine content is also fairly hefty, so do not have this blend on an empty stomach either.

Peterson's Irish Oak has a unique taste when it comes to pipe tobacco. As others have noted, and I agree, it must be due to the exotic (Brazilian and African) leaf used in its blending. In the tin, the collective leaves smells like a combination of raisins and cigarette tobacco. It is a nice-looking weed and, after some drying, packs well. Unfortunately, the smoking qualities leave a lot to be desired. To begin, the Perique is too much for my sinus cavity. Rather! This stuff just stings. The weed tastes slightly young and has far too much of a cigarette-like quality to it. This might prove well as a transitional smoke for those looking to make the switch from cigarettes to pipes. There are a lot of favourable reviews of Irish Oak before me. Even with the mild New York winter that I am experiencing at present, however, I cannot join previous praise as this stuff just leaves me out in the cold.

My first foray into Peterson's. Thanks to Captain Dan for "hooking me up" with a tin.

From the reviews I expected something nearly unsmokeable. I expected a scorched throat, dry heaves and swirling rooms reminiscient of my first smoke of Haddo's.

If smoked quickly, or getting a really young tin, I think this stuff could invoke those nasty side effects. Upon opening my tin I smelled an extremely pleasant grassy/fig odor typical of this type of blend; rich, aged tobacco. Would it be the polite and polished smoke of Dorchester? Not a chance, this stuff is Irish all the way. Most of my Irish fore fathers were mad to a man. Perhaps they smoke a lot of this (or it's historical analog) in their day? It certainly is strong enough to be "sense altering".

Upon first light there really *is* a woodsy (as in forest) taste and aroma. The flavor of liquor comes on a bit strong for a moment then fades into lovely curls of yellow-blue smoke. As the bowl progresses solid VA flavorss meld together in a sweet/bitter dance. Then the perique rises up. It is black pepper and cayenne - but not overtly violent. I would guess the cavendish is mellowing it all out.

The liquor comes and goes very gently. If you concentrate you can taste it, but it never gets out of hand. Towards the middle of the bowl the perique and burley become more dense. I found *a lot* of flavor variation in this.

Down towards the heel, the perique predictably intensifies. After relights, both spice and the flavoring are enhanced and compliment each other nicely. But make no mistake, this stuff gets strong in both flavor and nicotine especially if you smoke quickly. I've managed nearly 2 hours out of a bowl, and it was an incredibly enjoyable smoke. This is the first VA/P blend I would classify as an end of the day smoke (at least for me). There is strength and richness here that rivals Nightcap. And like that smoke, there is a latent harshness that you have to accept if you are going to partake of Irish Oak. I personally like it.

Though fans of both Irish Oak and Haddo's may take offense to this - I see quite a few parallels in taste, complexity and punch when comparing these two blends. They fill different niches, but will easily make up the bulk of my "heavy duty perique" main stay.