Peterson Irish Whiskey

It's my first review so be patient with me, all. Took up the pipe last year at the ripe old age of 46, and what a year it has been. I've managed to try about two- dozen blends this year, and after a brief affair with aromatics - I came upon a few latakia laden favorites - Capt. Earle's Ten Russians, G.L. Pease's Maltese Falcon, Westminster, and Samarra, and Jesse's Own and Britt's Balkan from 4Noggins, and I can't leave out Engine 99 and Pirate Kake, both from C&D. As much as I enjoy all of these - I was still looking for something else to celebrate St. Paddy's Day ( to honor a few of my ancestors - the Shannons, Faucetts and Littles who sailed here from Eire in the 1820s). So I bid on and won a tin of Irish Whiskey, sealed in the tin since 1995. I opened it yesterday, planning to smoke it throughout the weekend, in several different pipes. What a pleasant surprise! The mixture of colors - golden and browns was pleasing to the eye. The immediate aroma - the earth, sweet grass, alfalfa and molasses. I let it dry a bit before packing the bowl, and though it did take four matches to get it going to my satisfaction, it thereafter required only one relight to the bottom of the bowl. The taste for me was never too weak, nor too strong, which was surprising considering the dose of nicotine that was delivered! Think I was expecting a Miller Light and was thrilled to feeeeeel the Guinness Stout! Best for last though...the only other pipe smoker that I can recall in my family, was my Uncle, who sadly passed in his 40s, while I was just a boy. I often think of him, and can remember him with his billiard, clenched in his teeth. For the past twelve months, I have searched for that specific aroma, the smell of his pipe - and yesterday - I found it. It transported me back - and, well - it was just truly a wonderful experience. If you're looking for a taste of whiskey, specifically, perhaps you should try C&D's Irish Blessing. The whiskey flavor here is just a subtle sweetness, not the driver - just along for the ride. I recommend it and will keep some on hand from now on. Thanks!

I disagree with most of the above reviewers - I find this to be a quite nice tobac. Full of good tobacco and whiskey flavour.

Synopsis: A nice and rich tasty tobacco, good for after meals. Lovely whiskey taste. Would be 4/4 but for the sourness when ash is left in the bowl.

Room aroma: heady, musky, almost spicey. Tin aroma: dry, zesty, almost lemoney.

On the light: You get a burst of sour which mellows right away into a rich tobacco flavour laden with an almost aromatic whiskey. Reminiscent of whiskey in the sea.

Mid bowl: Mellows out, satiny if smoked carefully. Flavours blend well into a rich full bodied irish style tobacco. Gets tart with heavy puffing. However, when the bowl was relit with the ash inside, the tobacco was unbearably sour. Dumping the ash and relighting fixed the delight.

End: Dries out, gets less smooth. Tends to sour. Finished with a full flavour though.

I honestly can't say there's anything different between this and Rattrays Sir William - the latter being a rebrand of this when the Peterson blends moved from K&K to STG. I'm surprised because I'd expect a different factory to make it slightly different, but I suppose aromatics are so dependant on their topping that it would be difficult to pick out subtle differences in the leaf. It's an unusual aromatic, heavily cased with a coconut aroma, but the underlying leaf isn't steamy wet Cavendish but rather a very dry ready rubbed Burley Virginia and Kentucky, so it has some ooomph and smokes quite well. I bought it to compare to Sir William which I had found strangely compelling despite being well outside my usual choice of baccy, and smoked this tin immediately after. It's taken me rather a lot longer to get through this tin, so I suppose the sweet aromatic itch has been scratched and I can get back to my steady diet of English mixtures indoors and British flakes & plugs outdoors. I probably won't be smoking anything like this again for a few years...

Is there even whiskey flavoring in this blend? I know it says there is, but I'm doubtful. That aside, this is still a decent smoke and the leaf seems to be of decent quality, but it's not what I was expecting. It does. 2-1/2 stars for effort!

Has a butterscotch aroma in the tin, which is the very old whiskey candy flavoring. In actual combustion however you get no candy tastes, just a faint "whiskey" unlike any spirit by that name, in a very smooth bitter-free burley smoke. This is so smooth that you won't see the nicotine bomb hidden within it, which sneaks up on you, then POW! Almost as hard hitting as dark flake/plug from Gawith and Hoggarth, who I suspect makes this blend. Or perhaps licenses it to denmark, as they specialize in African and Indian dark cured tobacco. Always nicotine bombs. This is no exception.

Room note is surprisingly good despite dark cured leaf, which in this case being air cured and not flue cured, does not smell like a foul wet dog.

Loses 1 star due to the strong nicotine, which this blend could have done without, given the wonderful topping. If this was not so stout, I would smoke more of this than any other blend in my rotation.

At first, this tastes nutty and possibly of cocoa, though very slightly. By far the most prominent flavor is that of the tobacco, and it reminds me of other blends that feature burley. This is not overly flavored at all. It takes a bit to get the flavor and a retrohale will make it a bit more prominent. I think the Kentucky keeps it interesting in an understated way, but the blend would suffer greatly without it. This could be an all day smoke if you're into the level of strength this has.

My video review of this blend can be found here:

https://youtu.be/byfpQgOUbZA

I've read some reviews likening this to Irish Flake, but milder. I would have to agree in terms of nicotene - it can creep up on you, but only of mild to medium taste when it comes to tobacco presence. It came as a nice ribbon cut whose color was a bit lighter than Irish Flake. The tin aroma for me was butterscotch and this taste was present in the pre-draw before lighting and remained for the most part throughout the smoke. It loaded and lit without effort and required few re-lights considering it was fresh from the tin. The taste was mildly of tobacco, mostly of butterscotch. I couldn't detect any presence of whiskey per se, but feel a honey/caramel cured whiskey was used to produce what I tasted as butterscotch. It burned clean with minimal moisture throughout. Never was it hot or bitey, even with fast puffing. All in all a well produced tobacco that I can recommend to pipers who smoke the likes of Irish Flake or Aged Burley Flake, but would want something more traditionally aromatic from time to time. It was never cloying in terms of taste, perhaps more bittersweet but enjoyable. There wasn't any chemical presence as I've experienced with Peterson aromatics. A solid recommendation, but one I will smoke when the mood strikes as Irish Flake is my daily go to, consuming several bowls (IrF) daily.

Beautifully presented, upon opening the tin, the sharp smell of whiskey is fairly strong. However contrary to the darkness of the tobacco, the experience is fairly mild. Nice and sweet tasting, not sure I can pick up on the whiskey in the smoke itself. Not a real presence in the room; not unpleasant, but not a particularly aromatic room note.
Nice an slow burning for a relaxing smoke with minimal relighting.
Very pleasant mix.

After smoking this blend for a while I just keep enjoying it more! The main flavors I get are sweet and nutty, and the whiskey is very subtle. It makes me a little buzzy, but not enough so as to knock me flat. Would definitely recommend this blend and keep a tin handy.