Peterson Irish Whiskey

Peterson is an old and respected name in the pipe world so you might expect a tobacco that bears the name to be a bit special. Well I'm sorry to say that you might be a shade disappointed with this one. It's not that it is a bad tobacco - its actually quite a good smoke - but there's just nothing very distinguished about the blend. It's made by Murrays in Belfast as are all the Peterson blends, but there's nothing that sets this blend apart from lots of very ordinary Virginia blends. In the tin the tobacco is a darkish brown with bits of lighter coloured tobaccos blended in. The aroma is nothing special and if the blend has been sprayed lightly with Irish Whiskey as the tin claims, then I think the blender has drunk most of the whiskey before spraying, as the aroma is barely detectable on the nose. There is perhaps a very faint hint of chocolate possibly from the Burley in the blend. The tobacco packs quite well and burns well but takes three or four lights to get it going properly. The tobacco is quite strong in common with many Irish Style blends, and seems quite high in nicotine. Virginia predominates the taste,with the typical underlying sweetness. The strength possibly is due to the percentage of fired Kentucky incorporated. Once again however there is nothing that would set this blend apart, and I find the whiskey mentioned above to be quite missing. The room note is "neutral" - it just smells of - well- tobacco. The "significant other half" never mentioned it one way or the other. Overall a blend that is easy to live with - but there are lots of far better Virginias out there. Asked to pick a favourite blend for a desert island, this one would never be very high on the list.