Peterson Sherlock Holmes

An intriguing semi-aromatic that walks the tightrope between the aromatic and strait tobacco divide, it is in my current tobacco collection a bit of a fence sitter.

I have had a few tins of this and to be honest it is my favourite of the peterson aromatic series because it is sweet enough to satisfy my slight occasional aromatic urge and also serious and plain enough to qualify as a strait tobacco.

It is actually quite a strait tobacco and the first thing that gets me as soon as I see the tobacco apearance is how blond and light it is;its a strawberry blond orangy glowy ginger cake of thin easy to deal with ribbons.

Quite moist to touch and could do perhaps with a pre ignition airing before packing. The tin aroma is light and reminicent of a blueberry breakfast muffin.

Its takes flame ok and you get a light virginia sweet fruity note for about the first quater inch of burn then its tangy cereal-esque cornflake virginia nature comes into play, and you get a toasted rock cake /sweet bun taste..'Toasted' is a key description here ,kind of in the nature of lucky strike cigarettes but pipeish in its charecter.

Due to its strait out of the tin moisture level , I do not pack too tight I also note it burns quite quickly and can be a bit steamy for the first quarter inch before settling into dryer condition.

Room note is mysteriously milky creamy and my written notes say like "wet sweet acrylic paint" (in a nice way i might add)

Even though i say this tobacco does not bite;-it can get hot and can give you dry tongue if you go hard. But; it does have a 'prickle' factor sometimes which is not tongue bite ,but is 'tangyness';i will compare this tangyness to explain what i mean:- Sherlock holmes has a 'green' taste which is like an aftertaste sensation simular to having eaten green cobnuts(simular to fresh chestnut that hasn't been roasted yet : the taste is like a substance found in some tree nuts which is astringent and is a bitter substance called 'tannin' which is found in vegetation- (and is used for tanning leather actually) It is a taste like a pre- ripe banana, or like chewing an accorn slightly (accorns are edible btw) ,or plain green tea maybe. What it does to your tongue is simular i suppose to what curry also does;it leaves a sensation but is not 'bite'.

Sherlock Holmes has a tang factor which depending whether you like tang or not, you can chase this tobocco with a drink that opens your taste buds to reveal that tang,or another drink like milk which masks it.

The tang is not massive but it has something in its mild and easy going plain-ness which makes it slightly hotter than another simular competitor like 'erinmore mixture' which i like also and have discovered since discovering Sherlock holmes.

This tobacco prefers a larger bowl ; it gives a more rounded delivery.

It burns down to a light ash and the taste doesn't change or turn turgid like some chunkier pelletish aromatics do in a large bowl..

I prefer erinmore flake for its creamy milkyness,but sometimes i prefer a bowl of this for its more tangoman tangyness/green tea way.. Sherlock Holmes is more aromatic than erinmore but they are good comparisons.

I have already said that i have repurchased this a few times and is my choice on hand example of a non over the top mellow but serious as well aromatic.

2.5 stars

UPDATE 14-06-2017

I have been going through my cellared jar collection lately revisiting some old friends and enemies with my preferred Falcon, Alco, Brentford pipes of late to examine the tobaccos I haven't touched for a few years.

Some tobaccos have a shelf life where they get worse with age: Some keep well and preserved where they taste as good as first smoked: Others improve in ways where they taste greater than their initial purchase price and equal a genuine investment.

Sherlock Holmes was virtually an untouched perfect whole 50g tin's worth in a sealed kilner jar for 5 years.. It smelled metallically sour in the jar,and unfortunately this sourness also translated to taste in the smoke in the same way and the worst bite and taste I have had in years.. It has aged absolutely horribly and self spoiled..

Sherlock to be honest wasn't that good to begin with ,it was just a bit easier than the other aromatics at the time. But 5 years o;, the other aromatics are ok, but this has really declined and become an augmented version of its own bad properties.

Absolutely acid sour horrible,i am not mistaking citrus notes for this ;this was metallic sour abominable. I am afraid that anybody aging this expecting to find a better version in a few years should smoke it ASAP before it gets worse with time!

I tried lightly toasting it in the oven , just to try and change its ph factor in order to redeem it somehow: Although the taste was slightly less acrid, it still none the less had the same acidic bite factor.

I got so many good tobaccos and some of them by Petersons, but this went in the bin yesterday and taught me that some things definitely don't age. The writing was on the wall in my first review really, i can read for myself me apologizing for it and trying to look past and justify its nastiness.

1 Star Rubbish.