Peterson Sherlock Holmes

This is a new review for the new EU made Sherlock. It is good, real good. The weed has a mild sweet peach scent. When fire is introduce, what left is true mild and sweet virginia taste and I cannot detect any peach or any other flavoring. This is perfect for everyday pipers who spend more time with a pipe in the mouth then without during conscious hours.

At slow burns (in speed which I need to relight every 1-2 minutes), a very pure sweet tobacco taste unmatch by any other blend I had tried.

At medium burn (when engaged in a home movie when the end of one bowl matches the timing of a 90 minutes movie), the flavor comes across with a bit more layers yet still on the mono tone side. And I cannot detect any difference between the taste of top, mid and end bowl. Of course with the mid bowl, the smoke is the thickest and richest. It is real thick, like liquid in mouth but the taste balance remains the same.

At fast burn (after a long dinner at a non-smoking resturant), the taste becomes lighter, less sweet and gives off a more woodsy kind of aroma.

All in all this is good. The strength of it is kind of light. I had been doing some reading on the net, and I wonder if people can really get nicotine from smoking a pipe. However, when I smoke intensely with heavier weeds like Peterson's Uni Flakes, I do experience sweaty hands. With this SH blend I cannot get this effect. So I assume it is on the light side.

This is a very stable tobacco. In my world, I like stable taste . The more stable the weed, the better I like it.

Without doubt a fine, accomplished blend but made me realise how much of an aromaphile I was! Strange, because I will only smoke a handful of aromatics but I do tend to relish my favourites. Sherlock Holmes packs a firm, complex punch with many hints of berries and other sweet mysteries. On a personal note that was where the problem lay, the casing is delicious but all fruity aromas seem annoyingly absent upon smoking. I comitted the crime of adding a five to ten percent cherry blend which allowed me to take great pleasure in finishing the tin. I couldn't give this a bad review, except to say it is close, but not quite to my taste. The room note is exquisite, it burns most pleasantly but I felt overpowered by its burleys and sheer nicotine wallop!

Gentlemen,

I am new to the art of pipe smoking and this is one of the first non "corner store" tobaccos I have tried. I must say I enjoy it very much as an everyday smoke but would hanker after something a bit more tasty every now and then.

I have a question though, my tin is purple and unfortunately without the Sherlock portrait, it says it is "A Virginia and burley blend."

...whereas the tin shown here says "An old 19th century blend of Orange & Red smoking leaf, Brazilian & Mysore Indian tobacco."

Has Peterson changed the blend or are there two Sherlock Holmes? Very mysterious.

I'm assuming the reviews here are for the tin shown in the photograph at the top.

UPDATE 12/July/06

Having now tried a wider variety of tobaccos I can say that this blend is one that really grows on you. With a little time in the tin to dry out it really is fantastic. Upgrade to four stars.

The tin of Sherlock Holmes that I opened, (with the new purple label), was drenched with a casing! The aroma was heavy and musty, and was reminiscent of malted barley mashing in the beer brewing process. It was not unpleasant, just a little unexpected and certainly different from anything else I've experienced.

Fortunately, the casing played little or no role in the enjoyment of this quality offering from Peterson. The Virginias and Burley work well together to provide an enjoyable smoke that lit easily and only required one re-light two thirds of the way through the bowl. The taste of the Burley was there, but so was that of the Virginias - a truly delightful marriage!

SH smoked cool, without bite and the flavor intensified and deepened in strength as the smoke progressed. SH is a great Peterson offering and it will have a regular place in my rotation!

OUTSTANDING!!!!! This is one of the sleepers of the pipe tobacco world. This is the most straightforward tasting burley blend on the market. The Virginias offset the Burley in a most wonderful way. This is a very simple, yet flavorful blend. Full of natural tobacco flavor.It is very similar to Peretti's #333 without any of the signature Peretti casing. Wonderful room note and just an enjoyable tobacco. Aromaphiles and Latakiaphiles will both be sorely disappointed. This is for the Burley or Virginia man. Treat yourself to a tin. 3of 4 stars! P.S. This is the new Purple tin sans Sherlock's picture that I am reviewing.This really requires a large pipe to enjoy fully.

Ok, My tin was purple and says Virginia and burleys....So thats what I'm reviewing. Good sold taste. The Virginias are not your standard fair. Quality leaf- Which may be from the dark continent- But I won't say for certain. It is intriging. The burlies are there and give a full body. I detected no casing- Though my tin alluded there may be one. A great weed to put in those larger pipes and watch a movie. I really liked it- Take your time and enjoy.

this is the first time i try peterson's tabacco, "sherlock holmes" is really special for me, i luv its flavoring and taste so much! its really different with other tabaccos (borkum's riff, golden blend, captain black, etc...) that i have! after try this, i think im 1 of a fans of peterson now!

This is an odd one. I don't really think there is a topping present. When the tin was first opened I would have said that there was. I tried it, I put it away. I found it a year later. Much drier, more flavors noticeable, and the previously suspected topping flavor is still there. I don't think a topping would have lasted like this, so I think it came from a curing process.

Overall, it's OK - but since I am not wild about floral tobacco, I won't smoke it again. The floral taste isn't strong, but it just tastes funny to me.

This tobacco is one of the best I've tried until today, it has a very unique taste without surprises that you can recognize from distance, an all day high quality blend with a stong but not aromatic personality.