Peterson Sherlock Holmes

Peterson Sherlock Holmes is strong on nicotine and smokes like a pure (red) Virginia blend with enhanced backbone from the Burley. It is spicy, almost piquant, developing the smell of a nice fig or plum casing, very subtle though, combined with a fair amount of smoke. Not recommended to the faint hearted, but a very nice “thinking tobacco”, that used to keep me awake during my studies. To smoke it does not require much thinking/attention as long as you respect the blend by using low cadence.

Sherlock Holmes doesn't change much with age and even completely dried out you can re-humidify and be good to go again.

I’m glad this is not just a merchandise product, but one that shows some character instead of being everybody’s darling. I like it very much but at the same time I would not recommend this to a lot of people.

This is a decent blend, and would be better if it had less Burley. The Virginia needs to be more prominent, in my opinion.

All in all, it's a nice smoke. Smoke it slow and you will pick up on the best qualities. It's rich and sweet with a distinct Burley nutty fullness that I don't care for particularly. If you like Burley, you will enjoy this blend, however.

As should be expected from Peterson, this presents with all the expectations of a high quality blend. Ribbon cut, very good quality leaf, uniformity of sizing, minimal woody stems.

Tin note was bright in a citric, Va leaf type of way, but no topping detected in any way.

Getting this baccy lit remained a minor chore, even to mid tin, but once lit it behaved fairly well. This despite having what I considered to be an appropriate tin moisture-additional drying time did not seem to positively affect the burn characteristics....at least as it relates to getting it toasty.

This blend, being a VaBur, seemed to me taste-wise to be an equal proportion of Virginias to Burley. And speaking for my palate, this resulted in a taste profile that was bland, too even for interest to be maintained... The best results I found came from a larger Aldo V. billiard with high wall, where when able to breathe some Va sweetness could waft in and out. However, primarily it was cancelled out by a rough bitterness.

This from the same manufacture that spits out University Flake, a VaBur that I hold dear enough to cellar a goodly stack of tins yearly.

Lastly, from a common sense perspective, shouldn't the good detective be representing a fine English....or better yet, perhaps an intensely strong turkish forward blend?

I think if Holmes were a real person, he would not be caught dead smoking this blend. Yes, SH smoked cigars, cigarettes and pipes, he always went for the stronger blends. Read the books and find out how many times Dr Watson complained about what Holmes smoked. With that being said, I must say that this is an aromatic that seems in line with the other Peterson aromatics I have tried, they usually suck. It is too moist out of the tin and just does nothing for me except puts gunk in my pipe at the end of the day.

This was the 2d tobacco that I bought and - I'll admit it - it's because I'm a huge Sherlock Holmes (the Doyle canon, the Jeremy Brett Grenada series as well as Sherlock starring Benedict Cumberbatch & Martin Freeman) fan. The taste is "gentlemanly": mild, civilised, an all-around pleasant smoke that would tip it's top hat (no NOT a deerstalker!) & apologise if it caused any bite. A lovely golden colour that's packed tight in the tin which also makes it easier to pack in your bowl. I found that having a little loose bit on top as tinder helps a lot to get it and keep it lit.

Smells of apricot, but tastes of Earl Grey (tea and dark citrus) and a wooden desk. I agree with others who point out that it's a good “breakfast” smoke: feels like having a cup of tea while reading the morning papers, on the lookout for clues... or just solving the crossword. Then again, could also work great in an early afternoon, after a short work day.

The Earl Grey aftertaste is quite strong and nice, leaves a pleasant dryness on the tongue. The room note will make friends. As others has noted, does have a bite at first, but quickly disappears after a few minutes as the rest of the bowl dries from the heat.

Such an interesting blend! Easy to smoke without having to pay too much attention to it, in which case you get a constant, comforting mild Virginia sweetness. But when you have contemplative moments here and there, it rewards you with subtlety. Nothing too sophisticated, but enough to fit the popular fictional connotation of Sherlock Holmes. I think it's a great name for it.

Was looking for a lighter variation on my usual fare (spicy English), but nothing too shallow, and this was just perfect. If only it were cheaper! It's worth pointing out that the tin contains a condensed cake, so you actually get a bit more than you might think for the price.

Surprised by so much negativity in the reviews. Perhaps quality is inconsistent, or perhaps it's too “interesting” for folk with well-honed expectations. I guess it's not everybody's cup of tea (see what I did here?).

University Flake aside, Sherlock Holmes is probably the best of a lackluster bunch from Peterson. The bright ribbon cut tobacco has a subtle sweet scent though I cannot detect any flavouring. It burns slowly with a smooth, medium body smoke, but again has no detectable flavourings. Reasonable tobacco taste - a little on the mild side given the body of the smoke, but certainly doesn't bite the tongue. Don't know if I will buy again but certainly good enough to finish the tin.

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.

A pleasant floral bouquet of oranges, burnt digestive biscuits (in a nice sense) and a hint of english tea. A quality, steady mild aromatic.

More of a Dr Watson than a Mr Holmes IMO...

Still, as I say, smoke what 'YOU' enjoy.. Not what others say you should.



**i was talking utter shite. This abortion of a blend is worth fuck all. Burns hot, tastes like a cup of English tea. What's the point? If Holmes smoked this in fantasy land, then well, he obviously loved it up the wrong un***