Peterson Sherlock Holmes

I've been buying this tobacco on and off over the years. Although it was good, I never smoked enough to really become a fan of it. My favourite Pete is Irish Oak which is also my daily go to baccy

As of lately IO is not available locally. I tried Irish Whiskey which I also find very good. Now IW has also gone AWOL.

So Sherlock Holmes was next on my list. And what a lovely tobacco this is! I'm on my third tin now and the more I smoke it, the more I like it. I love the beautiful yellowish colour. The tobacco is quite dry out of the tin, ready to smoke. The room note is acceptable for all my non-smoking friends. There is no gurgle and no tongue bite. Nicotine delivery is good and I can go through a whole bowl, sipping slowly for an hour or more, and still enjoy the taste. To my mind, this is the main sign of a quality tobacco. I love Sherlock Holmes Tobacco !!

Excellent blend. I smoked a full tin before I knew it. Must remember to pack lightly, as a tight tamping with this blend will cause it to constantly need relighting. Slow, full draws are best, and not in quick succession, as this blend will bite. When exhaled through the nose one will get the full flavor and the subtle, illusive notes sing. Overall, my favorite. I find it smokes better in a briar as well. I have a pipe made of pearwood and it just doesn't burn as well in it.

This is my favorite blend right now. I can smoke it all day without problems. The flavoring that some many reviews seem to find is not there for me just a good straight high quality VA/burley blend. The smell is hay-like in the tin. The taste is sweet with a very little (occasional might be a better description) tart undertone here and there. Once in a while the nuttiness of the burley comes through it changes just enough to keep my interest. Something about this blend keeps me wanting more. I open a tin of something different and find myself wanting to open another tin of this stuff. For those that like the VA/Burley blends I highly recommend trying this.

There is no "oriental" leaf in this mixture: all Mysore means is Virginia tobacco that was grown in India, as it could have been grown in Zimbabwe, Malawi, Brazil, Argentina, or, for that matter, the Old Commonwealth.

Soil, humidity and the altitude where it is grown subtly affect the taste of Virginia-type leaf, but nothing can eradicate the incomparable, unique flavour of this tobacco. When describing it, many use the somewhat vague expression "savoury"; American Southerners often refer to molasses, although I suspect that most people today have no idea what molasses taste like, except that it is generally "sweet". Once, before ordering maple-sugar pie?a Québec specialty?at a restaurant in Montréal, I asked the waitress to describe the taste of it to me; to which she answered: "I am sorry, Monsieur, but there is nothing else like érable [maple], you will just have to try it." I would say the very same thing about the sweetness of Virginia tobacco: it is a thing onto itself. Comparison to other flavours, which may suggest flavouring additives, does not adequately express its individuality. The best and greatest Virginia blends are those that successfully showcase the inimitable personality of Virginia tobacco.

Peterson's Sherlock Holmes certainly does that. It combines the, forgive me, savoury sweetness typical of Virginia, with a darker, stronger tobacco flavour that may suggest Latakia, but does not in the least taste like Latakia, being not so much smokey as...dusky. Thus the sweetness is not at all syrup-wrapped-in-smoke, but just purely?Virginia. Not a combination of conflicting flavours, but one unique flavour.

So I would call this a great mixture because it gives a unique insight into pure Virginia taste, and does it without reference to anything else.

SHERLOCK HOLMES: Yes, there is Burley in this blend and you can taste it from the beginning to the end of the bowl. This is not straight Virginia and the tin description is correct. Probably some time ago it was straight Virginia, but now it is a Virginia/Burley blend. At the moment this mixture is superb, well balanced and perfectly harmonious, with a skillful dosing of the ingredients. Slightly flavored it has a perfect strength and an excellent taste. The flavoring is mild and there is both casing and topping but the tobacco taste is always present. I think there is also some alcohol. The real difficulty is determining what kind of mixture it is. I mean it could be a slightly flavored top natural blend or a simple light aromatic or even a classic flavored mixture. In my opinion this is a slightly aromatic blend, certainly flavored but in moderation and respect for tobacco. Whatever it is, I would like to say that among the flavored blends there is a lot of trash on the market and if you really want something superior, don’t miss out on this blend and you will not be disappointed. In my taste this is a three stars blend but among the flavored blends it deserves four full stars. So, in my personal rating system (from 1 to 10) my score is 9 and four stars. L’Italiano

My brother urged me to try this blend, and I'm glad he did. Straight from the tin it's a bit moist and will not reward you if smoked that way. Leave it to air for a day or two in a jar and it's a different story. This is a top quality Virginia blend with a light plum/fruit topping. Not strictly an aromatic, the topping just eases the flavour out of the tobacco. It burns very well and stays lit. It's a sipper though. If you hammer it you may regret it. I'm not into strong, heavy tobacco so this suits me fine and is a good all day smoke. Get it out of the tin though and let it air. I can't emphasis how much better it gets if you do. This has become a permanent blend in my rotation. Recommended to smokers who like a nice mild smoke as opposed to road tar like Nightcap!

I was at the local tobacconist today and wanted to try something that was new to me. Having never tried any of Peterson’s tobaccos, I thought I would give it a try. My first impression of this tobacco was the Nice scent and the warm copper and brown tones of the tobacco. I savoured the scent and sight for a bit before choosing a pipe to enjoy my first bowl of this blend. When packing my pipe I noted that the tobacco was not to dry, yet Nice and ready to smoke right out of the tin. A Nice texture that is easy to work with to pack the bowl just how I like it. Not to firm, and not to loose. The aroma that hit me and the texture was very Nice when I lit it up the first and second time. Nice texture and aroma to this blend, and it really topped my morning nicely sitting on the deck enjoying the sound of the gentle breeze as I planned the rest of my day. I have never times how long a bowl lasts, and I most likely never will But this was a tobacco I could savour. I did notice that it did burn relatively warm as I enjoyed it, so I would recommend not being in a rush while smoking this one.

OK, first off let’s try to get past the name. Whether it is attractive or stupid or solely to do with marketing or if it is a ploy for sales or to appeal to the American market, does not matter. What the tobacco is like is the only significance.

Real proper almost astringent Virginia aroma from the tin, fruity and quite zesty but with a subtle vanilla sweetness in the background. A fine ribbon cut in shades of golden brown that is easy to pack. Upon lighting and initial draws the taste is towards a good quality cigarette... hmmm, not quite what I was looking for or expecting. I would imagine if smoked fast (my default pace) this would be ok for previous cigarette smokers but this was not what I wanted.

If I had stopped there my review would have been poor, the same as many previously posted here. However, the revelation came when after a few minutes I forced myself to slow down only as I thought I was heading for bite. Forced into ‘sipping' the pipe led to a completely different experience.

The grassy notes were subtle but well defined, fresh and dry and gently sweet, as was a richness that I had not previously perceived. My initial thoughts now were of lemon tea, particularly when exhaling through the nose. So after the false start, so far, so good.

But after 20 minutes things really step up a level with smoky caramel and nutty notes coming through (possibly from the Burley) and then a very distinct and surprising, almost refreshing citrus flavour on the exhale and remaining as a delicious aftertaste. These flavours combined with the perfect level of nicotine and the fact that I was doing nothing but concentrating on the act of smoking left me feeling very mellow and experiencing an almost perfect smoke. This is what I would have missed had I just puffed away as normal.

Sherlock Holmes is a tobacco of subtlety and nuance and does require the investment of time – it is not an all-day smoke, to stuff in the pipe when you are concentrating on something else, it is a treat to be saved for when you have the time to dedicate to doing nothing but smoking. Puff away and you WILL be disappointed but give this tobacco the time and it will handsomely repay. This is very close to the top of my list.

Sherlock Holmes works best as a 'transitional' blend.it is not cased enough to be an aromatic and not straight enough to be considered a natural blend. There are no strong flavours and strangely this tobacco tastes very much like it smells. This tobacco is becoming more & more enjoyable. Overall good stuff, worth to try it.