Virginia Tobacco » Peterson Sherlock Holmes Tobacco Reviews

My Break In Blend

This is my break in blend. It smokes more evenly and more completely than any other blend I've come across. Also it stays pretty cool. It's a great virginia/burley blend with a casing most say is apricot, but the tin I have smells more like raspberry truffles like the candies from See's candy store. A delight for the pipe.

Sherlock Holmes

This is a blend of air cured, ribbon cut Orange and Red smoking leaf, Brazilian Burley and Virginia Mysore Indian tobacco. The blend originates from the 19th century.

When I opened the tin the aroma of dried fruit was the first thing that hit me. The tobacco was densely packed, but was not sticky or wet and has a very soft texture and is a very nice light golden colour. The cut is quite fine which can cause problems if packed too tight. After lighting and tamping it down, it re-lit evenly, and burned uniformly down to the bottom of the bowl. There are no strong flavours and strangely this tobacco tastes very much like it smells. It is quite mild, with a mouth-watering sweetness that isn't too sweet. I have smoked the whole 50g and have not had any bite although strangely I found that if I smoked bowl after bowl it becomes a little bland which left me yearning for something with a little more punch.

It will not feature in my list of regulars, but it was a good experience trying it out. I would recommend this to new smokers and those that prefer a mild to medium flavour and strength tobacco.

Sherlock Holmes

As others have noted, Sherlock Holmes works best as a 'transitional' blend: it is not cased or topped enough to be an aromatic (although the tin note does reveal some hints of dried fruit) nor 'straight' enough to be considered a natural blend. The predominant characteristic of both taste and room note is of quality, mild tobacco, with the toasted semi-sweetness of red Virginias balanced well by the nutty Burley. As such it's difficult to dislike, but 'mild' remains the prime adjective: aside from some occasional spice and a subtle, chocolately deepening late into the bowl it fails to develop enough, or convince the smoker that there isn't something, somehow, missing. It just doesn't pique my interest enough to warrant buying again.