Tobacco Review: Peterson - Special Reserve 2013

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hfearly

Part of the Furniture Now
Oct 11, 2012
822
2
Canada
My local B&M received 4 of the 5,000 tins of the 2013 Limited Edition from house Peterson. Sadly, I couldn't find any reviews of this blend anywhere on the internet, and after having been burned with the Peterson 2012 Holiday blend, which I didn't care for too much, I was wary of taking the risk and shell out the premium price for a blend I potentially would not enjoy. Good news, the tobacco is fantastic :). Full review below!
Tin Description and Packaging:
Exclusive hand cut Virginia Flake together with sun yellow and mahogany colored Virginias are combined with dark cut Cavendish which gives this tobacco an amazing appearance. Fruity flavors of exotic passion fruit and juicy peach makes this blend a symphony for the senses.
Peterson's 2013 Special Reserve Blend is blended by the famous German house of Kohlhase & Kopp, who also produce the Ashton line of pipe tobaccos (Consummate Gentleman), Rattray's (Marlin Flake, Hal O Wynd), Reiner (Long Golden Flake), the wonderful Sillem's cross-over aromatic blends, Ilsted's Own, the German versions of Dunhill (Nightcap, EMP, Flake), and the Peterson tobaccos.
The blend is packaged in a 100g collectors tin, with full paint and emboss on the lid and sides. The tin features a beautiful artwork themed in the style of classical music / piano.

peterson2013tin.jpg

According to the tin description, the tobacco consists of Yellow and Orange Virginias and dark Cavendish.
Initial Impressions:
The tin is absolutely stunning. Beautiful artwork, hit's the mark and resonates really well with me. Just looking at the tin makes me want to open it up and smoke a pipe. Well done Peterson design department! Upon opening the tin, I am greeted with a clear cellophane wrapper, which has printed "Peterson Limited Edition" in gold all over it. Unfortunately, this cellophane wrapper is NOT sealed, but rather just folded and taped closed. As a result, aging/preserving the tobacco in the original tin won't be an option.

peterson2013tinopen.jpg

Opening the wrapper, I smell an intense peach flavor coming from the tobacco. The cut is surprisingly broad and unprecise - it's really quite messy. However, I cannot detect stems in the mix, something that had me disgruntled with Peterson tobaccos in the past. I take a pinch of the mixture, roll it between my fingers and the smell is distinct fruity, tarty, grassy, green hay-like. However, the tartness is not like what you'd get from a Perique, but the peach casing of the Cavendish. The smell initially reminds me a lot of a freshly opened bottle of Peach Snapple.

peterson2013tobaco.jpg

Packing and Preparation:
Because the cut is so inconsistent and broad, I decide to go with a large bowl size. I select my Preben Holm era Ben Wade Royal Grain, group 6 Dublin. Before packing, I take some of the large chunks of VA and tear them apart to get smaller chunks. The tobacco is quite moist fresh out of the tin - I assume they put extra humectants, as the bag is not sealed inside the tin. To get it to some reasonable dryness for smoking, I end up drying the tobacco for 45 minutes. As the majority of the blend consists of VAs, I decide to pack it loosely like I would a pure Virginia blend, rather than the quite dense packing I usually do with Aromatic tobacco blends. As it turns out later, this was a very wise decision.
Charring and True Light:

The first puffs upon charring light surprise me! These taste really bitter! As I expected a sweet, peach-fruity aromatic, these first puffs really caught me off-guard. True light reveals foremost a very true and natural tobacco flavor that is very far from the usually stingy, piercing first puffs one usually gets when the humectants and casings of aromatic tobacco ignite. The peach flavor, which upon opening the tin was so intense on the nose, is really faint in taste and far in the background. I ask myself: is this really an aromatic?!
Even though I have dried the tobacco for quite a while, it takes some effort to get it lit properly and evenly across the surface. However, tamped down and lit three times, the top layer already transforms into fine white ash, which already hints at the high quality tobacco and superb burn characteristics to come.
First third:

Absolutely not what I expected! I cannot characterize this blend as aromatic. Wonderful grassy, fresh, zesty tobacco flavor. The Cavendish is really only used as a condiment and provides a very welcome dimension and a little sweetness to the smoke. The taste is very smooth, yet zesty and fruity. This blend reminds me a lot of the good old Dunhill Light Flake. The lemon VAs stand clearly in the foreground, the dark Cavendish must be Burley, as I get a very pronounced butter-like flavor. The peach casing smooths things out. This blend also reminds me a little bit of the Lakeland flavoring ala Erinmore Flake. Delicious!
Second third:

The tobacco gets better and better! It burns perfectly, requires little tamping once in a while. Like a true Virginia blend, the VAs start to caramellize after the half-way point and provide a nice caramelly/sugary note to the lemon and red fruit. No re-light required, but I find that I can't put the pipe down longer than 15-20 seconds before it almost goes out. If pushed, the tobacco reacts like a true VA as well: it can become quite spicy, harsh and bitter - so the smoker is well advised to keep a steady, slow cadence. This blend asks for attention: if you do not concentrate on your smoke you risk it going south. Towards the end of the second third, I have a really nice red fruit, peach and lemon flavor, together with a nice sourness on the back of my tongue. I like it!
Last third:

The peach flavor almost disappears from the foreground, but remains on the retro-hale. The butteriness intensifies and reminds me almost of Mac Baren's Old-Dark Fired. At the same time, the tobacco gives a nice lemon VA flavor and some zest. What an interesting, yet pleasing mix! The tobacco burns down excellently: very even and fine white ash. I only wish I'd be able to get it drier, and still have it burn slower. Maybe Kohlhase went a little overboard with their burn-accelerants on this blend. After 50 minutes, the pipe goes out and all that's left is ash - it burned down right to the bottom of the bowl, and that almost never happens with this particular Ben Wade pipe. I'm impressed.
Final Verdict:

Is this really a Peterson tobacco?! I can't believe it! One thing is for sure: if you are looking for a true aromatic, Special Reserve 2013 is not it. The blend is almost a Lemon Virginia/Aromatic crossover. And I have to say: I really like the approach that Peterson has taken with this particular blend. Unlike their Holiday Edition 2012, which was basically some cheap OTC mix drowned in artificial Apple flavor, Special Reserve 2013 really deserves the name: there is some really high quality, special, tobacco leaf in this blend. The peach component really is a condiment to an otherwise Virginia forward natural blend, and adds a really welcome dimension to the blend which would otherwise be a tad boring. I really think of it as a Dunhill Light Flake with peach-cased dark fired Cavendish. And that combination is absolutely awesome!
Based on price and availability this is not an all-day tobacco, but I can absolutely see this being my GoTo after-lunch/before-dinner smoke for the coming spring and summer season. Well done Peterson and Kohlhase! This blend makes me really look forward to what the Summertime 2013 edition might be like.
Recommended to the VA and natural tobacco lover, pure aromatics fans might want to try the blend first before committing the money. Final rating: 9/10, which is the highest rating I have ever given to a Peterson blend.

 

hfearly

Part of the Furniture Now
Oct 11, 2012
822
2
Canada
Romeo: One thing I'd say both Holiday 2010 and the Special Reserve 2013 have in common is that the casing never competes with the actual tobacco but adds to the blend in a very nice way. But in this case, I'd strongly emphasize that the Special Reserve 2013 is not so much a pure aromatic than really more of a lemon/orange VA blend, with peach-cased Cavendish as an addition.

 

plateauguy

Lifer
Mar 19, 2013
2,412
18
Lucky you, I've been searching for a tin. Didn't realize that it was released on such a limited basis. Now I don't feel like such a failure, just envious.

 

fitzy

Lifer
Nov 13, 2012
2,937
27
NY
I've been keeping my eye out for the 2013 special reserve and 2013 summertime blend but haven't found any yet.
I love to collect their special edition tins like these plus the tobacco is usually some of the best aro's around for me.
Hfearly do you mind if I ask what region you are located in? I'll have to check my local B&M soon.

 

hfearly

Part of the Furniture Now
Oct 11, 2012
822
2
Canada
That's one thing my local B&M gets right. They stock the special Peterson tins like there is no tomorrow. Last week they still had at least one or two tins of every Holiday, Summertime and Special Reserve from 2010 on. I'm in the Ontario capital region. My guys also send stuff out per mail if you want to give them a call.

 
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