Peterson

[TommyBB]

Guys, talk to me a bit. Over the years, I've not seen a whole lot of mention of Peterson on this board. I know the pipe guys talk about their pipes and tobacco blends, but I, for one, have not seen much discussion in here about their cigars. Perhaps it's that I never had one, and my perception was that they could not be all that good since they are not in the trends as much as other cigar brands.

Well, I have to say that my perceptions were off-target, and I also have to say that it is both good and bad. It's bad because I've waited far too long to smoke the one I had in my humidor, a gift from someone I disremember, now. It's bad because I only had this one.

It's good, because I've discovered in this first specimen....and I know how almost all of us feel about reviews or impressions based only on one example...that the are quite complex and tasty. This one has been in my not-quite-well-maintained humi a long time, at least five years or longer. There was some discoloration of the cellophane. The cigar was a bit hard to the touch.

However, this thing burned razor thing and almost arrow straight, a corona gorda, but not too girthy. It was, as I said, complex and tasty. For most of its duration, it tasted just a slight bit sweet, woody and cedary. As I re-lit after doing a chore, or two, that slowly gave way near the end, to a creamy, leather character. This thing put off a wonderful amount of smoke, clouding my reading as I would exhale.

This was the black banded cigar, the Peterson Gran Reserva, and according to Peterson's website, it's the toro.

Made in Honduras using a blend of Nicaraguan and Honduran tobaccos, Peterson Cigars are full of taste and flavour. The Cameroon wrapper is slightly sweet yet spicy enough to give the cigar a balanced character from start to finish. The medium body is consistent and satisfying. Gran Reserva are available in five traditional sizes Corona, Robusto, Toro, Belicoso and Churchill

That Cameroon wrapper was a lovely sight, to behold, too.


Now the problem....no one has them online. I just did a cursory search of Mike's Cigars, from their banner ad, then J*R Cigars, Cigars International, Cigars.com, Smoke Inn, Holt's, Famous, Li'l Brown Smoke Shack, and even Shopzilla. Nothing, no one has the brand.

Anyone else try these and like them? Saw a link in a search engine search, from cA giving them an 87, but another cA link says these came out in 2004, from Ashton's northern Honduras factory that also made (at that time) La Aroma de Cuba.

Here's another review from CigarFan, dated July 13, 2006. He lists us in his lists of "Cigar Sites we Like" so perhaps a hit, or two is in order. He clarifies that they're from the Flor de Copan factory.