I just picked up my first few tins of Astleys 44 and am a bit confused after reading the tin description. TobaccoReviews and SmokingPipes list Virginia as the only component in the blend but the tin reads "A powerful English flake made of dark Virginia, Perique, and Kentucky which has matured in the press for a longer period."
I assume that it probably has origins in England so I can get by that fact that it isn't what I would normally consider to be an English blend because it doesn't contain any latakia. However, I was expecting a straight Virginia flake, not one with perique and kentucky.
This all reminds me of the recent discussion about Wessex Brigade Campaign Dark Flake in which it appears that there is no consensus about what is actually in the blend.
Is the addition of perique and kentucky in Astleys 44 a new thing? Are perique and kentucky made with virginia so it would be technically correct to call a blend with all three components a straight VA? If it has perique then wouldn't we normally call it a VaPer and wouldn't SP and TR list perique and kentucky in the list of blend components? What gives?
I assume that it probably has origins in England so I can get by that fact that it isn't what I would normally consider to be an English blend because it doesn't contain any latakia. However, I was expecting a straight Virginia flake, not one with perique and kentucky.
This all reminds me of the recent discussion about Wessex Brigade Campaign Dark Flake in which it appears that there is no consensus about what is actually in the blend.
Is the addition of perique and kentucky in Astleys 44 a new thing? Are perique and kentucky made with virginia so it would be technically correct to call a blend with all three components a straight VA? If it has perique then wouldn't we normally call it a VaPer and wouldn't SP and TR list perique and kentucky in the list of blend components? What gives?