VA/Perique Remarks

[lordofthepiperings]

Just getting into VaPers. I picked up some PS Luxury Bullseye Flake and have had a few bowls of that which I enjoyed a lot. I also ordered some Dunhill Elizabethan Mixture and De Luxe Navy Rolls as well as some Robert McConnell's Scottish Cake. Planning on ordering some of McClelland's Acadian Ribbon with my next order.

 

[tppytel]

I picked up some PS Luxury Bullseye Flake and have had a few bowls of that which I enjoyed a lot.

I like LBF, but the sweet centers of the coins make it a very unique blend (apart from Davidoff's Flake Medallions, which I've not tried myself). If you like LBF, don't go into other VAPer's expecting anything similar.

 

[lordofthepiperings]

I did notice the bit of sweetness from the small Cavendish center/bullseye, but I much more enjoyed the peppery flavors of the Perique.

 

[mso489]

4noggins, that's a sort of fireworks display of Va/Per blends. It definitely nudged Escudo and St. James Woods onto my list.

My other current quest is non-aromatic burleys, of which Cornell & Diehl seems to be the center of sorcery. I have some

Dark Star on order, but I don't think there's Perique in that. This thread is a primer for people headed for the Perique tour

during the NOLA pipe show.

 

[Perique]

Some great VaPer suggestions here. A few more I would add:
McClelland Beacon Extra: similar to St James Woods, but more robust. Blakeney's Bayou Sliced is another variation on St James Woods.
Rattray's Marln Flake: very sweet Virginias with the plummy side of Perique. Lots of stewed fruit goodness here.
Russ's Country Gentleman: somewhat similar to Scottish Cake, but with red Virginia. A good value.
As for VaBurPer hybrids: Haddo's Delight is king. I also enjoy Pease's Cumberland, Peterson Irish Oak and HH Acadian Perique.
Hybrids with condimental Perique: Cairo and Barbary Coast, both by GL Pease.

 

[cobguy]

Great suggestions all around! :clap:
I'll add a few favorites I didn't see yet:
H&H Louisiana Red

C&D Bayou Morning

4noggins Prairie Wind
I've got a tin of H&H Viprati arriving tomorrow and am pretty sure it's going to make this list!

 

[texmexpipe]

Thanks for the right up, I do love me some Escudo.

 

[brass]

My wish list sames to be growing exponentially. I have so many blends I want to try that I may have to stop buying bulk and focus on sampling.

 

[freakiefrog]

This thread made brought to memory that I'm out of 633, so off to order more I go. I can't pass up the price on Escudo. I'm going to have to really have to start burning some leaf if I don't want to build another cabinet.

 

[brdavidson]

Escudo is the top of the Vaper list for me, its creamy balance with that right hint of pepper is amazing. I have a Savinelli Tundra straight billiard that this blend just sings in. For an off the wall suggestion, the Sutliff 1849 vaper is outstanding as well. Less perique, but a sweeter smoke. I find that I get the nice sweet hit off the red Virginias and then a little pop and buzz of pepper, then the sweetness comes back. A very enjoyable smoke.

 

[smoketime]

I, too, am a hopeless Va/Per-phile and Escudo, Dunhill Deluxe Navy Rolls, and Fillmore are some of my faves. I've recently been branching out into ribbons, and Brigham's Acadian Blend is right up there - blended by R.L Will so it's quality tobacco, and reminds me of Germain's Royal Jersey Perique, which to me is outstanding but very hard to find these days. The perique leans toward the plummy side in those.

Another great one is C&D's Bayou Morning. It smokes so easily and delivers a consistently satisfying Va/Per flavor in whatever pipe I choose. It's my regular morning smoke and I use it to break in new pipes because the flavor is always right there.

But to me the hit sleeper of 2014 is McClelland's Top Hat. I can't recommend it enough. I ordered two tins on a whim because it was new and ripped right through them. Had to order another ten for the cellar, and another ten to smoke while the others age! Not to be missed!

 

[saltedplug]

While I was comparing and contrasting the VA/Periques in the OP, I didn't smoke much Escudo, thinking that certainly, having smoked quite a bit of it, I knew what it tasted like; and I do, but now that I'm done writing I've been smoking it a good bit more, and falling in love with it again. For strength, balance of taste, though the perique is assertive, and smoothness, it remains my favorite.
But notably I I will be buying more Fillmore, Scottish Cake and Chenet's Cake, and of the three the most of the last. The other two may in fact be better blends, but there's nothing else like CC out there, strong perique blended by the capable, late, Craig Tarler.

 

[cobguy]

I've got a tin of H&H Viprati arriving tomorrow and am pretty sure it's going to make this list!

Oh yeah ... about four bowls into this tin and can say it's a winner! ::