Does Perique Improve, Sustain, or Decline with Age?

mso489 · Aug 7, 2016

Does Perique fade with age as many feel Latakia does? Or does it remain about the same, like burley? Or improve like Virginia? With Va/Per blends, does the Virginia improve while the Perique remains the same or fades? Is there a consensus on this? What do you think? What's your experience?

agnosticpipe · Aug 7, 2016

I wish I could give you a good answer on this mso, but I haven't found any fading of flavors with any of my tobaccos except a few aromatics. They definitely change over time as far as I'm concerned. As far as latakia blends go, I discovered a tin of Dunhill EMP that was about 20 years old that been opened and had dried out, but once rehydrated it was pretty much like the current batch I have.
None the less an interesting question. Hope someone will come up with a definitive answer of some sort.

mcitinner1 · Aug 7, 2016

My palate isn't experienced enough to answer your question Tom. I REALLY wish I could.

mso489 · Aug 7, 2016

I've experienced the fading of Lat flavor with a tin of good GLP Westminster, pretty peppy after I'd aged it a while, but the Lat retreated fast. Still tasty but extremely mild and very little Lat. My own guess on Perique is that it diminishes somewhat but stays around as a condiment, detectable but with less zest, but I'm guessing. I thought some of our Va/Per experts would have a ready answer on this one. We'll see.

iamn8 · Aug 7, 2016

Yes.

jefff · Aug 7, 2016

This is an excellent question. I have smoked 10 year old St James Woods and Fillmore and not noticed a lack of spice. I tend to think it holds.
We need Russ or Greg to answer this.

samcoffeeman · Aug 7, 2016

I'm doing a couple of Aged vs Fresh comparisons. The first one was Fribourg&Treyer CVP. The next one is Escudo. I'll let you know what I come up with. MSO, I may even send you a couple slices so you can be part of the study. Interestingly enough, myself and 2 others thought the fresh CVP was better thanthe aged, and I have since traded away all my time of CVP! It also had to do with me noticing the topping, which I found to be a bit much for my liking now that my tastes have refined a bit over time.

jvnshr · Aug 8, 2016

From an interview with Pease:
Q: Which of your blends are best suited for aging?
A: From the very beginning, I have always designed my blends with aging in mind. Barbary Coast, being so heavily based on burley, is probably the one blend that will benefit least from long cellaring, though the flavors WILL continue to meld over several years, and there's enough virginia and perique present to offer some significant change. The cigar leaf in Robusto may peak after 5-7 years, but the Virginias and oriental leaf will continue to develop increased complexity. The heavier latakia mixtures will evolve a certain softness after five to seven years, but will continue to become more complex, so whether or not you'll enjoy them old is really a matter of taste. Those that are less dependent on the smoky stuff will go much longer, continuing to develop for many, many years. All the VA based blends, especially those with perique in them, will improve for 10, 20, 30, 40 years or even longer, though after a while, they'll slow down. Ask me again at the turn of the next century…

JimInks · Aug 8, 2016

I smoked VaPer Three Nuns from the 1990s late last year and the effects of the perique had not changed. Also last year, I smoked some VaPer Three Nuns from the 1980s, and nothing had changed regarding the perique, but the Virginia was a little mellower. Not long ago, I had a few bowls of 2002 Solani 633, and if anything, it was a little spicier than it was when I was smoking that vintage fresh. The Virginia also had a little less grassiness. To some extent, I think it depends on how the perique was processed. Also, a change may seem more noticeable or less so, depending on what the other components are, and how they age.

blendtobac · Aug 8, 2016

My observation on long-aged VaPers is that I notice the spice a bit more with age. Now, this could be because the Virginias become deeper and a bit sweeter over time, so the contrast is greater. I have one jar of the old Percy Martin Perique that I've used a bit of, and another that's unopened. I'll have to check them out side-by-side to see if I notice a difference.
Russ

Chasing Embers · Aug 8, 2016

I get more pepper than plum from older perique, not a bad thing at all.

andystewart · Aug 9, 2016

+1 Russ and chasingembers. I smoke VaPers almost exclusively, including aged tobacco when I can. The fruits in perique definitely seem to move towards spice with age, which is great when it's balanced by an increase in the sweetness of the virginia. Generally though, my very sweet tooth means that I prefer sweet virginia and plummy perique!
Andy

sablebrush52 · Aug 9, 2016

Very interesting. I find that Escudo with 10 years on it has a much fruitier flavor with less pepper than fresh.

jefff · Aug 9, 2016

I agree. Perique is a funny thing. So much depends on what it's blended with.

JimInks · Aug 9, 2016

There's also the question whether or not Acadian perique would age differently than St. James perique.

Does Perique Improve, Sustain, or Decline with Age?

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