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sinistertopiary

sinistertopiary

Starting to Get Obsessed
Oct 5, 2009
115
1
Toronto
Ok, what am I missing? Some smokers, like python, speak of VaPers in dulcet tones. I've tried a few, and I just don't get it. Maybe I'm not smoking the right ones, like Escudo, which has quite a rating.
So I'd like to open the field up and ask those who love VaPers what they're getting that I'm missing, and which blends are the ones they favor. I was thinking of getting Solani's 663 because one reviewer I trust loves it, but then another reviewer I trust hates it.
Basically, I want to know what I'm missing, and if it's worth the bother to keep trying. Maybe I'm just one of those puffers who will never get it to my pity, much as I pity those who don't appreciate latakia.

 
python

python

Administrator
Staff member
Apr 8, 2009
3,756
7,254
Maryland
pipesmagazine.com
A lot of VA/Per's are pretty complex and I will try to list some of the things that I pick up from them.

There is a natural sweetness that comes from the Virginias.

There is some spicy/pepperiness that comes from the Perique.

Sometimes I detect a little smokiness in a VA/Per blend.

Some of them pack a little bit of a punch.
You have a lot of different things going on in a VA/Per that make it (most of them) pretty complex and tasty.
I have heard from a lot of different pipers that smoke heavy Latakia blends, that they don't get much from VA/Per blends. I think that is because that continuous smoking of heavy Latakia blends deadens the taste buds some so that you can't detect a lot of the nuances of a VA/Per.
The closest thing that I could compare it to would be cigars. If you smoke full bodied cigars almost all of the time, when you go to smoke a mild or medium cigar, you will not pick up on a lot of the nuances and subtleties of the lighter bodied smokes.

 
cortezattic

cortezattic

Lifer
Nov 19, 2009
15,147
7,638
Chicago, IL
My take on it is that you have to have a taste for straight Virginia's. In a Vaper the Perique is there to mellow out the Virginia. What Bob said is, for me, quite true: I didn't get on the Vaper bandwagon until I weaned myself away from British blends.
As for what you're missing? If you enjoy the Latakia, you're missing nothing. (Just more Vapers for me :) :) :)

 
admin

admin

Smoking a Pipe Right Now
Staff member
Nov 16, 2008
8,774
5,004
St. Petersburg, FL
pipesmagazine.com
Each Vaper can also be quite different. I recently reviewed Blakeney's Best Acadian Ribbon, which is up on the home page now. I have also been recently smoking C&D's Kajun Kake.
They are completely different from each other, not even close, and they are both Vaper blends.
BB Acadian Ribbon is tangy and sweet. KK is earthy and peaty.

 
dunendain

dunendain

Part of the Furniture Now
Jul 22, 2009
777
1
I purchased my first VaPer recently. I really didn't think about it being a "VaPer". The reviews I read on Tobacco Reviews.com caught my eye. It was Peter Stokkebye's Luxury Bullseye Flake, which comes cut in those really cool sliced coins. I really like those coins. I liked the flavor, from the first time I smoked it. More than any straight Virginia flake. It seems that every time I smoke it, I like it a bit more. A very natural tobacco flavor with a plum-like sweetness. The sweetness may come from the black Cavendish. I never thought I would have liked a "VaPer". Being, that I have such a lust for the English and Balkan blends. I plan to try others in the future.

 
M

mrsmokeyman

Lurker
Dec 19, 2009
28
0
try dorisco mixture - regarded as one of the finest vaper on the market - trust me, it was the tobacco that made me understand what everyone goes on about :D
its expensive, but totally worth it - the quality is superb too

 
sinistertopiary

sinistertopiary

Starting to Get Obsessed
Oct 5, 2009
115
1
Toronto
I have heard from a lot of different pipers that smoke heavy Latakia blends, that they don't get much from VA/Per blends. I think that is because that continuous smoking of heavy Latakia blends deadens the taste buds some so that you can't detect a lot of the nuances of a VA/Per.
Click to expand...
I've heard that as well. But I don't believe my taste buds are dead yet. I smoke some very heavy latakia blends, that's true, but I also smoke and appreciate some straight virginia blends and can appreciate their nuances.
So yesterday I purchased a tin of Solani's 633. (Why 633 and not some other? Because a reviewer I respect who has a similar taste in tobacco to my own, it seems, rates it very highly.) I just finished my second bowl.
Generally I seem to favor darker blends. This being a straight virginia it's a higher tone than I usually like. However, it's quite tasty, with a lot of nuance of delicate spice and hay. It's definitely a high-quality blend. I'm starting to get an inkling of what people see in these things.
It seems that every time I smoke it, I like it a bit more.
Click to expand...
After having only my second bowl I can sense this is true already. My first bowl was nice, and my second was even nicer. I'm definitely intrigued by this blend, so I look forward to future bowls of it. I don't believe it's revealed it's secrets to me yet, but I definitely sense their presence. Plus I don't think I've mastered my technique with this flake, since I'm having difficulty smoking this as slowly as it warrants.
But I'm encouraged to continue. I will report again after I get to know it better.
try dorisco mixture - regarded as one of the finest vaper on the market
Click to expand...
I'll add it to my next order from 4noggins, since it's not available at any B&M in Canada. However, I thought Escudo was generally regarded as the finest vaper on the market...?

 
dunendain

dunendain

Part of the Furniture Now
Jul 22, 2009
777
1
Thanks for the info gentlemen. I defiantly respect you're opinions. Now, I have a good start with the Va/Pers. On my next big order. Unless I find them in a B&M.

 
sinistertopiary

sinistertopiary

Starting to Get Obsessed
Oct 5, 2009
115
1
Toronto
Sorry:) My spelling sucks.
Click to expand...

No need for apology! I had a nice chuckle. Thank you.
My take on it is that you have to have a taste for straight Virginia's. In a Vaper the Perique is there to mellow out the Virginia. What Bob said is, for me, quite true: I didn't get on the Vaper bandwagon until I weaned myself away from British blends.
Click to expand...
I took cortezattic's personal observation and thought I'd give it a try myself. I've been smoking nothing but virginias since I got the 633. Maybe there's something to what Bob and cortezattic suggest. Yesterday I smoked Dark Star for the first time in a couple of months, which has long been one of my desert island blends, and I wasn't able to discern the nuances as clearly as I had been in the past. The past two or three months have been dominated by latakia blends, some of them quite heavy indeed.
So I've had more than a half dozen bowls of the 633. I've tried it in five different pipes. I just now finished smoking it in a volcano, and it started to reveal itself to me. As I discussed in one of my blog posts, I think there's a potential relation to pipe shapes and different blend families. In the volcano, it felt like the flavor of the Va/Per finally started to really open up for me in a way it hadn't in the billiards and apple. I will definitely smoke some more bowls in the volcano.
I can't say I love this smoke yet, but I find it very intriguing: I find myself increasingly drawn to its flavor. There's a lot of subtlety there, and the bottom half of the bowl revealed a lot of interesting complexity.
I'm having fun exploring this one.

 
cortezattic

cortezattic

Lifer
Nov 19, 2009
15,147
7,638
Chicago, IL
I've long believed that the differing geometries of tobacco chambers greatly influence taste; so I can imagine that sinistertopiary's volcano is a factor.
Perhaps because I've been sampling several of Russ Ouellette's Vaper blends, and comparing them to those of GL Pease and Cornell & Diehl, I've come to believe that there is more than one type of Perique being used.
Objectively, I know that simply can't be true, because real Perique only comes from one place, or so I read. So maybe there's a little "blend interaction" going on. But in my experience to date I'd have to say that McClelland's Blending Perique delivers the deepest, fruitiest, most mellow taste of any variety out there (as I use it to amend some of my straight Va's)
Has anyone else noticed differences in the taste of available Periques?

 
dunendain

dunendain

Part of the Furniture Now
Jul 22, 2009
777
1
Good thread here. I have never thought of cleansing my palate with one type of tobacco, to prepare myself for new blends. When I go on Latakia benders, I have noticed some blends I've enjoyed before, have a different flavor. If this makes any sense. I will "defiantly" try this palate cleansing.

 
dunendain

dunendain

Part of the Furniture Now
Jul 22, 2009
777
1
I never thought I would like any blends as much as English and Balkans, but I thought wrong.
I bought some Ashton Black Parrot yesterday, and I love it. Not as much as P.S. Bullseye Flake, but very close.

 
igloo

igloo

Lifer
Jan 17, 2010
4,083
5
woodlands tx
Sam Gawith full Virgina does the trick lots of flavor say over Escudo it needs to be aged . I still like PS Bullseye better than Escudo .Sam Gawith is not supposed to have any perique but you could fool me .

 
dunendain

dunendain

Part of the Furniture Now
Jul 22, 2009
777
1
Dorchester and Dunbar from Esoterica are 2 Vap/pers That I am dying to try. Does anyone have experience with Esoterica blends?

 
dunendain

dunendain

Part of the Furniture Now
Jul 22, 2009
777
1
I can't begin to describe how happy I was today, when that ups package from pipeandcigars came, with my pound of Peter Stokkebye Bulls-Eye Flake. I haven't had any in a couple of weeks. I was in Vaper withdrawal. A friend sent a tin of Escudo, and I devoured it.

I had some aromatic and English, but I have become totally hooked on Va/pers. I never thought I would have a favorite English just sitting around. How things change.

 
sapo59

sapo59

Can't Leave
Dec 29, 2009
494
1
Great to hear you got your package dunedain. I ordered 4 ounces of bullseyes flake to sample it, in part cause you like it so well. I have alot on the way, had to make a deal with my wife; I get pipes and tobacco and she gets a new phone. I post pictures when it all arrives I had a major case of PAD and TAD.

 
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