Which Tobacco Adds the Peppery Spiciness? Latakia? Orientals?

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simnettpratt

Lifer
Nov 21, 2011
1,516
2
The reason I'm asking is, I just popped a tin of Sutliff Bosphorous Cruise from the windfall. Sutliff lists it as an English, with Oriental, Latakia, and Red Virginia. I like it a lot, rich and smoky, but is has a tad too much black pepper spiciness for me. I would give it 4 of 5 stars because of that.
Is the black pepper heat I'm tasting the Lat or something else? What if tried cutting it with a bit of Virginia? Maybe 25% Luxury Navy Flake, or something else that's smooth? Would it be crazy to even sweeten it with a Lane's aro?
One of my all time favorite tobaccos is GLP Abingdon, which is listed as a Balkan, but is also a Lat/Oriental/Virginia, however I find it smoother than Bosphorous Cruise.
I wouldn't be surprised if the best answer is Try It! Blend a bowl in a small cob and just see if you like it. Will I get a Blending Disorder and not be able to smoke anything neat again?
If the more knowledgeable pipers on here could identify what is causing the extra spiciness, and have suggestions on what I might tone it down a little with, I would be grateful :)

 

cmdrmcbragg

Lifer
Jul 29, 2013
1,739
3
I'm interested to hear answers for this as well. I have a year old tin I have yet to crack and I have never smoked an oriental (hybrid) blend before.

 

simnettpratt

Lifer
Nov 21, 2011
1,516
2
Perique and Orientals are spicey. Latakia is smokey.
Yay! Thanks Tim. So...the other blends I really like that have Perique and Orientals just don't have as much? Sounds like I really should try adding the most Virginia blend I have to the Bosphorous Cruise.

 

settersbrace

Lifer
Mar 20, 2014
1,565
5
Drew Estates Meat Pie has a pepper bomb to it. You don't get it throughout but in little blasts during the course of smoking a bowl. I'm guessing it's the orientals. Perique can have a peppery taste but it's usually very muted, I get more of the stewed fruit essence everyone describes.

 

settersbrace

Lifer
Mar 20, 2014
1,565
5
According to the tin description, no Perique. I'm going to assume it's the orientals that deliver the pepper kick. It's a unique blend, very tasty and rich.

 

theediabeticman

Starting to Get Obsessed
May 5, 2014
237
0
Bosphorus Cruise along with many of the Sutliff blends will be very very peppery out of the tin due to the additives they include to keep the tobacco fresh

Freshly popped Bosphorus cruise is truly a terrible smoke

give it 2-3 months just popped (lid on and all) and the additives will mellow out and it will become quite a pleasant smoke without the peppery bite

 

rmbittner

Lifer
Dec 12, 2012
2,759
1,994
I've never encountered an oriental that I'd call "peppery." But maybe I would say "sharp" or "tangy" when you'd say "peppery."
Surprised no one's mentioned the Red Virginias, though. Red Virginia can be especially sharp on the tongue. Some folks are so sensitive to it that they really can't smoke it at all. (Very much how I am with perique.)
I've never had the blend under discussion. But if the orientals are of the sharp/bitter variety (and orientals come in a wide range of flavors, including sweet) AND the Red Virginia is particularly forward in the mix, then the combination may be delivering more "stimulation" than you really enjoy.
Bob

 

cortezattic

Lifer
Nov 19, 2009
15,147
7,637
Chicago, IL
Excellent post, Bob. You just identified the problem I had with Low Country Waccamaw.

I was totally miffed by this blend and didn't understand why; after all, the description

didn't mention anything I was averse to. But the red Va and Izmir, as found in Waccamaw,

is for me exactly the wrong combination of sweet and pungent. The balance in piquancy was all wrong (for me).

 

metarzan

Part of the Furniture Now
Nov 14, 2012
608
117
Hmmm, I am a black pepper fiend. Sounds like I need to try some tobaccos with perique.
Escudo is on sale and will give you what you desire.

 
Jul 15, 2011
2,363
31
I have come to find that Perique is kind of an odd beast. When you use it in small portions in a blend, I have found that it can sometimes have that peppery quality, but when you find a blend packed with perique, such as Old Joe Krantz, it takes on a flavor that I can't quite identify. What I can tell you is that I broke in my giant Savinelli Baronet Bruyere with Old Joe Krantz, and after smoking nothing but that blend in it for a month, I picked it up one day and thought I smelled something odd. I smelled the inside of the bowl, and I s*!$ you not, Old Joe Krantz had made the inside of that pipe smell like Whole Grain Mustard.
8O
Thank God it didn't taste like mustard, but Perique has a quality all its own. Orientals, like rmbittner said, don't taste, at least to me, spicy, but I do agree with his statement that they can taste kind of sharp, most notable instance being GL Pease Gaslight, a blend I have really grown to love.

 

rmbittner

Lifer
Dec 12, 2012
2,759
1,994
Macabra11:
I think the use of "peppery" to describe perique is a bit confusing.
For me, perique is nothing like black pepper, which I enjoy. It's much more like a jalapeno pepper experience, which is something quite different. For me, perique delivers the heat of a hot pepper, not the spiciness that you get from cracked black pepper. But that perception may be a result of my own chemistry, which makes it unpleasant to smoke perique in even the smallest quantity.
Bob

 

macabra11

Starting to Get Obsessed
May 14, 2014
294
0
Boise, ID
Well I like jalapenos, but I am not sure I'd smoke one! lol
The next time I order some tobaccos to try, this will be on my list for sure.

 

sablebrush52

The Bard Of Barlings
Jun 15, 2013
19,632
44,863
Southern Oregon
jrs457.wixsite.com
Great post, Bob. Orientals offer a wide range of flavors. I've found Macedonian leaf to be "peppery" in a very satisfying way. Red Virginia doesn't affect me too strongly. Virginia bright, on the other hand, is truly brutal.

 

simnettpratt

Lifer
Nov 21, 2011
1,516
2
Really informative gang, thanks a lot. I eat whole jalepenos with most meals and love them. For me, they have heat but a bit of green plant type sweetness. Black pepper is heat with spice, white pepper is burn, red pepper is bite. A little spice in tobacco I like, any kind of burn or bite I do not.
I'll see if I can figure out what causes the pepperiness for me, and I'll leave the opened tin of Bosphorous Cruise alone for a couple of months.

 

cigrmaster

Lifer
May 26, 2012
20,249
57,280
66
Sarasota Florida
When I smoke Escudo I get s spicy sweet flavor that reminds me of when I mix duck sauce with the homemade Chinese mustard.
If anyone is looking for a Vaper that does not have a lot of peppery spice to it, I would recommend Solani 633. It has a top note of Honey which really smooths it out and sweetens it very nicely.

 
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