The Perique Pilgrimage
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Kevin Godbee - Oct 21, 2015
- 7 min read
E. Roberts
There were fifty of us on the bus, heading west out of New Orleans early on a Friday morning. A cross section of backgrounds, men and women, old and not so old, we were making a pilgrimage of sorts to the Mecca of our most revered subject of adulation: Convent, Louisiana, to the L.A. Poche factory, the de facto home of Perique tobacco. As the bus traced the course of the Mississippi for an hour outside of town, I gave in to my particular brand of narcolepsy and promptly fell asleep, though not for lack of anticipation. I’d been dreaming about this trip since I first read the article in PipesMagazine.com, The Mystique of Perique. This one-time tour was arranged by Toby Ducote and the New Orleans Pipe Club with Mark Ryan to help kick off the inaugural NOLA Pipe Show, and believe me, it was one hell of a kickstarter. Normally civilians like us never get this peek inside the chocolate factory, as it were; it’s reserved for the occasional industry visit or the like.
I (and many others) tend to think of him as the Pope and Saviour of Perique, but Mark would assuredly disagree. In all honesty, he’s one of the most humble characters I’ve met in my travels; if anything, he considers himself lucky to be the steward of the history, tradition, and continuing legacy of this magical leaf that gets such veneration heaped upon it. It’s really no surprise he ended up here, if you know the history of the man and the tobacco. And it’s no stretch to say he’s here not just for Perique, but to preserve the history, tradition and culture of this little corner of the universe.
Mark’s main enterprise is the Daughters & Ryan Tobacco Company. It all started when he moved to North Carolina intending to pursue another of his passions, taking over a winery. The winery didn’t pan out; but, as they say, when one door closes another opens, and the door that opened just outside of Raleigh was tobacco. Pipe enthusiasts need no convincing that tobacco as an epicurean pursuit is at least on par with wine, and although by his own admission not a heavy smoker, Mark’s background in finance allowed him to see the potential and he decided to take the plunge. Primarily a roll-your-own enterprise in the beginning, the past twenty-some years have added shisha, electronic tobacco products, premium and machine-rolled cigars, and increasing varieties of premium pipe tobacco to the portfolio. Playing a part in all of this is the black leaf from the bayou, Perique.
Mark Ryan, Owner of L.A. Poche Perique Factory
In the backyard of the original farmhouse, Mark’s natural showmanship shines through. It’s morning and we’re all getting our land legs back after the bus ride, and Mark’s giving us a brief history of the factory, of Perique, and introducing the characters that play a part in the story: Pierre Chenet, Roussel, Percy Martin, Santa Fe, and the Parish Council. His presentation hovers between a history lesson, a long joke, local gossip, and a secret divulged in confidence—and he has us hook, line and sinker. Spending five minutes with him telling his story is more informative than the last several years gathering the tidbits of lore available on the interwebs about Perique.
A horse of raw leaf ready for loading
Still life with Perique
There is something innately attractive about tobacco in process: hogsheads oozing tar between the boards, the horsecarts piled with russet bundles of leaf, burros of it stacked waist-high on the stripping room floor, the air laced with the filigree of Perique, so pungent that it stains the wooden beams a deep treacly brown. Like staring into a campfire, it connects deeply to the animal brain. It is of the human condition, food and sustenance, the cycle of life and death and decay and rebirth, and the beauty of being part and privy to that travelogue.
Jon David Cole of The Country Squire
Before you think that I’m simply waxing poetic about the experience, look at the faces captured in the pictures. He takes a handful of leaf from a cart and inhales of it deeply, tells us there’s no other place on earth that could make this plant, this place with its magnolia soil and primordial climate, then passes it around for the crowd to do the same. Beatific grins all around—it’s a magical moment, like stumbling upon a unicorn and being asked to go for a ride. Mark’s passion for Perique isn’t hyperbole or showmanship now; it’s genuine to the point of being downright inspirational. He tells us about coming down to Convent for the first time with his business partner and falling in love with the place; to borrow a phrase, he liked it so much he bought the company (and eighteen acres of farm to the levee).
He’s instituted proper wages and facilities for the workers, and instituted best practices from farm to factory, which he’s rightly proud of and which had been missing from the equation for many years—part of the reason Perique was nearly dead at the turn of the century. For the most part the process continues the way it always has done, refined with some modern techniques: hand picking the plants, slow air curing, and then the long and multi-staged fermentation process in which the leafs are pressed in whiskey barrels under pressure, removed and rotated, and repeated, for a year to eighteen months, minimum. Aside from the modernized processing facilities, one of the few things he has changed is teaching his farmers to start seedbeds hydroponically to increase sowable yield. Mark told everyone working for him that he’s not here to reinvent the wheel; just perhaps give it a little re-tread. While he’s increased production every year since he began, tobacco’s still a fickle crop, and the south Louisiana climate capricious by nature—some years they lose entire crops, and most years they lose some.
Black gold
I thought I knew a thing or two about Perique before I came here. What I knew, or what I thought I knew, could fit in a thimble compared to what I learned here. When Mark talks about all the misinformation that’s out there, you can see the physical reaction, read it in his face and hear it in his voice, that he takes personal offense. But he’s not the kind of man to simply stand on a soapbox and proselytize. He sets the record straight with his product, his craft, and we have ample evidence of it on the market now and forthcoming. It’s in every one of Daughters & Ryan’s 29 blends. He did some experimenting with Mike McNeil and Steve Coley to produce "Cajun Black" for McClelland, dark-fired Kentucky leaf treated to the Perique process. He’s partnered variously with Drew Estates and Tabacalera to produce cigars with Perique—which smokes so differently in this presentation, it’s astounding. Recently he worked with Sab Tsuge for his God Series release. He has an upcoming release with Russ Ouellette featuring four variations on the Perique theme aimed at the burgeoning connoisseur. Russ was on the tour with us, and if ever there was a kid let loose in a candy store, it was him. Mark was even kind enough to provide everyone with a post-prandial smoke on the tour: packets of blending ingredients, Perique included of course, to make our own mixtures and enjoy in a cob commemorating the occasion, courtesy of Phil and Pat Morgan.
Phil, Pat & Shannon
The Official NOLA Pipe Show Cob
The restored farmhouse
The generations of the farm are on display, living woodblock illustrations from the century before last. Even with the expanded facilities, he keeps the ancient, ramshackle original buildings on the property like a collection of historical artifacts, curated and left lying in state. He has lovingly restored the double-A-frame farmhouse, while behind it, the original barn is held together seemingly by the strength of his conviction. If his enthusiasm is any indication, that barn will be standing for quite some time yet to come. As our afternoon draws to a close, I take a final walk around the buildings to snap a few pictures. Are there footsteps behind me, or is it just the rustling of leaves? Ghosts doubtless walk the property, and one gets the feeling they’re pleased to be strolling though this dream that’s been kept alive.
Tell ’em that the house is not for sale… –Ryan Adams
Special thanks to Wes Brown for his compelling images. http://www.shutterhogphotography.com
To hear more of the story in Mark’s own words:
Written by Kevin Godbee
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Before we begin, I should tell you: this tobacco review is being written by an A.I. Not the fancy new GPTs or their ilk; no, this is last century’s meat-and-bone, all-organic model. To be fair, a large part of what we call knowledge is merely the accumulated perceptions and impressions gathered from a life wandered through, synthesized into a spongy mass of what-it-is-that-we-think-that-we-know. The algorithm for this prompt is simple enough: pump thousands of bowls of smoldering plant matter into a gaping maw, cross-reference the chemical sensations with all other matter previously ingested or inhaled, sieve it all through the diffuse and fractal twin lens of memory and emotion, and churn out a panoply of adjectives that attempts to convey the sensations to someone who hasn’t experienced it yet. Odds are that a diligently trained monkey could succeed half the time; if this reviewer nears fifty-one percent then that would qualify as an unrivaled success. There must have been some similar musings perambulating through the mind of Per Jensen when he began his mad scientist routine at Sutliff with the Pipe Force project, which brings us to the current mixture under the microscope—Sutliff’s Pipe Force: Episode I. Here again are the unusual ingredients that engendered the series, with the stoved Rustica being the defining voice in this composition. From the tin: The Latakia-forward English mixture offers plenty of smoky flavor from the fire-cured leaf, which is artfully harmonized with floral, earthy Stoved Rustica. A mixture of high-grade Virginias imparts a natural sweetness. Katerini, the sole Oriental component, offers herb and spice notes bringing complexity and nuance to the flavor profile. It’s certainly Latakia-forward, with the stoved Rustica doubling up on the rhythm section like a second bassist. A first whiff from the tin releases the aromas of shoe leather and hide glue in a base of clay soil with a campfire wafted over it like last night’s beach party. Once it’s been accustomed to oxygen again, subtle hints of sweetness poke through from the Virginias: lemon rind, light milk chocolate, the dregs of a peaty Scotch, and muddled cherry. Old regulars like fresh-sawn oak and tilled earth are there, of course, with distinct notes of truffle, creosote, damp peat, and pine bark mulch. As an aside, I’ve been re-potting my camellias and the similarity of aroma to the ericaceous soil mix is notable; the Katerini really brings the unique depth of its vegetal complexion when supported by the Rustica and afforded more voice in the mix. The smoky Cyprian Latakia, in turn, is backed by equal earthiness from the Rustica, which overall exhibits a profile similar to dark-fired Kentucky; it leans more toward the woody and vegetal end of that spectrum, echoing and amplifying those traits of the other constituents. The tobacco is presented pressed and cut into a couple of thick, hearty flakes in the tin, lightly moist and easily crumbled to prepare—I prefer mine with a bit of drying time. The out-of-this-world tin art for this episode in the series is Major O’Meara smoking a cavalier. In the absence of confirmation, I’m going to hazard a guess he’s of the Ithklur species. The first taste from the light is sweet, with hints of that milk chocolate dancing around the edges. The Virginia leads the smoke through the top of the bowl, and orchestrates it well. Thoroughly smoky with lemony, grassy highlights from the Virginia spectrum, it soon segues into the mid-bowl profile: heartier, smokier, with the flavor leaning to the mildly acrid and tangy tinge that is the campfire-esque signature of English blends. Caution advised, it can turn overly bitter if pushed—this is where one’s sipping technique is required to maintain the fullness of flavor through to the heel. I did tend toward a lot of relights, though it may have as much to do with technique as with the blend. Pacing is also important as the nicotine starts to manifest; though the Rustica’s contribution has been tempered well by the stoving, it can certainly upend an empty stomach. At the end of every bowl, the mouthfeel somehow gets better. The balance of sugars in the tobaccos would seem to be spot-on in this regard. I started out my tasting in cobs, then cut short an unpleasant bowl in a meer, and finally landed on my best instrument with the lovely Dunhill 4427 pictured, a quaint group 4 shell briar with a gentle curve and Cumberland stem supporting a perfectly executed acorn bowl. It surprised me here, as I’ve learned through the years that I generally have the best experience with English blends in large, wide bowls. With this blend it seems that to get the best out of the Katerini’s somewhat diaphanous influence the smaller bowl fared much better. Room note is very English, so the company you keep will either love it or hate it, and it doesn’t linger too much. I find it paired best with a strong coffee; Sumatran beans complement the flavors well, as do Ethiopian if a lighter brew is preferred. Overall impressions of the blend are that it’s a curiously interesting take on the English genre, almost a reductive reconstruction of the theme using the unique components. This blend, if nothing else, expanded my vocabulary of sense perceptions with the uniquely treated leaf. While the average human can distinguish approximately one trillion (1,000,000,000,000!) different aromas, multiplied by seven basic tastes, and wholly dependent on variables from body chemistry to atmospheric conditions, our overworked and underpaid simian brains can’t effectively catalog them all. Our pet adding machines are exceedingly good at this, however, and someday soon they’ll be the ultimate and unequivocal authority on what something tastes, smells, looks, or even feels like. Until that time, friends, revel in the moments that can be stolen to savor over a bowl of Pipe Force: Episode I.
Fantastic article and amazing images!!!!
Well done E. Roberts! Such a deep, rich history. I felt lucky to have had the opportunity to meet Mark, tour hallowed ground and hear the stories. I left knowing the future of perique is in good hands.
And thanks for the photo credits!
~Wes
As ever, wonderful writing: “… the filigree of Perique, so pungent that it stains the wooden beams a deep treacly brown. Like staring into a campfire, it connects deeply to the animal brain.” How do you come up with grabbers like that?! Love it! 🙂
I was foolish enough to schedule my semi-regular Fall New Orleans trip this year one week after the show. After seeing these pictures, I will try to no let that happen again!
A wonderful read. I felt as if I were there and could inhale the pungency of the perique.
Great report and writing.
Awesome, great pictures make you think you can almost smell the baccy. A whole hogs head of tobacco under pressure, the stuff of dreams.
Great article!
Many thanks!
@Cortez – Well, I was smoking some Perique, got a little light headed, and started writing…
Thanks again to Wes Brown, I have his images from the show as a rotating slideshow for my desktop screens. See y’all next year for some jambalaya.