An habitual Virginia/Burley/Kentucky/Perique smoker who has not touched an Oriental leaf for years, I thought maybe I was getting too set in my ways, and, intrigued by the clash of opinions about it, I resolved to purchase a sample pack. Broadly speaking, I concur with Mr. Muttonchop on YouTube, when he says the Perique is driving the bus and the Virginias and Lat/Orientals are all sitting a couple of seats behind, it starts harsh, by the middle of the bowl I got a complex mouthful, a chord, of citrus notes (think Three Fruit Marmalade), with an occasional, brief lemon zest. It has been compared to a campfire, but no one who said so explained whether they meant a fire of pine branches, apple wood, turves, or dried camel dung, so I find that rather unhelpful. But it is smoky.
I should add that I loaded up straight out of the pouch, on a damp, rainy morning in the Welsh Borders (therefore high humidity), giving it no time to air or dry out, but the intervals requiring a half dozen relights gave me the opportunity each time to ponder upon what was happening as I smoked my way through the bowl (a small Meer prince).
If you like Perique, I'd say, Go for it. If you're an Orientalist tentatively trying to wean onto VaPers, go for something more placid like Old Gowrie instead. Beyond that, much of any smoker's enjoyment depends on nicotine tolerance and my personal nic-hit assessment scale is this: Gawith's Brown Pigtail Twist puts a silly grin on my face, Peterson's Irish Flake gives me a beatific smile, whereas this stuff left me with more of a Mona Lisa expression. It does pack a little more punch if you retro-hale, of course.
The name - Nightcap - I consider merely gratuitous, like Morning Pipe: more like a marketing ploy, I reckon, the way some tea blend names suggest when you should enjoy which leaf. it all depends what kind you personally prefer at any given time of the day. This, for me, was more of a morning smoke, but then I like my weed strong. So don't let the name influence your decision.
I accompanied this smoke with a cup of coffee, which was, I think, a mistake. Nightcap deserves to be paired with a dark fermented tea like Orange Pekoe, Lapsang Souchong, or maybe Earl Grey.
So, an interesting blend, one I don't dislike but it won't be a regular smoke for me, but something kept to remind me how much I prefer a good, honest Virginia.
I should add that I loaded up straight out of the pouch, on a damp, rainy morning in the Welsh Borders (therefore high humidity), giving it no time to air or dry out, but the intervals requiring a half dozen relights gave me the opportunity each time to ponder upon what was happening as I smoked my way through the bowl (a small Meer prince).
If you like Perique, I'd say, Go for it. If you're an Orientalist tentatively trying to wean onto VaPers, go for something more placid like Old Gowrie instead. Beyond that, much of any smoker's enjoyment depends on nicotine tolerance and my personal nic-hit assessment scale is this: Gawith's Brown Pigtail Twist puts a silly grin on my face, Peterson's Irish Flake gives me a beatific smile, whereas this stuff left me with more of a Mona Lisa expression. It does pack a little more punch if you retro-hale, of course.
The name - Nightcap - I consider merely gratuitous, like Morning Pipe: more like a marketing ploy, I reckon, the way some tea blend names suggest when you should enjoy which leaf. it all depends what kind you personally prefer at any given time of the day. This, for me, was more of a morning smoke, but then I like my weed strong. So don't let the name influence your decision.
I accompanied this smoke with a cup of coffee, which was, I think, a mistake. Nightcap deserves to be paired with a dark fermented tea like Orange Pekoe, Lapsang Souchong, or maybe Earl Grey.
So, an interesting blend, one I don't dislike but it won't be a regular smoke for me, but something kept to remind me how much I prefer a good, honest Virginia.
