Balkans... Rubber Tire?

[Kooky]

According to ever so reputable Wiki:

"When the Acadians made their way into this region in 1776, the Choctaw and Chickasaw tribes were cultivating a variety of tobacco with a distinctive flavor."

Based on reality and what information we have, I would disagree with your assessment and say they're both equally important. I don't think Dominican leaves are being put through perique processing and sold as perique, nor perique leaves being sold to cigar makers, but this is the only conjecture I will put forth without proof.

Edit

“One thing that sets Perique apart from other tobaccos is that it's both a type of tobacco and a process. "What makes Perique the unique product that we enjoy in our blends is the process it goes through," says Jeremy Reeves, head blender at Cornell & Diehl.”

 

[jpmcwjr]

We will then disagree. The process is far more important than the varietal of burley used.

 

[Kooky]

We will then disagree. The process is far more important than the varietal of burley used.

Ok.

 

[pantsBoots]

Just because someone calls some leaf and seeds "Perique" doesn't mean it's a real varietal. At one point, some tobacco in St. James parish became preferred for the fermenting barrels. It became called "perique leaf". Now, whether it's been coaxed into its own varietal or not, I cannot say.

But the process is far more important that the strain of burley used.

It is its own varietal

 

[Kooky]

It is its own varietal

Based on my research this is a fact, not a matter of which thing is emotionally more important. Richo Cech is a world renowned botanist and this heirloom seed is completely native to Louisiana, no other way about it.

 

[pantsBoots]

Based on my research this is a fact, not a matter of which thing is emotionally more important. Richo Cech is a world renowned botanist and this heirloom seed is completely native to Louisiana, no other way about it.

Unfortunately, the exact origins for most strains of tobacco is lost to time as they were received/bartered for/stolen from the natives and there weren't good records kept about those transactions. My understanding was the process was learned from the original locals while the strain shares the same genetic lineage as the One Sucker, which is a strain of Burley. Important to note is it's all Nicotiana tabacum (well, except for Rustica). Tobacco has the uncanny ability, however, of reflecting the conditions under which it is grown. Some farmers say different plots of the exact same strain will express differently to the trained eye, whether in growth habit, flavors, and other physical properties.

 

[Kooky]

Unfortunately, the exact origins for most strains of tobacco is lost to time as they were received/bartered for/stolen from the natives and there weren't good records kept about those transactions. My understanding was the process was learned from the original locals while the strain shares the same genetic lineage as the One Sucker, which is a strain of Burley. Important to note is it's all Nicotiana tabacum (well, except for Rustica). Tobacco has the uncanny ability, however, of reflecting the conditions under which it is grown. Some farmers say different plots of the exact same strain will express differently to the trained eye, whether in growth habit, flavors, and other physical properties.

In the case of Perique it seems it was named after the first non-Native to acquire them, Pierre Chenet. Quite a record to me. But you're right, without some sort of genetic analysis this is speculation. Not really pre-history here, just a few hundred years. There are plenty of hundred year heirlooms. It's not heirloom without documentation.

I would argue that Americans are pretty good about this stuff. If that man bought it and fermented it you bet your sweet bippy he went through great lengths to preserve its genetics.