Does Perique Add Anything Other Than Spice?

Log in

SmokingPipes.com Updates

Watch for Updates Twice a Week

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

haparnold

Lifer
Aug 9, 2018
1,561
2,394
Colorado Springs, CO
Source: The Briar & Leaf Chronicles » Blog Archive » The Pleasures and Perils of Perique - http://glpease.com/BriarAndLeaf/?p=11

Can't believe this is almost 20 years old now. Here's a relevant extract:

Perique, on the other hand, is like salt. A pinch can enhance the flavours of a blend, without really making its presence known. A little more, and it becomes an influence to the overall taste. Too much, though, and your food becomes unbearably salty. Depending on the other tobaccos in a blend, the perique’s presence can be detected when the quantity reaches somewhere between 2% and 4% (by weight) of the overall mix. It may or may not be detectable in this range, but if it were removed from the blend, its absence would certainly be noted; the flavor of the blend would be more subdued, like someone turned down the volume.

Between about 4% and 8% or so, it begins to really make itself known. Somewhere in this range, perique’s voice begins to rise beyond the subliminal level, and the smoker begins to hear it, albeit softly. In this range, depending on the smoker, the detection of perique can be anywhere from, “I think there’s perique in this,” to, “This is a great blend, and the perique really adds something.”

In the 8% to 12% range, all doubt is removed. No matter what other tobaccos are vying for the smoker’s attention, perique will definitely wave its arms to be noticed. It’s not quite at the jumping up and down stage here, but the arm waving is certainly persistent throughout the bowl. It is when the percentage of the leaf is in this range that its lovers are happiest, and those who do not care for it would just as soon throw the pipe in the fire.

The jumping up and down begins at higher percentages, where the perique becomes an assertive, dominant component of the smoking experience. These are the waters on which only lovers of the stuff will sail. Some blends contain as much as 18-20% perique, and this is, indeed, a good working maximum, unless you want hair to grow on parts of your body you’d never expect it.
 

anotherbob

Lifer
Mar 30, 2019
16,835
31,581
46
In the semi-rural NorthEastern USA
Greg Pease said (at some point a decade ago), that perique is like salt. A little bit heightens the flavor of the other components without making its presence known, a little more and it makes itself apparent, and a little more drowns out the other, subtler flavors.

Far be it from me to disagree with the Dark Lord.
Totally agree. Sometimes you can't tell it's there at all but the other tobaccos taste clearer and more defined. A tiny bit more it gets figgy or raisin like. Then the pepper taste with a bit more. I prefer it best when it's sitting on the fence between dried fruits and pepper.
 
Greg Pease said (at some point a decade ago), that perique is like salt. A little bit heightens the flavor of the other components without making its presence known, a little more and it makes itself apparent, and a little more drowns out the other, subtler flavors.

Far be it from me to disagree with the Dark Lord.
Salt may not be the best analogy. When he used to be a regular here, I suggested to him that cinnamon is a better analogy. A little sweetens the fruit that you add it to. Too much makes it hot to the tongue, spicy hot. In varying degrees you can alter a whole pie by how much or little you add.

Long live the Dark Lord puffy
 

seanv

Lifer
Mar 22, 2018
3,108
11,131
Canada
I really like the spice that perique can add and I also enjoy the stewed fruit side of it. After a few years the perique mellows in some blends to a beautifully smooth smoke.
 
  • Like
Reactions: danimalia

bullet08

Lifer
Nov 26, 2018
10,340
41,824
RTP, NC. USA
Love/hate relationship with perique for me. Sometimes, the peppery note gets too much to smoke. But given enough time in a jar, perique and Va develop into that wonderful dark fruit note I enjoy so much. Just had Cairo. It's Va/Or I guess, but has some perique in it. It's starting to develop dark fruit and just amazing.
 

sablebrush52

The Bard Of Barlings
Jun 15, 2013
20,985
50,254
Southern Oregon
jrs457.wixsite.com
From the samples that Mark has sent me I can say that Periques differ from one another depending on the growing region, and that their flavor changes over time. I have several tubs of the 10 year Perique (actually now 18 years old) that had developed a wonderful fruitiness, similar to how the Perique developed that was used in the Petersen version of Escudo. The black pepper gave way to fruit over the years.
I also have a pound of dark fired Perique that Mark gifted me that's waiting for a time when I can play around with it.
 

skydog

Part of the Furniture Now
Jun 27, 2017
586
1,556
There are some good suggestions already in this thread but I'll add for more fruity perique I would pick up some Rimboché S.J. from D&R. I enjoy comparing the spice that the Rimboché A.P. has vs the more fruity S.J. perique. But I will also add that aging a VA/per may be something you would want to look into since as I understand it aged perique loses spice but the fruity or figgy tastes come forward more. I personally like the perique spiciness sometimes so I like to keep both options on hand for a VA/per smoke.
 
May 2, 2020
4,664
23,786
Louisiana
There are some good suggestions already in this thread but I'll add for more fruity perique I would pick up some Rimboché S.J. from D&R. I enjoy comparing the spice that the Rimboché A.P. has vs the more fruity S.J. perique. But I will also add that aging a VA/per may be something you would want to look into since as I understand it aged perique loses spice but the fruity or figgy tastes come forward more. I personally like the perique spiciness sometimes so I like to keep both options on hand for a VA/per smoke.
Rimboche SJ is a great one for that, and I started to recommend it to @JPremo earlier, but I held off from doing so because it does have a touch of spice, too. Not that much though, so I’m glad you brought it up. It really is a great VaPer.
 

seanv

Lifer
Mar 22, 2018
3,108
11,131
Canada
There are some good suggestions already in this thread but I'll add for more fruity perique I would pick up some Rimboché S.J. from D&R. I enjoy comparing the spice that the Rimboché A.P. has vs the more fruity S.J. perique. But I will also add that aging a VA/per may be something you would want to look into since as I understand it aged perique loses spice but the fruity or figgy tastes come forward more. I personally like the perique spiciness sometimes so I like to keep both options on hand for a VA/per smoke.
Your avatar looks like Varg Vikernes
 
  • Like
Reactions: J.GANDY

smknron

Can't Leave
Sep 9, 2019
316
1,930
61
West Central Florida
I love perique too. The very first va/per plug I ever pressed, I somehow added twice the amount of perique and was way to strong for what I like, and I like stronger tobacco. I quickly learned, but I too, like the dark fruit that comes through in good perique, the older the better I think. It's not easy to have tobacco looking at you that's supposed to sit there for years.
 
  • Like
Reactions: danimalia
It has been said before ... but I will reiterate...
Perique increases the bio-availability of Nicotine of a Va tobacco.

In my opinion to see what Perique can do to a Virginia ... Try the following (Some of these blends are sold out, so you may have to rely on the secondary market)

1. Smoking Pipes 20th Anniversary XX Flake Dark - They used a very old aged Perique and the Nicotine buzz would creep up to you slowly. I felt it was a gem of a blend
2. This is something which I have not tried, but would be an interesting experiment. Cornell & Diehl Carolina Red Flake with Perique contains the same Aged Perique as in #1 added to a recent crop of Carolina Red. It is also available as a pure Va release right now. You can try both and I am willing to bet that you will be surprised. In fact I may do a side by side some time in the future, since I have both cellared.

3. Russ Oulette in collaboration with Mark Ryan did a set of blends with Perique Varietals from different regions. That would be an wonderful experiment (Which I may not be able to do myself, as I only have cellared 1 of 4 varietals)
4. Someone said above - Mark Ryan knows Perique. So the Daughters & Ryan Rimboche varietals would be an interesting test. I have smoked SJ Rimboche so far and it is excellent
 

danimalia

Lifer
Sep 2, 2015
4,482
27,208
42
San Francisco Bay Area, USA
Mark Ryan would spit his cigar out and draw fists if he heard that, ha ha. La Poche is NOT connected with them, and he spent about 20 minutes of a lecture telling us what sons-o-biches those guys are, and how they don't even remove the stems from their swill, ha ha.
Fair enough. I actually smoked the American Spirit Blacks (perique) for my last few years as a smoker. I always thought they were quite excellent as far as cigarettes went. Certainly the best factory cigarette, IMO.
 

danimalia

Lifer
Sep 2, 2015
4,482
27,208
42
San Francisco Bay Area, USA
Another worthwhile experiment may be to compare two GLP blends from the Fog City Collection. Both have a similar Red VA base. Embarcadero supplements it with Turkish Izmir and Fillmore with Perique. I do find Fillmore on the fuller/spicier side so be careful but both blends are excellent and show how a tweak in condiment tobacco creates something different entirely. They are something like sister blends.
 
Fair enough. I actually smoked the American Spirit Blacks (perique) for my last few years as a smoker. I always thought they were quite excellent as far as cigarettes went. Certainly the best factory cigarette, IMO.
To be clear, I don’t have a problem with them. This I picked up from a lecture at La Poche, when Mark was giving is a tour.
According to a book I have, the guy who founded American Spirits was the one who brought back rustica varieties from some persevered seed stock. And rustica has become one of my favorite varieties.
 

NomadOrb

(Nomadorb)
Feb 20, 2020
1,679
13,719
SoCal
Another worthwhile experiment may be to compare two GLP blends from the Fog City Collection. Both have a similar Red VA base. Embarcadero supplements it with Turkish Izmir and Fillmore with Perique. I do find Fillmore on the fuller/spicier side so be careful but both blends are excellent and show how a tweak in condiment tobacco creates something different entirely. They are something like sister blends.
If memory serves, Embarcadero does not contain perique, just Virginias and Orientals/turkish. Cairo does have a bit of perique and it's very figgy. I find GL Pease does perique quite well in the blends I've tried so far.

Does Haddo's Delight also have a figgy/fruity profile?
 
  • Like
Reactions: danimalia