Hacker's Book Fibbed on Perique!
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"What would be great is if perhaps G.L. Pease or Russ Ouellette could possibly jump in here and describe how Perique is made as who would know better than they!"
Uh... me! I've been making Perique for about 5 years now. I've also sampled Perique that has been made in Kentucky, Ohio,Virginia, Pennsylvania and Turkey.
In a nutshell: Stalk cure the plants. Strip the leaves, moisten with water. Pack into barrels and apply pressure. Unpack occasionally and re-press. Nothing is added to the tobacco with the exception of a small amount of water to make the leaves supple before pressing.
Uh... me! I've been making Perique for about 5 years now. I've also sampled Perique that has been made in Kentucky, Ohio,Virginia, Pennsylvania and Turkey.
In a nutshell: Stalk cure the plants. Strip the leaves, moisten with water. Pack into barrels and apply pressure. Unpack occasionally and re-press. Nothing is added to the tobacco with the exception of a small amount of water to make the leaves supple before pressing.
Perhaps he was thinking of an alternative he'd recently heard of and got the 2 mmixed up,
perique is so expensive that companies have manufactured "perique replacements" to emulate the unique characteristics, I've seen a recipe that BAT had developed as early as 1945!!!!
https://industrydocuments.library.ucsf.edu/tobacco/docs/#id=ytpn0209
And this Three Nuns manufacture flowchart does show that they used a "perique substitute" to compliment the real stuff, probably a cost-saving measure...
https://industrydocuments.library.ucsf.edu/tobacco/docs/#id=fglf0203
I like Hacker's books.
And, if it wasn't for him,
I'd never know that people actually smoked Elephant Butts!
http://www.smokemag.com/pipes/0698/cross.htm
perique is so expensive that companies have manufactured "perique replacements" to emulate the unique characteristics, I've seen a recipe that BAT had developed as early as 1945!!!!
https://industrydocuments.library.ucsf.edu/tobacco/docs/#id=ytpn0209
And this Three Nuns manufacture flowchart does show that they used a "perique substitute" to compliment the real stuff, probably a cost-saving measure...
https://industrydocuments.library.ucsf.edu/tobacco/docs/#id=fglf0203
I like Hacker's books.
And, if it wasn't for him,
I'd never know that people actually smoked Elephant Butts!
http://www.smokemag.com/pipes/0698/cross.htm
Rick Hacker's strong point is/was his overall knowledge of the pipe and tobacco industry. His Rare Smoke Book, which is a good read and still important, utilized a lot of material from different sources that were unacknowledged. The book would have been more valuable if it had been published in 1989 when the pipe brands he wrote about were still being sought by the top collectors. When the book was published - Rick Newcombe was leading the charge for the then new Danish style revolution - so Hacker's book was somewhat dated even when it was first published.
No expert on how perique is/was made but the newer perique is much less pungent than days of old when even more that 2-3% could completely overpower a blend.
No expert on how perique is/was made but the newer perique is much less pungent than days of old when even more that 2-3% could completely overpower a blend.
I'll be watching for updates. But in 40 plus years of smoking, I've always thought the Perique was Louisiana tobacco, water and pressure.
The only "true" Perique is produced in St. James Parish which is a short trip upriver from New Orleans. They use an old method of processing the tobacco and from what I understand it involves spraying some water on the leaves and then pressing the tobacco in barrels. I am signed up for a tour of the St. James Perique facility in October the day before the New Orleans Pipe Show. If I remember this thread, I'll update with what I learn.
Doctorhoss is correct about the problems with mistakes and misinformation creeping into published work. As a retired journalist/photographer who was also a magazine editor for 10 years, I can attest to the fact that avoidable mistakes are often made. Once they are printed in a book, they are extremely hard to correct. On the other hand, what drives me nuts is the mistakes that I see in internet articles where the writers rely too heavily on spell and grammar check.
"The only "true" Perique is produced in St. James Parish "
I always found this to be an odd statement. Besides being a marketing ploy, what exactly is everyone's take on this?
I always found this to be an odd statement. Besides being a marketing ploy, what exactly is everyone's take on this?
Why do you find that odd? That is exactly where Perique is grown. The name stems from the man credited with developing it, Pierre Chenet. I know of no other Periques, nor any faux Periques. Might be some "wanna be" around I just am not familiar with them.
It's not a marketing ploy, so much as just a fact.
Perique is in such demand, they don't need to market it. It's sold before it's even made.
Perique is in such demand, they don't need to market it. It's sold before it's even made.
"Why do you find that odd"
I say this because Perique can be grown anywhere and processed anywhere. You do not even need Perique seed, any kind of tobacco can be used. Saying only true Perique is produced in St James Parish is like saying only true Burley is produced in Kentucky, or only true Virginia is produced in the mid section of Virginia.
St James Perique will have a flavor that is different than a Perique grown and processed in another state. Just because it is grown in St James doesn't make it superior, just different.
Last year I conducted an experiment with 13 pipe smokers. I sent them 4 different samples of a VaPer. 1 of the samples contained St James Perique, the other contained, Havana 263 processed as Perique, Bolivian Criollo and Brown leaf all processed as Perique. The results were that 50% of the subjects correctly guessed the sample with St James in it but 65% of the test subjects said the VaPer made with Havana 263 (made in to Perique) was the best tasting. This was a blind test where the vast majority of smokers said the best tasting Perique was NOT from St James.
I say this because Perique can be grown anywhere and processed anywhere. You do not even need Perique seed, any kind of tobacco can be used. Saying only true Perique is produced in St James Parish is like saying only true Burley is produced in Kentucky, or only true Virginia is produced in the mid section of Virginia.
St James Perique will have a flavor that is different than a Perique grown and processed in another state. Just because it is grown in St James doesn't make it superior, just different.
Last year I conducted an experiment with 13 pipe smokers. I sent them 4 different samples of a VaPer. 1 of the samples contained St James Perique, the other contained, Havana 263 processed as Perique, Bolivian Criollo and Brown leaf all processed as Perique. The results were that 50% of the subjects correctly guessed the sample with St James in it but 65% of the test subjects said the VaPer made with Havana 263 (made in to Perique) was the best tasting. This was a blind test where the vast majority of smokers said the best tasting Perique was NOT from St James.
S
seadogontheland
Guest
Come on...its made from peppercorns and vinegar layered leaf by leaf...I read it on the internet at wikitobaccotruthforallsuckers.com.
Gees, that's like agreeing that Russian Cognac (so labeled)is indeed cognac when in fact it is not from the Cognac region of France. Incidentally, the Russians should have their peepees spanked for doing that.
Precess a leaf not grown in the correct region, process it any old way you wish and call it Perique. It's not Perique except in your mind. To call such is a misappelation.
Perique is not a process, it is a tobacco, grown in a particular area of Louisiana. Where did you learn "perique" is a process? You can't "Perique", its a noun not a verb. You can't Perique, nor have you ever "periqued" any more than you can go "periqueing." He, she or it cannot perique.
Precess a leaf not grown in the correct region, process it any old way you wish and call it Perique. It's not Perique except in your mind. To call such is a misappelation.
Perique is not a process, it is a tobacco, grown in a particular area of Louisiana. Where did you learn "perique" is a process? You can't "Perique", its a noun not a verb. You can't Perique, nor have you ever "periqued" any more than you can go "periqueing." He, she or it cannot perique.
That's disappointing, because I feel like I'd really like to go periqueing - even though I have no idea what that would be.
Hacker also said that growing Perique has been attempted in other regions but those attempts have failed and Perique can only truly be grown in St. James Parish. Something to do with the minerals along the Mississippi River.
Who knows what truth there is in that - I suspect the profit margin sucks for as much work as it is, so no one wants to do it.
I haven't heard back from Hacker.
Sorry guys but you've all been duped by advertising!
Perique is simply a process of anaerobically fermenting tobacco. It doesn't matter where you ferment it. Perique, when finished will have almost all yeasts as the primary microbe. I've been growing and processing tobacco for 20 years now and have made enough Perique and sampled enough worldwide to know that Perique is more of a process than a particular cultivar of tobacco grown in a specific region.
As far as the often quoted " Perique was grown somewhere else and it failed...." Just because some boobs attempted to make Perique and failed isn't justification for saying it can't be grown anywhere else.
There is another myth that is similar to the Perique myth and that is Turkish Tobacco cannot be grown anywhere else but in Turkey. People like to cite the fact that it was tried here in the States once and the experiment failed. What people don't realize is for this attempt the growers planted Turkish plants like Burley (3 ft spacing as opposed to 8 inch spacing). They irrigated (Turkish is not) and they fertilized (Turkish is not). So to say Turkish cannot be grown in the States is bs... sames as Perique.
If only real Perique is made in St James then I guess only real wine is grown in Napa Valley, only real sourdough bread in made in San Fransisco, only real pizza is made by Italians, only real Periogies are made by Poles.
Real "Champagne" is only made in France because it is a law that in order for it to be called "Champagne" it must be made in the Champagne region. Champagne can be made anywhere, just like Perique.
Perique is simply a process of anaerobically fermenting tobacco. It doesn't matter where you ferment it. Perique, when finished will have almost all yeasts as the primary microbe. I've been growing and processing tobacco for 20 years now and have made enough Perique and sampled enough worldwide to know that Perique is more of a process than a particular cultivar of tobacco grown in a specific region.
As far as the often quoted " Perique was grown somewhere else and it failed...." Just because some boobs attempted to make Perique and failed isn't justification for saying it can't be grown anywhere else.
There is another myth that is similar to the Perique myth and that is Turkish Tobacco cannot be grown anywhere else but in Turkey. People like to cite the fact that it was tried here in the States once and the experiment failed. What people don't realize is for this attempt the growers planted Turkish plants like Burley (3 ft spacing as opposed to 8 inch spacing). They irrigated (Turkish is not) and they fertilized (Turkish is not). So to say Turkish cannot be grown in the States is bs... sames as Perique.
If only real Perique is made in St James then I guess only real wine is grown in Napa Valley, only real sourdough bread in made in San Fransisco, only real pizza is made by Italians, only real Periogies are made by Poles.
Real "Champagne" is only made in France because it is a law that in order for it to be called "Champagne" it must be made in the Champagne region. Champagne can be made anywhere, just like Perique.
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