Jim's C&D Carolina Red Flake With Perique 2023 Review.

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JimInks

Sultan of Smoke
Aug 31, 2012
64,642
650,007
This goes on sale September 20.

The year 2022 St. James perique offers a lot of dried plums, spice, earth, wood, bread, floralness, and is mildly sweet and sour with light smoke. It takes a small lead. The 2013 red Virginia tips and matured 2019 Georgian red/orange varietals produce an abundance of tart and tangy citrus, bread, grass, some sugar, some foralness, earth, wood, mild tangy darker fruit, vegetation and spice with a tangy sweet port red wine essence, and touches of acidity and vinegar. They are important supporting players due their inherent sweetness. The strength is in the center of medium to strong. The taste is a step past that mark. The nic-hit is a shade less potent than the overall strength level. There’s no chance of bite or harshness. Sports a light roughness. The easily broken part flakes are mildly moist, and I saw no reason to dry them. Burns clean, cool, and slightly slow with a very consistent sweet and sour, spicy, floral, savory, piquant flavor that extends to the pleasantly lingering after taste. The room note is pungent. Leaves little dampness in the bowl, and requires a couple more than an average number of relights. Not an all day smoke, but it is repeatable. This version has the strongest perique content, and is mildly sweeter and more savory than previous years. Four stars.
 

briarfoxx

Starting to Get Obsessed
Aug 28, 2021
157
279
Tennessee
Thank you very much for the early review, Jim!

It’s interesting that this year’s tastes sweeter when last year’s CRF 2022 was supposed to be a high sugar content. I wonder if the addition of the Perique brings that out. I also wonder if this is the same Georgian VA that was used in Steamworks. I really enjoyed that blend.
 
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JimInks

Sultan of Smoke
Aug 31, 2012
64,642
650,007
Thank you very much for the early review, Jim!

It’s interesting that this year’s tastes sweeter when last year’s CRF 2022 was supposed to be a high sugar content. I wonder if the addition of the Perique brings that out. I also wonder if this is the same Georgian VA that was used in Steamworks. I really enjoyed that blend.
I would say the Virginias offer most of the sweetness I detected. As for your Georgian Va. question: that is what I thought it was.
 

Ben.R.C

Lifer
Nov 20, 2022
4,512
99,015
55
North Carolina
This goes on sale September 20.

The year 2022 St. James perique offers a lot of dried plums, spice, earth, wood, bread, floralness, and is mildly sweet and sour with light smoke. It takes a small lead. The 2013 red Virginia tips and matured 2019 Georgian red/orange varietals produce an abundance of tart and tangy citrus, bread, grass, some sugar, some foralness, earth, wood, mild tangy darker fruit, vegetation and spice with a tangy sweet port red wine essence, and touches of acidity and vinegar. They are important supporting players due their inherent sweetness. The strength is in the center of medium to strong. The taste is a step past that mark. The nic-hit is a shade less potent than the overall strength level. There’s no chance of bite or harshness. Sports a light roughness. The easily broken part flakes are mildly moist, and I saw no reason to dry them. Burns clean, cool, and slightly slow with a very consistent sweet and sour, spicy, floral, savory, piquant flavor that extends to the pleasantly lingering after taste. The room note is pungent. Leaves little dampness in the bowl, and requires a couple more than an average number of relights. Not an all day smoke, but it is repeatable. This version has the strongest perique content, and is mildly sweeter and more savory than previous years. Four stars.
Yay for strongest perique content
 
Feb 12, 2022
3,587
50,580
32
North Georgia mountains.
Picked up my allotment, i actually enjoy their perique mixture more then that straight VA, other straight VAs i like much better but "to me" this is a mighty fine VaPer at least in past years, with a little age on them. YMMV
I agree. I have plenty of the Straight VA and really enjoy it. But I do prefer it with Perique and even traded for quite a bit earlier in the year.