Peretti No. 8 Slices

[lightmybriar]

Happy Wednesday, friends!
I just stumbled across an ad for L.J. Peretti No. 8 Slices, and it looks great and what few reviews it has seem to rate it very high. Do any of you have experience smoking this blend? What do you think of it? I've never ordered from Peretti before but this might get me to do so.
Thanks for your thoughts!
Steven

 

[woodsroad]

I believe that Peretti flakes are made by McClelland. Not sure if they are unique to Peretti or rebranded existing product.

 

[jerry]

I love most everything Peretti blends. Worth a try, I suggest.

 

[aquadoc]

Their Cuban mix seems fairly unique and gets great reviews.

 

[buroak]

Definitely worth a try.

 

[kanse]

It is my absolute favorite. Desert island blend, what they call.
Tashkent is also one of my favorite Latakia blends. And, Cuban Mixture is definitely worth trying.
Some people enjoy their burley blends, I personally found them offensive. As for generic Englishes they have, they are alright to me, but unless you are an English connoiseur, there is no significant difference between them and other Englishes on market.

 

[woopigpiper]

I believe that Peretti flakes are made by McClelland. Not sure if they are unique to Peretti or rebranded existing product.

Is this true?

 

[kanse]

I don't think it is true.
From what I know, they prepare their blends themselves.
As far as the source leaf goes, I did not taste anything common between McClelland stuff I've smoked and the Perettis. The blends themselves are completely alien to what McClelland usually does.
No. 8 is a krumble flake, or whatever they call it, McClelland does not produce any blend with a similar cut.

 

[woodsroad]

I'm not the only person to have made this observation.

 

[JimInks]

Peretti does not make everything themselves. They do use McClelland tobaccos,and Park Square sure taste a bit like a McClelland product. I haven't tried the No. 8, so I can't comment on that. I also know a few of their other blends are made by another company.

 

[lightmybriar]

Interesting info, guys. Thanks! So what I gather is, the flakes they get from McClelland, and they also source their tobacco from elsewhere, while also doing some in-house, whether it's blending or topping? The No. 8 looks a lot like a tobacco P&C did called Bedloe's Island, which was a thick sliced crumble cake. I prefer slices and flakes and plugs to ribbon or rubbed, so I might have to give it a try, especially since those who've had it seem to really enjoy it.

 

[conlejm]

Timely post! I just yesterday finished an 8-ounce "paint can" of No. 8 Slices. This is one of my favorite Va/Bur/Per blends. It doesn't remind me of any other blend; to me it seems stand out on its own. I am fortunate enough to live an hour away from Peretti's so I always stop in when I am in the big city.

 

[woopigpiper]

JimInks and woodsroad,
I guess I'm needing further explanation on the words make/made you're using concerning their blends. I thought Peretti hand-blended their own tobaccos. Now whether they are first using source tobacco from other company's is certainly different than it being entirely "made by another company."
Does that make sense?

 

[kanse]

It'd be quite hard to repackage McClelland flakes into Peretti flakes, they are pressed very differently.
I've only had two, Cambridge and No. 8.
No. 8 is something McClelland has never done, not the cut, neither the composition of leaves.
Cambridge is closer to a traditional flake, but McClelland only produces one English flake, called Latakia Flake. I can't be sure, I've had some McClelland English/Balkans before, Cambridge is not something that reminds me of McClelland anyhow.
I still have not gotten to their Virginia VA/PER flakes, the claim might be true for those.
As a side-note, Peretti increased prices on all their blends this week, they were not exactly cheap to begin with, and I am very saddened.
JimInks
Have not gotten to that one yet.

 

[JimInks]

Woopigpiper: Peretti's does have outside sources for their tobaccos as do many companies. They blend some (I have no idea how many) in house, but some blends are manufactured for them elsewhere, and shipped to their store. As far as I know, the blends made for them are strictly according to formulas invented by Peretti's.
Kanse: McClelland does make blends for other companies. How much they may do for Peretti's is unknown to me, but I don't think it's very many at all. I've not tried Cambridge or No. 8, and with a new price increase, I'm not likely to unless I find somebody to trade with, and couldn't tell you in McClelland has anything to do with those particular products.
Just because McClelland doesn't many English flakes under their brand name doesn't mean they don't do it for others. I can't say either way on that.

 

[lasttango]

I buy a lot of blends from Peretti's. Love the service... love the products.
I really like their #52 blend lately. It's is a burly with a little VA and Dubec.
Of their flakes, I like Scottish flake best.
If you like English blends, Tashkent is rich and luxurious...

 

[mso489]

'tango shared a generous sample of #52 with me, and I second the motion, substantial and at the same time mild. Good stuff.

 

[stbruno70]

I have been dealing with Peretti for decades and like many of their offerings. They have been trading since 1870.
Do they simply, as alleged, rebrand McClelland's flakes as their own? My taste buds, by no means expert, do not detect any replication between the Peretti flakes I like (all of them) and anything offered by McClelland.
Years ago I asked, as diplomatically as possible, an employee (shan't say whom) if any of their house flakes were made by outside vendors. He immediately went to the back and re-emerged with an immense, semi-translucent plastic bag of flakes. He said that while they press and cut their own flakes, this batch was being rejected since the cut was not up to standard. As he explained, because the blades were dull and wanted sharpening, this batch would have to be re-pressed and re-cut, at some expense to them.
That is impressive quality control, and I am satisfied that they do wonderful things in house.
Order away, and see what you think of their flakes.

 

[ericusrex]

#8 looks exactly like Watch City Slices...though they don't smoke the same. I'm guessing they're manufactured by the same company...whoever that may be.

 

[drrock]

I haven't tried their No. 8 slices but every Peretti pipe tobacco I've tried has been really good. Park Square & Cuban Mixture are must-try's in my book. Their aromatic baccys are delicious - especially Coffee Blend, Ebony, & No. 432. Every one of their Yuletide holiday blends have been tasty. Geez, now I'll have to order some No. 8 Slices...