Perique and Certain Va/Pers

[Ryan]

I have been smoking for over 1.5 years, and I have been able to find several tobaccos I enjoy.

I first tried Va/Pers early on, ones that were light on the perique (LNF was the first I remember trying). In C&D blends (OJK, HB) the perique tasted like pepper to me, but in others I’m not sure I fully tasted it. I have come to taste the perique a bit differently now, and I enjoy several blends that contain it.

Lately I have been smoking the Home and Hearth Louisiana Red and the Sutliff Elizabethan Match. While they are not clones of each other, I do find a certain similarity in these two.

Both of them seem to have a deeper, richer, and perhaps somewhat fruitier overall flavor than something like Stokkebye LNF. I feel like the perique is more obvious and that is what I taste. Am I right?

Is it the amount/source of the perique that causes that? Or is the Virginia used in those blends different and part of what makes it seem so different? Or is both the Virginia and the Perique that are different?

I know these two seem different from others I have tried, and I’d like to understand why.

Also, can you point me towards other blends that have this somewhat richer, fuller Va/Per flavor in them like the Louisiana Red and Elizabethan Match?

 

[hawky454]

Not sure why some are more peppery while others are fruity, that’s a good question. I remember Dunhill Deluxe Navy Rolls had the more fruity Perique, I haven’t had it in a long time though. If you can find some, Dunbar is another one with fruity Perique.

 

[Indygrap]

I’m far from an expert, but it could be that some brands are sourced from St. James Parish, LA & some are sourced elsewhere. I know C&D gets all theirs from SJP but not sure of everyone else. Soil, climate, & the aging process play a huge part in the end product. Think champagne vs sparkling wine. Same grapes, different flavors. And I haven’t even gotten into the microscopic levels of conditioning. There’s the airborne yeasts & the yeasts that live in the barrels the leaf is conditioned in.

 

[AJL67]

Not the answer below but a cool article. Interesting it's always referred to as spicy, but i rarely get the spice, i get more of the fruity plum raisin end, at least in what i smoke. When i snork (retrohale) is the only time i get spice*

Tobacco Lovers Discover Mystique of Perique (Published 2013)

Perique gets its distinctive flavor from barrel fermentation, a technique Louisiana settlers are thought to have picked up in the 18th or 19th century from the local Choctaws.

www.nytimes.com

 

[AJL67]

I’m far from an expert, but it could be that some brands are sourced from St. James Parish, LA & some are sourced elsewhere. I know C&D gets all theirs from SJP but not sure of everyone else. Soil, climate, & the aging process play a huge part in the end product. Think champagne vs sparkling wine. Same grapes, different flavors. And I haven’t even gotten into the microscopic levels of conditioning. There’s the airborne yeasts & the yeasts that live in the barrels the leaf is conditioned in.

It's still only grow and fermented in one place.

 

[bullet08]

Maybe there are two different Perique. Or depends on how they are blended, they come out differently. I remember having DNR and thinking how awesome Perique was. Then had Davidoff medallions and thought my tongue were gonna fall off. Touch of that pepperiness is good. Too much sucks.

 

[Honkytonk Man]

Doesn't answer your question, but...
Escudo is one of the more peppery ones, whilst Peterson Deluxe Navy Rolls, as Hawkey454 points out, is more fruity. I enjoy them both.
As others have suggested, I guess it's all to do with climate soil acidity/alkalinity, etc. not that I'm any expert, just what one reads about grapes & wine.

I have no horticultural skills whatsoever, I mow the grass, whilst smoking my pipe, that's it.

 

[Mr_houston]

It is likely the red VA flavor that you like, as far as the deeper fruit taste. Not sure about the perique part.

 

[sablebrush52]

It's complicated. St James Perique flavors can vary quite a bit, depending upon where in the Parish it's grown, who the grower is, climate variations during the growing period, length of pressure fermentation, and other factors. I've also noted that its flavor can change a bit over time.The Perique that was used in the A&C Petersen Escudo, not to be confused with the STG crap, would develop a wonderful fruitiness over time, which the TG crap does not.

Back in 2016, at the WCPS, I was buying Perique from Mark Ryan and asked him if he had something that had that fruitiness, and he pulled out a tub of the 10 year barrel aged Perique that he had brought with him and it was everything I could ask for (it had actually spent closer to 15 years in the barrel) and I bought a number of tubs of it. Still have a few.
Also, different companies, who contract with different farms, may produce a Perique that is different from the others. Percy Martin Jewel Of St James is a unique Perique.

 

[Honkytonk Man]

All my Escudo is the STG crap!

 

[Zeno Marx]

I believe Mark Ryan, from Daughters & Ryan, said there is no way to know whether a barrel will result in pepper or fruit. It just happens.

 

[krizzose]

I like GL Pease Telegraph Hill. The perique is noticeable, and to me the fruitiness of both the virginia and the perique is very noticeable. I get a chocolate-covered cherries vibe from it. It’s definitely rich in flavor

 

[camaguey]

There are many variables in a mixture. OJK and HB have burley wich gives a diferent taste to the traditional vaper. There is also a variable on the virginias used , they may be sweeter or more tangy. The classic escudo is not what it was and in my experience age gives more dried fruit than pepper to this peculiar leaf. Aged MClelland st. James was my staple after the demiss of the real escudo , and before escudo it was Gallaher Army&navy. After that i find some suitables blends on the market but anything as good as what was available before. Actually i enjoy Chenet's, Viprati by Russ and others. There is always something to enjoy , wich is better than complain.

 

[kcghost]

McClelland's made a number of remarkable VaPers. G.L. Pease makes a number of wonderful VaPers, notably Six Pence and Stonehenge and several others.

 

[Peter Turbo]

Try Peterson's Deluxe Navy Rolls, GLP Penny Farthing also surprised me with its fruitiness, that has some DFK in it too.