Piqued by Perique
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What I really love about this site is while debating over recommendations for a good Perique blend and the quality of the podcasts, we can also rant about the difference between the good and crappy Chinese mustard and not even skip a beat. You guys rock! Thanks for having me and entertaining my questions and comments.
My preference for a Perique intro depends on where you're coming from:
1) Virginias - Escudo is the classic "standard" here. The perique is noticeable and peppery. But you can't go wrong with St James Flake or Dunhill Navy Rolls in this category either.
2) Virginias, take 2 - H&H Anni Kake is a pretty unique since the pepper notes aren't real prominent but it's sweeter and more oriented towards "stewed fruit".
3) English - Nightcap. If you smoke alot of the heavy English/Balkan stuff, then the ample perique really is pronounced.
4) Light English/Aro - an unusual starting point but probably Frog Morton on the Bayou.
Perique is one of those things that you want to be like Goldilocks. You want just enough of it without going overboard with. I smoke Cool Hand Fluke on occasion and it's 40% and it's too much for me to enjoy. Now, Aleister Crowley supposedly smoked pure Perique soaked in rum......he was an idiot.
1) Virginias - Escudo is the classic "standard" here. The perique is noticeable and peppery. But you can't go wrong with St James Flake or Dunhill Navy Rolls in this category either.
2) Virginias, take 2 - H&H Anni Kake is a pretty unique since the pepper notes aren't real prominent but it's sweeter and more oriented towards "stewed fruit".
3) English - Nightcap. If you smoke alot of the heavy English/Balkan stuff, then the ample perique really is pronounced.
4) Light English/Aro - an unusual starting point but probably Frog Morton on the Bayou.
Perique is one of those things that you want to be like Goldilocks. You want just enough of it without going overboard with. I smoke Cool Hand Fluke on occasion and it's 40% and it's too much for me to enjoy. Now, Aleister Crowley supposedly smoked pure Perique soaked in rum......he was an idiot.
I really like Brian and every podcast, I think he is fantastic in every aspect. Just my opinion.
I think Brian does a great job in this huge hobby enjoyed by so few. Every show professional, unique, funny and above all loaded with information whether beginner or long time smoker. :puffpipe:
@ jgriff; Thanks for your descriptions. It is the replies like those from you and the other forum members that take a venture into the unknown from "Best guess Mr. Spok" into a more informed educated decision.
@ the Mod; Thanks for correcting my Title. It is the mostly unnoticed work by you guys that keeps this a "quality" forum. Like magic elves only different. Thanks again for all you do and happy smoking.
samcoffeeman's post at the top of the page resonates with me the most. An obviously knowledgeable guy with good recommendations.
I would add: 4noggins' Prairie Wind for a fruity Perique taste; and their Weybridge for something a little more nutty and grassy.
And we shouldn't omit H&H's Louisiana Red, which has forged a reputation as a benchmark VaPer that showcases the plum and pepper side of Perique's profile.
While Perique can be, and often is, used to improve most any blend, its taste is most apparent in VaPers.
You may enjoy reading a VaPer Showdown thread by a reviewer name Slow Triathlete, who reviews and ranks a couple dozen VaPers.
Most informative. Here's a list according to Slow Triathlete's personal preference:
I would add: 4noggins' Prairie Wind for a fruity Perique taste; and their Weybridge for something a little more nutty and grassy.
And we shouldn't omit H&H's Louisiana Red, which has forged a reputation as a benchmark VaPer that showcases the plum and pepper side of Perique's profile.
While Perique can be, and often is, used to improve most any blend, its taste is most apparent in VaPers.
You may enjoy reading a VaPer Showdown thread by a reviewer name Slow Triathlete, who reviews and ranks a couple dozen VaPers.
Most informative. Here's a list according to Slow Triathlete's personal preference:
- 1) McConnell Scottish Cake
2) Samuel Gawith’s St. James Flake
3) Escudo
4) GL Pease Filmore
5) Former’s Straight Grain Flake
6) H & H AJ’s VaPer
7) Low Country’s Waccamaw
8. Peretti’s Park Square
9) John Patton’s Cool Hand Fluke
10) H & H Rolando’s Own
11) H & H Anniversary Kake
12) G & H Louisiana Flake
13) Dunhill Elizabethan Mixture
14) C & D Night Train
15) H & H Louisiana Red
16) C & D Bayou Morning Flack
17) Reiner’s Long Golden Flake
18) Treasures of Ireland - Limerick
19) Dorchester
20) Solani #633
21) Luxury Bullseye Flake
22) McClelland Bulk 2015
23) GL Pease Telegraph Hill
24) Kajun Kake
25) Luxury Navy Flake
26) Dan Tobacco's Tordenskjold Virginia Slices
To the list from Cortez (above), I would add McClelland Blakeney's Acadian Ribbon
I tried this after seeing a post Kevin made in which he said this was one of only two blends that (to him) smelled like the place where St. James Perique comes from. It is now one of my favorite blends and I would highly recommend it.
I tried this after seeing a post Kevin made in which he said this was one of only two blends that (to him) smelled like the place where St. James Perique comes from. It is now one of my favorite blends and I would highly recommend it.
Thanks cortez and sfsteves. That is a very impressive list to draw from. I appreciate that and thanks to slowtriathelet for compiling the list.
My recommendations for an introduction to Perique:
Escudo: the gold standard.
Peter Stokkebye Luxury Navy Flake. Good fresh. Great with age. Often overlooked in favor of more expensive but inferior tinned blends.
GL Pease Fillmore: robust yet smooth, very well-blended
Rattray's Marlin Flake: for a good dose of the plummy side of Perique. Delicious.
Only problem with Anniversary Kake (also plummy side) is that, IMO, it's not that great fresh. With age it transforms miraculously into one of the best and most unique VaPers available anywhere. So if you end up liking VaPers, dive into Anni Kake and jar it up for a while.
Escudo: the gold standard.
Peter Stokkebye Luxury Navy Flake. Good fresh. Great with age. Often overlooked in favor of more expensive but inferior tinned blends.
GL Pease Fillmore: robust yet smooth, very well-blended
Rattray's Marlin Flake: for a good dose of the plummy side of Perique. Delicious.
Only problem with Anniversary Kake (also plummy side) is that, IMO, it's not that great fresh. With age it transforms miraculously into one of the best and most unique VaPers available anywhere. So if you end up liking VaPers, dive into Anni Kake and jar it up for a while.
I have to say I enjoy the interviews Brian does. I think he does them well for a person who isn't a professional interviewer. To me he toes the line very well. You can't just straight up ask a blender exactly what's in a blend or ask a pipe carver exactly how he carves or a restorer exactly how he restores pipes. Those are tricks of the trade and secrets that keep those people working and earning a paycheck. You can't expect them to reveal that much. To me he does a good job of keeping the interviews entertaining as well as enlightening. I usually end up learning something new from the person being interviewed based on a question Brian has prepared.
As for Perique blends I've only ever had two, McClelland's Frog Morton on the Bayou and Robert McConnell's Scottish Cake. I liked them both, but I'm more of an aromatic smoker so I've never latched on to any other types of blends.
Of course there's the ever popular Escudo and a friend of mine here in Vegas reaches for McClelland's Acadian Ribbon when the VaPer bug starts a bitin'.
As for Perique blends I've only ever had two, McClelland's Frog Morton on the Bayou and Robert McConnell's Scottish Cake. I liked them both, but I'm more of an aromatic smoker so I've never latched on to any other types of blends.
Of course there's the ever popular Escudo and a friend of mine here in Vegas reaches for McClelland's Acadian Ribbon when the VaPer bug starts a bitin'.
Telegraph Hill was my first Perique, and now Fillmore is in my top three blends. However, it took me a while to get to Fillmore.
#1 to Brian. I am only here in the forum because of finding his podcast on iTunes. I listen to it while I am at the workbench, and even my non-smoking girlfriend enjoys it. It has taught us both so much that we can discuss different leafs of tobacco and makes of pipes. She's never tasted a single tobacco, but she knows exactly where most of the different leaves come from. The podcast has made it easier to share my hobby with her, and I attribute it to Brian's sense of humor and style. If it were some other curmudgeony old fart on there, I don't think either of us would be interested in listening.
#1 to Brian. I am only here in the forum because of finding his podcast on iTunes. I listen to it while I am at the workbench, and even my non-smoking girlfriend enjoys it. It has taught us both so much that we can discuss different leafs of tobacco and makes of pipes. She's never tasted a single tobacco, but she knows exactly where most of the different leaves come from. The podcast has made it easier to share my hobby with her, and I attribute it to Brian's sense of humor and style. If it were some other curmudgeony old fart on there, I don't think either of us would be interested in listening.
Supposedly Dunhill Nightcap has a little perique added at the end of blending. It's the one perique-containing blend I can tolerate. Perique is not for every taste, especially if it is used more than a little.
I'm enjoying this thread as well - my own experience with perique blends is pretty limited, but I can definitely recommend both Stokkebye's Luxury Bullseye Flake and Escudo, both of which were "Aha!" smokes for me. My first impressions of Stokkebye's Luxury Navy Flake was not as positive, but at this point I've only smoked one bowl, so my basis for comparison is pretty limited. I'm working my way through a Va/Per blend I picked up at my local shop that I think is rebranded McClelland 2015 - interesting to see that my own judgement of the relative merits of the 4 blends is right in line with Slow Triathlete's. Looking forward to trying some of the others listed for further comparison.
I received this in the mail yesterday as a return gesture of generosity.
They are all fantastic smoking tobaccos, but the Escudo has jumped right to the front of the line. Who carries this stuff in bulk at a reasonable price?
They are all fantastic smoking tobaccos, but the Escudo has jumped right to the front of the line. Who carries this stuff in bulk at a reasonable price?
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