Pure St. James Perique?

[sablebrush52]

So....are the Sutliff TS20 and C&D Granulated Perique really 'Acadian Perique' as apposed to 'St. James Perique'?
Would it be safe to presume that blends listed as having 'Perique' in them without specifying 'St. James Perique' are Acadian?
Wish I had some straight up St. J to compare to the TS20.
Has anyone compared these two and are willing to offer up any comparisons?
Tnx

You're probably not going to like this response, but here goes. It kinda doesn't matter. It's not like St James Perique has one distinctive flavor. It varies from farm to farm from year to year. It's consistently different. So, what's to compare?

By contrast, Acadian perique is much more consistent in flavor, and is of excellent quality, which is why it gets the nod by a lot of blenders, who want their product to be consistent while delivering on flavor.

As for blending St James Periques, a lot of customers assume that flavorings have been added to the Perique to make it a more consistent product and/or to push the profile to one that works with their lines of tobacco blends. Nobody will confirm, nor deny, so I'm guessing that the Perique is further enhanced before being offered as a retail product.

The various Periques I got from La Poche are all different from one another. And the Jewel Of St James Perique made by Percy Martin is very different from any of the La Poche product I've smoked. All of it is good, including the Acadian product. And St James blending Perique is sometimes blended with Acadian Perique.

So, don't invest too much in labels. Try stuff out and go with what you like, regardless of what it's called or where it's made.

 

[Bluemonter]

Good info, tnx

 

[swampgrizzly]

Some of you may find this interview with Mark Ryan to be of interest:

https://pipesmagazine.com/blog/put-that-in-your-pipe/the-mystique-of-perique/

Thanks, that is a very interesting interview!

 

[mingc]

C&D has announced that all its perique is grown and made by 31 Farms, owned by the Roussel family, in St. James Parish. Louisiana, which sells only to C&D. Cornell & Diehl on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/ChNE-QtLRqc/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

As I understand it, all other pipe tobacco manufacturers source their perique from L.A. Poche.

 

[sablebrush52]

​

 

[ThermionicScott]

C&D has announced that all its perique is grown and made by 31 Farms, owned by the Roussel family, in St. James Parish. Louisiana, which sells only to C&D. Cornell & Diehl on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/ChNE-QtLRqc/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

As I understand it, all other pipe tobacco manufacturers source their perique from L.A. Poche.

I'm curious if "every blend in our portfolio" includes the G. L. Pease blends. I was under the impression (perhaps wrong) that Pease sometimes chose different Periques depending on what he wanted from the blend...

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I'm curious if "every blend in our portfolio" includes the G. L. Pease blends. I was under the impression (perhaps wrong) that Pease sometimes chose different Periques depending on what he wanted from the blend...

This may not entirely answer your question, but Mark told us at the Pipe Show tour and lecture, that Greg does the tasting and balancing of all of Mark's perique. So, actually, Greg is hands on at LaPoche.

 

[Lees65GTO]

So....are the Sutliff TS20 and C&D Granulated Perique really 'Acadian Perique' as apposed to 'St. James Perique'?
Would it be safe to presume that blends listed as having 'Perique' in them without specifying 'St. James Perique' are Acadian?
Wish I had some straight up St. J to compare to the TS20.
Has anyone compared these two and are willing to offer up any comparisons?
Tnx

Bluemonter I’m new to the forum but back in 2008 I heard that Percy Martin had contracted with Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Co. to buy all his Perique, I panicked since I had to have my St. James Perique. I had read on one of the forums that someone had contacted Mr. Martin directly and purchased some of his Perique. So I thought what the heck I’ll try. I did call Mr. Martin and even though he was selling all his Perique to Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Co. he agreed to sell me a few pounds for the same price he was selling to Santa Fe plus shipping, so I purchased ten pounds. He also sold me another ten pounds in 2009.

I still have about 13 pounds left and would be glad to send you a couple ounces so you can compare it with the Sutliff TS20 to let us know what you think. You will have to chop it yourself.

Let me know if you would like for me to send you some and how I can get it to you.

 

[drayve85]

I ordered 4 ounces of pure ‘St. James Perique’ with an order from L.J. Peretti’s a month or so ago. I’ve tried a couple bowls, but the tobacco was wet, and I didn’t get much of a taste out of it. Imma try it again soon here though. I’ll report my findings. Does anyone know ‘for sure’ that Peretti’s is pure St. James Perique? I’d assumed so, but ya know!

 

[sablebrush52]

So....are the Sutliff TS20 and C&D Granulated Perique really 'Acadian Perique' as apposed to 'St. James Perique'?
Would it be safe to presume that blends listed as having 'Perique' in them without specifying 'St. James Perique' are Acadian?
Wish I had some straight up St. J to compare to the TS20.
Has anyone compared these two and are willing to offer up any comparisons?
Tnx

First off, most St James Perique is stretched with Acadian Perique before being released to be used in blends. Second, the flavors of St James Perique vary by which part of the Parrish it is grown, can vary from farm to farm, and from year to year. There is no one "St James Perique" flavor profile. So comparisons are definitive of nothing. The St James Periques I've smoked and cellared came from Percy Martin and La Poche, manufacturers of Perique, and the flavor of the product varies widely.
Bottom line is if you like the flavor of what you're smoking, the labels really don't mean diddly squat.

 

[VDL_Piper]

If that's true, then smoking Sutliff 515 RC-1 would be the equivalent of having a lobotomy performed by Jeffrey Dahmer...

You should try some aged, say 3/5 years, its worth it.

 

[VDL_Piper]

First off, most St James Perique is stretched with Acadian Perique before being released to be used in blends. Second, the flavors of St James Perique vary by which part of the Parrish it is grown, can vary from farm to farm, and from year to year. There is no one "St James Perique" flavor profile. So comparisons are definitive of nothing. The St James Periques I've smoked and cellared came from Percy Martin and La Poche, manufacturers of Perique, and the flavor of the product varies widely.
Bottom line is if you like the flavor of what you're smoking, the labels really don't mean diddly squat.

This can be said of all tobacco, actually all produce grown. Yield, flavour, colour all change across a paddock in fact some paddocks can have up to 7 different soil types so you can imagine the variability based on this alone. Then factor if the paddock faces North/South, has shelter, a creek, floods, list is endless and so are the outcomes.