Just because someone says something on that review site, does not make it fact.
Real Perique?
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Also, there are no laws governing what can and cannot be called perique. Perique can be made anywhere, and still be called perique. Mark, a great guy, can say whatever he wants about perique not made in St. James, but he is also a marketeer. He wants everyone to support his claim that if it is not made at LaPoche, it is not perique. However... it can be made anywhere.
Just like some wineries will have bad years, so can La Poche. There may be times when perique made elsewhere is superior... or not.
Mark told us in his lecture at LaPoche a few years ago that he imports a lot of the burleys he uses, from as far as Canada. So, magically being fermented at his farm makes it the real deal.
This is not to disparage Mark and his efforts, but realistically it can be fermented anywhere.
Just like some wineries will have bad years, so can La Poche. There may be times when perique made elsewhere is superior... or not.
Mark told us in his lecture at LaPoche a few years ago that he imports a lot of the burleys he uses, from as far as Canada. So, magically being fermented at his farm makes it the real deal.
This is not to disparage Mark and his efforts, but realistically it can be fermented anywhere.
Terrior is always a factor, along with the processing. No matter how careful the processing, it can’t nullify terrior, and vice versa.
If it tastes like Perique, it’s perique to me.
If it tastes like Perique, it’s perique to me.
And not just under Mark Ryan's tenure. As I understand it, meeting demand for Perique has always been difficult. Hence importing some of the Burley from Canada (or Honduras, or elsewhere), and BAT using a portion of imitation Perique in Three Nuns.
The thing that surprised me most was how small the whole operation was at La Poche. The field across the street from the barn is about ten acres. The amount of actual barrels produced can fit into a small two car garage with room enough left over for a motorcycle and lawn mower. The room where they de-vien the leaves can set about four people to work. None of the employees are part of any full time staff.
In all honesty there is no way that La Poche could meet the demand for pipe tobacco needs worldwide. Even with as small a market as we are.
Expecting all VaPers to be St James is unrealistic... and doesn't mean anything about the quality of the VaPer.
I put both these posts together to say from my understanding unless it's a protected status situation then it's an industry term and anyone can decide what constitutes perique in their product. I think people respect the tradition and it's effect on their bottom line and reputation to not go nuts with the term. But I don't actually know.
Wait so you're saying I can stop sending that blackmailer checks and I am not going to get arrested for post a review there that says Sail Yellow is the only 90% real Kentucky Dark Fired blend on the market??? Thanks I should send you a Christmas present, I won't but I should.
Oh and being fermented on his farm might be legitimate magical part of the process. A lot of fermented products change in drastic ways when fermented in different places. Often similar bacteria have many strains that functionally are identical but produce slightly different flavor profiles. Even if the bacteria some how genetically became homogenized environmental conditions would change the process and that process can be so specific it's impossible for people to accurately dial in the correct conditions in a controlled environment. Not saying that it is the magic ingredient but it could be.
And again I agree that just because the guy says it's not real just means it's his opinion. You could say that the first person of European decent to imitate the process the locals had been using since before Europeans knew about there was already making a fake product if you want to be that uptight about things.
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Just wait until you guys learn not all black forest ham is from Germany.
Exactly. Hawaiian pizza was created by a Greek, in Canada, based off Chinese cuisine with the sweet and savory flavors, and is most popular in Australia.
The more you know ... the better you are at barstool trivia.
Just curious, but isn’t what makes some sourdough breads 'better' because of where you ferment the dough? Could the same be said about tobacco’s?
Short answer; yes. The yeast & mico fauna are in the air, the wood of the barrels, the leaves… hell, everything that the leaves come into contact with. You can do the exact same thing an hour or a continent away & it will produce different results. The same way you can bake someone else’s bread recipe &, while it still will taste amazing (hopefully), it won’t taste exactly the same.
I’ve never heard that about sour dough. But, as a winemaker, as long as your equipment is clean, I can buy California grapes and make wine exactly like the winery they came from… As long as I use their yeast.
The thing about perique is that you can use a bit of some bought perique as a starter for a new batch.
We used to have a member, jitterbugdude who made perique out of semois. I have a few blends that I used his perique and it rocks.
Russ made a line if VaPers using different periques from different farms. I enjoyed it, but the differences in tastes is very subtle. Most wouldn’t be able to tell a difference, if he hadn’t of used different blends other than perique in them.
The RO Perique Series? I experienced very noticeable differences between them. The clear winner for me was GP-11. Still a favorite. Others must have agreed, since it sold out before the other blends in the series.
That makes since about using a starter. That only really stays true if you get a fresh starter from that region every time. If you use a starter then feed it over time it will change due to the environment. At least that’s what I have learned about sourdough. Not sure the same can be said about tobacco or not.
San Francisco bakers certainly want us to think their local yeast makes their sourdough the best. They could be right, but I'm not the best judge. 
I still have a stash of those. I enjoyed them all. But, each blend used different Virginias and some had dark fire. How much of the taste differences were Russ's gourmet blending and just the perique? Rhetorical
But, all in all, this thread is about which is the real perique. Which is the real whiskey? The real jazz? Hell, which is the real Virginia? Let people ferment tobacco under pressure everywhere. Give us flavors from around the world. I would definitely smoke some perique'd rustica.
This is one of the better threads I've enjoyed in a while.
How would that work? Perique is a process of using pressure on carefully prepared and rotated leaves over a period of time.