The Flavors of Perique: Fruity vs. Spicy -- FIGHT!

[BriaronBoerum]

According to one (and our only) analysis, Perique tastes like 330 different molecules. See a list of them all here (pp. 6-16):

http://www.leffingwell.com/download/Volatile%20Constituents%20of%20Perique%20Tobacco4.pdf

Pepper and plum flavors are okay, I guess. Personally, I’m in it for the beetle pheromone.

View attachment 415740

Beetlemania Lives!

 

[BriaronBoerum]

I won't begin to speculate on why they sometimes taste spicy and sometimes fruity (too many potential factors, could be age, what it's mixed with, something in processing, relative proportions, etc).

What I can say is, I hate the spicy/peppery perique, I only like it when it's fruity.

The majority of va/per blends I have tried were peppery, though a few had the fruity taste. I'm already not the biggest fan of most virginias to begin with (though a few I love, like C&D's "Steamworks" and "Sun Bear", and several va/or bkends), so making a va-based blend peppery is even more of a "no thanks" for me.

The only va/per I had that I can remember that wasn't peppery was WCC Rouxgaroux (which, is hit-or-miss in that department, most of the time it's fruity, but occasionally I'll have a bowl or a few puffs in a bowl that are peppery).

But, the va/per style isn't the only place it's used and so far, none of those non-va/per blends have been peppery to me as far as I can remember.

Ok, so it's not just me that finds Rouxgaroux kind of a gumbo of flavors, not always consistent!

 

[sablebrush52]

This is the answer. Along with the varieties that D&R offered, the differences could also be tasted in the P&C Golden Triangle series where the perique from different parts of St. James Parish were highlighted. I never had the chance to get too many different batches of perique from La Poche outside that Golden Triangle series and a few other offerings I stumbled across over the years, but it was always fascinating to taste the differences in the perique.

Mark and Russ Ouellette repeated the same idea years later when they launched the Perique Series on the RO label. GP-11 remains my favorite of that series, and I bought a lot of it.

The D&R Blender's Bench series made available some truly outstanding Periques as well as other varietals. My Perique directly from La Poche were all gifts from Mark. They weren't allowed to sell retail.

 

[Sigmund]

I’m a freak for perique. I find it fruity most the time.

 

[brian64]

Perique is a magic ingredient that manifests unique results in different blends.

It cannot be understood or even questioned...only appreciated and enjoyed.

Those who do not appreciate and enjoy it are cursed and wretched.

 

[sardonicus87]

Oh and PS LNF isn't peppery to me, I like that one.

Ok, so it's not just me that finds Rouxgaroux kind of a gumbo of flavors, not always consistent!

It's mostly consistent for me, at least the overall base tone of it. And I only have one can of Rouxgaroux from fall 2023. It's been in a cVault container (with no Boveda pack) since basically the day I got it.

But yeah, it and several other tobaccos aren't always consistent through the bowl, which is fine and something I expect to happen for complex blends (and I mean expect here, and it's not something I necessarily want or care about or desire, just expected as the nature of the territory).

When you have several leaves mixed, not every bowl will have the exact same proportions as the overall blend, or even every individual puff within a bowl.

 

[LOREN]

For me, taste is somewhat spicy but smell is stewed fruit.

 

[Richmond B. Funkenhouser]

Never tasted fruit.

Really perique tastes as far from fruit as you can get.

IMO

 

[Pypkė]

Smoking straight perique without the rum - I get something kind of like dark fruit, but not really. Never spice. To me it tastes like perique.

I have experienced the pepperiness people report, but that was in a blend. I sneezed. The pepper could have come from the other tobaccos in the blend.

Try describing the taste of a fresh cucumber in terms of anything but not like itself. That's what tasting reviews seem like to me.

 

[dottlejockey]

Perique grown in different parts of St James Parrish will develop different profiles. Different years will affect flavors.

I've read this as well, which is one of the reasons next time i take a trip to New Orleans, the Parish region will be on my map and itinerary. I'm wanting to do a tour and hoping to acquire some samples...for just such science.

 

[Papamique]

Less filling