I know that a couple years ago, the Virginia/Perique mixtures ("VaPers") came back into focus for many of us. As time goes on, and practices evolve, it seems to me that many of these are headed for Virginia/Burley/Perique territory ("VaBurPers" or "BurVaPers") because the Burley stabilizes the mixture under flame and keeps it from burning too hot and being too sweet.
So, here are a few to consider:
1. Savinelli - Doblone d'Oro
Here's the official description:
2. American Tobacco Company - Cotton Boll Twist + Rattray - Hal O' The Wynd
One of my personal favorites, but you have to homebrew it yourself, and I ran out of Cotton Boll Twist months ago. It tastes like Marzipan. This results from the contrast and complements of the two tobacco blends used to mix it.
A wynd, by the way, is a mountain path, and according to Iwan Ries, the blend name came from:
3. Dunhill - Royal Yacht + Cornell & Diehl - Burley Flake #1
Another quasi-handmade. How homebrew is it if you take two tins off the shelf, rub them out together and then mash them into a jar to let sit for a week or two? But that is exactly what I recommend you do here. I realize that there is no way to improve on Royal Yacht because it is, by itself, perfect in every way. However, we are not trying to improve it here, but trying to make it into a VaBurPer (personally, I like "PerVaBur" better, to avoid the word "burper" in the name).
Royal Yacht proves indescribable because it is a simple blend that expands into infinite internal flavors. It is like a fine wine that has a strong distinctive flavor, but brings up new sensations at each sip that can only be described with allegory: a breezy summer day, the first crabapple of spring, blood in your mouth from a knockout punch, leather seasoned with smoke, and so on. On the surface, it is a mixture of "Empire" Virginias which are quite strong, gently top flavor with what we are told resembles a "tawny Port" wine. In the vernacular, it is strong Virginias with a plum-like flavoring, but while it is being smoked, many other comparisons come to mind, alongside the daydreams, hallucinations, astral traveling, and other effects that it has on the smoker. Burley Flake #1 on the other hand seems to be:
4. Cornell & Diehl - Old Joe Krantz
Burley hits some people hard, especially blends that are heavy in dark Burley without balancing it with enough white Burley to soften the blow and sweeten the mix. For some reason, dark Burley has a "green" taste and feel, as if one consumed slightly under-ripe fruit. Eat three green bananas and you will feel this effect (but not, alas for William Powell, any hallucinations). For some, Old Joe clocks in at the high end of the Nicotine scale; for others, it is more of a medium; since late 2016 or so, the blenders seem to have modified it to have more moisture and more white Burley, so it is less of a military-grade assault and more of just the best OTC you have ever had. In fact, I predict that it will become a mass market blend named "Old Joe" one of these days and you will pick it up at your local Wal-mart, tobacco shack, or wherever Bugler, Carter Hall, and Prince Albert can be found in these degraded times.
But Old Joe Krantz remains a pleasure for many of us. If you do not get floored by the green Burley effect, you can smoke it all day, with a flavor like roasted nut bread with a slight frosting of butter and the best plum jam that you have ever had. This might be the original Va/Bur/Per (Per/Va/Bur) and many of us reach for it even in the new "low nicotine" version, which also comes in a ribbon cut instead of a rough cut, so burns better, more like the Dunhill or Peterson blends.
5. Peterson - Irish Oak
The official tin description says:
I seem to recall typing:
And Beyond...
For a genre as varied as the BurVaPers or VaBurPers, however you wish to call it, the above can only present a fragmentary introduction. You can find more options by searching TR.
So, here are a few to consider:
1. Savinelli - Doblone d'Oro
Here's the official description:
My take on it is simpler: this blend is what Three Nuns always wanted to be: a balance between bright Virginia, smoked leaf, stabilizing Burley, and tangy Perique. With all those flavors in balance, the blend burns with a flavor like honey from beers that visited trees and wildflowers instead of clover. The bright Virginia loses its white bread sugariness, the edge comes off the smoked leaf, the Burley broadens the mix, and the Perique injects its normal piquant flavor but is tempered into being more of a tang to the sweetness than a zing.
2. American Tobacco Company - Cotton Boll Twist + Rattray - Hal O' The Wynd
One of my personal favorites, but you have to homebrew it yourself, and I ran out of Cotton Boll Twist months ago. It tastes like Marzipan. This results from the contrast and complements of the two tobacco blends used to mix it.
A wynd, by the way, is a mountain path, and according to Iwan Ries, the blend name came from:
If you like Va/Pers, Hal O' The Wynd takes bright Virginia (mixed with other varieties) to a vinegar type flavor, probably as a result of how it is pressed and cased. This flavor is the closest to the original Three Castles tobacco, which really did merit the "blond" epithet. In the Rattray blend, the Perique and Virginias meld together to deliver this light, sweet flavor with a hint of sourness, like existential doubts and hopes clashing on a lonely winter night. With the addition of the Cotton Boll Twist, the flavor broadens and gains a nuttiness, which creates the Marzipan-like qualities: blended almonds, honey, sugar, and a shot of rose water. Together they form a synthesis between the nutty and the sweet that is unforgettable.
3. Dunhill - Royal Yacht + Cornell & Diehl - Burley Flake #1
Another quasi-handmade. How homebrew is it if you take two tins off the shelf, rub them out together and then mash them into a jar to let sit for a week or two? But that is exactly what I recommend you do here. I realize that there is no way to improve on Royal Yacht because it is, by itself, perfect in every way. However, we are not trying to improve it here, but trying to make it into a VaBurPer (personally, I like "PerVaBur" better, to avoid the word "burper" in the name).
Royal Yacht proves indescribable because it is a simple blend that expands into infinite internal flavors. It is like a fine wine that has a strong distinctive flavor, but brings up new sensations at each sip that can only be described with allegory: a breezy summer day, the first crabapple of spring, blood in your mouth from a knockout punch, leather seasoned with smoke, and so on. On the surface, it is a mixture of "Empire" Virginias which are quite strong, gently top flavor with what we are told resembles a "tawny Port" wine. In the vernacular, it is strong Virginias with a plum-like flavoring, but while it is being smoked, many other comparisons come to mind, alongside the daydreams, hallucinations, astral traveling, and other effects that it has on the smoker. Burley Flake #1 on the other hand seems to be:
The pressing seems to give the Perique more influence, perhaps through the mingling of tobacco juices -- the flake itself arrives moderately moist -- and the interplay between the condimental red Virginia and Perique. At its heart, however, this flake is a massive wallop of dark Burley, which gives it an unusual strength and a broad flavor that is more like sun-dried grains, if such a thing exists, than the usual "roasted" and "nutty" flavor of Burleys. It has an almost ancient flavor. When you combine it with the mesmerizing honey and wine flavor of Royal Yacht, the flake becomes mellowed and the Virginia flavor takes the lead, but harmonizes with the powerful backdrop of the Burley to gain a really warm and complex, shifting taste.
4. Cornell & Diehl - Old Joe Krantz
Burley hits some people hard, especially blends that are heavy in dark Burley without balancing it with enough white Burley to soften the blow and sweeten the mix. For some reason, dark Burley has a "green" taste and feel, as if one consumed slightly under-ripe fruit. Eat three green bananas and you will feel this effect (but not, alas for William Powell, any hallucinations). For some, Old Joe clocks in at the high end of the Nicotine scale; for others, it is more of a medium; since late 2016 or so, the blenders seem to have modified it to have more moisture and more white Burley, so it is less of a military-grade assault and more of just the best OTC you have ever had. In fact, I predict that it will become a mass market blend named "Old Joe" one of these days and you will pick it up at your local Wal-mart, tobacco shack, or wherever Bugler, Carter Hall, and Prince Albert can be found in these degraded times.
But Old Joe Krantz remains a pleasure for many of us. If you do not get floored by the green Burley effect, you can smoke it all day, with a flavor like roasted nut bread with a slight frosting of butter and the best plum jam that you have ever had. This might be the original Va/Bur/Per (Per/Va/Bur) and many of us reach for it even in the new "low nicotine" version, which also comes in a ribbon cut instead of a rough cut, so burns better, more like the Dunhill or Peterson blends.
5. Peterson - Irish Oak
The official tin description says:
You can translate this into: strong empire Virginias, muscular Burleys, and crushed Perique with a bit of Cavendish to mellow it out for you. This is a great smoke by itself, but a bit overwhelming in its bittersweet, vinegar-like flavor, so I tend to mix it with more Burley since the Burley acts like a sponge and sops up the flavor, making it broader and warmer, but delivering the goods.
I seem to recall typing:
This rings true today. The Virginias caramelize nicely and the Burley takes mostly a supporting role but is distinctive enough to be one of the fundamental ingredients of the resulting flavor. Maybe the sherry barrels have somewhat of an influence here, or that could be mostly the Irish tourism office having its say, but the mixture has a unique slightly acidic, sweet and mild flavor that is unique and delicious.
And Beyond...
For a genre as varied as the BurVaPers or VaBurPers, however you wish to call it, the above can only present a fragmentary introduction. You can find more options by searching TR.
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