Va/Per Perique Percentage

[timt]

There isn't one that I can think of. For red Va. and perique, try Sutliff Crumble Cake Red Virginia with Perique.

How about HH Louisiana Red? I remember your high praises for that a couple years back when this same topic came up, so I bought a pound to jar up for awhile.

 

[Effortlessdepths]

There isn't one that I can think of. For red Va. and perique, try Sutliff Crumble Cake Red Virginia with Perique.

Thanks, that was sort of what I was wondering. I think I'll press a blend of red va with perique, and another with red and bright/yellow with the perique, but not just yellow/bright with perique. Just didn't know if all brights vapers were a thing

 

[tfdickson]

I asked this question to Jim above but it must have got lost in the mix: does anyone know of any Va/Per that uses predominantly bright/yellow Virginia? Can anyone comment on the difference between using mostly bright/yellow or mostly red?

The closest I can think of is Solani 633, the VA’s in that one strike me as mostly bright. Not a lot of perique, I’d guess 5% or so, but it’s definitely there.

 

[JimInks]

The closest I can think of is Solani 633, the VA’s in that one strike me as mostly bright. Not a lot of perique, I’d guess 5% or so, but it’s definitely there.

As much of that I have smoked, I should have thought of it. There are a few streaks of darker Va. in the mix. To me, the Virginias are mostly golden and not bright, so it didn't hit my radar. Anyway, I think there's more than 5% of perique there. To my taste buds, it's around twelve percent, possibly a tad more. The spice content in it gives me that impression.

 

[JimInks]

How about HH Louisiana Red? I remember your high praises for that a couple years back when this same topic came up, so I bought a pound to jar up for awhile.

Yeah, you're right. I should have mentioned that one. I only have seven pounds of it here.

 

[tfdickson]

As much of that I have smoked, I should have thought of it. There are a few streaks of darker Va. in the mix. To me, the Virginias are mostly golden and not bright, so it didn't hit my radar. Anyway, I think there's more than 5% of perique there. To my taste buds, it's around twelve percent, possibly a tad more. The spice content in it gives me that impression.

I‘ll defer to you on the perique content, my record is pretty spotty when it comes to identifying perique. In one blind tasting I was convinced that I was smoking a wonderful VaPer, it turned out to be Capstan Blue. Here I thought I loved perique, you’d think I’d be able to pick it out. I guess I love it so much that I imagine it when it’s not there.

 

[JimInks]

One thing I neglected to mention is write down everything you do. Don't count on your memory for percentages of tobaccos. You'll find it easier to make adjustments if you note everything.

 

[Effortlessdepths]

One thing I neglected to mention is write down everything you do. Don't count on your memory for percentages of tobaccos. You'll find it easier to make adjustments if you note everything.

I weigh everything to the tenth of the gram, and have a nice little leather bound notebook devoted to blending where I keep track of exact percentages and take notes. I'm used to keeping track of a lot of numbers. I make historically accurate wooden and resin swords as part of my living, and building a hickory sword that has the same exact overall weight and balances at the same exact point as antique period weapons requires a lot math and keeping track of things, down to the brass weights inside each sword, to how much weight is removed by putting a groove/Fuller down the blade. Nauseatingly tedious I can assure you. Makes keeping track of tobacco percentages just plain fun.

 

[oldgeezersmoker]

Most taste buds these days seem to be wanting more “Perique forward” blends. I doubt my personal benchmark, McClelland 2015, had anywhere near 12% Perique.

 

[Country Bladesmith]

Most taste buds these days seem to be wanting more “Perique forward” blends. I doubt my personal benchmark, McClelland 2015, had anywhere near 12% Perique.

Yeah, I’m not sure how much it had, but that blend had stellar Virginias in it.

 

[craig61a]

I have two VaPer blends, one has 12.5%, the other 25% Perique. I don’t find that the Perique is overwhelming at 25%, but it’s a matter of how the base tobacco presents itself.

Also, the amount of time the blend is allowed to marry has bearing. Or if the blend is pressed.

 

[Country Bladesmith]

Also, the amount of time the blend is allowed to marry has bearing. Or if the blend is pressed.

Absolutely

 

[dcon]

As others have mentioned, there are going to be tons of variables. This is one reason there are so many VaPers on the market. The VA you choose is going to be the constant variable and what is perfect one time might be atrocious the next batch. Pressing, aging, combination are all, also, going to be factors (or not). It is a fun pursuit. I have blended a few favorites from different VA and the percentages are up and down. What you seek is another factor ranging from the fruity/plummy to the spicy. Good luck and have fun!

 

[Pirin]

I've smoked pure perique on many occasions, and anyone who says it blew their minds is a damned liar. It doesn't even have much nicotine in it at all. According to Mark Ryan in a lecture at La Poche, the fermentation process changes the nicotine molecule into a more complex molecule to where it becomes an acid. So, it has even less nicotine than a Virginia. However, the acid that it becomes makes the absorption of the leaf that it is blended with more absorbent. So, in a VaPer, the perique merely makes the excess nicotine in Virginias more absorbable. There is already enough nicotine in a Virginia to kill a horse, but because of the type of acid the VA is, we don't absorb it by itself. With a touch of perique, you can actually "feel" the effects of the Virginia's nic.

By itself, perique is merely boring. I advise that anyone interested in VaPers or blending smoke it by itself a few times. It will NOT make you sick, nor queezy. It merely is a pure acidity, very monochromatic.


On its own, it's not plummy. The new complex molecules help the aging of blended leaf, giving IT the more plummy aromas. So, it is not like a salt. It is more like a cinnamon. A little make a blend more sweet, fruity, etc, but too much, and the blend becomes acrid and peppery.

Couldn't agree more with a tiny correction - perique is alkaline.

Nicotine in the leaf is in salt (base) form. ALKALoid. Burning transforms it in freebase form (yes, scientists borrowed the term from the drug users). Nicotine in freebase form is easily absorbed by the mucous membranes in our mouths and noses. In salt form - much less so. Salts are being absorbed by the lungs better due to much larger surface area and larger exposure time.

"Virginias" are relatively high nicotine varieties but their smoke is acidic due to the high sugar content. The main purpose of flue curing is to stop the ageing process and retain the high sugar content. The acids in the smoke neutralise the freebase nicotine. Like vinegar and bicarbonate. VA's deliver well nicotine in cigarettes and not very well in the pipe despite they contain the stuff.
Perique changes the overall PH of the blend to less acidic, so a larger percentage of the nicotine is being "saved" from neutralisation.
Strait perique? How could perique increase the absorption rate of something that is not there in the first place? (Ok, ok, in small quantities). It also wouldn't dramatically increase the absorption in varieties that already burn alkaline. Perique just works best with flue cured. Reducing bite, increasing nicotine absorption, opening flavours. Since perique is made of burley it also adds body to the smoke.

I haven't smoked straight perique. I imagine it being bland. I also imagine it being bitey, but that other bite that tickles/ burns the larger surface of the tongue because of the high alkalinity. VA's bite mostly on the tip and around the front edge like vinegar.

As far as flavour is concerned the years had convinced me that smoking straight varieties of condimental tobaccos is not very informative. It is fun and I do it from time to time but is just that - fun. Think of munching straight vanilla vs diluted to 10% (I imagine being similar, haven't tried any of those). Now dilute it to a proper amount. You will still perceive it as vanilla but will be able to pick its woody, floral and other fine notes. Well, tobacco blending is a little more complicated than perfumery because other factors come into play - PH, burn rate, etc. Also a small amount of a certain flavour note can dramatically increase the perception of other notes in the blend. To me it's just an unpredictable process in the beginning (new variety).
Nowadays I simply do what everyone advises - start with a smaller percentage and build up. Orientals for example can taste dramatically different at different percentages. I familiarise better with the variety that way.

 

[Elric]

Didn’t Aleister Crowley smoke only 100% Perique soaked in rum?

and Aleister and Cosmic have never been seen in the same room. Hmm.....

 

[Pirin]

Courtesy of GL Pease:

“ Perique, on the other hand, is like salt. A pinch can enhance the flavours of a blend, without really making its presence known. A little more, and it becomes an influence to the overall taste. Too much, though, and your food becomes unbearably salty. Depending on the other tobaccos in a blend, the perique’s presence can be detected when the quantity reaches somewhere between 2% and 4% (by weight) of the overall mix. It may or may not be detectable in this range, but if it were removed from the blend, its absence would certainly be noted; the flavor of the blend would be more subdued, like someone turned down the volume.

Between about 4% and 8% or so, it begins to really make itself known. Somewhere in this range, perique’s voice begins to rise beyond the subliminal level, and the smoker begins to hear it, albeit softly. In this range, depending on the smoker, the detection of perique can be anywhere from, “I think there’s perique in this,” to, “This is a great blend, and the perique really adds something.”

In the 8% to 12% range, all doubt is removed. No matter what other tobaccos are vying for the smoker’s attention, perique will definitely wave its arms to be noticed. It’s not quite at the jumping up and down stage here, but the arm waving is certainly persistent throughout the bowl. It is when the percentage of the leaf is in this range that its lovers are happiest, and those who do not care for it would just as soon throw the pipe in the fire.

The jumping up and down begins at higher percentages, where the perique becomes an assertive, dominant component of the smoking experience. These are the waters on which only lovers of the stuff will sail. Some blends contain as much as 18-20% perique, and this is, indeed, a good working maximum, unless you want hair to grow on parts of your body you’d never expect it.”

GLPease hits the bulls eye.

 

[Bodhi]

As I have been getting into Perique lately, I have been enjoying Briarworks Back Down South. Not sure of the perique percentage but certainly gives the aroma when opening the jar and a good peppery taste throughout the bowl