pipesandcigars.com Perique Blend SV-23

The fairly tangy, citrusy Virginias also offer a bit of grass and hay with a touch of toast and honey. They form the base of the blend. The very noticeable South Vacherie perique provides a bit of white pepper, and is a tad leathery with coffee undertones, and its potency belies the amount used in this mixture. I consider it to be a second lead. The tingly white pepper does seem to get lightly stronger as you go along. This perique is a little less sweeter than what most smokers are used to. The nutty, very woody, earthy, toasty and light cocoa aspects of the burley have a modicum of sweetness in a support role. The strength is medium, while the taste level is just past that threshold. The nic-hit is in the center of mild to medium. Won’t bite or get harsh, and has no rough edges. Burns cool, clean, and slightly fast with a mostly consistent, rich, well balanced flavor all the way through the experience as it easily burns to ash. Has a lot of depth and body. Leaves little dampness in the bowl, and requires an average number of relights. Has a lingering peppery, woody, mildly sweet after taste. Not quite an all day smoke, but it’s certainly repeatable.

-JimInks

With the mention of "coffee notes", espresso, and some suppressed bitters, I anticipated a Perique bomb: dark, black tasting, maybe earthy and pungent. I popped the tin and to my surprise I found a mostly brown tone mix of crimp-cut leaf. The tin note was utterly unremarkable, with just a trace of a fishy smell -- but that doesn't appear during the smoke.

The Virginias are soft and possess an oat-like sweetness. Nothing sharp, grassy or bitey. The blend has an herbal, perhaps woody character and some deeper brown-tone flavors, but "strong coffee" would not be my first impression. If anything, this reminds me of an Oriental blend -- but one with an extraordinary taste component: the flavor of white pepper! I'm not talking about peppery pinch (though it has a little), but mainly the FLAVOR of white pepper. Most unusual! And it works with the tasty Virginia/Burley mix.

This is a novel blend, but at over $8.00/oz. it isn't one I will buy again; yet I think VaPer lovers will enjoy it. 2½ stars would be a more accurate rating: a good smoke, but don't expect the clouds to part and reveal the face of God. And if it's the allure of a coffee taste that grabs you, your local barista can do much better.

This, and the rest of this series, are the most anticipated pipe tobaccos I have ever purchased after reading an article written by Russ a year or two before their official release. He was talking of the different periques and his development of these blends to highlight said periques. Needless to say I anxiously awaited their release and jumped in ordering two of each immediately thereafter.

This is not the first tin I popped, but it is the first I finished. I opened the P37, or Paulina version first. Then I opened this to have in my vehicle mostly so I could compare the two. Probably not the best two to compare since the Paulina has Cavendish in place of the burley in all the others. I don't know why Russ decided to do that or how much difference that one substitution actually makes, but I do prefer the Paulina to this, the South Vacherie.

In smoking and appearance, both are very similar A thin ribbon cut that comes very dry mostly golden to reddish brown in appearance. The bowl is easy to pack and light and doesn't really need any relights if a decent cadence is upheld along with some key tamping along the way. I found that this burned faster than most tobaccos do and almost a little too fast for my preferences.

One thing both these blends have in common is that they are Perique bombs. It really is necessary to carry out the concept behind these blends. You would not be able to differentiate between periques if they did not stand out front and center. And with both those that I have tried, they no doubt, do. If you like your perique light ala OGS, pass these by. These have perhaps too much perique for my tastes, I have enjoyed diluting them a little with some unflavored Red Va Cavendish I had lying around.

If I had to rate this as a VaBurPer, I would likely give this 2 stars or less as the Va and Bur are a big part of those type blends and they are mostly blocked out by the perique. But since this is the purpose of these blends, it is not fair to hold them to a different standard than that which they were intended. For that reason, I am giving this one three stars as it falls below the Paulina version IMO.

It goes without saying that all five are a four star must have to perique freaks.

I got this because I wanted to get an idea of what "Single Estate" Perique might be like. Most Va/Pers that I have had in the past have been on the sweeter/fruity side whether they be bright and citrusy, or dark and plummy. This was neither. The sweetness from the Virginias is very subdued and it seems to be just there to balance out the peppery kick of the Perique. And there is definitely a peppery kick. I'm a big fan of Nicaraguan cigars (Don Pepin), and this blend reminded me somewhat of those. There is a blast of pepper for sure, but there are also loads of cocoa and coffee that come through. I will be interested to see how this blend ages and to see if there are any other flavors that emerge from the Perique. I really like the blend and it certainly showcases the Perique, but the price is somewhat prohibitive for it to be a regular smoke when there are other great Va/Pers out there for almost 50% less. I think the blend accomplishes what Russ intended and I will continue to purchase the blend for as long as it is around, but it won't be something that I smoke on a daily/weekly basis.