pipesandcigars.com South Vacherie

The base of Burley and Virginia is indeed somewhat neutral and doesn't infringe on the flavor of the Perique at all. I do get a mild nuttiness from the Burley and a touch of hay from the Virginia. There is a mild sweetness that seems to come from both. The Perique, as designed, is the star of the show. It does have a dark espresso/coffee like flavor. I can't detect any fruitiness or herbal notes. The spice is ample yet gentle giving no distress to the throat or nasal passages. I find this to be a pure pleasure to smoke and I think I may be getting a little addicted to it. Perfect moisture straight from the tin. No drying time needed. A wonderful smoke.

Medium in body and taste. No added flavorings. Burns very well, in fact, a bit quick without getting hot.

Sweet and smooth with just a touch of pepper. A wonderful, easy-burning blend. Good, quality Burley. The perfect amount of perique. I'm loving this blend. Thanks Russ!

Well I bought into the advertising that the Golden Triangle offered something special in the way of rare or reserved tobacco. Honestly, my feelers are probably too pedestrian to detect the higher quality if it does exist. I opened the tin to the light smell of wet hay and wheatgerm, so akin to what I found in other Virginia's, but milder in note.

Moisture was just right and the cut was shredded quite thin with a mix of gold and light brown, making a lot of tiny "dust" bits at the bottom. Lit well and was pleasant to smoke without being harsh or nicotine heavy. The flavor was what I expected from the initial smelling. I am a huge fan of espresso and pull a shot of it every day, yet I wasn't able to detect any in here (though to be fair, that is the case whenever espresso is in a blend's description).

Maybe their is truth in advertising, as it did strike me as a quality smoke and could see why other reviewers rated it highly.

A pleasant enough experience, that might have the nuances hardened VaPer fans may be looking for. For me it was just another fine addition to the genre I am only a fair-weather fan of.

Received a sample in my recent Tinsociety shipment.

I had never heard of the Golden Triangle series so this one was a pleasant surprise to me.

Tobaccos are ribbon cuts and a mixture of browns and darker pieces. "Bagnote" was pretty straightfoward VaPer with earthy notes to my nose. Tobacco seemed pretty good moisture content and was easy to pack in a cob.

I got lots of peppery notes out of the entire smoke. Not overpowering but in the background. Smoked slowly, there was a hint of something that was coffee/espresso particularly in the aftertaste. Missing was the stewed fruit I usually associate with perique so this is something different for sure.

Burns really well and the taste doesn't change throughout the bowl. The Nic level seems pretty medium, felt but doesn't knock me out.

I liked this blend well enough through my sample, but haven't decided if it would ever be a regular in my rotation so I'll give it 3 stars.

After the Belmont and Paulina perique mixes, it was time to try the South Vacherie. The tobacco in the tin was dried out, so this blend took about 4 days to moisten, and I thought that was enough time.

The ready tobacco has a color from light brown to dark brown, the different varieties of Virginia and Perique are easily distinguishable. The cut is an attempt to make a ribbon, but still more like just finely chopped tobacco. It is very light and fluffy to the touch. It does not need to be kneaded in preparation for smoking, it easily fills the pipe.

The flavor is rye bread, some hay, black pepper, sun-dried fish, a little cocoa. Simple and uncomplicated, but now I can tell that perique from different regions varies significantly in smell. The tobacco from South Vacherie is the strongest in flavor, although the simplest in my opinion.

The pipe is very easy to light. The tobacco taste is a bright and harsh peppery note, which even overpowers Virginia with its taste of bread, with a touch of sugar and bitter chocolate. By the middle, though, the Virginia takes over. And at the end it prevails - pepper remains only in the odor of smoke, and there is more bread and chocolate, a slight sweetness appears. In terms of strength, the South Vacherie Perique blend was the lightest of all, its strength is below average. No nicotine hit to speak of.

The tobacco burns smoothly and easily, does not go out, burns quickly. The pipe of medium size and leisurely smoking was completely smoked in about 20 minutes, and it is despite the fact that the tobacco I slightly overmoistened - in the channel and the cup was a lot of moisture. The ash is loose, light gray.

The smoke has a sweetish aroma with a peppery note, easily dispersed.

What is the result? A very simple blend. I understand that the goal of this series was to introduce consumers and enthusiasts to how perique from different areas of the St. James region differs, and in my case, that goal was achieved. For the sake of interest, the author should have created another blend based on the same sack of Virginia and Burley, but added Acadian perique to show the difference with it. But, all other things being equal, all three blends turned out to be quite simple, despite the difference in flavor. Belmont, Paulina, South Vacherie - the taste of each of them is interesting in its own way: Belmont - softness and almond note, Paulina - changeability and strength. Well, and South Vacherie - lightness and its peppery note. I kept a tin of each tobacco to check my feelings in a few years.