J. F. Germain & Son Royal Jersey Perique Mixture

UPDATE 7/13/13

Cracked another tin of this that has about 2 years worth of age on it. My below opinion hasn't changed. As a VaPer, it's pretty lightweight, although not bad. There are other blends that are light in perique that seem to use a better batch of virginias or something to bring out more flavor. This is a decent blend but I find nothing special in it, certainly nothing to warrant more than 2 stars.

ORIGINAL REVIEW

This is a brick of near-shag tobacco with a dull color and a heavy, fruity scent of perique. Excellent tin aroma - very enticing. Unfortunately, this wonderful, heady aroma doesn't transfer to the taste as much as I'd like.

This blend had the usual shag difficulty in loading and I had to be careful not to over-or-underload. Once ignited, it burned with ease and produced no tongue maligning steam. The flavor, however, was dumbed down to the point that it never elevated itself beyond "OK". The perique was barely noticeable in the taste and the virginias seemed vapid and ill-conceived, although not unpleasant. Weird description, I know. This is a smooth, congenial blend with a very light sweetness, but is simply too light in flavor. Down the bowl, the mild perique spice simply becomes lost in a sea non-descript warm air. This blend exhibits no major flaws but there is little to recommend it unless the smoker happens to enjoy a very mellow, unobtrusive taste that calls no attention to itself.

The Royal Jersey line is my least favorite in the Germain stable. They tend to be inconsistent in terms of flavor, at least to my tastes. Of them RJ with Latakia is my favorite. This one I was hesitant to review since I have smoked about 3 + oz's and I find them to be all over the place. I decided to write this now as I discovered that this is a blend for the cob and is best smoked bordering on brittle. The Virginia's are grassy and uncharacteristically bland. I find very little sweetness in this blend, but it is sweetest in a cob. The Perique provides some peppery notes but not much of the raisin and plum flavors that I like most about Perique. The bottom quarter of the bowl becomes a bit toasty and has some bready flavor. Regardless of moisture content, it can get harsh if you don't smoke this slowly. Not what I would call a VAPer but it is interesting. I will likely see what some age will do for it.

I like Perique, but not a ton of it, so I was a little apprehensive about this blend. Well….there’s Perique in the name, but it isn’t a Perique powerhouse by any stretch. As others have mentioned, the tin scent of this blend is really enticing, but it just serves to raise expectations that simply weren’t met, at least by me. I like the very thin cut, although I’m not sure I’d call it a shag. It’s easy to pack and burns really nicely. There is a subtle sweetness and a little fruity, but like I have experienced with other Germain blends sold under the company name, I am left wanting. There isn’t much in the way of complexity, which for me doesn’t determine the overall quality of a blend, but when it’s lacking, the straightforward flavor needs to be spot on. Perique blend, is a decent tobacco, but for me, not worth the hunt for an available tin. I continue to find the Germain blends that I have tried, with the exception of Eighteen Twenty, not reaching the bar that the company sets for their Esoterica line or Smoker’s Haven line of tobacco. Taste is a very subjective thing, but for me two stars seems about right.

Had this jarred for a little over a year and just recently got to it. When I opened the lid a strong wine-like smell hit me and I started licking my chops. Had to wait a bit though as it needed some drying time. Finally got a bowl stuffed and fired it up and immediately started wondering where the flavor disappeared to. The little flavor I got was very nice but very muted. It's the flavor of a fine mulled wine but so mild as to be not to my liking. Tried in numerous pipes and various moisture levels with the same result each time. If you're into mild flavors this would be a great choice for you. Sadly, it's not for me.

Body is mild to medium. Flavor is mild. Burns very well.

I don't know if I had a bad batch, but I was seriously underwhelmed by this blend.

The sight of the dried out broken bits with more than a fair share of stem twigs was somewhat unprepossessing and the pack aroma was very faint. It packed, lit and burned well enough, but I found the taste rather dull and one-dimensional, I was hoping for spicy fruit, but all I got was a rather dry and dusky smoke.

As I said, I am not convinced that my sample was in the best condition so in fairness I am awarding it an extra star. But I am not sure I can bring myself to risk another go. Disappointing.

This is another OK blend from Germain and, like Royal Jersey Latakia, I'm just not overly excited by it. However, I found myself liking this a bit more than RJL. This blend's cut follows suit with RJL and Smokers' Haven OBB and EM (blended by Germain), meaning long, fine cut strings of tobacco in varying dark shades.

From the tin, it has a heavier aroma but also has a "fruitiness" to it. This fruit component is one aspect that initially turned me off but is lost once lit in the bowl. As it aged, it lost most of the fruity aroma and picked up the "tea" aroma I've noticed in other blends.

I found this to be a fairly robust blend in the pipe and appears to be fairly bland. I didn't find much else coming through other than just a heavy, peppery smoke. I would also say it's not an all day blend. For me, it left me a bit light-headed due to the nicotine content.

This, like Roayl Jersey Latakia, is borderline two or three rating but gains a two because I just can't really find anything that intrigues me or would cause me to purchase it again. Like RJL, I feel this is a good quality tobacco, as I believe all of the Germain offerings are, but it's just not for me.

Very typical Germain taste. It is sweetened with some sort of liqueur probably and it tastes like a very mildly topped Danish blend – dried fruit, liqueur. Maybe there is some spicyness and dried fruit, but it’s not at all similar to your typical Va/Per (Escudo, Royal Flake). It has the unique Germain taste and it’s similar to Plum Cake.

Has medium strength with a decent nicotine content. At times it can get too sweet. I am glad I tasted it but I don’t think I would buy again. Recommended to those who like the style, if you’re looking for another Va/Per you might be disappointed.

As said here before, I would not call this a traditional Vaper. I've never had a tobacco quite like this. Very moist and dries slow. I like my baccy on the dry side, but not dried out. I set this out for a hour. When somebody says a tobacco is smooth, now I know exactly what it means. The Virginia's are on the light side, and normally to me that means I won't be satisfied but this Virginia has depth. The sweetness is what stands out. A touch of perique complements the top notch Virginia. There is a topping or maybe flavored cavendish. I hesitate to call it a florial essence, but almost. More like a very mild fruit, blended with notes of the seaside. Notes of salt, seaweed and fish oil really make this interesting. Just not my style.

The tin opens with a scent of Burley, almost exactly the sweet plummy musk in a tub of Granger. The delicate ribbon cuts form a brick in the tin, but easily shred for decent packing. The Perique is somewhere in there, and may develop with aging. The overall smoke is light as a cracker, and does not distinguish itself much from cheaper brands. My only real buggaboo is its cigarette-like aftertaste. An occassional smoke, but not the Jersey treat I was hoping for, given that Germain is blending for Esoterica.