Peretti Thanksgiving Day

Burley,Virginias and orientals with some kind of flavoring sometimes it tastes like anise other times it taste like cocoa, very high quality tobacco, lights easily, smokes great, the nicotine its a little on the strong side which I find great specially after dinner, it can be somewhat monochromatic not that theres anything wrong with that, If you're a burley smoker definetly this will make your list of must buys.

so would I buy it again...yes!

This is a curious blend offered by Peretti's during the holiday season. I say “curious” because despite the implied suggestion in the name that it is somehow limited or special, I find it to be very reminiscent of several other Peretti's Burleys. In some ways, that's a good thing. All of the Burley and Burley-based tobaccos I've had from the shop are of impeccable quality. I'm just not entirely sure how this qualifies as a “Thanksgiving Day.” I mean…where's the sage, the cranberry, the candied yam, the turkey?

Thanksgiving Day arrives as a lightly pressed 4 oz block in a bag with an orange wrapper. It breaks apart very easily into a rough and cube cut tobacco. It packs, lights, and burns very easily (much more easily than the straight cube cuts from the shop) and produces generous quantities of smoke. The flavor profile is both familiar and subtle. The Burley here starts off a little woody, but then settles down to more familiar nuttiness. The Burley flavor is supported by a light sweetness—molasses or Golden Syrup, perhaps, and maybe some 5100-ish Virginia Cavendish—and a faint herbal vanilla quality in the background. I wouldn't be surprised if there is a little deer tongue in the mix.

I find it to be a very subtle and relaxing tobacco, which is perhaps more the intention behind the name than recollection of a bloated belly and a bottle of Beaujolais. Or perhaps it is designed to recall Thanksgiving bloat and supply a little nicotine to cure the post-meal constipation and a little sweet-smelling smoke to mask the turkey gas.

Lovers of OTC Burleys like Kentucky Club (especially the Continental Blend) or Carter Hall will find something instantly recognizable in a blend like this. The tobacco quality is higher here, I think, but the gentle quality of the Burley-dominated smoke, the relatively high nicotine content, and the simple but enjoyable tastes all recall to me the pleasures of American OTCs.

This is a blend you always see a big deal made about each October and November. Basically its a burley blend with some fruitiness to it.

It's not a bad blend, but to be honest, I'm not entirely sure what the fuss is about. I suspect this is one of those cases of the hype primarily coming from the fact of its named association with a holiday many Americans hold dear (positive association), and the fact that it is only released once per year (scarcity), thus making it more of a thing in some people's minds than it otherwise would be if it were just a standard offering from Peretti. If this were a standard offering and it was named something else, I doubt you'd see the same -- so kudos to the good folks at Peretti for some good marketing!

Thanksgiving Day is a delightful aromatic with Burley and some Virginia. Both are top drawer leaf. Pressed crumble cake with some rum and warm spices of the season. A deft touch Lakeland is also present, but not enough to overpower the blend. Some grassy citrus from the Virginia with the bulk of the flavor from the earthy, nutty Burley. Packs and burns well with few relights. No excess moisture one very little dottle. All in all a smooth seasonal blend that is hard to beat. Glad I bought 2 cakes this year as they are going fast for me! Solid 4 and a blend that I plan to make an annual indulgence.

Revisited 'Thanksgiving Day' by LJ Peretti Company this morning and I am happy to say that I have changed my opinion of this Burley blend. What I initially thought was dull and tasteless has, three months later, become a delight to smoke. This time I tasted the distinct nuttiness of the high-quality burley and the floral perfume of the anise. The cinnamon was hardly noticeable accept in the aftertaste. This time I set aside the briar and packed it into a cob which allowed the background sweetness of the supporting Virginia to shine. I recommend setting aside the coffee and the Latakia for a few hours before smoking it to really taste the wonderful subtleties of this blend. So happy I decided to give this one another go!

I wanted to make sure to add this review prior to the release of this blend this year. This has got to be one of the WORST tasting tobaccos blends ever to be conceived. Does the description sound questionable to you? Be afraid, this blend truly is a potpourri of bizarre tastes that just dont work. After trying 3 bowls and not being able to finish a single one I can tell you this stuff is awful.

Happy Thanksgiving Day - 2021 Pipe Smokers.

I broke out my jar of 2020 Thanksgiving Day from Peretti to enjoy today. I had a bowl last year when new and wasn't overly impressed, but put it in a jar and thought.. I'll see what a year does.

Well.. the year has made a world of difference. The tobaccos now seem to come through more with a hint of rum and fruit on top in a very light aromatic treat. The quality of the tobacco is obvious and I'd love to know what the 7 tobaccos in there are.

It is the perfect time of year to be puffing on this, and if the family allows you to smoke inside, (or I suppose outside where it’s warm) this aroma will make some friends. This is a review of the 2019 offering. It Is a firmly pressed cake that crumbles easily, but maintains fairly large chunks. It is a melange of tan, dark yellow, brown, and black ribbon combined with torn leaf, rough cut, and very tightly pressed cube cut. The anise is up front in both the dry aroma and the char light. I cannot appreciate the rum or supposed fruit juices, and certainly have no guesses as to which ones. There is a floral quality to the anise combining with the tobacco. I would have guessed there must be a bit of DFK added give the light smokiness I perceived at the beginning and middle of each bowl. I think this is the collusion of the anise and burley to give a clove like flavor. Still, the perceived smokiness?There were a number of times early on when I questioned my sanity as I almost thought “Latakia?” at times. There are some pleasant earthy, woody notes. Mid bowl is marked by some nice notes of complex “cabinet spice”. This blend seems more scented than topped or cased. I found that it smoked a bit wet.

I do intend to update this every several years when the season rolls around to assess aging potential.

The following is for the 2023 release.

L. J. PERETTI- THANKSGIVING DAY – EXTENDED IMPRESSIONS

Although posting a blurb on this tobacco was definitely not in the cards for the week, I did want to get my more formal impressions out there for the benefit of any of you good pipers who might be entertaining this blend. Time is short and seeing that this tobacco is a limited, fast-selling release, I forced myself to quickly pen this one out between my daily meetings. So, for what it is worth, here are my qualified thoughts based upon more extensive smoking.

First and foremost, this is a mild-medium crumble cake production of seven different varietals including Burley, Virginia, Cavendish, and Maryland. It is lightly dressed in a bath of dark rum and assorted fruit-based additives. Visually the tobacco looks quite scrumptious in its gathered form and does easily break apart for proper preparation. What you see is a handsomely thick matting of various mixed cuts that displays the generosity of exceedingly rich browned character.

Essentially the nose on this tobacco is generally inviting. For the native influences, a dominant sweet-sour note of wholesome Burley leads borrowing from its nutty and woody tendencies. There is just a bit of citrus that is vaguely reported as well as some seasoned earthiness. Furthermore, the pouch springs with airs of bright tart, mixed sugars, non-distinct fruit, and an elusive mint-like spice. The applied rum coating is exceptionally minimal in presence which eventually mirrors in the registerable flavoring.

Overall Thanksgiving Day is a well-rounded semi-aromatic and does feel essentially codger-like in constitution. For having seven different tobaccos as prime constituents within the recipe, it is not overly complex but rather encounters with a fairly contained and simple profile. And because of that, there is not an abundant degree of nuance, but the blend is charismatically mellow and colorful all the same. Of course, one does receive that classic Peretti Burley character, which is meritorious in itself. I did not experience as much of that typical, well as I call it, soapy-floral that I have come to associate with Peretti Burleys but there are nice seasonable herbaceous piney undertones, nonetheless.

Specifically, this one carries a solid balance between comfortable sweetness and a classic full Burley charm. Principally the blended registration features sugary nuttiness and impressively darker zesty wood tones coming from the mixed leaves. And in being sensitive to my own personal preferences for the genre, Thanksgiving Day endows that delicious sourness that I love so well. The standard accenting reveals a healthy dose of brown sugar, anise, mild clove, mixed kitchen spices, lightly refreshing mint, and a nice rich molasses. Moreover, occasionally I picked up additional phasing of sulfur and notable char that brought out a little more headiness in the taste rendering.

For the other condiments, mainly they tend to be well absorbed by the powerful Burley thread. With a modest bottom-level commenting, the Virginian offers a distant node of citrusy lemon grass and a weaker tracing of spicy, floral wood. A consistent bit of earthen zest enters from the Cavendish and perhaps the functional Maryland strain as well.

As to the coatings, again being a semi-aromatic tobacco, not particularly heavy in their contribution. They do enhance the overall softening sweetness within the full profile but are very much metered with a conservative hand. For the rum, you do experience a clear yet lighter top annotation of darker spirited spice that lends a perfecting tone marked with hints of caramel-vanilla. The fruit-based additives are somewhat cryptic given their magnitude. Being decidedly citrus mannered in nature, perhaps orange lemon more than anything else would be my speculation.
The room aroma on Thanksgiving Day stands for pleasurable effects. Basically, a sweet-sour push of resonating toasty Burley envelops the extended space. It demonstrates substantial permanence and for the average Burley aficionado, you will thoroughly enjoy its remarking.

Generally, I experienced solid mechanical performance and a so-so consequence on felt nicotine. And if I were to spend time on a more diligent assessment, possibly I would discover additional attributes than what has been expressed here. Yet, I can say Thanksgiving Day is a tasty holiday companion that I would most definitely recommend for the gobbling. One final thought is that it seems reasonable to expect the flavors to set more properly with time in the jar as the blend is for the most part young. And that is precisely what I now intend to do. So, with all that being stated, I will give this one a qualified 3.3 Pipes.