Peretti Oriental No. 40

This is a lovely, light, mild and elegant tasting blend with a mellow pepperiness and a sweet finish. This is not the type of mixture that a blending house just throws together. Something like this takes time to perfect. Oriental No. 40 is like a fine Pilsner style beer. The flavors are balanced, simple and understated. It produces a beautiful musky aroma, that quintessential Oriental scent if you will.

I taste many flavor references here, a bit of Tashkent, slight hints of Royal Blend, even slivers of Presbyterian & Dunhill London Mixture. The smoke is delicate and airy, yet remarkably flavorful. It burns clean and leaves my palate feeling somewhat dry but oddly refreshed. I can see where smoking this might have some pipers wanting for strength, but for a mild, flavorful, expertly balanced Oriental smoke with a dashing aroma, this is really tough to beat.

One thing I found is that Oriental No. 40 behaves much like a bright sugary straight Virginian. It is at its best when smoked at a slow sip. Lets just say that this blend is less forgiving of heavy puffing and it can turn bitter and even bite if overheated. Aside from that, I have found much enjoyment smoking this one.

The floral, fairly spicy, woody, earthy, leathery, herbal, lightly salty and creamy buttery sweet, dry, sour and slightly bitter Orientals also have a few “unflavored soda” notes as the lead component. The smoky, musty, woody, earthy, incense-like sweet Cyprian Latakia plays a back up role. The strength is a couple steps shy of the medium threshold while the taste is just past medium. The nic-hit is a little closer to medium than it is to mild. Won’t bite or get harsh, but it has a couple rough edges. Burns fairly cool and very clean at a moderate pace with a deeply rich, consistent mildly sweet and more spicy, savory flavor from top to bottom that translates to the lightly lingering after taste. Gets a little more bitter in the last third of the pipe. Leaves little dampness in the bowl, and requires an average number of relights. It tends to leave one with some dryness and tongue tingle from the spice in the mouth, so have a drink handy. Not an all day smoke.

-JimInks

The tin aroma is chock-full of pungent orientals and a bit of smokiness from the Latakia. The cut is short-to-medium, a mixture of tan to medium brown ribbons, and the tobacco is at the perfect moisture level. (They're definately not selling water.) Oriental #40 packs easily into a bowl of any size and lights without fuss. The initial flavor is a full-on blast of Orientals...a very strong, musty flavor. Things settle down quickly, and the smoke is both spicy and salty on the tongue. Along with the expected mustiness from the Orientals and smokiness from the Latakia, there are minor notes of sour fruit and leather here, along with something like nutmeg. (These are just impressions, not actual flavorings.) The smoke feels dry, and the tobacco smokes dry in the pipe. Oriental #40 requires less attention than any other tobacco I know, rarely needing a re-light and never causing a gurgle in the pipe. This tobacco cannot bite, and tastes good throughout the bowl. When it's gone, I always want more.

For a pure oriental mixture, I can't imagine having a more well rounded, tangy and supple smoke. The quality is exceptional and the taste is supurb. Don't expect a knocked down experience, though, as it is quite mild, but makes a fantastic morning smoke or first bowl of the day (translation: low nicotine). Or, if you're so inclined, a nice before bed, low impact tantalizer. Besides 333, which burns too hot for my puffing cadence, every Peretti blend that I've tried has been very good or elite.

First off, Lustra hit the nail on the head; if you like Orientals then this is for you. My taste buds like bitter, cloves and black pepper. Ding, ding ding, this is it. If you have read any of my other reviews then you will see I enjoy a lot of varied tobaccos but for me Orientals are king. Sadly a lot of Oriental blends tend to be lame but the folks at Peretti have found the mark with #40. They took the time to assist me in my quest and for that I am in their debt. I smoke this several times per week in a Peterson system full bent to get the total treatment. If you desire a nicotine buzz move on, that ain't what 100% Oriental blends are about, but what a strange and interesting aftertaste they do impart. No bite, but don't rush it, it just becomes too bitter. For me a 4 star. Thanks, Peretti.

Appearance: A ribbon cut of mostly medium shades, with some darker leaf showing.

Aroma: Rich Oriental aroma with some Cyprian Latakia nose. No Va. sweetness detected.

Packing: Packs easily into any size pipe.

Lighting: Lights with relative ease, occasionally one match, but usually needs two.

Initial flavor: Hello, this is different. All I get at the beginning is a rich spicy flavor and some smokiness. Truly a beguiling flavor here.

Mid-bowl: This is a blend totally devoid of Virginias. Since the base is Oriental, this is a true Balkan. It isn?t Balkan Sobranie, which had more Latakia and used Yenidje, but something much more subtle. The flavors interplay nicely, and always have a little surprise for you. Definitely a blend to savor slowly.

Finish: Burns down calmly to the bottom, without a gurgle. Leaves a nice dry white ash. It does not fatigue the palate at all, making it, IMHO, a light/medium Balkan in the range of GLP Kensington

Summary: A blend smooth enough to smoke all day, yet rewarding enough to relax with.

Like most tobaccos I receive from Peretti's, this blend comes a little on the dry side, which is perfect for smoking directly from the pouch. From the description, I believe this blend contains no Virginia or Cavendish, and this is confirmed by both the pouch note and the smoke.

What a delightful blend! Light, peppery and dry on the palate, it reminds me of why I love Balkan blends and other oriental mixtures. The incense-like note is strong, and present throughout the bowl. Many of my favorite Balkan blends deliver that note on occasion, but Oriental #40 supplies it throughout. There are no Virginias in the blend, and as a consequence, there is no sweetness here, and also very little heat or bite. The blend remains cool to the bottom, and leaves my palate feeling refreshed.

On a side note, I smoked a bowl this morning, and then brewed a pot of strong dark-roasted coffee. My first few sips tasted just like Turkish Coffee! Perhaps it was a psychosomatic effect, with thoughts of the near-east swirling about. However, I was so taken aback, and the flavor was so distinct, I don't think it was merely "in my head". If you have the blend on hand, give this a try.

Oriental No.40 presents as a range of light to dark brown, hand-cut ribbons. Exquisite Oriental tin note of pepper and exotic spice, herbal, with a bit of smokiness. The tobacco arrives quite dry and is ready to smoke right out of the bag or can. The charring light brings a whisp of sweetness followed by flavors of the true light delivering what the nose promised: herb, spice, black & white pepper, a hint of salt, some wood & even a bit of parchment, some smoke. By mid-bowl, the herb retreats and peppery, spicy flavors and wood are dominant. Some salted nuttiness appears in the final third.

No.40 is very similar to Tashkent in flavor complexity, but thinner and lighter. Oriental No.40 highlights the higher and sharper notes of the Oriental leaf and has a less creamy mouthfeel than its cousin. But this is a feature, not a bug: No.40 is crisp and cool, mild in body for this style of tobacco, yet without sacrificing any flavor complexity.

As with any quality Oriental, and those of this blending house in particular, No.40 smokes very cool and dry, requiring few relights, has zero bite and leaves no mess in the pipe. Smokes down to literally nothing. A first class blend. This is one of those smokes where I'm disappointed when it finally ends - wish it would last the entire evening.

L.J. Peretti's Oriental No. 40 is a pure Balkan blend, insofar as it is comprised of "only tobaccos from the Near East." No Virginias, Burleys, Perique--no domestic tobaccos of any kind. From what I understand, it's a blend of two types of Turkish and Latakia. Visually, there are two shades of brown and the black of Latakia in pretty equal proportions, so the description would appear to be accurate.

As with all Peretti tobaccos, it arrives at the perfect moisture level, packs easily, and burns down to a fine, white ash. The florals and spice of the Orientals dominate, accompanied by the smoky undertones of the Latakia. Oriental No. 40 is heady, with subtle layers revealed throughout the smoke. The aroma evokes what I imagine a British men's club from the late-Nineteenth or early 20th Century would be--all woolens, wood, leather, and prodigious clouds of pipe tobacco smoke. Due to the lack of Virginas, there is no overt sweetness; and while as others have mentioned there is a suggestion of bitters, it is only a hint--and it is not a detriment. The bitter quality is pleasant and balanced by creaminess like a well-pulled shot of espresso or the leading edge of a Sicilian amaro.

A candidate for an all-day companion, as well as the perfect nightcap. Nor is Oriental No. 40 only a cool-weather tobacco: it smokes equally well even in the mercurial height of summer. Like all of Peretti's English blends, it has the credentials of storied blends of yore. At Peretti, yesterday is still here.

Brown to black ribbon with some messy long cuts and a sweet and tangy oriental with a bit of latakia in the background. Smelled heavenly.

Loads and lights easily and immediately shows off its bitter side. Bitter isn't necessarily bad but I found myself wishing for more sweetness of flavor - more of a Virginia presence. If you think of oriental tobaccos as incense-y and sort of herbal, this is the darker side of oriental a la Tashkent. And I had the same issue with this as with Tashkent... interesting but lacking the sweetness and tang I prefer. As predominantly a Virginia smoker, that natural sweetness is my thing. This has almost none. The flavor was musty and dry on the finish with tons of character, but alone it's not something I care to smoke much of. As with Tashkent, I added a bit of red Virginia and got the tangy sweetness I crave. But I also wished that it had no latakia, as that pushed this blend further away from where I wanted it to be. But the point is where Peretti's wants it to be! So if you're into exotic middle eastern flavors that continuously evolve and you won't mind the lack of sweetness, give this one a shot.