Peretti Royal Blend

This is the first Peretti blend I have tried. I ordered this because its description includes some yenidje tobacco, which of course was one of the condiment tobaccos in Balkan Sobranie 759. Apparently the yenidje is the light olive green ribbons, because this blend had that also.

Like all of the Peretti blends in my order, this is a ribbon tobacco that comes quite dry. The ribbons in some of these blends are on the longish side and need to be broken down somewhat for best packing. Burning qualities are excellent. I noticed that I was lighting this less often than some of my regulars. The flavor is of medium latakia with some of the condimental tobaccos, presumably the yenidje, producing some interesting flavors. The Virginia element is not particularly strong. The bowl starts out a little bitter, but then evens out and builds flavor to the bottom. It produces a fine white ash and leaves almost no dottle.

This is an excellent tobacco that I'm sure will find a place in my rotation.

through the kindness of a fellow pipe smoker, i recently received samples of all 14 of the perretti english blends. the first one i tried was the royal blend, and if the others are as good as this one, mr. perretti has a customer for life! royal blend is a very attractive tobacco. ribbons of yellow leaf are interspersed with several shades of brown and black leaf. the pouch aroma is sour, and probably the only unappealing quality of this blend. but we buy our tobacco to smoke, not sniff, right? royal blend packs easily, and lighting is no problem, with a minimum of relights. the moisture level of the tobacco seems just right. it burns down to a very fine grey ash. no pipe cleaners were needed while smoking, and one pass afterwards with a little everclear cleaned the stem and bowl nicely. and now the best part; this is one of the finest mild to medium english blends i have ever tasted! the virginias, oriental, and turkish tobaccos compliment each other perfectly, with a creamy taste that finishes with a pleasant spicy tang from the turkish right at the bottom of the bowl. the best comparison i can make is to C&D plantation evening, another of my favorites . both share the same appearance and flavor, with perhaps a slight edge going to the royal blend. 4 stars to L. J. Perretti and their royal blend. i can hardly wait to try the others!!

LJ Peretti
Royal Blend
(Bulk)

Blend notes: “ A blend of the choicest matured Virginian and the finest Oriental tobaccos. It contains a high percentage of the finest Yenidje (Turkish) leaf.”

Royal Blend is essentially a mild English with the oriental tobacco Yenidje as the star. That is, if Yenidje is being used. Any number of reports suggest it is rarely available. Regardless this is a fine, mild tobacco that is Oriental forward.

The Oriental leaf brings a mild, musty, perhaps creamy taste to the blend. It might be described as buttery. It is not spicy or peppery.

The Latakia is recessed into a corner; present but more like a condiment. The structure and slight sweetness likely comes from the Virginias which also provide a bit of bread and hay. Or from the Oriental leaf working in concert with the Virginia. No citrus here.

Overall I find Royal blend to be a tad boring. It’s decent tobacco. On my palate it tastes a bit too much like a cigarette. I love Oriental leaf in general do it may just be that Yenidje is too mild for me.

Generally I’m a huge fan of LJ Peretti blends — Tashkent, Omega and British Blend are in my top 10. And their No Name is a riot if you want to take a stroll into Lakeland.

I’ll give Royal Blend 2.5 stars rounded to 3.

Mysterious and smooth. This blend has that 'something' that makes you beg for more like Balkan supreme (arango). I assume it is one of the Orientals that makes me chase it around every bowl. This is truly a regal, high quality Balkan and the high price tag seems warranted. I bought a pound an am already thinking of purchasing more. I highly recommend you let me take the hit instead of you. 😉

Fine turkish blend, good quality tobacco, and proportioned for turkish tobacco smokers. I usually spend more time with a blend before reviewing it but this tobacco has been with me everwhere and everyday. I really hope this blend stays in production, I will be purchasing pounds of this. Ive been searching for a red ribbon replacement this is not red ribbon but I could smoke this all day everyday like red ribbon, this is a sweet, musty, and smooth natural turkish tobacco taste. Peretti has a new loyal customer here for sure.

This is a one of a kind tobacco I really like it a lot! The Latakia is not the main player here and the Orientals really make this one shine. It's tasty and elegant.

This blend is outstanding with a capital "O" just a great, high-quality tobacco and blended by the masters

First review for me.....I'm fairly new to pipe smoking, or rather newly returned with a new fervor. I immediately gravitated to English blends though I have tried and will review others as well.

I've tried several tinned blends that I picked up in travels through Europe, but Peretti is on my doorstep here in Boston and I went in and asked for several samples, based on my preferred tastes. They threw in a baggie* of Royal, and it was one of the later ones I tried.

What an amazing smoke! It was the first blend that I thought about a lot long after I had smoked it, and even now I crave it at times.

The blending is masterful, resulting in a cool, easy-burning, and rich smoke. I'm not keen enough yet to identify the different elements of the mixture, but I can say that this is probably the best tasting English blend I have yet tried.

* the baggies used for smaller amounts of the bulk blends at Peretti are the only negative I can give to them. Tins hold a lot of appeal, and a better packaging would do wonders. I suppose this is not a game changer, and I will be buying it in tins from now on, so moot in this case, but......

Packs easily, burns slow, excellent flavor. You couldn't want anything more from a pipe tobacco. Highly recommended to those looking for a mild, great tasting english blend. Sipping on a pipe of this is relaxing.