Peretti No.8 Slice

The very nutty, earthy, woody, lightly bready burley also provides a little molasses, a few drops of cocoa, and a couple splinters of wood. It competes with the lightly tangy, dark fruity, mildly tart citrusy, lightly earthy, hay/grass-like, woody Virginias for attention, though they do form the base of the blend, and are the lead components. Most of the sweetness comes from the burley. The raisiny, plumy, spicy, earthy, woody perique is an important condiment, though the spice note is not very strong, but it is constantly noticeable. I think there’s a touch of a cocoa topping in play as well. The strength and taste levels are medium. The nic-hit is in the center of mild to medium. No chance of bite or harshness, and has no rough edges. Well balanced with some complexity, you’ll notice most every aspect in every puff. Burns cool, clean and a little slow with a deep, fairly rich, consistent flavor from start to end. Leaves little moisture in the bowl, and requires some relights. Has a pleasant, lightly lingering after taste, and lightly stronger room note. Can almost be an all day smoke for the experienced smoker.

-JimInks

DK's review was very nearly spot-on, though I still noticed some differences which I suppose are inevitable when two different people smoke two different batches, even if it is austensibly the same blend. I'll mention that my "No. 8 Slices" came on the moist side—very unusual for Peretti tobaccos in my experience. This resulted in noticeable condensation at the bottom of the bowl. But what flavors!

The flavor evolved and changed significantly throughout the bowl. Mid-bowl was pleasantly sweet to me, the Virginias clearly dominating the show, accentuated nicely by some raisin/dried plum notes I attribute to the Perique. The bread and hay flavors mentioned by the other review(s) were more noticeable to my by the bottom third, and the Burley nutiness came through more there too.

I found that this smoked best with long, slow pulls. In spite of a fairly rapid cadence of long draws, it smoked very cool for me. I am usually an English smoker, and my favorite Peretti flake is the "Cambridge," but I will definitely be keeping this in my rotation for moods when I want something different.

This is a pretty interesting blend by Peretti, sold in bulk. The smell out of the jar is funky "barn yard" . My sample was aged a couple of years. The presentation is sort of a broken crumble cake, mottled with dark and light VAs, burley, and black perique. You will need to dry it a bit. I find it very tart for the first 2/3 of the bowl. There seems to be a fair amount of perique in this blend, and it belongs to the peppery, spicy end of the spectrum. It is noticeable on the tongue, so take it easy. I don't find it sweet like, say, Dunbar or Marlin Flake. This , to me, is a two light experience-a charring light and a full light then it burns down to ash. Very nice burn. There is a nutty tone from the burley in the background. You can also pick out a woody taste, which I like. It loses the tartness in the last 1/3 and the VA dominates. This is more smooth, hay like, citrusy, and a little bit a bread flavor. I find the nic hit closer to medium than mild. A very good complex VAPER.

This tobacco has a full body with an excellent sweet/sour tang and slight pepper on the retrohale. Relatively one dimensional, in that the sweet/pepper riding on burley body and mouthfeel stays from initial light to about the final quarter of the bowl. Things flatten out after that, so I'm usually done. But the first 3/4 of the bowl is so good it's no big deal. It has more body than most other VaPers I've smoked and the burley in this holds the VaPer up so well that the blend wouldn't be the same without it.

The first oz of this that I smoked was pretty flat. The pouch note and taste of the leaf when just nipped between the teeth was so good though that I was really hoping that there could be more in the smoke, too. What finally did it was the dry time. Pack a bowl the night before or even the morning before. Let it chill out until the next day - late morning. Smoke. Enjoy.

I pack some of the bigger flake bits in the bottom of the bowl and then pile in the fully rubbed out granules. The flake acts as the filter to keep the granules from clogging the pipe. I tap the bowl to settle the tobacco in, gravity feed style. Top up with another small pinch of the fully rubbed out granules and thumb that down very lightly - VERY lightly. Whenever the flavor thins a bit I'll tamp (again very lightly) while drawing on the pipe. As soon as that sweet/spicey flavor comes back that's where I'll stop.

Also, I've found that I can't even think about smoking this in the dog days of summertime. With the humidity in the 90%+ range it doesn't matter how long this tobacco sits out; it's going to be too wet and it's going to taste like steam. Even if it's dried in advance and stored in a jar. Smoke it with that much moisture in the air and my mouth is going to pay for it.

Once the humidity drops down to a comfortable range, though, it's about perfection for me. So sweet/sour it makes my mouth water during the smoke. I have a sweet tooth, so I realize this blend might not be for everyone, but damn... It works for me.

Similar Blends: If you started with No. 8 Slice and took out the burley, then added orientals and latakia, you'd have Mississippi River. I swear. If I want an English version of this flavor base I smoke Mississippi River. If I want a VaPer+, but hold the smokey, I smoke No 8 Slice. I love both blends and both make me want to smoke too damn much tobacco for my pocketbook to deliver.

Highly recommended for both VaBur and VaPer fans.

I picked up an oz of this weed from their shop midsummer of 2018. Ol' no. 8 is a thick cut flake from a krumbly-cake, that barely keeps it together. Rubs out into a rough cut of flecks that range from light brown to black on the spectrum. I'm not the first to notice that because of the rough cut, extra attention is require during loading or a clogged draught is possible. I tend to use the Frank Method (the hanky franky) and have had very little problems so far. While it had some moisture when fresh, it takes little to no time for drying. It lights well and keeps lit, providing a cool yet abundant smoke and leaves minimal dottle and residue. I'm pretty tolerant to nicotine so found this blend to be mild to medium

One whiff into the bag and I get blasted with the heavy funk of barnyard, probably from the fermentation since I've noted this scent before in cigars, perique heavy blends, and vinegar. Not much else get past that into my nose, aside from maybe a little bready sweetness. Once lit this tobacco delivers flavorful smoke with satifying complexity. Nuts, coacoa, bit of deep grass, molasses, dark bread, raisin/prune, sweet but balanced with a smoky/savory/earthy character.

When my favorite, London Flake from Peretti was in the process of changing suppliers after McClelland closed and none was available, the owner of Peretti's asked me if I had tried No. 8 Slice. I hadn't and bought a half pound tin to try. It takes a lot of smokes for me get the full effects of a new tobacco, and two or four ounces won't do it for me. I was very glad I did. As other reviewers have noted, on opening the tin, a very pleasant, not overpowering, sweet, fruity essence wafts up from the jar. The tobacco is described as a crumble cake, but it seems to me that it also has characterists of a broken flake and I would desribe it as a cross between the two. The flakes are thick and would be difficult to just fold and put into a small or medium size bowl, which is what I use, so I crumble them and pack it into the bowl. It is a moist tobacco and takes three or four lights to get it going, just like the old McClelland flakes. The flavor is fairly consistent from the top to the bottom of the bowl. That slight, fruity sweetness is there, as is the slight tang of the Perique. These complement the overall woodsy, earthy taste of the Virginia and Burley. The two seemed to be matched perfectly in this blend, one complementing the other, with neither over-dominating the blend. There seems to be a slight topping or casing, but again, this does not seem to dominate or over-power the other ingredients. Whoever devised this blend did one masterful job at marrying various flavors with no one ingredient dominating the other. As with all flakes, it must be smoked slow and "sipped" otherwise the subtle flavors diaappear with the tongue reminding you that you seriously messed up. This will be my go to blend from now on. Hopefully it will stay on the market for a long time.

Another sample from my dear british friend! What a lovely presentation this tobacco has...this is a "Crumble Cake FLAKE"...the flakes aren't very dense, you can crumble them in a Krumble Kake fashion with your fingers to fine crumbles...its a joy to handle his tobacco, really! Reminds me of "Tom´s Plug" by Motzek, which is also a "Krumble Kake Plug", but different in taste tho.

The unburnt aroma is just as beautiful as the presenation and handling! Fruity-sour, peppery-spicy with some fermented quality to it. A tad moist, but can be smoked right away and the impatient Va/Bur/Per fan I am, I did pack a bowl without letting it dry.

Takes the fire well and instatly starts to build up a delicious aroma. King Crimsons Epitaph was underscoring this lovely aroma in the background. Sweet nuts, stoved fruits, raisins, pepper and spice. With a somewhat toasty, bready quality to it. Some earthiness joins in to give it some more body. The interplay of toast-y nuts, fruits, raising and tangy, peppery spice just works for me... very delicious! I just had some Motzek Strang and was disappointed I wouldnt get to smoke more of it...LJ Peretti isn't 100% the same, but comes pretty close and is a very worthy replacement.

A wonderful blend from start to finish. Presentation, handling, tin note, aroma when smoked... this is a rounded smoking experience and an enrichment for any Va/Per and Va/Bur/Per Aficionado. I also might see Burley enthusiasts find joy in this. 4/4 stars and any accolades I can give to it!

Holy Mary, Sweet Mother of Jesus! This stuff is AMAZING! I recently placed for first order with LJ Peretti when I saw the description of Blend 52 that sounded interesting. Not being able to order just one of their well regarded tobaccos, I picked another to add to my order. Upon opening the paint can of No. 8 Slices, I was immediately welcomed by the periquey goodness of its contents. Not being able to stand the torture another second, I rubbed out a slice and packed my brand new Icarus briar, put fire to it and nearly drowned in my own saliva it is so good! I am not good at describing all of the flavors, but I do know a great tobacco when I smoke it, and this is one!

I am not usually a big fan of most Vapers but this tobacco is special. The addition of Peretti’s burley which is clearly present throughout the bowl separates it from the field. It adds a depth and smoothness that elevates the Virginia and Perique. It will become a part of my rotation and is very cellar worthy.