Virginia/Perique (VaPer) Showdown

Slow Triathlete · 01-16-2009, 09:14 AM

Well, it’s now 2009 and it is time to start this thread back up again. I have a few more blends that I have added to the list and I will put out a full list of what I have left to review in another email. I appreciate all of the feedback that I have received about this thread. I started it as just a way for me to get to know that wonderful world of VaPers but I have noticed that it has helped out quite a few people. Let us delve back into this and see what kind of fun we can have.

This review is going to focus on a relatively new tobacco. It is Low Country Tobacco’s Waccamaw blend. Now for those of you who don’t know, Low Country Tobacco is the actual store for smokingpipes.com. It is in Little River, SC which is about 40 miles from where I live. Yes, I’m that lucky. These blends are the result of a collaboration between Sykes Wilford (owner of smokingpipes.com) and Craig Tarlor (owner of Cornell & Diehl Tobaccos). As of right now there are 4 blends in this series.

Now for those who are VaPer purists I will warn you that this blend has some Izmir leaf in it, which is another spice tobacco that lends itself to this blend. However, since I cannot tell the difference between the taste of Perique and the taste of Izmir I thought that I would go ahead and throw this blend in the Showdown. Here is the actual description of the blend from their website:

The WaccamawRiver meanders through the eastern Carolinas, part of the Pee DeeRiver basin, a region intertwined with the history of tobacco for three centuries. What finer homage to this heritage than a rich, hearty Virginia flake? Bright leaf serving as the base is typical of the tobaccos grown in this region, while beautiful Red Virginias lend it sweetness and structure. Perique and a dash of exotic Izmir leaf complete this complex, satisfying flake.

Now for the review.

When I popped the tin of this blend I was greeted by a wonderful smell. Sweet and sour with a lot of spiciness in there. I will warn everyone that I will compare this to GL Pease’s Embarcadero blend quite a bit for reasons that I will explain in the summary below. This blend smelled a lot like Embarcadero when I whiffed it the first couple of times. This blend comes in flake form and the flakes are about the same size as Orlik’s Golden Sliced. The blend arrived quite moist in the tin and all of my flakes were stuck together. I just dumped the whole thing out on a few paper towels and rubbed them all out so that they would dry out a little more thoroughly.

I filled the pipe with this blend using the 3 pack method all of the times that I smoked it so far. This worked out quite well. After drying the tobacco a bit this blend took to the first light and never stopped. After the blend got going my nose was greeted with the most intoxicating aroma of sweet Virginia, spicy Perique, and a sourness that I can only guess comes from the Izmir. It was delightful!

The first third of the bowl was pretty spicy and kept things interesting. There is A Lot of Perique in here. All of the components were playing off of each other and going in and out of the taste. The second third of the bowl all of the flavors and aromas seemed to blend together and really come to the forefront. It tickled and burned a bit from the spiciness when blown through the nose. Truly amazing!

The last part of this blend was more of the same. It settled down a bit towards the very end of the bowlful with the sourness taking the drivers seat near the end.

This blend is truly a great blend right out of the tin. I can’t wait to see what a little age does to this tobacco. As I stated above, there is a ton of Perique in here and it lends to quite a bit of Nicotine as well. Now as most of you know, C & D makes all of the blends for GL Pease. I cannot help but think that this blend is Embarcadero with some Perique added into the mix. The tastes and smells are almost identical. However, the Waccamaw is about $1.50 cheaper for a tin than the Embarcadero. I’d be interested to hear from everyone on this one about whether they think there are definitely similarities or if I’m just imagining all of this.

If you like Perique bombs, then this blend is definitely one to try out. I believe that this one is definitely taking over the #6 spot because I love the amount of Perique they went with this one.

Here’s the ratings so far:

1) McConnell Scottish Cake
2) Samuel Gawith’s St. James Flake
3) Escudo
4) GL Pease Filmore
5) H & H AJ’s VaPer
6) Low Country’s Waccamaw
7) Peretti’s Park Square
8) H & H Rolando’s Own
9) H & H Anniversary Kake
10) G & H Louisiana Flake
11) C & D Night Train
12) H & H Louisiana Red
13) Reiner’s Long Golden Flake
14) Treasures of Ireland - Limerick
15) Dorchester
16) Luxury Bullseye Flake
17) McClelland Bulk 2015
18) GL Pease Telegraph Hill
19) Kajun Kake
20) Luxury Navy Flake

01-16-2009, 11:19 AM

Great review on the Waccamaw! I have one sealed tin from '07 I bought a couple weeks back, and just bought the rest of Buckeye Jack's open tin from '07! I've been wanting to try it out since the opportunity came up a few weeks back to buy the sealed tin from the other site. Well that and this showdown thread, and many honorable mentions of it in other threads!

When the opened tin comes I'll get the chance to try it out, and I get to keep my sealed tin sealed up! Win win!

I've also got a deal working with another member here that will get us both some Anniversary Kake and AJ's VaPer to try out also due to this thread..

The more I think about it, your really starting to cost me some $$$ Slow_Triathlete!!

All in good fun!

01-16-2009, 09:14 AM	#1
Slow Triathlete I Need A Beer!! Join Date: Nov 2008 First Name: Scott Location: Wilmington, NC Posts: 369 Trading: (11)	Re: Virginia/Perique (VaPer) Showdown Well, it’s now 2009 and it is time to start this thread back up again. I have a few more blends that I have added to the list and I will put out a full list of what I have left to review in another email. I appreciate all of the feedback that I have received about this thread. I started it as just a way for me to get to know that wonderful world of VaPers but I have noticed that it has helped out quite a few people. Let us delve back into this and see what kind of fun we can have. This review is going to focus on a relatively new tobacco. It is Low Country Tobacco’s Waccamaw blend. Now for those of you who don’t know, Low Country Tobacco is the actual store for smokingpipes.com. It is in Little River, SC which is about 40 miles from where I live. Yes, I’m that lucky. These blends are the result of a collaboration between Sykes Wilford (owner of smokingpipes.com) and Craig Tarlor (owner of Cornell & Diehl Tobaccos). As of right now there are 4 blends in this series. Now for those who are VaPer purists I will warn you that this blend has some Izmir leaf in it, which is another spice tobacco that lends itself to this blend. However, since I cannot tell the difference between the taste of Perique and the taste of Izmir I thought that I would go ahead and throw this blend in the Showdown. Here is the actual description of the blend from their website: The WaccamawRiver meanders through the eastern Carolinas, part of the Pee DeeRiver basin, a region intertwined with the history of tobacco for three centuries. What finer homage to this heritage than a rich, hearty Virginia flake? Bright leaf serving as the base is typical of the tobaccos grown in this region, while beautiful Red Virginias lend it sweetness and structure. Perique and a dash of exotic Izmir leaf complete this complex, satisfying flake. Now for the review. When I popped the tin of this blend I was greeted by a wonderful smell. Sweet and sour with a lot of spiciness in there. I will warn everyone that I will compare this to GL Pease’s Embarcadero blend quite a bit for reasons that I will explain in the summary below. This blend smelled a lot like Embarcadero when I whiffed it the first couple of times. This blend comes in flake form and the flakes are about the same size as Orlik’s Golden Sliced. The blend arrived quite moist in the tin and all of my flakes were stuck together. I just dumped the whole thing out on a few paper towels and rubbed them all out so that they would dry out a little more thoroughly. I filled the pipe with this blend using the 3 pack method all of the times that I smoked it so far. This worked out quite well. After drying the tobacco a bit this blend took to the first light and never stopped. After the blend got going my nose was greeted with the most intoxicating aroma of sweet Virginia, spicy Perique, and a sourness that I can only guess comes from the Izmir. It was delightful! The first third of the bowl was pretty spicy and kept things interesting. There is A Lot of Perique in here. All of the components were playing off of each other and going in and out of the taste. The second third of the bowl all of the flavors and aromas seemed to blend together and really come to the forefront. It tickled and burned a bit from the spiciness when blown through the nose. Truly amazing! The last part of this blend was more of the same. It settled down a bit towards the very end of the bowlful with the sourness taking the drivers seat near the end. This blend is truly a great blend right out of the tin. I can’t wait to see what a little age does to this tobacco. As I stated above, there is a ton of Perique in here and it lends to quite a bit of Nicotine as well. Now as most of you know, C & D makes all of the blends for GL Pease. I cannot help but think that this blend is Embarcadero with some Perique added into the mix. The tastes and smells are almost identical. However, the Waccamaw is about $1.50 cheaper for a tin than the Embarcadero. I’d be interested to hear from everyone on this one about whether they think there are definitely similarities or if I’m just imagining all of this. If you like Perique bombs, then this blend is definitely one to try out. I believe that this one is definitely taking over the #6 spot because I love the amount of Perique they went with this one. Here’s the ratings so far: 1) McConnell Scottish Cake 2) Samuel Gawith’s St. James Flake 3) Escudo 4) GL Pease Filmore 5) H & H AJ’s VaPer 6) Low Country’s Waccamaw 7) Peretti’s Park Square 8) H & H Rolando’s Own 9) H & H Anniversary Kake 10) G & H Louisiana Flake 11) C & D Night Train 12) H & H Louisiana Red 13) Reiner’s Long Golden Flake 14) Treasures of Ireland - Limerick 15) Dorchester 16) Luxury Bullseye Flake 17) McClelland Bulk 2015 18) GL Pease Telegraph Hill 19) Kajun Kake 20) Luxury Navy Flake

01-16-2009, 11:19 AM	#2
Big D KC Guest Posts: n/a	Re: Virginia/Perique (VaPer) Showdown Great review on the Waccamaw! I have one sealed tin from '07 I bought a couple weeks back, and just bought the rest of Buckeye Jack's open tin from '07! I've been wanting to try it out since the opportunity came up a few weeks back to buy the sealed tin from the other site. Well that and this showdown thread, and many honorable mentions of it in other threads! When the opened tin comes I'll get the chance to try it out, and I get to keep my sealed tin sealed up! Win win! I've also got a deal working with another member here that will get us both some Anniversary Kake and AJ's VaPer to try out also due to this thread.. The more I think about it, your really starting to cost me some $$$ Slow_Triathlete!! All in good fun!