Virginia/Perique (VaPer) Showdown

[Guitarman-S.T-]

"DONT STOP!"
Great posts, Cannot wait to see more

[Slow Triathlete]

Wow, I am extremely behind on updating this showdown. I have several already done that I will update now.

[Slow Triathlete]

“Mamma Mia, that’s a spicy meatball!!”

Does everyone remember that alka seltzer commercial? Or am I really dating myself here? Well, nonetheless, that is what was going through my mind halfway through a bowl of Cool Hand Fluke. There is a ton of Perique in there and it is definitely tasty. I read online that there is around 40% Perique in this blend. That’s quite stout considering that most VaPer blends have anywhere from 5-15%. To release a blend that is this muscular is very daring and also considering that it came from John Patton, who is a Burley freak, it is all the more surprising.

I have to admit that I was a bit skeptical when I first read about this blend. But after seeing a few reviews from guys that I really respect and believe that we have the same tastes in tobacco I started to change my mind. John was kind enough to send me a sample of this (along with most of the other blends that he makes) for me to include in this showdown. Thanks again John you’re a stand up guy.

Ok, off to the review.

If you ever have problems smelling Perique in a blend then take a whiff of this one. The spicy pepperyness (yes, I just made that word up) definitely is prominent when you first get a whiff of this blend. I was in heaven. The sweetness of the Virginias is definitely there but for once they are way in the background.

The blend was dry when it got to me but in a good way. All I had to do was to let it sit out for 15 minutes but this was more out of habit than necessity. I have smoked this blend in many shapes and sizes but I found that it tastes best to me in a straight billiard. This blend packs great and the course cut basically falls into the bowl and lighting was especially easy.

The first third of the bowl was a bit mixed up. It was like a symphony warming up and there wasn’t a clear theme as of yet. The Virginias were all there and were great but the true star was the perique and its greatness was about to shine through.

The middle to the end of the bowl was when everything started happening. The perique lined up front and center and was always there in the forefront. What was interesting to me was what was going on in the background. Usually with VaPer blends the perique is constantly in the background kind of like an old friend while the Virginias or Virginia/burley do their thing up front. This was an interesting turn of the roles where the Virginias were shining through and mingling in the background. It was very, very interesting. It tasted great also!

Will you like this blend? Yes, no, probably, maybe would all be good answers to that question. I will say that this blend it really different from most of the other VaPer blends out there and for that reason alone it would pique my interest. With that said, everyone has their own tastes. Heck a buddy of mine works at a cigar store and one of his regular customers gets a pound of Latakia mixed with a pound of Perique and that is his everyday smoke. I have often wondered what that blend smells like but I digress. What I’m trying to say is that everyone is different and some people will like this blend and some won’t. Just like any other blend. Please don’t let the amount of Perique that is in this blend scare you off. It really is a blend that everyone should try.

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)John Patton’s Cool Hand Fluke
9)H & H Rolando’s Own
10)H & H Anniversary Kake
11)G & H Louisiana Flake
12)Dunhill Elizabethan Mixture
13)C & D Night Train
14)H & H Louisiana Red
15)Reiner’s Long Golden Flake
16)Treasures of Ireland - Limerick
17)Dorchester
18)Solani #633
19)Luxury Bullseye Flake
20)McClelland Bulk 2015
21)GL Pease Telegraph Hill
22)Kajun Kake
23)Luxury Navy Flake

[Slow Triathlete]

Dan Tobacco's Tordenskjold Virginia Slices

Hmmmm, the tin states that there is Perique in here but I just do not smell it or taste it in the blend. Even with most blends that claim to have a “whisper” of perique you can still detect it in there but not in this one. Therefore this will be a short review.

I apparently have had a tin of this laying around for almost a year but it was hidden in a stack of Scottish Cake tins. One night I was digging through the cellar looking for something different when I came upon it. I popped the tin and a figgy, straw-like aroma met my nose. It smelled like a great Virginia but like I stated above I could not smell any perique.

This is a flake blend with an appearance and size very similar to Stokkebye’s Luxury Navy Flake. The moisture amount was great and this broke apart very easily. I still let it sit out for about 15 minutes before loading it into the pipe.

Lighting this blend was extremely easy and once lit this blend did not need much help. The taste and aroma throughout the whole smoke was pure Virginia. While not as flavorful as Full Virginia or Best Brown this blend definitely came in 3rd for my favorite Virginia blends for right now. However, this is not a Virginia Showdown (although this is a great idea. Someone should start one) it is a VaPer Showdown and this blend failed miserably in the VaPer realm.

In summary, this is a really, really good Virginia. It actually surprised me with how good it is versus how much a tin of this blend it. It is currently less than $7 at smokingpipes.com. I will be stocking up on this for my Virginia fixes. I would not recommend this as a VaPer to anyone however. Therefore it is down to the bottom for this one.

******Edit********
When I spoke about the blend having the appearance of Stokkebye's Luxury Navy Flake this apparently only applies to the tinned version. I ordered a bulk pound of this and it arrived in a miss-mash of long flake and broken up flake. Please see the pictures to see what I am talking about.

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)John Patton’s Cool Hand Fluke
9)H & H Rolando’s Own
10)H & H Anniversary Kake
11)G & H Louisiana Flake
12)Dunhill Elizabethan Mixture
13)C & D Night Train
14)H & H Louisiana Red
15)Reiner’s Long Golden Flake
16)Treasures of Ireland - Limerick
17)Dorchester
18)Solani #633
19)Luxury Bullseye Flake
20)McClelland Bulk 2015
21)GL Pease Telegraph Hill
22)Kajun Kake
23)Luxury Navy Flake
24)Dan Tobacco's Tordenskjold Virginia Slices

[Slow Triathlete]

C & D Bayou Morning Flake

I cannot believe that I missed this one in my Showdown. I have had an unopened, bulging tin of this for quite some time. I had not opened this one partly because I was afraid that because of the bulging then I was probably going to shoot my hand off when I opened it or something like that. So with my trusty dishtowel I grabbed the tin and popped the seal. There was a loud boom but not nearly the force to which I had expected.

Now with bulging tins you can expect two things. One - some great fermented tobacco, or two - a rank tobacco that is infiltrated with either bacteria or fungus. Fortunately for me it was some great fermented tobacco. The smell that came out of the tin was a bit earthy and peaty (is that even a word?). The tobacco was already starting to show my sugar crystals.

When this blend is rubbed out it comes to be really long ribbons of tobacco. I had been forewarned that this blend usually comes extremely damp so I spread the tobacco out on some newspaper and proceeded to let it dry for about 2 hours. Even then it was still a bit damp. But it packed really nicely and lit up great.

It is hard to describe this blend but I have to say that it was very, very earthy. It was almost like smoking dirt…..but in a good way. I believe that this dark flavor comes from the stoving of this blend. It has the dark fragrance and taste of Kajun Kake but it has a lot more sweetness to it that Kajun. Despite this blend still being a bit damp it burned very well and required only a few relights.

About halfway through the bowl a bit of spicy sourness came up through this blend. It was a nice mix of sweet and sour. This blend is pretty heavy and probably will not be good on an empty stomach.

This is a great overall blend. There is plenty of perique in this blend to go around. This blend is unique in that it is a VaPer but it is also stoved which you do not find frequently in the VaPer realm. I like it for a “change of pace” tobacco but it will not be in my regular rotation. This one goes in slot #15.

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)John Patton’s Cool Hand Fluke
9)H & H Rolando’s Own
10)H & H Anniversary Kake
11)G & H Louisiana Flake
12)Dunhill Elizabethan Mixture
13)C & D Night Train
14)H & H Louisiana Red
15)C & D Bayou Morning Flack
16)Reiner’s Long Golden Flake
17)Treasures of Ireland - Limerick
18)Dorchester
19)Solani #633
20)Luxury Bullseye Flake
21)McClelland Bulk 2015
22)GL Pease Telegraph Hill
23)Kajun Kake
24)Luxury Navy Flake
25)Dan Tobacco's Tordenskjold Virginia Slices

[Nick]

Excellent, I have missed your virginia perique reviews.

[GreekGodX]

For any noobs this is the place to come for VaPer recommendations. Great list of baccy's here.

[Zanaspus]

A request if I may. One of my current favs is C&D Old Joe Krantz. Let's hear your take.

[Curly Cut]

Originally Posted by Zanaspus

A request if I may. One of my current favs is C&D Old Joe Krantz. Let's hear your take.

it's not a Va/Per.

[Zanaspus]

Originally Posted by Curly Cut

it's not a Va/Per.

*shrug* Alright, I know it's a Va/Bur/Per, but it's still danged good.

[Zanaspus]

And in my defense, there's other Va/Bur/Pers on the list.

[Slow Triathlete]

I have tried it in the past and did not like it. It probably wouldn't hold up well in the showdown. But hey, that's just my taste. What may be #1 for me might not be for anyone else.

[Curly Cut]

i thought it was mainly a burley blend?

[RevSmoke]

Originally Posted by Zanaspus

A request if I may. One of my current favs is C&D Old Joe Krantz. Let's hear your take.

Originally Posted by Zanaspus

*shrug* Alright, I know it's a Va/Bur/Per, but it's still danged good.

Originally Posted by Zanaspus

And in my defense, there's other Va/Bur/Pers on the list.

There might be other VaPers with a touch of burley on the list, but OJK is a Burley blend predominantly. Yes, there a touch of Perique that comes through, and a smidgeon of Virginia that adds a sweet note. However, if you don't like burley, you won't enjoy OJK.

Don't get me wrong, as burley blends go, this is quality burley - and a nice blend if you like burley.

I don't like burley, and this is a chore for me to smoke.

But then again, if everybody like the same blends, I would never get any of what I like.

[GreekGodX]

Originally Posted by Slow Triathlete

I have tried it in the past and did not like it. It probably wouldn't hold up well in the showdown. But hey, that's just my taste. What may be #1 for me might not be for anyone else.

Exactly I rank H&H anni Kake more towards the top of the list.

That's not important. The thing is this is a great reference for those that are getting into VaPer's

[Nick]

And I would put anni cake towards the bottom. Everyone has different tastes.

[RevSmoke]

I've been enjoying watching this play out. It is interesting to see others comments about where they put the tobaccos on this list. So, here's your list. And below that is how I'd rank the same tobaccos - just for a snickers and grins.

Originally Posted by Slow Triathlete

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)John Patton’s Cool Hand Fluke
9)H & H Rolando’s Own
10)H & H Anniversary Kake
11)G & H Louisiana Flake
12)Dunhill Elizabethan Mixture
13)C & D Night Train
14)H & H Louisiana Red
15)C & D Bayou Morning Flack
16)Reiner’s Long Golden Flake
17)Treasures of Ireland - Limerick
18)Dorchester
19)Solani #633
20)Luxury Bullseye Flake
21)McClelland Bulk 2015
22)GL Pease Telegraph Hill
23)Kajun Kake
24)Luxury Navy Flake
25)Dan Tobacco's Tordenskjold Virginia Slices

1) G & H Louisiana Flake (my "go to" tobacco)
2) Escudo (always on hand)
3) Samuel Gawith’s St. James Flake (always on hand)
4) McConnell Scottish Cake (presently out of)
5) C & D Night Train (presently out of)
6) H & H Anniversary Kake (like to keep on hand)
7) Solani #633 (presently out of)
8) Dorchester (like to keep on hand)

The following I have tried, do not have on hand presently, and while not bad blends, didn't "wow" me enough to keep stock on hand.
10) Luxury Bullseye Flake
11) Luxury Navy Flake
12) C & D Bayou Morning Flake
13) Dan Tobacco's Tordenskjold Virginia Slices
14) H & H AJ’s VaPer
15) H & H Louisiana Red
16) Kajun Kake

These I suppose people like, but if I found myself with some, would give it away to someone who truly appreciates them.
17) Dunhill Elizabethan Mixture
18) Treasures of Ireland - Limerick
19) GL Pease Filmore
20) GL Pease Telegraph Hill

The following I have not tried.
Low Country’s Waccamaw
Peretti’s Park Square
John Patton’s Cool Hand Fluke
H & H Rolando’s Own
Reiner’s Long Golden Flake

[Curly Cut]

would be cool to blind review all of them, having someone else pack them so you can't even see which one is which based on how it's made (flake, ribbon, coin, etc).

[BigFrank]

Originally Posted by Curly Cut

would be cool to blind review all of them, having someone else pack them so you can't even see which one is which based on how it's made (flake, ribbon, coin, etc).

Doesnt sound like a bad idea...

[GreekGodX]

Originally Posted by Curly Cut

would be cool to blind review all of them, having someone else pack them so you can't even see which one is which based on how it's made (flake, ribbon, coin, etc).

If we broke down the list, got 4 people to donate 5 types of baccy's to 1 person to do the reviewing. Make a custom grading scale, and we are good to go