Quick question about PERIQUE

[imperial Stout]

People say it has a 'peppery' taste... I'm not sure that's what I would call it; to me it's more sweet and tangy but then again I'm new to this so maybe I'm detecting something else.

So question is: is the "peppery" like salt and PEPPER or like bell-PEPPERS?

[Dzrtrat]

Pepper as in salt and pepper. I wouldn't call it sweet or tangy it's more of a zesty, spicy IMHO. You can really get that through the nose.

[RJpuffs]

Depending on the blend, it could go from figgy tangy sweetness to peppery fire. It is usually balanced by a sweet VA and/or burley, pure perique is unsmokable (I hear).

[MaduroManiac]

There are a few, living on the edge, that smoke it. Most tobacco blends with Perique only contain a few percent of the stuff.

[JohnnyFlake]

For me Perique has always seemed to offer a peppery (salt & pepper) flavor profile, however, not the same as straight pepper, but rather the peppery spiciness that one savors when pepper is used to season food, etc. However, taste is very subjective, so that may not be how is effects you. The following should help with what Perique is:

Perique
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Perique is a type of tobacco from Saint James Parish, Louisiana known for its strong, powerful, and fruity aroma. When the Acadians made their way into this region in 1776, the Choctaw and Chickasaw tribes were cultivating a variety of tobacco with a distinctive flavor. A farmer called Pierre Chenet is credited with first turning this local tobacco into the Perique in 1824 through the technique of pressure-fermentation.

The tobacco plants are manually kept suckerless and pruned to exactly 12 leaves through their early growth. In late June, when the leaves are a dark, rich green and the plants are 24-30 inches (600 to 750 mm) tall, the whole plant is harvested in the late evening and hung to dry in a sideless curing barn. Once the leaves have partially dried but while still supple (usually less than 2 weeks in the barn), any remaining dirt is removed and the leaves are moistened with water and stemmed by hand. The leaves are then rolled into "torquettes" of approximately 1 pound (450 g) and packed into hickory whiskey barrels. The tobacco is then kept under pressure using oak blocks and massive screw jacks, forcing nearly all the air out of the still-moist leaves. Approximately once a month the pressure is released, and each of the torquettes is worked by hand to permit a little air back into the tobacco. After a year of this treatment, the perique is ready for consumption, although it may be kept fresh under pressure for many years. Extended exposure to air degrades the particular character of perique. The finished tobacco is dark brown, nearly black, very moist with a fruity, slightly vinegary aroma. [1]

Considered the truffle of pipe tobaccos, perique is used as a component of many blended pipe tobaccos but most people consider it too strong to be smoked pure. At one time, the freshly moist perique was also chewed, but none is now sold for this purpose. Less than 16 acres (65,000 m²) of this crop remain in cultivation. Most Louisiana perique is cultivated by a single farmer called Percy Martin in Grande Pointe, Louisiana.1 For reasons unknown, the particular flavor and character of Louisiana perique can only be acquired on a small triangle of Saint James Parish, less than 3 by 10 miles (5 by 16 km). Although at its peak Saint James Parish was producing around 20 tons of perique a year, output is now merely a few barrelfuls. Most of the perique used in pipe tobacco is not perique at all, but green river burley that is processed in the same manner as perique. Although the process produces a strong, spicy tobacco, it is a far different product from the genuine perique grown on Percy Martin's and the Poche' family's farms.

Pierre Chenet's granddaughter, Coralie Decareau married Celestin Poche' in February, 1829 and the Poche' family has been involved in the cultivation and processing of Perique tobacco through current times. There are currently only three farmers who grow tobacco commercially in Saint James Parish.

While traditionally a pipe tobacco (and still available from some specialist tobacconists), perique can also be found in Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company's perique cigarettes under the Natural American Spirit brand in an approximately 1 part to 5 blend with lighter tobaccos. These cigarettes are marketed in a black box.

[imperial Stout]

Originally Posted by JohnnyFlake

For me Perique has always seemed to offer a peppery (salt & pepper) flavor profile, however, not the same as straight pepper, but rather the peppery spiciness that one savors when pepper is used to season food, etc. However, taste is very subjective, so that may not be how is effects you. The following should help with what Perique is:

Perique
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Perique is a type of tobacco from Saint James Parish, Louisiana known for its strong, powerful, and fruity aroma. When the Acadians made their way into this region in 1776, the Choctaw and Chickasaw tribes were cultivating a variety of tobacco with a distinctive flavor. A farmer called Pierre Chenet is credited with first turning this local tobacco into the Perique in 1824 through the technique of pressure-fermentation.

The tobacco plants are manually kept suckerless and pruned to exactly 12 leaves through their early growth. In late June, when the leaves are a dark, rich green and the plants are 24-30 inches (600 to 750 mm) tall, the whole plant is harvested in the late evening and hung to dry in a sideless curing barn. Once the leaves have partially dried but while still supple (usually less than 2 weeks in the barn), any remaining dirt is removed and the leaves are moistened with water and stemmed by hand. The leaves are then rolled into "torquettes" of approximately 1 pound (450 g) and packed into hickory whiskey barrels. The tobacco is then kept under pressure using oak blocks and massive screw jacks, forcing nearly all the air out of the still-moist leaves. Approximately once a month the pressure is released, and each of the torquettes is worked by hand to permit a little air back into the tobacco. After a year of this treatment, the perique is ready for consumption, although it may be kept fresh under pressure for many years. Extended exposure to air degrades the particular character of perique. The finished tobacco is dark brown, nearly black, very moist with a fruity, slightly vinegary aroma. [1]

Considered the truffle of pipe tobaccos, perique is used as a component of many blended pipe tobaccos but most people consider it too strong to be smoked pure. At one time, the freshly moist perique was also chewed, but none is now sold for this purpose. Less than 16 acres (65,000 m²) of this crop remain in cultivation. Most Louisiana perique is cultivated by a single farmer called Percy Martin in Grande Pointe, Louisiana.1 For reasons unknown, the particular flavor and character of Louisiana perique can only be acquired on a small triangle of Saint James Parish, less than 3 by 10 miles (5 by 16 km). Although at its peak Saint James Parish was producing around 20 tons of perique a year, output is now merely a few barrelfuls. Most of the perique used in pipe tobacco is not perique at all, but green river burley that is processed in the same manner as perique. Although the process produces a strong, spicy tobacco, it is a far different product from the genuine perique grown on Percy Martin's and the Poche' family's farms.

Pierre Chenet's granddaughter, Coralie Decareau married Celestin Poche' in February, 1829 and the Poche' family has been involved in the cultivation and processing of Perique tobacco through current times. There are currently only three farmers who grow tobacco commercially in Saint James Parish.

While traditionally a pipe tobacco (and still available from some specialist tobacconists), perique can also be found in Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company's perique cigarettes under the Natural American Spirit brand in an approximately 1 part to 5 blend with lighter tobaccos. These cigarettes are marketed in a black box.

Interesting info... thanks!

[imperial Stout]

Originally Posted by Dzrtrat

Pepper as in salt and pepper. I wouldn't call it sweet or tangy it's more of a zesty, spicy IMHO. You can really get that through the nose.

Originally Posted by RJpuffs

Depending on the blend, it could go from figgy tangy sweetness to peppery fire. It is usually balanced by a sweet VA and/or burley, pure perique is unsmokable (I hear).

I was getting a figgy tangy at first, then when smoking a half bowl last night I was getting the 'zesty spicy'... McClellands #2015.

Either way: sure is good stuff!

[paperairplane]

Get some 2015, once you have everything working nicely exhale through the nose without inhaling the smoke first. (or French inhale)

If all is going well, you should notice a tingly, peppery-ness in the nose. That, my friend, is puh-REEK.

[PipesandGOP]

I've had it add that strange fig or almost maybe a prune taste as well. At the same time though I've gotta admit I was always curious as to what everyone was talking about when they compared it to pepper... all until I tried smoking a bit of it straight just to see what it was like and started coughing and sneezing to the point where I thought I'd snorted the entire contents of a pepper shaker lol.

[smokehouse]

Originally Posted by PipesandGOP

I've had it add that strange fig or almost maybe a prune taste as well. At the same time though I've gotta admit I was always curious as to what everyone was talking about when they compared it to pepper... all until I tried smoking a bit of it straight just to see what it was like and started coughing and sneezing to the point where I thought I'd snorted the entire contents of a pepper shaker lol.

....thanks for taking one for the team....I won't try that now