What type of tobacco do you consider to be endangered?

[sounds7]

As many pipe smokers are aware, Syrian Latakia is still somewhat rare after the warehouse fire that wiped much of it out. Blends like G.L Pease Bohemian Scandal desappeared from shelves and now bring a price in the hundreds for a small Tin. Likewise, many types of orientals such as Yenendje have been extremely scarce and only recently resurfaced in the market.

This brings me to the question- What tobacco which is in supply now do you consider a possible future casualty of becoming endangered? In my Opinion it is possible that the previous two mentioned Tobaccos could once again become rare but also I think Perique could be on the list because when it comes down to it, there is only one farm left in St. James Parrish La. that produces it and it doesn't seem to be drawing new interest from the young generation of the area.


Could this create a future shortage of favorite blends like Escudo and St.James Flake etc.? Possibility IMO

http://blog.nola.com/tpmoney/2008/07...ery_comeb.html

What about you Tobacco collectors? what are you going after and stocking just in case?

[parris001]

Perique is definitely on my watch list for that which could easily disappear. With production being as small as it is, and the weed itself being so very specialized, it could face extinction at any time.

[MarkC]

I thought most of the perique used wasn't real perique anyway, although I'm certainly not stating that as a fact.

[SmokinJohnny]

Like oil and milk, tobacco is a commodity and if there is a demand, it will be supplied. The supply may dry up for the short term but on the long term, the supply always comes back. Often in abundance as there are zillion entrepreneurs watching over situations like this looking to make a buck. Especially in today's dog eat dog economy. If I were to stock up, it would definitely be for the short term. The time it takes from seed to shelf.

We once had an abundance of perique and farmers could not make money off it at market price so they backed off growing it. The supply dried up and the price went up accordingly. Now they can afford to grow it for market price.

[sounds7]

Originally Posted by MarkC

I thought most of the perique used wasn't real perique anyway, although I'm certainly not stating that as a fact.

Its a pretty unique form of tobacco. I don't know if it can be produced except from the soils that are specific to St. James Parish. It's not rare at the moment so I think that if a blend says it has perique in it, it probably does.
I have some pure perique from the local farm and I have infused some virginia with it just to see what flavors i could come up with. I am 99% sure that our favorite Va/Pers do actually use the real deal.

Originally Posted by SmokinJohnny

Like oil and milk, tobacco is a commodity and if there is a demand, it will be supplied. The supply may dry up for the short term but on the long term, the supply always comes back. Often in abundance as there are zillion entrepreneurs watching over situations like this looking to make a buck. Especially in today's dog eat dog economy. .

Im hoping your right SmokinJohnny. I sure wouldnt mind seeing Pease reintroduce Bohemian Scandal if and when his special Syrian Latakia becomes available again.

[drastic_quench]

Wikipedia on perique:

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.

I wonder if the higher-end blenders are using the real deal.

[SmokinJohnny]

Another thing to consider is the tobacco regulations the feds keep imposing on us but I don't want to go there since we are trying to keep politics out of these threads. I think we know what I mean.

[dillonmcmurphy]

What we know of as perique in the majority of blends we smoke is not technically true perique. Don't quote me on this, but to my understanding it's actually a strain of burley that is cured using the same traditional process as true perique. It isn't quite the same, but come on guys it's still good stuff right? And as far as what SmokinJohnny said about supply and demand, he's right on the mark. When there is high demand, supply rises to meet that demand. As demand lowers, supply compensates. It's a continuous rollercoaster and is the basis of how markets work. I wouldn't be worried about it. We may experience some short-term scarcity but in the long term as long as we buy it, they'll grow it.

[Stumptown]

Originally Posted by SmokinJohnny

Another thing to consider is the tobacco regulations the feds keep imposing on us but I don't want to go there since we are trying to keep politics out of these threads. I think we know what I mean.

tobacco regulation is a bad thing for us I wouldn't mind if they did away with cigarettes, but keep my pipe baccy out of it!

[Mad Hatter]

I would say some of the specialty oriental tobaccos have suffered a similar fate to that of the calabash gourd

[dmkerr]

Originally Posted by dillonmcmurphy

What we know of as perique in the majority of blends we smoke is not technically true perique. Don't quote me on this, but to my understanding it's actually a strain of burley that is cured using the same traditional process as true perique. It isn't quite the same, but come on guys it's still good stuff right?

Correct. It's called Green River Burley and it's cured as perique is. I don't smoke straight perique but I would have extreme difficulty in telling it from actual perique in a VaPer blend. It's different but not overly noticeably different. Others may argue but I wonder if that's the human brain talking to the taste buds rather than the other way around. Who knows?

[afilter]

Originally Posted by Stumptown

tobacco regulation is a bad thing for us I wouldn't mind if they did away with cigarettes, but keep my pipe baccy out of it!

I am not a cigarrette smoker and really do not care to be around it. With the state of things this would be a dangerous stance to have. Once the do gooders eliminate cigarettes do you really think they are going to leave cigars and pipes alone?

Fact is any tobacco products being banned or legislated against affects all tobabcco products one way or another.

[sounds7]

Concerning the Green River Burley, What of the blends that go so far as to specifically list Louisiana Perique as one of its ingredients or in the case of Samuel Gawith, name the flake St.James Flake. Are these false statements then?

here is a quote from the description on Saint James Flake:

"A sumptuous blend of Virginias and Perique, this big, bold British style flake incorporates a generous proportion of St. James Parish, LA perique."

A Quote from Mccleland on Grey Havens

"A harmonious blend of lightly fragrant Matured Virginias and premium White Burley with just a hint of Louisiana Perique. You experience the rich taste of fine natural tobaccos and those around you enjoy a mellow and pleasing fragrance. "

Could it be that these types of statements are fabricated?

[Mad Hatter]

It could be Brian but a lot of blend descriptions I believe just say "perique" as opposed to "real Louisiana Perique". I don't care much for perique so it doesn't really concern me but I do read a lot of tin descriptions if I'm shopping for something new.

[dmkerr]

Originally Posted by sounds7

Could it be that these types of statements are fabricated?

Possibly - or they could still have a stash of Louisiana perique on hand. I have no real idea who does and who doesn't but I've been told that McClellands Blending Perique is really the Green River Burley. I do know that the American Spirit company has pre-purchased a huge percentage of the Louisiana perique for use in their cigarettes. If you can smoke a cigarette without inhaling, these cigs are pretty good. They don't take the place of a pipe, of course, but at least they don't taste like Marlboro reds!