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Perique as a filler

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Jitterbugdude

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I've made about half a dozen cigars now using 50% Perique and 50% Havana as a filler. A very nice cigar indeed. The Perique I used was primed, cured and fermented like traditional cigar leaf, not the traditional "Perique Process". I've also made 100% Perique filler cigars. They are also good but I like the extra flavor that the Havana adds.

Randy B
 

deluxestogie

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Randy,
I've made quite a few cigar blends with similar Perique. The one combination that I did not like was a Perique wrapper from the upper half of the plant. These thick, dark leaves seem to impart a slight bitterness to the tongue, a taste that I do not detect when it is used as binder or filler.

Burley goes well with Perique leaf as a filler.

I have been pleased with adding a tiny amount of Perique-style tobacco (compliments of FmGrowIt) to any cigar blend. It seems to shift the smoke's pH higher, and move the "edge" of the smoke from the tongue to the nose. Too much, and the nicotine of the entire blend becomes overwhelming. I believe that double-fermenting (two or more sweats), as is done with tobacco for premium cigars, accomplishes much the same effect.

Bob
 

SmokesAhoy

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what is the defining characteristic of perique anyway? until recently i thought it was a process, not a type, now i'm reading into it and it seems very good, but wasnt sure what note it would impart to the overall smoke.
 

Jitterbugdude

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MMMM-Defining characteristic? Probably means different things to different people. Ask the average pipe smoker and 99% of them will tell you it is Perique tobacco grown in 1 or 2 parishes in Louisiana done by pressing the leaf in barrels under high pressure for about a year. But I say.. it probably is just the process. Using most any leaf, Havana, Perique, Burley and pressing it under high pressure will most likely yield the same results. I say that because no-one would probably know the difference between the two. The process of anaerobically pressing the leaf yields something like 30 plus different chemical substances that are not found in traditionaly cured leaf. The one chemical I like that is found in Perique proccessed tobacco is the Pine Bark Beetle Aggregation Hormone...yummy! And as Bob mentioned, it makes quite the unique tobacco for experimenting with.

Randy B
 

deluxestogie

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no-one would probably know the difference between the two

I agree completely. I've purchased pure St. James Parish Perique for pipe blending since the early 1970s. While taste is often tricky to compare, smell is more finely calibrated. FmGrowIt's Perique-style tobacco (not from "Perique" varietal leaf) smells the same as the traditional stuff, tastes the same, and shifts the pH about the same. While I'm sure subtle differences might be noticeable in side-by-side comparisons of different "Periques", I suspect that variations in the processing--even from the same processor--would dominate.

A curious new approach to Perique is McClellan's "Cajun Black." Read the process here.

Bob
 

Eyespeck

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I never considered Perique as a tobacco used in cigars. They're usually in the pipe baccy I smoke. It will be neat to roll a few with it and see if I like it.
 
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