Perique... the plot thickens

[Jitterbugdude]

As a few of you may know, I am putting together a little experiment to compare what is called the only true authentic Perique (St Jame's Parish) with a generic Perique to lay to rest once and for all the belief that the only "real" Perique is grown and proccessed in St Jame's Parish, LA. I have obtained some St Jame's Perique and am looking for a generic. I called Cornell & Diehl today and this is what I was told. All Perique is grown in St James' Parish and no other place. The stuff that is grown by Percy Martin (the "authentic" real stuff) is all sold by contract to American Spirit. All other Perique is still grown in St Jame's Parish but not on Percy Martins farm.

So it looks like all of the Perique that is sold by the various vendors is the same stuff. I'll still go ahead with my little experiment but the comparison will be with St Jame's Perique vs home made Perique. I have some that I made and I have two other members that are going to send me some of their home stuff as well

 

[quo155]

This is interesting to know. I am JUST learning some interesting things, such as with Perique...until yesterday, I thought it was a type of tobacco plant...not a process. I love the aroma that Perique gives when smoking my pipe. This will be interesting to follow...and good luck!

 

[BigBonner]

I just started over 100 pounds of Perique made from burley .
This time when the weather gets hot I will be keeping it in a cooler place .

 

[forumdotabaco]

Until I join this forum I was convinced that was the process not the type of tobacco used.
I believe this is the same case we have here with Oporto wine , you can make Oporto wine everywhere but will not be considered Oporto wine, because the real one is done in a demarcated area and its a worldwide registered product.

 

[quo155]

So, would this be considered "PeriqueSim" or something like that?

 

[deluxestogie]

Unlike "Tobasco Sauce," Perique is not a registered trade mark (except for its use referring to a liquor). The St. James Parish folks would probably have a claim to trademark protection of Perique tobacco, if they sought it--but they apparently have not.

Perique is a tobacco variety. The Perique method is pressure-curing. Unfortunately, "pressure-cured" has no meaning to the average pipe smoker.

Bob

 

[Jitterbugdude]

How about these two terms? "Granulated Perique" and "Processed Perique"
Granulated Perique is sold by C&D and probably others. I'm not sure what it is but in their description of the Perique process they say it is heated and pressed in barrels. The picture looks more like it is just shredded Perique that has very short ribbons.

Processed Perique"? Not sure what that is either. In the 1972 Three Nun's formula they use a combination of "Perique" and "Processed Perique"

Any ideas?

 

[deluxestogie]

Nearly everything in print regarding Perique (except on FTT, of course) should be considered myth and misinformation. The direct interviews of the Percy Martin folks, and videos of same, are useful info, with the exception of their claims of exclusivity.

Brown Leaf Perique
Burley Perique
Bolivia Criollo Black Perique
Maryland Miracle Perique

Bob

 

[jojjas]

How about these two terms? "Granulated Perique" and "Processed Perique"
Granulated Perique is sold by C&D and probably others. I'm not sure what it is but in their description of the Perique process they say it is heated and pressed in barrels. The picture looks more like it is just shredded Perique that has very short ribbons.

Processed Perique"? Not sure what that is either. In the 1972 Three Nun's formula they use a combination of "Perique" and "Processed Perique"

Any ideas?

In the three nuns formula the "manufactured perique" or "substitute perique", is what i would called stoved or maybe perhaps cavendish tobacco according to how the describe the process for making "manufactured perique"

On page 5 is an description
http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/ohz46a99/pdf

 

[FmGrowit]

This should be quite an interesting test JBD is conducting. We will either be guilty of creating a myth or credited with unveiling yet another process in the Black Art of tobacco processing.

Out of respect for the lore of Perique, I always refer to St. James Parish made Perique as "Perique" and all others as perique or perique processed. Some traditions deserve to be maintained.

 

[FmGrowit]

During the testing, it might be interesting to add the options

1. Identify which blend contains genuine Perique
2. Which blend is your favorite?

I'm assuming the different products will be logged.
More curiouser things have happened

 

[holyRYO]

article on perique, http://pipesmagazine.com/blog/put-that-in-your-pipe/the-mystique-of-perique/, according to the owner, most of what they sell is made with air cured from Tennessee and Kentucky

 

[Jitterbugdude]

Well the more you read the more confusing it becomes. According to C&D anything that isn't grown by the Martin farm is called Acadian Mix but they (C&D) sell "pure" Perique grown in St James Parish....shouldn't that be claled Acadian Perique too? The guy at C&D also told me that all Perique is grown in St James. I told him I had heard it was also grown in Florida and Kentucky and he said they were just rumors that won't go away. I'm beginning to think that even the manufacturers that process pipe tobacco don't even know where their Perique really comes from.

 

[BigBonner]

article on perique, http://pipesmagazine.com/blog/put-that-in-your-pipe/the-mystique-of-perique/, according to the owner, most of what they sell is made with air cured from Tennessee and Kentucky

I saw the article a while back .
If you notice the barrels are not used whiskey barrels and they are not charred inside .
They look more like wine barrels

 

[BigCasino]

hmm it's a mystery, I was always told that the accadian perique was perique made with Burley, not made by the martin farms and not St.James perique... as far as three nuns go I was told that when the new blender which I can't remember who right now took over the recipe they weren't allowed to use Perique in the blend as part of the contract, so they substituted with a fire cured leaf, honestly unless your getting your hands dirty in the blending scene, we will probably never really know whats what...LOL

 

[Jitterbugdude]

I saw the article a while back .
If you notice the barrels are not used whiskey barrels and they are not charred inside .
They look more like wine barrels

For what it's worth I read an article awhile back stating that the barrels are now wax coated inside. This is suppossed to make them air tight.

 

[deluxestogie]

For what it's worth I read an article awhile back stating that the barrels are now wax coated inside. This is suppossed to make them air tight.

Kind of like a Lexan jar.

Bob

 

[Jitterbugdude]

Yeah, but for the guys that make this stuff commercially I don't think they'd be able to find a 55 gallon Lexan jar to use...

 

[leverhead]

Yeah, but for the guys that make this stuff commercially I don't think they'd be able to find a 55 gallon Lexan jar to use...

I'm sure one of these would work.

 

[deluxestogie]

My estimate is that Perique is created under about 30 to 50 psi. So, any container used for that purpose would need to be capable of withstanding that much pressure.

Bob