Free Pipe Tobacco-Volunteers needed!

[NRustica]

Mine wasn't terribly detailed but here are my thoughts.
1. Which one do you think contains St James Parish Perique? D
2. Which one (if any) tastes the best? If you like a very smooth tobacco with a hint of menthol (did this have silver river in it?) This would be best. If you want a real bold flavor then b. C is a mid-bold flavor between D and B, I was wondering if there was a feaux perique in it. Overall, I liked D. Not too strong, but just enough bite to let you know you're smoking something.

 

[Desertpipe]

I used Open Office to compose my thoughts for the Perique experiment, and no matter what I do, the post comes out with words compressed together, even after going Advanced and editing.....dang it....

It would not me delete the post, and I could not even change Best Liked from B to the D that I sent in with my report.

Thanks....it is gone, and gone to stay

Most Perique Like......A

Best tasting.......D

 

[FmGrowit]

it is gone, and gone to stay

I was able to save your work. Let me know if you still want it deleted.


From DesertPipe....

Randy,

Wanted to give a thanks for taking a passing comment I made in a post, and making it a reality. It has been great fun to smoke these samples and consider only the flavor components, and not worry about whether I just messed up X number of pounds of tobacco or hit a home run.
I have found that tobacco tastes are amazingly personal and range far and wide from individual to individual. The pipe size and shape used, what they are used to smoking, the age of the tobacco and even time of day affect the taster's observations. The age of both Perique and Latakia is especially important, as they tend to mellow down with age.

My tasting methodology for this experiment.

I stopped smoking any Perique blends a week before the tasting of samples, switching to pure Virginia blends. The first two rounds were were smoked in the same small bowl new Meerschaum short churchwarden. Pipe cleaners were used between smokes, and the bowl was wiped out with a paper towel. The order the samples were smoked was changed for the second round, and thoughts were recorded after each bowl. I rinsed out my mouth with room temp. water and waited a half hour between smokes.
The third round was smoked in similar sized briars, all straight billiards, and all totally cleaned with Everclear at least two weeks before the experiment. I rinsed out my mouth with coffee and then room temp. water, again waiting a half hour between smokes.
Rounds one and two were done afternoon and evenings. Round three was done in the early morning.

Here are my thoughts on the four samples sent. The order presented here is my ranking based on “Periqueness” of the samples and my personal enjoyment of the spicy component that I always think of when I add Perique to a blend.

Sample A - Sharp spice notes from the opening light to the bottom of the bowl. If this one is someone's homemade Perique, they have hit a home run, and I want a set of pictures and a complete description of how they make it...no kidding.

Sample D - Mellow spice notes with a slight increase in sharpness as the bowl progressed. Nice flavor, and a good smoke.

Sample B - Dark chocolate, almost Cavendish notes, with increasing spicy hints toward the bottom of the bowl. Though I rarely smoke Aromatics these days,I found this a pleasant smoke.

Sample C - Dark chocolate and minor hints of coconut, again an almost Cavendish sense and with only minor spicy notes. This one did better in the briar, increasing the spice component as the bowl developed.

Most "Perique like"..... A

Best tasting....... D

ChucK

 

[deluxestogie]

My PMs to JBD:

Perique face-off

First of all, the proportion of Perique seemed quite low in all the blends, making the comparison a bit more challenging.

A -->
Pouch aroma: distinct prune-like fruitiness
Smoking: no tongue bite. Well balanced. Somewhat harsh in the nose.

B -->
Pouch aroma: manure, the nice kind
Smoking: slight fruity taste. Slight back of tongue edge.

C -->
Pouch aroma: the most subtle of the three. Vague mustiness.
Smoking: barely any alkalinity. Seems to have a lower % of Perique in the blend.

D -->
Pouch aroma: dry and musty
Smoking: seems to have a visibly greater proportion of Perique. Smooth and musty, with very slight tongue bite. Definite alkalinity. Some nasal tang. No fruitiness.


My guesses:
A --> Goff
B --> Saint James Parish
C --> Carey
D --> Bagrowski

Bob

Bob, I need you to answer the following 2 questions: 1. Which one is St James Perique? ( I have you down for "B") and 2. Which one is the best tasting?
Randy

Randy,
1. I believe the St. James Parish Perique is B
2. I like A the best.

Bob

 

[Brown Thumb]

OK, My uneducated Guess is B, from what I read Fruity, and Strong. I like it.
1 = B St. James Parish. My Favorite.
2 = D and C tough Decision But I chose D, Both about the same.
4= A Light and airy burned fast but came back at the bottom of bowl a little.
My Uneducated Opinion.
BT

 

[quo155]

Below is what I had sent via PM:

Here are my notes and the answers to your questions on the Perique samples:

Sample A
Smoked 1st bowl on 051314 PM
Smoked in a new Cob Pipe, Country Gentleman
Initial thoughts:
- Wow! This stuff smoked so nicely, this may have something to do with the fact that this was my first ever, non-commercial bowl of pipe tobacco.
- I'm an aromatic fan (all kinds) and this reminds me of some of my favorite tobaccos.
- This has a great, fantastic aroma!
- Beautiful, light grey smoke
- Very little bite, if any its due to the speed that I smoke
- Some unidentifiable sweetness inside bowl
Smoked 2nd bowl on 051314 PM
Smoked in a new Cob Pipe, Country Gentleman
Initial thoughts:
- Similar notes as prior
- Peppery tongue bite
- Very nice Perique profile, hard to define as to what it smells like. Can smell the fermentation, some alcohol, sweet "pie" like aroma

Sample B
Smoked 1st bowl on 051514 PM
Smoked in a Cob Pipe, Country Gentleman
Initial thoughts:
- Seems to be not as much 'aroma' as "A"
- Same smoke details
- Not as strong (sweet) smell/aroma
- Less bite than 2nd bowl of "A"
Smoked 2nd bowl on 051514 PM
Smoked in a Cob Pipe, Country Gentleman
Initial thoughts:
- Just "OK" for the second round, no different notes

Sample C
Smoked 1st bowl on 051614 AM
Smoked in a Cob Pipe, Country Gentleman
Initial thoughts:
- Seems better than "B" but not as good as "A"
- Similar to "A", just not as aromatic
Smoked 2nd bowl on 051614 PM
Smoked in a Cob Pipe, Country Gentleman
Initial thoughts:
- Good!
- More bite than first bowl but well balanced

Sample D
Smoked 1st bowl on 052114 PM
Smoked in a Cob Pipe, Country Gentleman
Initial thoughts:
- Seems to be identical to "B"
- Nothing new to mention
Smoked 2nd bowl on 052214 PM
Smoked in a Cob Pipe, Country Gentleman
Initial thoughts:
- Exactly the same as 1st bowl notes

Answers to your two questions:
1. Which sample contained St James Perique?
A: I'd say SAMPLE A
2. Which sample (if any) tasted the best?
A: SAMPLE A, hands down!

...

...

Thank you so much for this opportunity...

Tommy Berry

 

[holyRYO]

Perique taste test results



1. St. James- B (out of exclusion, stood out as different from A and C)
2. Favorite- A (tasted the same as C, so could swap answers)

Least favorite was D. Could be homemade, smelled different, burnt hotter, more cigar like with some Perique funkyness. Still a great smoke, I would never turn it down.

 

[DonH]

Here are my reviews:

I tested them all twice. In a meerschaum which I cleaned between tastings.

Sample A: Good! Nice spicy Perique flavor

Sample B: Good Perique flavor but different from Sample A

Sample C: Nice! Good Perique flavor, a little more fruity than spicy

Sample D: Earthier, less spicy. The blend seemed to have a higher % of Perique in it than the other ones.

As to which is the St. James, I would guess A. My favorite? A and C, with maybe C winning out. D had a different flavor from the other ones, so I'm guessing D was the homemade Perique.

 

[jojjas]

Here is my verdict
I loaded 4 pipes with similar bowl size 3 of them i use for tests of my own blends , they have been resting for 9 days before this trial to let them dry out and properly cleaned

I light them and puff a few puff and let them go out for 10 min , and then relight them

A, is a bit on the heavy side , more straight on , more omph
B, a bit flowery , mellow and subtle
C, allmost as same as sample sample A but litle laid back , less omph than A
D, a lot flavours in the first puffs more complex and full taste , it faded away a bit after relightning but still noticeable

So my thoughts is.
Sample B , St James perique
Sample D , my favourite

 

[NRustica]

I'm not a double blind test knowledgeable but it seems to me looking at the results that not everyone's a, b, c, and d were the same but were mixed up. Facinating!

 

[Brown Thumb]

I'm not a double blind test knowledgeable but it seems to me looking at the results that not everyone's a, b, c, and d were the same but were mixed up. Facinating!

I have been wondering the same thing.
But GrFinny was by and we studied together and a lot came down to the pipe itself.

 

[Knucklehead]

I got the flu before I could finish my taste test. Everything tastes like crap now. I'm also surprised at the results. I thought A and B smelled like dog poo and C and D smelled really really good. Different strokes I guess. I picked D for St. James just based on the smell. I did my sniff test and smoked sample A before I got the flu. I didn't care for A at all.

 

[BarG]

you even type like your feeling bad.

 

[grgfinney]

A burned rather quickly and a little harsh, B is my pick for the St.James parrish more pungent than the others and slower burn an more flavor than the other samples , I believe C to be home made because of the flavor of the virginia in the blend , D was mild and a cool burn liked B the best. Just a rookie a pipe smoking not a bad experience thanks JBD

 

[FmGrowit]

OK, Randy..it's Tuesday. The suspenders are killing me

 

[Jitterbugdude]

Here's a quick rundown. I will post much more details on Thursday in a new thread titled something like "St James Perique vs Generic Perique Test Results"

Sample A: Bolivia Criollo Black
Sample B: St James Parish
Sample C: Brown Leaf Burley
Sample D: Havana 263

Which one was St James Perique?
A= 4
B= 7
C= 0
D=3

Which one tasted the best?
A= 4
B= 2.5
C= 2.5
D= 4.75

Quick explanation for the "Best Tasting" category. A lot of people gave me multiple answers for Best Tasting such as "A" and "C", or "all of them". I assigned the number "1" to each person's pick so if they said "A and C" tasted the best I gave "A" 1/2 point and "C" 1/2 point. If you said "all of them" I assigned each sample 1/4 point.

I will post all the details Thursday. In the meantime, enjoy the results!

 

[NRustica]

Well that would explain why I thought B had a real bold flavor to it. Interesting. Thanks for the test.

 

[Jitterbugdude]

I'm not a double blind test knowledgeable but it seems to me looking at the results that not everyone's a, b, c, and d were the same but were mixed up. Facinating!

All "A's" "B's" "C's" and "D's" were the same for everyone

 

[quo155]

Thanks for the results...looking forward to your other thread!

B...boy was I off on St. JP!

Again...and again, a fun experiment!

 

[deluxestogie]

Those of you interested in making "A," this is the method used: http://fairtradetobacco.com/threads/2873-Really-Easy-Perique-Press

I have no idea if the variety (Bolivia Criollo Black) has anything to do with how it comes out.

Bob