My survey conclusions.
Although all of my "guesses" were correct, down to being able to identify the maker of each of the 4 Perique samples, I had an unfair advantage.
- I made and donated one of them, and can easily recognize its specific, fruity aroma.
- I have (in the far distant past--like 40 years ago) owned a small can of pure St. James Parish Perique. Once you smell it, you can identify it. (That was the one with the "nice" manure pouch aroma.)
- I have had the enjoyment of playing with a generous quantity of FmGrowit's Brown Burley Perique for several years, though I have none now for comparison. But I knew that it would be among the samples.
- I knew that one of the 4 samples was JBD's Perique, although I have never tried it.
Despite all that, I still had to focus, and repeatedly return to each sample, before I was confident about their identities.
My conclusion is that, although St. James Parish Perique can be identified,
if you are already familiar with its characteristics, its qualities are only subtly different from the others. I've purchased two tins of a specific commercial blend of pipe tobacco that differed from each other more than these Perique samples differed among themselves.
For the 4 Perique samples, the fruitiest could be easily distinguished from the mustiest--in a side-by-side comparison, but the 4 of them comprised a spectrum of aroma and alkalinity. They all perform their function well--that of balancing the acidity of the Virginia, and of adding a deeper note. I believe that any of these could be substituted in any commercial Perique blend with little notice on the part of consumers.
Which is the best? Well, I think that comes down entirely to personal taste, as witnessed by the range of preferences in the survey. I suspect that as the percentage of Perique in a blend is increased, the notable fruitiness of my own Perique might become cloying. But I have been happy with it up to 3 parts Perique to 5 parts Virginia, in a blend in which those two components together make up 50% of the blend. So, at 3/16 of the blend, the fruitiness doesen't seem to much.
One other guess is that the longer the tobacco remains in the Perique press, the less noticeable the fruitiness, and the greater the mustiness. Perhaps airing it more often also dissipates the fruitiness.
I have to thank JBD for all the work in carrying out this study. What it has clearly shown is that
- there is no magic involved in making Perique in St. James Parish
- the variety of tobacco used seems to have minimal impact on the final product
- even simple methods can produce a creditable Perique for your home pipe blending
Bob