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Perique: The Native Crop

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deluxestogie

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The link is still alive today. This touches on the nature of the loss of tobacco growing tradition in any context. I believe, along with you, that the knowledge of the technique is preserved and safe. The loss of St. James Parish Perique would be sad, but the product, as you've demonstrated, can be made at a similar quality (despite the exclusivity fluff in all the Perique journalism) by any home tobacco grower with the energy to carefully work out the pressing details, and with other tobacco varieties.

Bob
 

FmGrowit

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These "How to" forums directed toward home growers will likely be responsible for the introduction of new types of perique processed tobacco. The new understanding of the multitude of heirloom varieties will undoubtedly lead to creations like Perique processed Samsun 15 or any of the other types with highly distinctive characteristics. While Perique production might end some day, these boards and others like them will preserve the knowledge of process.

I sure wish I would have saved the video about the Martin farm. The entire process was documented in detail. Endless searches have yielded no returns. Maybe it was too informative, whatever the reason...it's gone.
 
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SmokeStack

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I have seen seeds for Perique tobacco sold on a few websites. Under which type of tobacco does Perique fall? I have always thought that Perique tobacco is analogous to Cavendish tobacco. That is to say that it is a process (pressing and fermenting) and not a tobacco. I guess you could make Perique from other types of tobacco. But is there a particular variety of tobacco called Perique. Since the website refers to tobacco seeds as Perique, I am curious as to what type of tobacco it is. Or is it in a class of its own?
 

Jitterbugdude

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Goofy GRIN has it listed as an Oriental. I think they were smoking something else when they made that classification. To me, it looks and grows like a Burley. Yes, you can use any type of tobacco to make "Perique" tobacco. The Perique process is different than the Cavendish process. The Perique process uses leaves that have just been partially cured. They are then pressed at high pressure for several months to a year. This is an anaerobic fermentation process that yields dozens of unique critters. The modern day Cavendish uses any type of tobacco, well cured, heavily cased (usually) and only pressed for a dew hours/days.

There are quite a few "tobacco snobs" that will swear on their mothers grave that the only "real" Perique is made in one or two counties (Pairshes) in Louisiana. If that makes them fell better-OK.

Several of us have made Perique tobacco using different tobacco's. I used Havana 263, FMGrowit used Havana 142 ( I think) and BigBonner has a gigantic batch going, I think with Perique tobacco.

Randy B
 

deluxestogie

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I agree that Perique is definitely not an Oriental. (Sorry, GRIN.) The Perique varietal that I have grown (from seed acquired through New Hope Seed) displays a distinct Orinoco habitus--tall pyramidal plant; long, moderately wide, dark green leaves; rumpled surface; loosely wavy margin. The air-cured leaf is fairly strong, and when used as a minor blending component in cigars, lends a pleasing, edgy flavor and aroma. After kilning, air-cured Perique loses its edginess, and mellows out.

I also agree with the opinion that delicious and quite typical pipe-blending Perique (nearly indistinguishable from the product of St. James Parrish, Louisiana) can be made by pressure-fermenting many (if not all) varieties of leaf. FmGrowit's "Perique" is one of the finest I've tasted, and equals in quality the pure St. James Parrish Perique that I've sampled over the years.

The marketeers of St. James Parrish, as well as all the copy-and-paste tobacco journalists, have a great deal invested in maintaining the myth that the commercial product can only be obtained from St. James Parrish, while the sole remaining producer of that product has readily admitted that what he sells--and has sold for years--is blended from Perique that is predominantly obtained from elsewhere.

So I would venture to say that "Perique" is a process-class of tobacco that varies only subtly when made from differing varieties of leaf. The pressure process is the dominant factor in the final product.

Bob
 

oldsouth

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There are quite a few "tobacco snobs" that will swear on their mothers grave that the only "real" Perique is made in one or two counties (Pairshes) in Louisiana. If that makes them fell better-OK.

There probably are several variations in home recipes. Before television and the pace of modern life, when folks had more time on their hands and took more pride in their work, people often came up with their "own way" of doing things. Here in the appalachians of NC, I've seen old farmers get in heated arguments over their individual ways of processing tobacco. I recall two guys who each took their cured leaves and pressed them under old irons on the hearth - one used sugar between the leaves and one didn't. The one that didn't kept saying, "If you add sugar, that ain't real tobacco!"
 

BarG

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The Perique Seedlings I got From BigBonner this year was among the best I grew for air cured smoke. I have mainly used as filler in cigars with a strip of fire cured. But I have never tried any of the pressed fermented perique. I am in the process now Of just learning to kiln my tobacco. I will grow some more next year. I have been following this thread from the beginning and glad to see it revived. Of particular interest was the related threads to pressing in whiskey barrels between FmGrowit and BigBonner.
 

Fisherman

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Recent search for perique tobacco:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/05/us/tobacco-lovers-discover-mystique-of-perique.html?_r=0

Mr Percy died a year before this article came out.
Says american spirit does the selling of the original preique now.

http://www.eflanger.com/pipes/perique.htm

ANother link about history and making the blend. Reference made to using white burley suggest perique as much a process as it is a strain.

"[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]Pershing Martin, a cousin of the last full time grower of Perique, told me he tried White Burley one year. He said it took longer to air cure before the fermentation process, but that the resulting Perique was fine. BTW, he said that Percy is the only full time farmer, but that two people grow Perique part time." [/FONT]

http://pipesmagazine.com/blog/put-that-in-your-pipe/the-mystique-of-perique/

Another good article about a processor of the smoke. IUt aint going away . Seems they are growing at a great rate and making a financial comeback. [ the company]

WEIRD LINK:
http://www.amountainofcrushedice.com/?p=15384
Didnt know you could drink tobacco!

And we have the vulgar :)
http://i931.photobucket.com/albums/ad160/cortezattic/Periquedef.jpg

Another explanation that perique is a method more than a strain by the sellers of perique form old company:
http://www.grandfathersspirit.com/American-Spirit-Perique-Blend.html

Sweet story:
http://blog.nola.com/tpmoney/2008/07/perique_has_made_a_fiery_comeb.html

Bingo:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqte2RxsGcM
Would loved to been there :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iV14JYNftEM
History link with pics of the plants and Mr Percy too. Shows all process straight under Mr Percy hisself.

And Uncle Sam singles out perique also: Grrrrrrrrrrr
http://books.google.com/books?id=zt...go#v=onepage&q=making perique tobacco&f=false

Cool slide show showing sure enuff they used a nail in each stalk to hang :)
http://www.hnoc.org/perique/?show=slide

Another old history: Tells how leaf is allowed to brown except the midrib which is green and then is stripped. ALSO noted is the use of levers and 12' handles and NOT screw presses as the process needs contiinious weight that the lever would allow. 7000 lb per square inch.
Also weird notation that strains grown in the "native soil" wold take on traits of the original tobacco.... They must not have used seed bags :)
http://books.google.com/books?id=SC...hG#v=onepage&q=making perique tobacco&f=false

And that is page 14 of a google search today for keyword "making perique tobacco"

Now I wonder if someone would try a "mini" version of this process with like a 5 gallon bucket and duplicate the lever system and possibly see if the addition of molasses which was grown by the original growers and sometimes suspected of being added to set off the fermintation process also. I will later if I succeed in growing any :)
 

JessicaNicot

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the GRIN Perique came from Louisiana, so it should be whatever they were historically using over there. i appologize for the oriental classification. i was not a part of that and i do think most of them are nonsense.
 

Fisherman

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Its' easy to make. I'll be making another batch this year but this time around I 'll be using Turkish.
Do you use a fermentation catalyst like molasses?


the GRIN Perique came from Louisiana, so it should be whatever they were historically using over there. i appologize for the oriental classification. i was not a part of that and i do think most of them are nonsense.
How yall set for that cultivar in seed bank?
 
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