WLT's Perique

[ChinaVoodoo]

WLT Perique is very pungent. I've been smoking a pipe for 25 years, and this is the real deal. It's good. I think you should just try it.

McClelland smells more like ketchup to me. And there's no way its the fermentation. It's a natural preservative. I respect that. Their tobaccos are better than most of their competitors imo, and that smell doesn't come through in the smoke. But that smell in the can? It is literally in every single blend, irregardless of the reported make-up. And does not exist in any other tobacco by any other brand.

 

[Charly]

Or consider the possiblity that your knowledge of Perique isn't complete.

@larryccf : I think you should moderate your words, from all the members of FTT, DeluxeStogie is one of those who made a lot of trials and experimentations about making perique at home.
He sampled a lot of different ones and achieved to make some home made perique that is very close to the "real deal".

When I say that I smell a pungeant vinegary smell, maybe I am wrong, it can be a "pungeant basic smell", maybe we are all talking about the same thing and we just don't understand each other because of the definition of what is an "acidic" or "basic" smell.
The smell I get reminds me of wine vinegar, which is probably what Bob is refering to when he sais

The fermentation of Perique results in a more alkaline leaf. [...] distinctive prune/grapey aroma. The aroma can be pretty intense, and sometimes mildly "barnyard" (i.e. manure), but it's never vinegary. It's more like the potent botrytis grapes used for making certain specialty wines.

Commercial brands probably have the same issue : they mistake "acidic" for "basic". Which, in my opinion is not important.

 

[larryccf]

CHarly: "@larryccf : I think you should moderate your words, from all the members of FTT, DeluxeStogie is one of those who made a lot of trials and experimentations about making perique at home. "

Charly - that stmt is pretty simple and goes to the bone, either DS is right or Mark Ryan is. Ryan is an internationally acclaimed tobacconist who purchased the Poche company, with a history of processing perique, going back to 1917, and obviously knowledge of the tobaccos and techniques going back further vs DS's home experiments without the benefit of the knowledge Ryan acquired in that purchase. But they both can't be right at the same time?

If someone's opinion is so sensitive, it can't be contested....well, i'm sorry but that's not the world i live in.

And for the record, the following is taken from wikipedia: "Vinegar is an aqueous solution of acetic acid and trace chemicals that may include flavorings. Vinegar typically contains 5–20% by volume acetic acid. Usually the acetic acid is produced by the fermentation of ethanol or sugars by acetic acid bacteria.[1] Vinegar is now mainly used as a cooking ingredient, or in pickling. There are many types of vinegar, depending upon the source materials. " Other sources on the internet seem to agree with that description.

Every article on Perique references it fermenting in its juices - but somehow Perique is not supposed to have a vinegary note?? Off the bat though, we have one issue with DS's assertion that acetic acid fades with time - the problem for me is that it hasn't in my Perique, every time i've re-hydrated it, that vinegar note returns. So if that assertion is false, what other assertions/assumptions are also incorrect?

Charly, there seems to be some sort of "cult" mentality here, that god bless you guys, i hope you continue to enjoy it, but i can't.