Before I came back to snuff, I kept mostly to my pipes. I liked perique there (in limited quantities), but was surprised to see it in snuff. Any other pipers out there that can give me some idea of what kind of profile perique gives? Is it that creamy, peppery feeling we find in the bowl? Maybe @chefdaniel would be able to weigh in, since I’ve noticed a certain Cajun fondness for the stuff in his blends? And as a follow-up, which would be the best blend to start putting perique up the ol’ nose with? Thanks! Alberich
I’ll put a pretty obvious one out there. SWS St. James Parish Blend… dark fruit, pepper, dry, and fine. What’s not to like? It’s my favorite perique forward snuff. If you like Escudo, St. James Flake, and other Vaper blends then you will probably like this snuff?
My experience w/Perique snuffs is limited to SWS’s St. James Parish & homemade snuffs, but I do get the green/bell pepper & black peppercorn notes out of it that can be also found when smoking a Perique blend from a pipe.
@Alberich Perique is the ultimate condiment/seasoning tobacco for snuff, IMHO, with Cyprian Latakia coming in a very close second. Because it isn’t burned, even more dexterity is needed for using it in snuff than for pipe tobacco. @Jim and @Ivan both hit some of the complex notes found in Perique, but there are also some others I’ve found that are interesting. There’s a very deep fermented “clean barnyard” scent, without the dung aspects; like a clean barn on a cool, rainy day. A very good baritone. There’s also a tannic effect in there similar to well fermented black tea…and some smoke like Lapsang Souchong. The tannins also remind me of wine “must”…all that crap left over from fermenting the crushed grapes…the same stuff from which we get my favorite Italian adult beverage: Grappa. If you’re a fan of red wine, you might even find some of those interesting prune, black pepper, berries, wood/sawdust, smoke and some yeasty/rising bread/freshly baked cookies weirdness in there too. It has a faint sweet and sour top note in the finish. Like a good Zinfandel, Sangiovese or Chianti. I know I sound like an idiot here, but I’ve made my living with my sense of smell and taste for over 40 years, so it’s hard for me NOT to sound like an idiot. We shouldn’t overlook the fact that I really AM an idiot, and some poor village is now being deprived of my services. =))