I'm posting this review at the request of the esteemed Bro' Signore Alfredo Buscatti. I originally posted it on the Knoxville Cigar BB in January 2007. I've updated it minimally to reflect the fact that it needed updating.
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Peretti Blend D.D came to me courtesy of the esteemed Carlos, along with ample quantities of several other Peretti weedages. Eventually I hope to review all of them. This is the third one I've smoked, but it's the first one I'm reviewing. I couldn't NOT review it, for reasons that will become clear below. This is one of the most extraordinary tobaccos of any kind—Burleyweed or otherwise—that it has been my pleasure to smoke. Carlos...yer not gonna get away with this! You may expect retaliation when you least expect it, bro'.
Here's the blender's description:
There's a certain spice in the smoke that makes it very intriguing. I don't detect any condiment tobaccos like Perique or Latakia, but it's possible that there might be a bit of Oriental; if so, it has been added with a masterful hand. The spice is too robust to be coming from the top dressing. It's vaguely reminiscent of the kind of spice in the great old classic, London Dock. That was actually a very complex tobacco, and unquestionably an aromatic, but oh...what an aromatic! The tobacco flavors just poured out of the smoke, and the added aromatic essence worked with it in the most extraordinary way. I'm getting much the same kind of spice and rich tobacco flavor from Blend D.D, except that it's all coming from the tobacco, not from any added aromatic essence. In fact, I would recommend Blend D.D to anyone who mourns the demise of London Dock, not as its equal, but as one that recaptures some of the unique spice and flavor of that bygone weedage in a non-aromatic, natural blend. Blend D.D is truly a work of great blendmeistering artistry.
By mid-bowl, the spiciness has intensified, but the burn is so even and so well-controlled that only the slightest sip is necessary to pull loads of spicy tobacco flavor through the bit. This is a magnificent tobacco! A glance at the rim reveals a smooth, oily sheen—the tell-tale sign of a sugary Burleyweed. Yup...no question about it; like all Burleys, this one has been top-dressed with sugar solution, and probably quite a more concentrated solution than most, but it's done with a masterful touch. Not only doesn't it interfere with the tobacco's flavor, it definitely enhances it.
As I begin smoking my way down into the last 1/3-bowl, the flavors are really becoming quite concentrated. I'm getting flavors of black ropeweed, plus the caramel toastiness of stoved Virginia, and still there's this massive base of good, nutty Burley and the aforementioned spice. This is a vastly more complex smoke than any pure Burley I've ever smoked, so I will definitely have to scrutinize this to sleuth out its constituent weedages. There's no question that there's something else in here besides Burley. Jeez...this stuff is amazing! I'm starting to get the slightest hint of nico-buzz, and the pipe is getting a bit warm, so maybe it's time to set it down.
I'm smoking Blend D.D in a very old Caminetto Business KS102 billiard with a 1/16-bent stem from the Ascorti-Radice era. There is virtually zero resistance in the airway, which tells me this probably is one of Gigi Radice's pipes. It's easily a large Group 6 to ODA size bowl with a very thick sidewall, and the Business finish rustication is a helluva radiator. It's normally a very cool smoker, so it's unusual for me to set this pipe down due to elevated bowl temperature, but in this case it's understandable because I've been smoking this stuff so greedily. It has all the intensity of full tobacco flavor that I usually find in ropeweed, but with only a fraction of the nico-punch, and a high multiple of the complexity and sweetness of ropeweed.
I examined the tobacco under bright light and found that it's quite a melange of colors and textures. It unquestionably a blend of at least four or five different tobaccos—possibly more. I can see what looks like Bright and Red Virginias, as well as tobaccos in several different hues and cuts of medium to dark brown. There's no blackweed of any kind that I can see, so if there's any stoved Ginnyweed in here, it's not heavily stoved.
The smell in the room now is phenomenal—like roasted nuts, caramel, cloves, and maple sugar—yet there is no hint of any such aromatic additives in the tobacco, either in its pouch aroma or in the bowl. It's all in the tobacco.
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After letting the pipe rest and cool down, I've relit the pipe. There's just this massive mouthful of flavors here. I'm now willing to assert firmly that there must be at least one type of Oriental tobacco in this blend. There is no other way to account for the exotic, spicy complexity here. As is common with Turkweed, the relight seems to have brought the slightly bitter/burnt flavor of Orientals to the foreground, but now there's something else; is it cigar leaf? Yes...that's the flavor! Deep brown cigar leaf.
What an extraordinary blend this is! The strength of the natural tobacco flavors is really coming through now. What started out as a deceptively mild yet very full-flavored blend and pleasantly sweet blend is simply roaring with a great, complex mix of flavors that is bound to satisfy all lovers of high-octane pipeweed. I'm avoiding the nico-buzz by the most carefully slow sipping, but each little puff brings the most amazing burst of flavor. Hmmm...it has just occurred to me that I haven't had to run a pipe cleaner into the stem even once throughout this entire smoke. OK...I'll fess up; that's normal for one of these old Ascorti-Radice Caminettos, which are probably the driest smokers this side of a true calabash, but it's still worth noting that the weed didn't gurgle even once. The ambient temperature here is about 44°F—the coldest January hereabouts in the past 20+ years. If anything would condense the water vapor in the smoke, that ought to do it. The moisture content in Blend D.D is about as close to perfect as you can get.
I have smoked enough bowls of Blend D.D to reasonably conclude I could easily make this my desert island Burleyweed blend. If I were a fool, I wouldn't buy any more of this for my cellar. I'm not. :mrgreen:
Vito
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Peretti Blend D.D came to me courtesy of the esteemed Carlos, along with ample quantities of several other Peretti weedages. Eventually I hope to review all of them. This is the third one I've smoked, but it's the first one I'm reviewing. I couldn't NOT review it, for reasons that will become clear below. This is one of the most extraordinary tobaccos of any kind—Burleyweed or otherwise—that it has been my pleasure to smoke. Carlos...yer not gonna get away with this! You may expect retaliation when you least expect it, bro'.
Here's the blender's description:
- A cool, slow-burning blend that is quite sweet to the taste, and very fragrant. A good after-dinner smoke. It required 4 years to perfect this blend.
There's a certain spice in the smoke that makes it very intriguing. I don't detect any condiment tobaccos like Perique or Latakia, but it's possible that there might be a bit of Oriental; if so, it has been added with a masterful hand. The spice is too robust to be coming from the top dressing. It's vaguely reminiscent of the kind of spice in the great old classic, London Dock. That was actually a very complex tobacco, and unquestionably an aromatic, but oh...what an aromatic! The tobacco flavors just poured out of the smoke, and the added aromatic essence worked with it in the most extraordinary way. I'm getting much the same kind of spice and rich tobacco flavor from Blend D.D, except that it's all coming from the tobacco, not from any added aromatic essence. In fact, I would recommend Blend D.D to anyone who mourns the demise of London Dock, not as its equal, but as one that recaptures some of the unique spice and flavor of that bygone weedage in a non-aromatic, natural blend. Blend D.D is truly a work of great blendmeistering artistry.
By mid-bowl, the spiciness has intensified, but the burn is so even and so well-controlled that only the slightest sip is necessary to pull loads of spicy tobacco flavor through the bit. This is a magnificent tobacco! A glance at the rim reveals a smooth, oily sheen—the tell-tale sign of a sugary Burleyweed. Yup...no question about it; like all Burleys, this one has been top-dressed with sugar solution, and probably quite a more concentrated solution than most, but it's done with a masterful touch. Not only doesn't it interfere with the tobacco's flavor, it definitely enhances it.
As I begin smoking my way down into the last 1/3-bowl, the flavors are really becoming quite concentrated. I'm getting flavors of black ropeweed, plus the caramel toastiness of stoved Virginia, and still there's this massive base of good, nutty Burley and the aforementioned spice. This is a vastly more complex smoke than any pure Burley I've ever smoked, so I will definitely have to scrutinize this to sleuth out its constituent weedages. There's no question that there's something else in here besides Burley. Jeez...this stuff is amazing! I'm starting to get the slightest hint of nico-buzz, and the pipe is getting a bit warm, so maybe it's time to set it down.
I'm smoking Blend D.D in a very old Caminetto Business KS102 billiard with a 1/16-bent stem from the Ascorti-Radice era. There is virtually zero resistance in the airway, which tells me this probably is one of Gigi Radice's pipes. It's easily a large Group 6 to ODA size bowl with a very thick sidewall, and the Business finish rustication is a helluva radiator. It's normally a very cool smoker, so it's unusual for me to set this pipe down due to elevated bowl temperature, but in this case it's understandable because I've been smoking this stuff so greedily. It has all the intensity of full tobacco flavor that I usually find in ropeweed, but with only a fraction of the nico-punch, and a high multiple of the complexity and sweetness of ropeweed.
I examined the tobacco under bright light and found that it's quite a melange of colors and textures. It unquestionably a blend of at least four or five different tobaccos—possibly more. I can see what looks like Bright and Red Virginias, as well as tobaccos in several different hues and cuts of medium to dark brown. There's no blackweed of any kind that I can see, so if there's any stoved Ginnyweed in here, it's not heavily stoved.
The smell in the room now is phenomenal—like roasted nuts, caramel, cloves, and maple sugar—yet there is no hint of any such aromatic additives in the tobacco, either in its pouch aroma or in the bowl. It's all in the tobacco.
_____________
After letting the pipe rest and cool down, I've relit the pipe. There's just this massive mouthful of flavors here. I'm now willing to assert firmly that there must be at least one type of Oriental tobacco in this blend. There is no other way to account for the exotic, spicy complexity here. As is common with Turkweed, the relight seems to have brought the slightly bitter/burnt flavor of Orientals to the foreground, but now there's something else; is it cigar leaf? Yes...that's the flavor! Deep brown cigar leaf.
What an extraordinary blend this is! The strength of the natural tobacco flavors is really coming through now. What started out as a deceptively mild yet very full-flavored blend and pleasantly sweet blend is simply roaring with a great, complex mix of flavors that is bound to satisfy all lovers of high-octane pipeweed. I'm avoiding the nico-buzz by the most carefully slow sipping, but each little puff brings the most amazing burst of flavor. Hmmm...it has just occurred to me that I haven't had to run a pipe cleaner into the stem even once throughout this entire smoke. OK...I'll fess up; that's normal for one of these old Ascorti-Radice Caminettos, which are probably the driest smokers this side of a true calabash, but it's still worth noting that the weed didn't gurgle even once. The ambient temperature here is about 44°F—the coldest January hereabouts in the past 20+ years. If anything would condense the water vapor in the smoke, that ought to do it. The moisture content in Blend D.D is about as close to perfect as you can get.
I have smoked enough bowls of Blend D.D to reasonably conclude I could easily make this my desert island Burleyweed blend. If I were a fool, I wouldn't buy any more of this for my cellar. I'm not. :mrgreen:
Vito