Tin note: If you open this tin and expect the usual ketchup or grassy notes of Virginias, you will be disappointed. The Virginia is a yellow Canadian leaf that has been processed using the Perique method. This smells like sour cherry or homemade red wine just before it turns to vinegar. I really like this tin note and after one bowl, I decided that I like smoking Acadian VaPer and that it is not like any other VaPer that I’ve smoked.
There are a couple of things that sets this apart for me. One is the Yellow Virginia, which has been processed using the Perique method. To me it has little of the tangy, vinegary aroma that I associate with an aged virginia. The Perique processing method has made it sweeter and more mellow, and, I can understand where others say there is a maltiness. The tobacco is a very thin ribbon cut. I almost find myself wanting to pull the ribbons apart before packing into the bowl.
While the Virginia is the star of the show, the Perique wins the Academy Award as the best supporting character. It stays in the background and only serves to highlight the quality of the Virginias. The fruitiness of the Perique melds with the Perique processed Virginia to give it that sour cherry aroma when I open the tin.
The first bowl I smoked was from a freshly opened tin and it started off smooth and soft with a mild strength but like the suspense in a good movie the nicotine just kept slowly building up. The moisture content of the fresh tin was at about the right level for smoking. I have been smoking it almost daily for 11 days now and it has dried out some in the tin. As I expected, getting drier has changed the tobacco to where I’m picking up the Virginia component better when smoking it.
The strength of the tobacco starts off more mild/medium to my senses but as I smoke it, there is a subtle development of more strength. I wasn’t expecting it to build up as much when I first smoked it but I definitely felt the nic starting to hit when I stood up. I found that adjusting my cadence as I get towards the bottom lessens the hit.
I normally don’t smoke a lot of Virginia forward tobaccos because I have found that they bite me. I believe this is more due to a chemical reaction than how I smoke. However, the Acadian VaPer hasn’t burned or bitten my tongue yet. I’m attributing this to the processing.
I do most of my smoking either outside or in my two car garage that’s been converted into a storage space/man cave. It’s too big for me to pick up much of a room note. What I do get is the grassiness of the Virginias and a slight fruitiness of the perique. When my pregnant daughter came into the garage yesterday to ask me a question, I got a “It doesn’t stink” and “it’s definitely smells better than cigars and cigarettes” response from here. That, and the fact that it didn’t make her nauseated is a good sign.
I have smoked it in a Clay pipe, three different briars, two different meerschaums and 3 different MM cobs. In the Clay pipe I get just the flavor of the tobacco and that’s when the Virginias really sing. That being said, I like it the best in a cob. It may be psychological but I feel the cob adds to the mellow sweetness and presents even more of hay note to the smoke. Besides, what’s better than sitting in the shade of a swamp oak with a light breeze and a glass of ice tea.
There are two downsides to Acadian VaPer. First, it is a limited production tobacco so once it’s gone, it is probably gone forever unless someone running for President chops the FDA’s authority as he has said he would. Second, it is pricey. The higher price is because it is a limited production tobacco. I view the high cost the same as I view the high cost of a 24-year old Single Malt Scotch versus a 12-year old Blended Scotch – you get what you pay for.
If it’s still available when I make my next order, I will buy some more.
