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THE STORY OF PERIQUE TOBACCO

The Story of Perique Tobacco Perique (pronounced pa-reek) is a dark pungent, intensely-flavored tobacco and is among the world's rarest and most sought after types of tobacco.   Blended with other tobacco varieties, Perique provides a distinctive, rich and spicy taste that cannot be imitated. Perique is grown exclusively in the fertile black soils of St. James Parish in Southern Louisiana.  Located on the bank of the Mississippi halfway between New Orleans and Baton Rouge, St. James Parish is a place where alligators glide along just below the bayou waters and the air is thick and heavy, filled with the sounds of Creole French and English. Here, more than 400 years ago, the Choctaw and Chickasaw Indians first cultivated Perique. As legend has it, when the Acadians first settled in the area of St. James Parish, they noticed the natives smoking a pungent fermented tobacco.  As time passed, the Acadians themselves began smoking this fermented tobacco and were taught the secrets of how to cultivate and cure this unique product.  Eventually, this tobacco was called "Perique" - the nickname of Pierre Chenet, who is credited with being the first non-native person to produce and market Perique tobacco. Today, authentic Perique tobacco is produced solely by Percy Martin and his family on their historic Grande Pointe farm, where the Martins have cultivated Perique for nearly two centuries.  Indeed, the cultivation and processing of this uncommon tobacco is truly a family industry steeped in centuries of time-consuming, labor intensive rituals.  It takes more than a year to produce a finished barrel of Perique. Each year, right after Christmas, microscopic Perique seeds are germinated in a hothouse and the seedlings prepared.  In mid-March, the seedlings are planted and in late June, the tobacco is harvested.  After harvesting, the long tobacco leaves are hung in a barn for about two weeks to dry.  When the leaves have turned from green to brown, they are stripped from their stalks, put into reinforced hickory-wood whiskey barrels, placed under high pressure and left to ferment in their own black juices.  Every couple of months, the leaves are removed from the barrel and turned to release more of the plants' moisture.  The barrel is then resealed and pressurized.  This pressurized curing process is what creates the distinctive flavor, intense strength and sweet aroma found only in authentic St. James Perique tobacco. Click here to purchase American Spirit Tobacco - Perique Blend Pouch

This article was published on Sunday 11 November, 2007.