Wilke Pipe Tobacco Back Bay

Back Bay is a Virginia-Perique record in Wilke Pipe Tobacco's blender's special series. Perique is worked into a bright Virginia ribbon-cut base at forty percent — a proportion notably above the usual five-to-fifteen-percent Perique share for the type, pulling the blend's character toward the spice side. The Virginia side offers tart citrus, grass, bread, a floral edge, and measured sugar; Perique adds a piercing spice with fruit notes reminiscent of dried plum, fig, and raisin. Body is medium and rises somewhat in the first third. It burns cool and steady, requiring few relights.