Fresh tin of Dunbar.

Just popped a fresh tin of Esoterica Dunbar. What a treat! Smoked in the most Irish pipe I've ever seen yet alone owned...made by Briar Spirit. A thing of beauty and a joy forever.

The most Irish pipe?

Got a pic?

Curious to know what that looks like.

Let's try this...OK. It worked.

It either IS, or is exactly like, the lowermost on the right side.

Very nice!

Is the Dunbar terribly peppery?

The description lost me at "piquant", and I've oscillated on ordering.

Not peppery to me. But good luck on ordering. It's very hard to find!

BH, do you prefer Dunbar over Dorchester?

Yes, I do.




OK, Dunbar by the slimmest of margins...but both, really.

Intersting. I think I prefer Dorchester just a little bit more, but man Dunbar could quite possibly be the richest tasting Virginia Perique I have tried so far. Well there's Fillmore and Haddo's which are rich in flavor but they rely on other leaf to achieve the flavor depth.

Dunbar is deep tasting stuff. Makes me wonder what Germain's stoving process involves.

It's like the age old..."Do you prefer blonds or redheads?" To which the proper answer should be..."Yes, I do!"

That does it...I'm opening my last tin of Dunbar (A gift from a very generous brother who doesn't like to be recognized for his kindness) and smoking in my Todd Harris pipe tonight. One of my most favorite tobaccos. Thanks for helping me decide on tobacco BH!

PS: Ron is the kind brother who doesn't like to be recognized. I only point that out because he hates it so!

I really like Dorchester, but I prefer Dunbar. Just a great smoke, even if it is light on the perique. Then again, if it had more perique, it'd wreck the fine balance of the blend. I just wish we could get it more easily.

If wishes were fishes...we'd all be pretty slimy!  lol


Consider. There are half a dozen Esoterica blends and at least two by their parent, Germain, that I would snap up immediately... If seen. Either of the D cousins, Dorchester or Dunbar...the near twins, Blackpool or Ramsgate...and the unobtainium boys, Stonehaven and Penzance. The Germain grabs would be Brown Flake or Royal Jersey Perique Mixture. That's close to a quarter of the entire lineup...pretty strong rave for any company, I'd say.

Then when you add three or maybe four other Esoterica blends, VA's or Brit style aros, that I've never tried, but would like to...it's over 25%. Amazing.

That's a lovely BSP pipe Mr. Horse. I'm sure it smokes like a dream!

And yes, I enjoy Dunbar too. When I can get it that is!




Cheers,

RR

Rande - it's one of my very favorite briars, and yes, it smokes perfectly. After it arrived, I made the comment to Briar Spirit that it looked to have more "Irish" in it than any that I had ever seen. I think it touched him, as he had modeled it in honor of his grandfather, and the pipe that he had used. Very Irish. Very fine item.

BTW: all those other briars are not mine, it was just the first pic I found.

It's "if wishers were horses, beggars would ride!"
And I personally like Dorchester much better, Dunbar is just a bit too earthy for me.
Smoked a good bowl of it today in my cherished Growely Rhody nose-warmer.

Oh Yeah Mozjo! While were on the subject of Blonds or Redheads......Where's my Redhead?

It also ages wonderfully....

My local shop has two 8is bags of Dorchester. I heard it has burley in it so I did not purchase them.

Dunbar is the only Esoterica blend that I haven't had that I really have an interest in sampling, and I've been searching here and there for it in a lackadaisical manner. What's the opposite of having a stroke? Anyhow, something flashed in my skull, I leapt from my chair as if shot from a cannon and I started rummaging through my tobacco cache. Discovered a tin of the stuff dated something 2012. Thanks, BH--you're swell!

I have a tin coming from 4Noggins... never had it before. Will be excited to open it up, but I also kind of want to let it age for a while...

Dunbar has been and still is my favorite VaPer. Even its relatively "weak" perique component is a plus in my book, as I prefer it as a background condiment. I just read in another forum a post describing the experience of a fellow pipesmoker who considered Dunbar to have been his holy grail blend. That it no longer is his favorite was due, again according to this source, that Dunbar blend "changed" in 2010 and was no longer the same - as in not anywhere as good, although retaining perhaps a whiff here and there of its former glory. I've had both pre- and post-2010 Dunbar and hadn't noticed consciously any difference, perhaps because I'm not a very critical taster. Does this anecdote resonate with anyone here, one way or the other?