Can anyone offer opinions on Esoterica's tobacco? I hear a lot about Penzance but not much about the other blends, have any of you ever tried any of them? I've been meaning to get my hands on some but haven't gotten around to it yet.

One of my favorite blends is their Pembroke, which is their Margate with Cognac added. I lucked out and bought a couple of pounds of bulk awhile back from someone who was cleaning out his cellar. Very good blend IMHO and would consider it to be one of my "if you were deserted on a desert island" blends. I also have Dunbar, Tilbury and Dorchester in my cellar but have not cracked open the tins yet.

I keep Stonehaven around all the time it is great in taste
Maybe a little high in the nic department but it is one of the good ones if not great

http://www.tobaccoreviews.com/blend_detail.cfm?ALPHA=S&TID=502

Stonehaven is one of my favorites.
Hard to find right now, due a change in
distributors. Everybody's out of stock,
but P&C said they should have more next week.

Margate is really good. I only recently tried Stonehaven and thought it was great.

I fell in love with Stonehaven years ago but have been unable to duplicate that experience.

Margate is one of my favorites. And So To Bed, is also very good if you like English blends with a pronounced Oriental flavor.

Mike B

Esoterica is a great brand. All blends are top quality! They have a character that reminds me of the old great English blenders, such as Rattray and McConnell when they were made in the UK.

Esoterica's Penzance and Pembroke are great English blends. Pembroke has cognac, but Margate is the same blend without it, if you prefer. Dunbar is a great Virginia with Perique. All of these blends are top quality blends in their respective categories. They are my favorite blends in the Esoterica’s range.

Other Esoterica blends that I enjoy very much are Tilbury, a very tasty Virginia without Perique; St. Ives is one of the best crossover blends that I've ever encountered (an English with some kind of flavoring I can't identify); Dorchester is a very good shag-cut Virginia/Perique that deserves a try by every vaper fan; and Brighton and Blackpool are very good Virginias with light and unobtrusive flavorings. I can say that I've tried all the Esoterica blends and these are the ones that fancy my taste buds. The others have very strong fruit toppings (which may be good if that's what you like), have unremarkable character, or fry my mouth (like Peacehaven).

Stonehaven is a very strange blend and I have yet to decide if I like it or not. It has a strange bouquet of beer! Some folks love it, some hate it. Nonetheless, it certainly is worth a try.

The bulk packaging could be better, but is perfectly acceptable. I have some with 8 years in storage that are as perfect as when they were purchased.

Penzance, And So To Bed, and Margate are always in ye ole cellar! FTRPLT

Tilbury and Stonehaven used to be in my rotation but their strength and richness eventually became too much for me (along with many other fine tobaccos). Stonehaven seemed to me to be a stoved and pressed version of Tilbury. Though difficult to pack and light Stonehaven flake, once going it would smolder forever and provide a lot of creamy rich smoke. I might add too that it should be aged for more than 6 months as it is often bitter when fresh.

Jim

i have been wanting to try some of Esoterica's tobacco for quite some time now....perhaps I will try to do a trade in the trading room for some.

I enjoy Margate and Pembroke vicariously by smoking Smokers' Haven's Our Best Blend and Cognac which are the same recipe. I like Penzance, too.

Stonehaven is a wonderful rich tobacco full of rich, dark currant, brandy, Christmas pud flavours. My other favourite (obviously apart from Penzance) is Dunbar - an outstanding Vaper. I have some Margate on the rack, untried. Esoterica tobaccos are truly top notch.

Greetings,

I'll mostly echo previous views here.

Penzance & Margate are outstanding English blends. Penzance takes some "touch" to get the most out of it, but is well worth it.

I also enjoy Pembroke and And So to Bed and highly recommend them.

Dunbar with two years of ages is a very nice VaPer and highly recommended.

I also like Dorchester but prefer Dunbar.


Stonehaven ... has mostly been a disappointment for me. Not sure why because I would think I would/should love it. I've had one magical smoke and many disappointments. But so many love it, you ought to try it.

I like Tillbury as a change of pace smoke. not among my "A" smokes.

Hope this helps a bit. Cheers,

TC