Jim's GLP Embarcadero Review

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JimInks

JimInks

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The red Virginia is tangy sweet with dried fruit notes, a pinch of spice and a bit of earth. The Izmir has some sour bitterness, is a little woody, toasty and nutty, and slightly floral with a very mild spice hit. I didn't really notice any coffee, but I got a hint of cocoa here and there. I also taste a minute hit of cigar, more so after the half way point. Not quite as complex as some make it out to be, but it sure has enough variety of flavors to keep you continually interested. The contrasting tobaccos meld well to create a well balanced smoking experience. Near the finish, there are a very few cigarette notes, but I didn't find it distracting in any way. Burns slow and cool with very little moisture. Not an all day smoke, but it's a relaxing evening blend, and a cup of hot tea or coffee well compliments it.
 
Embarcadero, if really pushed to answer, is probably my favorite tobacco of all time. Its versatility as being good fresh to getting surprisingly dark and mellow with a few years of age, the mildness and yet honest "tobacconess" it provides give it just those few, difficult marks higher than others in similar category. Never too much nicotine, and I always feel a little bummed when the bowl is done.

Fresh Embarcadero is a really interesting thing: it's picky, does not play well in unkempt or non-dedicated pipes, and takes some time to get to know. The subtlety and variations from such a simple mix have kept me entertained tin after tin. It likes to be smoked slow and with the utmost of attention to lighting, drawing and tamping. She earned the name "Princess 'Barc" for a reason.

Aged Embarcadero is also equally interesting: it's wholly forgiving, mellow, can be smoked with a little less attention and gains a particularly chocolate-like character.

I have yet to smoke a more versatile, fun, finicky, rewarding and challenging tobacco. Embarcadero leaves me wanting more at any and all stages.

8)
 
One of my absolutely fav non-Latweed blends. Haven't tried any in the last few months, need to open a jar!! Have at least two, if not three, big cans from the -08/-09 timeframe. Bet they're gonna' be real tasty when I pop'em open :) FTRPLT
 
I just gave this a try and have to admit, not at all what I expected. Imy trying to remember where, but this was recommended as an oriental blend.

I thought I would get a nice oriental experience, akin to the Grand Oriental series, but instead it came off as more Virginia.

It was easy to smoke and burned to a great ash buy I wouldn't recommend this to someone who's looking for an oriental blend, and I can think of better virginias. perhaps my palette isn't as refined as others.

just my $.02
 
Yep. Virginia baccies play the bulk of the orchestra here, Izmir leaf dings the occasional triangle.

If it's gonna go to waste or get dry, I'll send you my address. :heart:

8)
 
I don't run hot and cold with Embarcadero...more like scalding and lukewarm.

There are times when I want it to the exclusion of all else - I find the complexity to be inversely proportional to its age, yet what the aged version gives up in complexity is more than made up for by the increased user-friendliness.

Other times, I open a tin and find that it's just not hitting its usual sweet spot, but is still enjoyable enough to be worth smoking.
 
idbowman":3ad43wim said:
There are times when I want it to the exclusion of all else - I find the complexity to be inversely proportional to its age, yet what the aged version gives up in complexity is more than made up for by the increased user-friendliness.
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Succinct and spot-on.

It's always worth mentioning again that fresh Embarcadero really does best with a forgiving and squeaky-clean pipe. She does not like to share tobaccos in the same bowl, past present or future. She will hide and pout and make you wonder "WTF" until she's been doted upon. I dedicated two pipes to fresh Embarcadero. I don't think this is as straightforward for some newer people only because they may not have the inkling of what a good pipe really can do, and why a preposterous and picky tobacco that is hardly known then demanding her vessel must be maintained and for Her Highness' Use Only. It's why some of us call her "Princess 'Barc." Later on in life, she's a mellow old matriarch that can be stuffed into any old cob.

If I may, this is why I usually dedicate pipes to lines of tobacco, rather than blends (unless warranted). Latakia, Virginia/Burley, Oriental, and in rare cases, Perique (Rattray's stuff, usually). Then, if further dedication is necessary, the settle-in time is reduced.

8)
 
'barc is one of the few blends that I just couldn't get to work for me. And not from a lack of trying, mind.

Heeded all the popular wisdom oft expressed - dedicated pipes untouched by other blends, etc. Just didn't catch with me.Ya, I really tried to like this but it just wasn't meant to be. At least for the time being.

Have a small jar of the last tin laying around and will revisit in in due course. I've had other 'baccy epiphanies in the past.



Cheers,

RR
 
Brewdude":kdd6g96r said:
'barc is one of the few blends that I just couldn't get to work for me. And not from a lack of trying, mind.

Heeded all the popular wisdom oft expressed - dedicated pipes untouched by other blends, etc. Just didn't catch with me.Ya, I really tried to like this but it just wasn't meant to be. At least for the time being.

Have a small jar of the last tin laying around and will revisit in in due course. I've had other 'baccy epiphanies in the past.



Cheers,

RR
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Pretty much how I felt. I REALLY wanted to have this as a regular. I'll have to give it a try in another pipe but lately I've been able to tell my good and bad tobys on the first bowl.
 
Embarcadero, I love the stuff and have one Dublin shaped pipe dedicated to it. It's my go to when I want a spicier slightly augmented VA blend but I don't feel like a Vaper. Good tobacco with some tasty albeit somewhat delicate flavor nuances.
 
Embarcadero along with a LOT of Peaseweed is not stuff that can be deciphered by even the most keen of tongues after one bowl. Perhaps six? /shrug

"Meridian," another of GLP's offerings, was a tobacco that I totally didn't get at first. Got a little more on the second. Then the third. And so on. Sooner, rather than later, the tin was depleted.

There are, however, tastes for everyone, and tastes for not-everyone. I will never suggest smoking sixteen pounds of something before they finally "get it." Perhaps by sixteen bowls. Or eight. :lol:

Smoke what makes you happy.
 
I've always thought of Embarcadero more as a straight Va with some added notes. When I first tried it I was expecting Oriental to jump out at me and was disappointed. When I started to focus on the Va aspect I'd be pleasantly surprised with a whiff of the Oriental from time to time. It's a subtle tobacco but worth getting to know.
 
Although I am not smoking much latakia anymore, I found Meridian to be the most compelling latakia mixture in Greg's catalog. A very fine use of Oriental tobacco, IMHO.

As far as Embarcadero is concerned, I agree that it takes some time to find a groove with it. Based on half a tin, I found it to be average to decent at best. It revealed different subtleties from pipe to pipe. I ran it through at least 5-6 pipes before settling on one of my briars, as mentioned a dublin with a conical bowl and a wide open draw. Given how many VaPer and VaBur's there are on the market, there are not a whole lot of VaTurk's. C&D's Izmir has a lot of character and contrasts well with the Red VA used.
 
Red VAs are one of those leafs that get overlooked a lot.   Not because they aren't used, but they don't stand up and shout anything in particular.   They whisper, even if enthusiastically.   They're not boring, but they're simply not in-your-face.  For whatever reason, they mix incredibly well with touches of things, be they Latakia or a Turkish leaf.  

I have also heard people describe mixtures heavy in Red VA as woody, cardboard like, akin to leaf litter, slightly sour, even bitter.  

One of the few things Monblablabla and I agree upon on is Red VA.   He describes his McClelland Virginia Woods tobacco, which is a largely Red VA mix, as I would Embarcadero, with slight differences.  Overall, though, he gets his tobacco.  I don't get his tobacco.  He doesn't get my tobacco.   But we came to strikingly similar conclusions about similar things.

What does that mean?  Nothing, really.    :lol:  

My apologies for chiming in so frequently, but eff it, I've written secret love poems to Lady Barc many times.   I'm a bit obsessed.    S'all good.  

8)
 
Red Va's and ketchup !! A combo made in heaven :cheers: :cheers: :twisted: :twisted:
 
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