I'm on my 16th ounce of Margate and 10th ounce of Pembroke, so I feel very comfortable with my thoughts on this. I think both are fantastic, but Margate, being less rich than Pembroke makes for a better traveling companion, which is something I think most of us consider on occasion.

I think POUNDER 5000's review is very true to my opinion of this tobacco and worth reading again.

"Esoterica can seriously kick some butt. This blend is magnificent. While penzance is treat at the end of the day, Margate is the perfect companion throughout. This blend delivers a good size hit of Latakia and is complex enough to fight it out with any similiar blend from Dunhill or G.L. Pease. The Virginias are sweet and the perfect back drop for the Latakia. This blend will simply not bite! I don't care what you do, it is one of the coolest smokes on the market. The closest thing to it is Nightcap, and although I won't detract from that wonderful blend, this is similiar to it minus the perique, and perhaps a little smoother. This will always remain a member of my rotation. By the way, it smokes like a champ outdoors on a brisk day, which is where you may be required to smoke it as the room note is a little strong."

I've not done hardly any reviews of pipe tobacco in the public domain. Obviously, we should all investigate every tobacco and decide for ourselves. If it's good enough, we should speak out.

Unfortunately, I tried Odyssey before I tried this, and because it said "Full English" on the tin, I was expecting something quite, well, full. I know that an english shouldn't bowl you over with latakia, but I was having difficulty trying to pinpoint the subtleties of this blend with any proficiency. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing inherently bad about the blend: it is pleasantly full and luxurious, burns nicely to an ivory ash, and has all of the characteristics of a quality enlgish. But my thinking is it needs good cellar time to fully appreciate. I hate to say it, but I probably won't buy this one again. Pembroke, on the other hand, is a different story, and if I can ever get a hold of Penzance, I'll keep you posted.

For now, Margate failed to astound me. I really wanted to love it, and I do appreciate it, but there just wasn't enough of a wow factor to really dazzle me and make me want to smoke repeat bowls. Perhaps my palate is still developing. Still, three solid stars for quality -- it does embody a well rounded, straightforward english.

I consider myself to be a novice pipe smoker whom has dabbled in the hobby for quite some time, but just in the last couple of years really took the time to learn about the different types of tobacco available to us. I began with the drug store tobaccos, and then moved into the boutique aromatics. I quickly grew tired of that avenue, and found myself asking my tobacconist for something a little more mature and grown up. Thus I have entered the world of English and VA/Per. I still have a place in my heart for a well crafted aromatic, but rarely does one find its way into my bowl.

With that said, when I first entered the wide world of English mixtures, I was greeted with a 2oz sample of Dunhill's 965. It was love at first puff. From there I found myself indulging in tin after tin of Early Morning Pipe. Now those are the two which I hold the standard of English tobaccos.

When I read the review a few months ago that this was a 965 replacement, I had to try it. For most of you know, EMP and 965 are all but extinct.

I bought an eight ounce bulk sample, and a few weeks later I was opening the vacuum sealed bag. The aroma was terrific. I could not detect any type of casing. I got a whole lot of latikia in the forefront with a subtle VA sweetness.

I loaded up a medium sized bowl Peterson system pipe, and set out to the front porch. Upon first light, I was greeted with a very pleasant earthy note. Not too much sweetness in the beginning of this bowl. As I progressed through this mixture, I was very surprised. For one thing, I had never received a bulk English that I ever enjoyed. Also anything in the past that had been compared to 965 was an utter let down.

I continued to smoke this, and as it progressed to he bottom of the bowl I noticed a little bit of an ashy flavour. This may have been purely the fault of smoking a bit too quickly.

I really enjoyed this blend, and I would classify it as a light to medium English. I could not really compare it to 965, nor should it be compared to any Dunhill blend in my opinion. Both are great tobaccos for their own reasons, but I feel they are completely different blends.

I am rating this as a well balanced English, and a pretty high quality mixture. This has found a place in my rotation usually on the weekends in the early evening.

Being a homebrewer and a beer judge, I often times pair tobacco with beer. This goes very well with a light IPA, or hoppy American Pale Ale.

Very much in the neighborhood of a 3 to 4 star blend depending on individual preferences. There are others I like more, but this one is just fine.

Burning qualities are perfect, due to the fine ribbon cut (all the bowls I´ve tried have been one-match-till-white-ash bowls), and the flavor is deep and nostalgic. It is very perfumed, yes, as someone notes, but it´s the natural perfume of good latakia, and nothing else.

I call this blend Margret myself. It is a nice satisfying smoke. It is classic in the English sense, but it does not burn harsh, it is not dripping wet, perfect moisture content.

It burns nice and slow and did not bite in the least. The flavor was present all the way to the bottom of the bowl. Some English blends are too perfumy for me, some don't have enough flavor to last through out the smoke. This does not seem to be true for Margret. I like this blend.

Just a note. I put away a pound of this stuff in a jar to age. I noticed a few flakes here and there that looked suspicious like it could have mold, so that's why I popped the jar and began smoking right away. Keep a close eye on this stuff if aging long term.

Who ever suggests trying this one first and then Pembroke is right. If you taste this ghastly thing, you might spare yourself from trying Pembroke. It injured my throat and it took me three days to smoke.

This was a first! When I do not like a tobacco I usually mix it with others so as not to waste it. This one went straight to the bin.

It's the most finely cut ribbon I've yet seen, and it burns so easily that it can get hot if you puff hard, which you should definitely not do with this little beauty or you'll miss all its unique nuances, which gets more subtle and complex as you get down to the bottom, so sip it slow and you'll be amply rewarded.

But though I very much like this delectable, dignified blend I prefer it's sister, that painted hussy Pembroke.

Well, now I've had a chance to smoke numerous bowls of Margate most in a new pipe sans ghost. I have to say it is now one of my favorite tobaccos. It has a nice complexity and occasionally throws you a curve with a new teaser of flavor. I recommend it whole heartedly.

Margate is an English from England. Reading the reviews here (ecstatic, mostly) I only wish they'd all gone on to try SMM. Because Margate is in the ballpark, but SMM is so much better.

Phantom55 said: "Tried this based on the overwhelming positive reviews here. Smells good in the tin, like fermenting Virginia. Unfortunately, to me, does not smoke like it smells. I must be quite sensitive to whatever flavoring agent they use, and there definitely is one. The tobacco just has a very peculiar flavor that I can't readily identify."

Well, that flavoring is definitely there. Almost like perfume, and I don't much care for it.

Pipestud (who's reviews I generally respect) said: "I consider this to be a traditional English, yet not quite as plain as, say, the Dunhill English blends. This one packs more complexity. If you like Dunhill 965, take a step up in class and grab yourself a tin of Margate. You'll be glad you did."

Well. Dunhill 965 had Cavendish so, yes, Margate is a step up from there.

Of SMM Pipestud said: "If you want a smokey flavor lingering in your mouth for hours after you finish a bowl, grab a tin of this stuff"

Precisely. Pipestud offered 3 stars for Margate and 1 for SMM.

Margate lacks the complexity & smokiness of SMM, as well as the full body. The tin description bears no mention of Virginias, whose omission, if correct, may account for some of this.

Tin was deliciously moist. perfect in my opinion, and it burned very well. But it DOES have that perfume smell and taste.

If I wasn't on the last bowl of the day I would have one of Margate.