Esoterica Tobacciana - Ramsgate pipe tobacco reviews

Review

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Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
Showing reviews 1 through 12 of 12 reviews of this tobacco
Mr. Big	03/25/2011	Mild to Medium	Medium	Medium	Pleasant
Wierd cousin to Blackpool, but stronger topping. I'm not a big fan of this cut as it reminds me of the bottom of a tin when all you have is that last 1/2 a bowl of flake scraps left. The initial light gives off a licorice/Lakeland/Juicy Fruit flavor and room note, I found this not unpleasent but somewhat over the top. After about a quarter of the pipe, the topping is almost 90% gone and a sweeter caramel flavor develops. This is very nice, if you like very sweet Virginas, again I found this over the top. The bottom 1/3 of the bowl turns bitter with a bite, I only wanted the pipe to be over. This tobacco was only cellared for about two months and smoked in a cob. Better than a drug store brand or it would have got one star. I will not buy again and I might not buy Blackpool again as it now reminds me of this. Updated 1/28/12 After almost a year of cellaring I found that the bitterness has gone away. You get a very sweet smoke after the Wierd topping burns away, quality Virginias. Maybe I can bump this to 2 1/2 stars
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Big Nick	02/08/2011	Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant
Dark, heavily stoved, juicy broken flake. Fragrance of licorice???, I don't know about that. It is something sweet and tasty but I wouldn't call it licorice. I really don't know how to describe it, but it is pleasant. Definitely required the full three light method, but once it got started it was on for the duration. It provided a sweet, mild and pleasant smoke. No bite. For me it worked best in a smaller bowl, maybe a #3 or #4. I will finish the rest of the 4oz in my Peterson Dublin, 999, with a Savinelli 9mm balsa filter. That worked best for me. I will probably buy more.
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Lombard65	05/23/2010	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant
I do not know what there are many people in this tobacco is so special. You may recognize some characteristic of the early morning if you smoke. However there are few, but some slight hint of licorice taste is rather flat. From mid-smoked on its minor features are accentuated.
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arpie55	10/09/2009	Mild to Medium	Medium to Strong	Medium	Pleasant
i found this to be too much of a good thing, i enjoyed blackpool a lot and so i had thought that ramsgate must be even better (i enjoy licorice)but found that it was too hot and sweet and somewhat difficult to keep a good burn going. i finished the entire 8oz but will not buy again.
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jackhackett	02/08/2006	Medium	Medium	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
I have no frame of reference by which to judge this blend; this style of preparation is entirely new to me: Well-cased but not at all syrupy, stoved to hell and back, musty and dark, Ramsgate has a phenomenal flavor with a tempered sweetness somewhat like anise, but by no means is it full-on licorice intensity. More like a sweet, leathery flavor with slightly fruit-like notes here and there. A very fine cut helps keep moisture in balance and bowls evenly packed. Moisture level was a bit high out of the bag, but not unreasonably so, and dries quickly enough left out or under a lamp. Everything about this blend is exceptional, but the tin note is really something else---an addictive, leathery-heathery sweetness like a Speyside Scotch.
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Pipestud	10/23/2005	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant
I have been meaning to review Ramsgate for some time now. It was quite unique yet seems similar to some of the other Esoterica offerings that are similar in added flavoring and stoving (Blackpool comes immediately to mind.) I smoked a nice sized sample sent by a friend over the course of a week and enjoyed it mostly in the evenings when a lighter, sweet smoke was in order. It is quite nicely stoved and certainly Licorice like in taste. For some reason, this tobacco does not stay lit well and produces a whale of a lot of smoke. But, if semi-sweet Virginia leaf that is heavily stoved meets your requirements, then Ramsgate may be your ticket to paradise.
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DUPE.1512	05/21/2005	Medium	Mild	Medium	Tolerable
Hard to rate this is. The licorice casing just doesnt work for me. While not a bad smoke, I just can't deal with the flavor of the casing used.
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thedstnguishdgntlmn	03/31/2005	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant
This is a really good aromatic. I find English made aromatics are quite different from American made blends. This has a natural licorice essence added to it,along with a very good natural tobacco taste.It is slightly sweet with no goop,gunk,or gurgle.It is slightly dry and quite pleasant on the palate.As a point of reference think Gawith tobaccos and you will get a pretty good idea of the flavor.3 of 4 stars.
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Pounder 5000	08/02/2004	Mild	Medium	Very Mild	Unnoticeable
I tried and I tried. I just can't find anything good about this tobacco. I smoked an entire ounce before giving up. All I taste is some sweetened steam. Because I puff harder trying to get some flavor, I then get steam blisters on my tongue. I love Esoterica, Virginia, and licorice casing, but this stuff failed the test. I have to give kudos too Esoterica however, this is the only blend of theirs I have tried that I won't smoke again.
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Willy	10/22/2002	Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant
I've smoked many of the tobaccos by Esoterica for quite some time now and Ramsgate remains one of my favorites along w/Kingsbridge. For what it's worth, I gave it the highest recommendation mark because I've noticed that I seem to be coming back to the Eso's more and more often, and to Ramsgate in particular. The many pro's such as cleanness of burning, the quality tobaccos used and the tastes and aromas most assuredly outweigh any con's there may be. The mostly black tobacco rubs out easily, although I see no need to rub it out too much more, and packs well enough in any size bowl. Even "chimneys" would work well as long as you don't get too heavy fingered, but I find the smoke can get somewhat "stout" (but not overly unpleasant) nearing the last part of the bowl. I enjoy the lightly sour taste mixing w/ the mildly sweet, raisiny sort of taste that lingers through most of the bowl becoming less noticeable after the 2/3's down mark where a rich, dark smoky flavor seems to take over. Virtually no bite at any time, and just a slight gurgle near 1/2way point which was eliminated w/a quick swab of a cleaner. There were a few extra re-lights near the end, but since I wasn't in a pipe-smoking contest, who cares? The tobacco burned down to a pure, fluffy white ash w/maybe a tiny bit of dottle. When it comes to lightly flavored VA's this is one blend well worth trying, and any flavoring there is in no way masks the tangy taste of the quality VA tobaccos in this blend, so if you like hot-pressed, well matured, "savory, slow-burning, non-biting VA tobaccos", you may enjoy this.
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provguy	04/08/2002	Mild to Medium	Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant
Esoterica tobaccos continue to please. Every time I try a new one, I find something else I like about them. Ramsgate is another example of a viginia based tobacco from Esoterica that has a wonderful flavor, burning characteristics and aroma. It is cased with a licorice essence that is not entirely clear on smelling the tobacco from a bag. I don't normally smoke cased tobaccos but find this one most pleasing and enjoyable. It is a very dark tobacco without any lighter colored strands. It comes rubbed out and is easy to fill any sized pipe. I have not tried Blackpool yet but that is another virginia tobacco cased with licorice essence, so I cannot compare them. Three and 1/2 stars.
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
Sceny	04/19/2001	Mild	Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
This tobacco is very similar to Blackpool. Both are flavored with anise, and both are very dark Virginias, smooth and with no bite. I prefer this one, however, as it is darker and more tasty at the end of the bowl. The tobacco is very high quality and the smoking properties are excellent. The sample bag's smell is mild, an obvious sweetness mixed with the underlying tobacco aroma. The leaf itself is very dark black with no variation, similar to Blackpool. The cut varies from long strands to small fragments of tobacco, and my sample is on the dry side. It packs easily and lights very well, requiring less than the average number of relights during a bowl, burning to a bright white ash. In the first third of the bowl, the smoke is very mild. There is sweetness and a slight anise taste from the casing, and this flavor is strongest at the start. It does not overwhelm the tobacco taste, however, and I notice a very mild, soft Virginia taste as well. I can also sense a "sour" note in the background. There is no bite so far, and the smoke is very nice exhaled through the nose. In the second third, the sweet anise note decreases somewhat, and the dark Virginia falvor becomes more obvious. It isn't overly full or complex, but the combination is still very tasty. The smoke is smooth and mellow, bite-free and still carying a hint of that sour note. There is a bit of a gurgle, but a single pipe cleaner takes care of it nicely. The overall taste is dark and rich and well-balanced, a high-quality taste. In the last third of the bowl, the sweetness and sourness both lessen, giving way to the dark Virginia flavor. The taste is rich and very good, with some complexity and fullness as well. The smoke is still very smooth and missing all bite; I would say that it is as smooth as Blackpool, though darker. There have also been no moisture problems since that mid-bowl gurgle, and the bottom of the bowl smokes dry and clean. Overall, this is a very enjoyable smoke. The initial casing and sweetness merges and develops into a very dark yet mild Virginia flavor. If you are looking for a bite-free, darker Virginia tobacco, I highly recommend this one. This is probably my favorite flavored Esoterica blend, and I plan to purchase more of this when my sample runs out.
Showing reviews 1 through 12 of 12 reviews of this tobacco