A blend, by definition, should be more than the sum of its parts - as such Dorchester could reasonably be described as a marvel of subtle blending.

The overall taste is oats, apricot and molasses. The rich sweetness ventures to the level of pronounced at the onset, but a mild darkness develops to balance the sugar out before it becomes overwhelming.

I find that I enjoy this most in a big bowled bent-billiard, the more the space the more mild the blend seems to smoke. I drink big draughts of the stuff this way, and although it is so good I that I tend to puff too often, burning the bowl is a concern but burning my tongue is not (and here I give the big bore Radice most of the credit).

In a smaller bowled apple the blend has a bit more punch. Either way, delightful taste with either a glass of cool water or unsweetened black tea.

One caveat I would make: DGT is not the best for this blend. Unlit in the pipe is Ok overnight or through the workday, however.

This review is from a bagged sample given to me by a friend.

A dark brown fine ribbon-cut in the tin with a mild virginia aroma. Complex from the touch of the match! This has such a sweet & flavorful room note you'd think that it was flavored with something. Lots of high, sweet notes. Wonderfully complex dance of flavors that defy description. No bite. William Serad says to use a clean, small-bowled pipe to get the full effect. I'm afraid that most of the complexities may be beyond my simple palate, but I'll keep this around to challenge me. Recommended!

As I detect little of the perique, I'd place this only slightly behind the wonderful Red Ribbon!

I'll keep this on hand because it's a unique complex Virginia blend that challenges my palate!

Rated 8 out of 9 leaves.

UPDATE: After almost finishing the tin I started to notice that my first impressions were false as regarding the sweetness of this blend. I found that the taste is indeed so spicy, especially at the last third of the bowl, that too much smoking of this can saturate you. So I made an experiment. I had an old Burley Slice that to be smoked alone was too dull and heavy for me, so I mixed the last three flakes with the equivalent amount of Dorchester, and the result was great. Both tobaccos enhanced one another. The dullness and flatness of the BS was given the freshness and grace that was lacking, and the spiciness (like Tabasco sauce, as my friend Tantric says) was tempered and "rounded", so to say, by the Burley. The mixture acquired a deepness and ripeness, to say something, that none of the conforming tobaccos had on its own. After this update I will change my rating to 3 stars for the Dorchester alone, but 4 stars for the mixture proposed. I guess other high quality burleys would work as well.

It's a bit moist coming out of the tin but that's nothing that a couple of hours of drying (per bowl) won't remedy. It packs nicely and every bowl 've smoked has been a 'two match' bowl, burning cleanly with a good deal of smoke yet keeping the pipe remarkably cool.

The Virginia has a sweet taste and mixes nicely with the spiciness of the Perique. I had none of the problems that some have noted with either lighting or "gobs" of Perique.

This has become one of my favorite early morning blends and I highly recommend it to lovers of great Virginias with just enough Perique (which, to my taste buds, should never overwhelm blend). Perhaps it could be called a fine introduction to VaPers, or a blend that is extremely well-suited to the occasional VaPer smoker.Note that the tin describes the blend as having a "pinch" of Perique so I would not recommend this to those who like a great deal of Perique.

As an interesting side note, I've had many compliments for how "nice" Dorchester smells from non-pipe smokers - NOT a compliment that I'm accustomed to receiving with my usually heavier English blends, and as I don't consider this to be anywhere near an aromatic!

This is my first review here and I would like to thank those who contribute here - this site has been a great guide to some very fine smoking.

Well today was a Dorchester day. I went through the whole sample that Ultramag sent to me last month (Thanks again!!). And after my enjoyment of this blend I've decided that it is now in 2nd place.

Like most people who reviewed this blend, I found that this had the least amount of Perique in it compared to the others that I have smoked so far. However, the taste was still great and somewhat creamy. The perique and the virginias were seperate in the beginning and it was a bit spicy when I finally got it going. After about a third of the bowl the blend settled down and melded together well.

I did have an issue lighting this one. I dried it correctly but I had one clump of tobacco sitting on top that refused to light. After two attempts I scooped that piece out of there and it lit perfectly. This blend stayed lit better than the other two so far. It required two relights but I believe that it was more my fault because my brother called and I was trying to smoke, review, and talk to him all at the same time.

I would recommend this blend to anyone who is just getting into VaPers and doesn't want to get blasted with Perique right off the bat.

The standings so far:

1) Escudo 2) Esoterica Dorchester 3) Stokkebye Luxury Bullseye Flake

I find a two finger pinch of Dorchester needs a good hour to dry out before it's ready to go in the pipe. And, as other reviewers have mentioned, it's important not to overpack it. The virginias are sharp, toasty and a little sour at first. The perique is rich, tangy, spicy and woody, and not at all subtle. This is less sweet and more savoury than McClelland's 2015. The taste is like fig balsamic vinaigrette with cracked pepper.

Dorchester is not a classic of the magnitude of Penzance or Stonehaven, but it certainly has character. Hasty puffers should be careful, as this stuff can easily incinerate the tongue.

UPDATE: I like the taste of Dorchester, but I burn the heck out of my tongue every single time I smoke it, no matter how slowly I go. I'm of the opinion that virginia tobaccos smoke better in flake form almost invariably, with or without perique.

Today I ventured into a bowl full of Dorchester that I have been aging since 1996, or the end of 1995, you get the picture. And all I can say is, WOW!!!, what a treat. This tobacco still smells new in the jar, and tastes even better.

The virginias have aged beautifully, and the perique is still there weaving its magic throughout the bowl, in perfect harmony. The taste is somewhat sweeter, fromt the aged virginias, than a new can, and the Perique plays harmoniusly throughout the virginia flavors. Layered, complex, subtle, tasty, and sweet. A really nice smoke. This is not to be rushed, but to be enjoyed at leisure with the greatest pleasure!!!

If you have the patience, try aging some this long, and see for yourself. I have roughly half a pound of this, and I guarantee it won't last long.

This was smoked in a medium sized 1987 Andre hand made straight grain pipe.

By way of comparison, I smoked a bowl of similarly aged Dunbar, and it was, for the most part, flavorless.

HAPPY SMOKING!!!

If you have a few extra dollars, though, try Reiner's Long Golden Flake. It is much more refined and smooth.

This blend brings to mind one of Chaucer's narratives in 'Canterbury Tales.' In the portion of this famous tome you read that a particularly greedy priest is made to promise that he will share out equally that which he is donated. Then instead of receiving monetary gains, the individual in question proffers the gift of flatulence to the surprised, newly wordbonded priest who must now go to his peers to give them their portion...

Tin: This long shag cut shows a nice-looking variety of leaf - medium brown VA's are most prominent at maybe 60-70%. There is a noticeable dark-fruitish aroma in the tin, typical in character to other VA/Per's but stronger. I suspect there's some kind of topping going on here, but in itself it's not offensive. My tin was very moist. The rest of the review assumes substantial drying time before smoking - fresh out the tin, the moisture level made this unsmokable for me.

Pack: The long ribbons are a minor fuss to pack evenly and definitely present a risk of overpacking, but just a little bit of caution should avoid any problems. No real issues here...

Light/Burning: The tobacco lights easily and burns cleanly down the bowl. In several bowls, I found that I had actually smoked the tobacco almost completely to ash when I emptied them. For smokers or situations that demand a low-fuss burn, this could be a major plus.

Flavor: Here's where I start having problems. The first half of the bowl or so is dominated by a sweet Virginia taste, though the Perique's influence is noticeable. But the flavor is muddy and unremarkable. Not unpleasant, but just not very interesting. I'm not sure whether this is a result of the topping I suspect to be present, or is simply the taste of the base Virginias. The second half of the bowl sees the Perique pick up considerable strength, but again just not in an interesting way. There's no bite to this tobacco if smoked relatively carefully, but I do get an odd astringency in my mouth from the smoke that is vaguely unpleasant.

Pipe Choice: I found this smoked best in medium (Group 4 size) bowls. Bigger pipes only increase the muddiness of the flavor, and small pipes just don't give me enough of it.

Overall: Virginia/Periques are my favorite blends, but this one just doesn't do it for me. Escudo or Haddo's are far more interesting, as is Esoterica's own Dunbar. For a new VA/Per smoker, I'd rather recommend Astley's #2 for a medium-weight yet approachable introduction or Haddo's for its complexity and depth. I could see Dorchester being a reasonable all-day smoke, due to its excellent burning properties, medium flavor, and bulk availability. But for me, this just isn't entertaining enough. Aging could very well tame the sweetness of the VA's and bring out some more sparkle, but with so many worthy competitors why bother?

This is the first Esoterica tobacco that I really didn't care for much, even though I am a confirmed Va/P smoker. Although the body was plenty full and the taste was plenty flavorful, the flavor is one that didn't set particularly well with me. I can't tell for sure whether this tobacco is actully cased, but the disagreeable flavor was one I recognized from some of the araomatices that I have smoked--kind of a weird off-sweet flavor that I can't quite put my finger on. Some of the previous reviewers have described this a a "musty" tobacco--perhaps the "must" is what I am detecting? For me, the disagreeable sweetness eventually disipated, leaving nothing but a blast of Perique.

So strange was the flavor of this tobacco that I thought perhaps that one of my wonderful Bjarne Freehand plateaus, reserved only for Va/P blends, was the culprit. Subsequent use of the pipe, however, indicated that the weed, and not the wood, was responsible.

I'll stick with Dunbar if I want a good Esoterica Va/P blend, or one of my "unmusty" favorites--Haddo's Delight or Escudo.

For me, the Perique barely asserts itself until midway, if not the bottom of the bowl, but make no mistake, it lingers just below the surface at all times. I prefer more flavor and more nicotine in my Va/P than this one provides.

The shag cut of this blend is a blessing and a curse -- it can pack great and burn all the way to the bottom of the bowl just as easily as you can overpack and hardly keep it lit -- be careful packing!

I suspect that in a year or so, I'll want to break open another can, but in the mean time, I'll likely stick with something else.

I won't go over all the details again; most reviews here cover it well. What I can do is compare it to other popular VA/Perique blends that I have tried. Smoked it in a locally carved freehand that is Perique seasoned: I was almost reluctant to do this as I was afraid I'd end up with too much spice and not enough body. No chance. This tobacco's flavor stood on it's own.

To match it against, say - Stratford by GL Pease: I found the taste in Dorchester fuller, heartier and less raw (probably due to the aging that Esoterica puts the weed through), and more subtle in the use of the Perique. This perique also had a slightly tangier, sweeter flavor than other blends that use it. It was still spicey - but didn't contain the double barreled sensory assault of Haddo's Delight. How does it match against this popular Pease Perique powerhouse? Dorchester does something different... it truly comes off as a refined VA/Perique blend that you can relax and enjoy with the occasional tangy surprise. Not the S+M thrill-ride that Haddo's occasionally delivers (quite well)!

I would by no means call this blend "mellow" but it is not at all abrasive. Exceptionally smooth, flavorful and good right out of a freshly opened tin (some drying will no doubt only improve it). Not a single bite or sting to the tongue. This may be *that* Perique/VA combo I've been looking for.