A couple of initial thoughts... I've read comparisons between Margate and its sibling Penzance. There is simply no point in comparing them. They are apples and oranges. The second thing to address. According to the literature, there is not a shred of Virginia leaf in Margate. Judging from the taste, I believe it.

Margate is high on flavor with the enormous amounts of Latakia and Orientals involved. Everything is pretty straightforward to my palate. No surprises here. The absence of Virginias strikes me most in the depth/structure department. When I puff, I get all the smoky goodness of the lat and the more exotic notes from the Orientals... which I love so much that I don't miss the sweetness some VA would lend to this. But without the grounding leaf, the flavors have nothing to cling to and are fleeting.

This is not a bad thing, necessarily. In fact, I find this superb blend to be perfect for the warm days of summer, as it has that "airy," unstructured quality which gives me big flavor without too much complexity or weight. Moreover, the simplicity of the flavor profile makes it a nice smoke for those more casual smoking expreriences. Sometimes I don't want to think about what I'm smoking, but still enjoy it.

Margate is a pretty shaggy cut, but I found it just right for packing and lighting in terms of moisture and cut. It can burn a little hot, especially if you puff too hard. It also gets very acrid and harsh... more so and more easily than other tobaccos when smoked too hard.

All in all, I like this smoke. I'll come back to it when my tin is finished, but probably not cellar any, as I've read that time is not good to Latakia in the absence of Virginia leaf. It appears to be in ample supply and I'll look forward to buying my next tin.

Update 8/29/11: Ok... just smoked a rather large bowl of Margate outside on the patio... possibly the coolest night I've felt in 2 months or more. This blend is rather magical. The latakia is a dark, oily canvas on which the Orientals in Margate positively danced. Again, I'll say that this blend is not subtle. It doesn't work like, say, Squadron Leader - where everything is perfectly integrated and balanced. Margate sets you down a smoky path with densely swirling exotic notes Dried herbs, church incense without the cloying perfume - all moving across the charred, woodsy landscape of the Cyprian weed. The lack of sweetness is completely un-missed. I really like this stuff. I'll keep it at three stars, but much more assuredly.

Highly recommended

UPDATED 5/6/11 I have found some problems with this tobacco,it bites because it comes a little too damp to smoke and needs some drying. Second, it doesn't burn evenly in the bowl and actually becomes difficult to tamp.There are two diffrent cuts of tobacco a shag ( hair) and a broken flake, these have two diffrent burn rates and are difficult to control. I've reduced my rating to SR

Update 7/6/11 After letting this breath and dry some, this has improved and most of the bite is gone. You must smoke this slow. Doesn't produce a lot of smoke, best smoked at a smolder. Bumped back up to "recommended". This would be a 4 star if it wasn't so hard to deal with the diffrent cuts of tobacco in the blend.

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.

It may lack the complexity and intensity of many of the more strident Balkan mixtures from the boutique blenders, but the processing, aging and pressing that Germain employs meld the tobaccos artfully, and as such all of the ingredients combine to deliver a refined, easy smoke every time. As such, all of the Germains have a signature taste that is readily identifiable, and I appreciate that. When I am uncertain about what I am in the mood for, this and the new Sobranie are my go- to choices and rarely disappoint, especailly when paired with a Pale Ale.

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.