Esoterica Tobacciana Brighton

Wow! Brighton is the mild to medium Virginia I have been searching for. The blend is not terribly complex, but has enough going on to keep you interested throughout the bowl. Smoked fresh I get a lot of earth and grass notes with a bit of bright citrus flavor. Smoking back to back with some that's been aged for 3 years I get a lot more savory flavor. It packs easily, stays lit, burns cool for a Virginia and won't bite. Overall it's one of the most well behaved blends I have smoked. This is my go to blend for breaking in pipes and enjoying with my morning coffee. The stable flavor of Brighton makes it great to blend with some punchy Burleys as well.

I have never been in a field of lavender after a rain, As one review referenced, but I have stepped in a cow pie during a wind storm. What does this have to do with Espterica you ask? Nothing but either does waxing poetic. This is an exceptional Tobacco in that it doesn't stand out in any special way except that it is of the highest quality ingredients and preparation. It is an all day all night smoke. It is perfect in aroma and smoking quality. It has a full gambit of full Virginia aromas and varied textures. If you don't like Virginias then it's not for you.

Before trying Brighton I had smoked Stonehaven and Peacehaven many times. While Stonehaven gets the most hype, I've always preferred Peacehaven. Thus, I was pleased as punch upon opening the bag of Brighton to find brightly colored ribbons and broken flake pieces of fine virginia tobacco. The aroma seemed to straddle the aforementioned Esoterica blends. A sweet sugary smell that reminds me of fields of lavender and chamomile after a Spring rain. In line with all the other Esoterica blends, Brighton is very moist out of the bag. I let a bowls worth dry out over night. When I finally sparked the bowl I was happy to find the flavor matches the bag smell. A lovely flavors that shares elements of both Stonehaven and Peacehaven. I like to smoke these in a deep, narrow bowl. I think this helps maintain the flavor throughout the smoke. The quality of the leaf here is not in question. A cursory glance will tell you this is premium virginia. The casing too is high quality, evidenced by the clean flavor and stable burning.

So, if you enjoy cased but not cloying virginia blends, Brighton gets a high recommendation from me.

I got 2 and 1/2 pounds from a friend the other day. He purchased it in 2013 and decided he's done with the pipe and passed 5 unsealed bags onto me. What a lucky guy I am. I've never smoked the Esoterica blends before and I'm not a real Virginia smoker. HOWEVER!!!! what a treat this tobacco is. Perfectly moist right out of the bag, smooth and creamy. Easy to pack, stays lit and has, what I consider a wonderful room note. It's a little one noted, however my nose picks up Coconut, mango and some stone fruit in that first whiff. It's an unusual fragrance to me but I like it. Lit up well and stayed burning, only 2 relights. What an interesting aroma, my wife even said she appreciated it and being that I'm a dark fired Kentucky guy I have to agree with her. If I could get this, I'd order more but I tried to find it on the most shopped websites for pipe tobacco and it appears no one has it. I would definitely give it a try.

At some point while smoking Margate I realized I like the virginia tobaccos in it, and as more dark flakes were remaining in the jar of Margate I decided to gamble and get more virginia. 70% Brighton and 30 -50% Margate mixed and smoked produced and "ice cream cone" experience from my childhood. I am as jolly as can be, as I did not think I could fix deep notes of Margate to make them lighter as I usually smoke my tobacco too wet. Highly recommend both Margate and Brighton tobaccos mixed together.