Esoterica Tobacciana Dorchester

For those of you who like Virginia/Perique blends, Dorchester is a must try. Like most VA/Perique blends, Dorchester has a very sweet yet pungeant tin aroma -though I agree with others that it's a bit more musty than the Three Nuns, escudo et al.. I also recommend the tin over the bulk as the bulk seems to be very prone to mold (I had a large mold ball in one bag), and it's taste is substantially 'off' that of the tinned version. perhaps with some aging the bulk would compete, but this review will be on the tinned version. Dorchester is a medium brown/light brown ribbon cut tobacco. The sweet virginias dominate the smoke until halfway through the bowl, with the perique present but not as in your face as some other VA/Perique blends. At about the halfway point, the pungeant and spicy perique comes into it's own as the Virginias take a back seat -but don't et me wrong, they're presence is NOT forgotten. Their sweetness remains. There is a very enjoyable 'sweet spot' with this tobacco in the zone where the VAs and Perique compete for dominance -the smoke is exquisite at this point. Creamy, sweet and spicy all at once. Very enjoyable. The finish of Dorchester is not as enjoyable as the rest of the smoke as the spiciness grow in strength exponentially and quite frankly can be a bit much. Overall, Dorchester is a quality tobacco which will always have a spot in my tobacco closet. One of my favorite things to do is fill the bottom 1/2 of a bowl with Esoterica's Tilbury and the top 1/2 with Dorchester. This seems to help avoid the spice overload which I described and the transformation between the smouldering Dorchester and tilbury is simply phenomenal. Try it...