Esoterica Tobacciana Dorchester

I love this stuff. Another wonderful Esoterica blend. Dorchester as you have read is a virginia/perique blend that has a musty aroma in the tin and on lighting has a wonderful flavor profile and spicy side as well due to the perique. At any time of day is very enjoyable. This is one of my favorite Va/Perique blends along with Dunbar, Astley's #2, Escudo and Haddo's Delight. I would have to say I have preference for Astleys #2 then Dorchester and then Dunbar for my top three. A big 4 1/2 stars.

Dorchester is a lovely shag-cut Virginia/Perique blend. The cut is very fine, and in the tin, one smells the rank pungency of Perique that heralds a good smoke. This is a bit hard to pack due to the length of the cut, but once lit, it burns very well. This blend burns cool, doesn't bite much if at all, and alternates between a nice cool neutral taste and a sweet Virginia taste with hints of Perique pepper breaking through. This blend didn't really "develop" for me, but there's enough interplay in the basic ingredients to keep me entertained. Dorchester produces a lot of smoke, always a plus for me, and it burns to a fine white ash. Plus it doesn't clobber the palate as some Latakia blends do. This makes a very nice morning smoke and goes well with a fine Assam, or even Green, Tea.

This is my first VA/Perique blend. It hit me like a ton of bricks by half way throught the bowl. The smoke started off well and the taste is very nice. I smoke aromatics mostly and this is a very nice switch. I will try some more blends like this one.

If you like a little spice in your smoke, this is very nice. And the easiest to keep lit. I made it all the way to work with only one relight. (30 min drive)

This is the second Virginia/Perique blend I've tried, Escudo being the first. I did not enjoy Escudo very much, and this blend confirmed that I simply don't prefer this style of tobacco. It was not a bad smoke, however, and I'll likely finish the sample I have without difficulty. In the sample bag, the smell is very mild, sort of a medium "tobacco" smell with nothing standing out. The blend appears to be a mix of medium and lighter brown leaf in a long, narrow cut, with the occasional large black chunk thrown in. It's a bit tricky to pack, but with a fairly low moisture content, it does light easily. In the first 1/3 of the bowl, the main flavor is that of a medium Virginia, mild and uncomplex. The taste is darker overall than that of Cardiff at the start, and there is perhaps a hint of spice in the background. There is also some bite if I don't puff carefully. In addition, it seems to need more relights than usual at the very start, despite the dryness of the tobacco. Moving on into the second third of the bowl, the spice in the background has become more pronounced. This reminds me a lot of Escudo, but I find this blend somewhat more flavorful. The Virginia flavor, while still "medium" in body, is showing some signs of complexity. I don't notice any of the usual Virginia sweetness here, but the taste has matured somewhat. Into the final third, the spicy note is becoming more obvious. It adds nicely to the complexity of the tobacco flavor, forming a nice, light mixture. It finishes pleasantly, leaving a spicy taste on my tongue. Overall, while this isn't my favorite style of tobacco, I found this to be a nice enough diversion. It matures and develops best in a deep-bowled pipe. I actually prefer this to Escudo, as having a bit more flavor and fullness. If you like Escudo, I certainly recommend that you try this. It burns well without any moisture, and tongue bite is avoided through careful smoking. I'll likely keep a small amount around for when I'm in the mood for this style of tobacco, though I don't believe I'll buy a full tin.

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...

Even better than I expected. Dorchester is, to me, more flavorful and enjoyable than Stonehaven. I'm an English smoker, so I tend to shy away from most Virginia or VaPer blends. Even when I had to pick up the pace to keep the bowl going, it still didn't burn hot. I would describe this as a very forgiving VaPer, and therefore a good introduction for a novice pipe smoker. The closest I can compare would be the St Bernard Flake from Dan.

Tin note sweet fruit smells apricot. The tobacco is presented in a wonderful ready rubbed form. I was pleasantly surprised at how good this blend is. Of course there is a huge following for all the Esoterica blends and so far they are great, that being said there are really good alternatives for the other ones I have tried. This one however shines out far beyond the other Vaper blends I have tied, as the best. Its extremely well balanced. The topping they use is just enough to taste it, but not an overdone. The perique and the Va are in perfect harmony. It smokes very smooth no bite has a bit of sweetness. Since I smoke quite a few VaPers I did not find this was too heavy on the perique and I did not get any bite or tingle. The nic hit is right at the medium mark. Personally I smoke this in a small bowl as its difficult to come by and It is very enjoyable. I would smoke it everyday if it was more common and easer to obtain. If you like VaPer blends this is a must try.