Esoterica Tobacciana Dunbar
(3.41)
A mature recipe of seven types of Virginia tobaccos blended with Louisiana perique, lightly pressed for several days to mellow the mixture, then cut into flakes and rubbed up. A high quality blend with a savory taste and a fine bouquet. An outstanding tobacco with a rich depth of flavor.
Details
| Brand | Esoterica Tobacciana |
| Blended By | J.F. Germain & Son |
| Manufactured By | J.F. Germain & Son |
| Blend Type | Virginia/Perique |
| Contents | Perique, Virginia |
| Flavoring | Apricot |
| Cut | Ready Rubbed |
| Packaging | 2 ounce tin, 8 ounce bag |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Production | Currently available |
Profile
Strength
Medium
Extremely Mild -> Overwhelming
Flavoring
None Detected
None Detected -> Extra Strong
Room Note
Pleasant to Tolerable
Unnoticeable -> Overwhelming
Taste
Medium
Extremely Mild (Flat) -> Overwhelming
Average Rating
|
3.41 / 4
|
Reviews
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Displaying 11 - 18 of 18 Reviews
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Dec 11, 2003 | Medium | None Detected | Mild | Pleasant to Tolerable |
Dunbar is a Virginia/Perique blend of the Esoterica Tobacciana brand and is blended by J.F. Germain & Son for the Butera Pipe Company.
The Dunbar mixture has a musty and slightly sweet fig-like tin aroma and is perhaps similar in respects to the fragrance of dampened hay. This is an exclusively Virginia and Perique blend with no topping or casing applied. This mixture of tobaccos is predominately medium brown interspersed with strands of black.
Dunbar is matured in flake form and rubbed out roughly leaving the tobacco in a long partial flake state. The claim that Dunbar is a well-matured tobacco is validated by the great quantity of sparkling sugar crystals present. The blend can be packed as is or rubbed apart further to facilitate indoor smoking. Slight caution should be taken when packing since this tobacco seems to have the tendency to become over packed easily. Dunbar?s initial moisture is good and requires little drying if any.
The initial charring and eventual lighting of this tobacco takes longer than average, but is of no real hindrance. Dunbar has a great fluffy, fine ash burn that leaves very little dottle in the pipe bowl at the smoke?s end. The room note is a bit pungent and overall is decent.
Dunbar has a spicy peppery tanginess for a taste with a slight underlining sweetness compliments to the matured Virginias. Though with this stated, Dunbar lacks any great distinctive flavor. A somewhat bland, dry, and medium strength smoke is produced by this tobacco. The blend is not overly hot though its tendency to bite increases slightly as the smoke progresses.
In the end, the Dunbar Virginia and Perique tobacco mixture is a balanced, well-matured tobacco with some admirable smoking qualities. Yet this blend lacks any great flavor and is simply too monotone and thus not enticing enough to become a favorite smoke.
The Dunbar mixture has a musty and slightly sweet fig-like tin aroma and is perhaps similar in respects to the fragrance of dampened hay. This is an exclusively Virginia and Perique blend with no topping or casing applied. This mixture of tobaccos is predominately medium brown interspersed with strands of black.
Dunbar is matured in flake form and rubbed out roughly leaving the tobacco in a long partial flake state. The claim that Dunbar is a well-matured tobacco is validated by the great quantity of sparkling sugar crystals present. The blend can be packed as is or rubbed apart further to facilitate indoor smoking. Slight caution should be taken when packing since this tobacco seems to have the tendency to become over packed easily. Dunbar?s initial moisture is good and requires little drying if any.
The initial charring and eventual lighting of this tobacco takes longer than average, but is of no real hindrance. Dunbar has a great fluffy, fine ash burn that leaves very little dottle in the pipe bowl at the smoke?s end. The room note is a bit pungent and overall is decent.
Dunbar has a spicy peppery tanginess for a taste with a slight underlining sweetness compliments to the matured Virginias. Though with this stated, Dunbar lacks any great distinctive flavor. A somewhat bland, dry, and medium strength smoke is produced by this tobacco. The blend is not overly hot though its tendency to bite increases slightly as the smoke progresses.
In the end, the Dunbar Virginia and Perique tobacco mixture is a balanced, well-matured tobacco with some admirable smoking qualities. Yet this blend lacks any great flavor and is simply too monotone and thus not enticing enough to become a favorite smoke.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Jan 19, 2019 | Mild to Medium | Mild | Mild to Medium | Pleasant |
A lot has already been said about Dunbar. Unfortunately, I am not joining the crowd with my praises. Dunbar is not a bad tobacco, far from it. But it is not, contrary to some opinions, what I would consider a bucket list item. Dunbar is an average Virginia and Périque, no more and no less, even after two years of aging. When taking into account this and especially how difficult to get this offering is-and how ridiculous some of the prices asked for it are set at-I will certainly not acquire some again and invest my money into better offerings that are readily available. I can only suggest you do the same.
Pipe Used:
Various Savinelli and Peterson
Age When Smoked:
2 Y and some
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| May 14, 2008 | Mild | Very Mild | Very Mild | Tolerable |
i like esoterica,s products generally and the tin description made it appear to be 'right up my street'. however, i find this blend to be almost tasteless,worse,a hint of the taste that i love. i smoke this in a large bowl with added perique and puff hard to get something out of it. i generally like strong tobacco and smoked (occasionally still do) cuban cigars for years,so maybe it is simply too mild for me,although there are some mild blends out there that i really like. if you like mild and bland blends,this maybe for you.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Apr 01, 2008 | Medium | None Detected | Medium | Tolerable to Strong |
I won't bother adding too much to the already voluminous reviews. This VAPER is smokable and I can see it appealing to certain tastebuds, but it is way too grassy in flavor for my taste. It is the closest thing I think I have had to tasting a completely and totally uncased tobacco - I imagine this must taste a lot like what Native Americans smoked. Come to think of it, I could see this stuff being passed around in a peace pipe.
The room note was described by others as being reminiscent of something that was NOT tobacco (if you know what I mean). Not a good thing in my book.
The room note was described by others as being reminiscent of something that was NOT tobacco (if you know what I mean). Not a good thing in my book.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| May 03, 2005 | Mild to Medium | None Detected | Mild to Medium | Tolerable |
Bright yellow strings of lemon and other Virginias greet you as you open the tin. Chunks of not fully rubbed out flake are present as well in this all Virginia and Perique blend. I agree with thedistinguishedgentleman; this is much nicer than Elizabethan not for what it does but for what it doesn't do: burn the tongue and cause the head to spin. Room note is pleasant but the taste is lackluster for me. For some reason, I always have trouble detecting Perique, and Dunbar is no exception. The Perique taste bud must be missing from my DNA. Once again, that characteristic Germain briny, peaty quality is ever present. I'm glad I tried this, though I prefer the sweeter matured Virginias ala McClelland or the dark stoved variety with Macedonian ala Presbyterian. I'll probably not try Hastings or St. Ives, as I am told those are similar in their all Virginia makeup. Nevertheless, for those who prefer British Virginia mixtures to the sweeter, more fermented American variety, Dunbar might be just what you're looking for.
Two of five stars
Two of five stars
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Apr 13, 2004 | Medium | None Detected | Mild to Medium | Pleasant to Tolerable |
Montague's review says just about all that I could possibly say. The charring light takes a slight bit of effort unless it's rubbed out a bit, or dried out for a few minutes prior to smoking. I don't get a lot of difference from top to bottom with Dunbar. Going through eight ounces of the bulk stuff was a little bit of an effort. Especially when there are other Virginia/Perique blends that beat this hands down. Three I can think of are Haddo's Delight, Dunhill's Elizabethan Mixture, and Astley's Virginia No. 2 Mixture. So, with these in my stable, the choices lead me to the others. Dunbar does pick up a little toward the end, but alas, it is just a slightly stronger version of mediocrity. If it's offered as a gift, I'll give it another whirl. Otherwise, I'll stick to the three above, and continue my search for other Virginia/Perique blends.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Jan 12, 2009 | Medium | None Detected | Mild to Medium | Pleasant to Tolerable |
This came very moist, which makes it hard to keep lit. The appearance seems more like a tan/olive green ribbon cut than a rubbed flake. Pouch aroma is reminiscent of fresh cut vegetation - think lawn clippings.
I would not say this has a savory taste as described. This blend is hard to pin down. It's a VaPer, but I don't get any tangy Virginia and very little Perique pepper.
edit: I bought this in bulk, so I am not sure if it is Esoterica's fault or the shop owners but I have come to the conclusion that this is way too moist. I can't make it through a bowl because it won't stay lit - very frustrating. I believe this excessive moisture is also affecting the flavor, causing it to seem bland.
I feel like this blend has something to offer. I am going to let it dry out and sit for awhile. I will update.
I would not say this has a savory taste as described. This blend is hard to pin down. It's a VaPer, but I don't get any tangy Virginia and very little Perique pepper.
edit: I bought this in bulk, so I am not sure if it is Esoterica's fault or the shop owners but I have come to the conclusion that this is way too moist. I can't make it through a bowl because it won't stay lit - very frustrating. I believe this excessive moisture is also affecting the flavor, causing it to seem bland.
I feel like this blend has something to offer. I am going to let it dry out and sit for awhile. I will update.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| May 23, 2005 | Medium | Mild | Medium to Full | Tolerable |
This tobacco isn't bad, and the quality is good...it just doesn't make me go WOW! If one were to add a dash of perique to Germain's Medium Flake, one gets Dunbar. It's smooth and sweet, but the casing just doesn't do it for me. I think that I'll try adding some more perique to the mixture.
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