Esoterica Tobacciana Dunbar

My absolute favorite. Bright Virginias and just enough Perique to add a little spiciness. I prefer Dunbar in a large bowl for a "just right" taste and nicotine experience.

I'd love to be able to say "if you like tobacco X, then you'll like Dunbar". But sadly, I haven't found anything similar to Dunbar. Any suggestions?

I got quite lucky and found 5 tins of Dunbar at my local tobacconist and bought them all. Now I had never tried this blend before, so I was going out on a limb, it paid off wonderfully.

The tin presentation is classic, the moisture level was just a little wet, no big deal. This packed very well and burned oh so sweetly. Even burn all the way down, no bite whatsoever, even when puffed zealously. The perique is perfectly applied, its a friend who does not jump in the spotlight, but sings backup oh so well. The VAs are a wonderful mélange and this salty/sweet blend is just what I have been looking for. I used to compare all VAPERs to HOTW, but now this is king of the hill...and I'm not truly a dedicated VA fan, Dunbar has made me think twice on that supposition. KEEPER!!

Smoke in peace.

Can't get enough of the va/pers lately! If a piquant experience is what you want.. well here it is. Esoterica dunbar has a great old-fashioned aroma and taste (all of the esotericas I have tried have tasted delightfully old world).. tin aroma of prunes, vinegar, maybe a dash of virginia figs.. This smokes smooth maybe not as strong in nic as escudo.. but it makes up for it with a healthy perique presence.. Not for everyone, but boy does it work for me. Buying more to age..

This is the second blend by Esoterica I have tried, Stonehaven being an enjoyable first. I picked-up a tin of Dunbar while in Denver on business at Edward's Pipe Shop on S. Broadway, a nice shop with a large selction of tinned tobaccos. Upon openning the tin I was a little worried because of the mositure content and the ribbon cut, albeit a wider one; I like flakes that I can rub out to my liking. Ribbons tend to burn more quickly, but that was not the case here. The presentation in the tin is very nice, with lemon and bright VA predominating, mixed with some softer brown VA leaf and the unmistakable black of Perique. The aroma in the tin is of bread, a familiar smell of unadulterated VA blends. I could not detect any top dressing or flavoring. I let the tin dry out overnight, then filled an old Comoy and stoked-up. This is a wonderful VA/PER blend, complex with developing flavors. It did not bite or overheat. However, it needs to be puffed slowly to realize the VA sweetness. About mid-bowl the Perique seems to kick-in adding a nice spicy note. The key to this blend is balance between the Virginia and the Perique elements, and it is one of the nicer VA/PER blends I have smoked. This is a "top shelf" blend and I highly recommend it to VA/PER lovers.

This was the tobacco that started my love for Virginia/Perique blends. If pipe smoking was like being in college, then English/Balkans would be my major and VA/Periques my minor, but I digress...

Like the other two Esoterica blends I adore -- Margate & Penzance-- Dunbar possesses the correct level of moisture. Oddly enough, this tobacco, though I'd been warned otherwise with VA heavy blends, seemed virtually bite free, unless you count that nice peppery tongue sting from the perique (very different sensation -- it's pleasant).

This blend smokes down to a fluffy white ash. I have broken in three pipes with this blend: a Tsuge Mizki, a Peterson Aran 306 and a Stanwell Vario. The blend did a good job breaking each in, and left a nice, well formed cake quite quickly, even in the dip stained Peterson.

You couldn't convince me of VA blends until this. I like it. As always, it posseses Esoterica moisture. This is not all bad, but as with most VA's it can bite just 'o wee bit if too wet. Dry it out a tad and no bite. A miracle for sugary Virginia's. In the tin it has a great date like aroma. Just a nice quatity of Perique to add body and spice. The peppery taste shows through nicely. This burns evenly with small puffs bringing out that great date like, rich VA flavor. It's nice blown out the nose. This is one of my favorite spring/summer blends and is very good as a morning smoke. Smokes great in a medium to large bowl.

Dunbar came to me serendepitously. A non-smoking friend having kindly offered to run an errand, I asked him to pick up some Durbar for me. What I got was a substantial amount of Dunbar. Never having taken to Three Nuns or Elizabethan Mixture, and turning to Escudo and Dunhill's Navy Rolls only occasionally, I was not particularly enthused by the tin description, and put the tins away. A few weeks later curiosity won. Dunbar turned out to be quite unlike any other virginia-perique mixture known to me.The tin aroma is delicious in a dried fruit kind of way,and the taste does not betray the promise of the aroma.A day or two after opening the tin the mixture has had time to breathe and practically demands to be smoked - a demand that one all too happily concedes. In fact, until the entire tin was gone there was no temptation to turn to any other tobacco. Sterling stuff!

Broken flakes is the description listed for the preparation of this tobacco, rubbed out, well they are, and nice flakes too. The tin aroma is natural, kind of like a summer day, in the field, well I won't get poetic. There are flakes, but mostly hidden among shreds of Va's. and Perique. The tobacco is well prepared, slightly moist, and with some air, it dries very well. Packing is a breeze, as to the texture, kind of sticy, but with no residue. Caution is to be heeded, when packing. Charring light connects, and the initail few puffs are tasty, earthy, really. Tamping proceeds, and with it a great, long lasting smoke, one hour at least, slow and easy. This tobacco is a calm, and easy tobacco, not as spicy, as it's relation, Dorchester, but in a league by itself. Not to confuse this with a Dorchester review, but I just finished a tin, of it, and jumped into Dunbar, my Esoteric expeience, if you will. Great tobacco, smokes to the bottom, with no dottle and no disapointment.

Tin note of sweet raisins, apricot/stone fruit and spices. Tobacco is a ready rub of a reddish brown, light brown and a little dark brown. Moisture content is great. Burns slow with a few relights. The strength is medium and nic is mild to medium. Stone fruit flavoring detected, though it doesn't seem to be a topping, maybe a casing? Taste is medium and very consistent, with notes of dark sour plum, spiced fig, savory, sugar, wood, tart raisin, very earthy, bready, floral, lemon grass, fermented vegetation, slightly bitter orange peel/zest, a rich semi-sweet and tangy stone fruit like background note, and a peppery retro. Virginia is leading with Perique and Flavoring supporting. Room note is pleasant to tolerable, and aftertaste is great.