Esoterica Tobacciana Dunbar

3rdguy

Went into this tin with high expectations and I was not disappointed. My first full tin of this and it is 3 years in age, I look forward to trying some of my more aged tins.

At first it did not seem to stand out but once I gave it some breathing room it is a fantastic smoke. Damn shame it does not come in bulk considering it is hard to secure and the cost.I have about 5lbs in the cellar and not sure that is enough so I will add a few more. No bite, gurgle, relights...just a pleasure to smoke. Not a daily for me because I would run out of it in no time but I finished this full tin in 6 days which is a record for me.

Highly recommended.

I do not want to rehash the flavor profile for this blend, as there are already great reviews. However, I would like to highlight a few points for why I believe Esoterica Dunbar to be a four star blend in a market full of va/pers.

1) The method in which Esoterica/J.F. Germain processes their Virginia tobaccos is unique. The Virginia leaf tastes like it had been aged for years. As soon as you open the tin/bag, you will notice a sweet aroma. This sweetness follows all the way through the smoke, which I find quite tasty. Additionally, there is no harshness or chance of tongue bite.

2) The perique taste unlike any other va/per I have come across. It is not really spicy. Instead, I find it to offer a complex flavor explosion that ranges from a slight tangy cucumber-esque flavor to a fig-like earthiness. It is strange, but quite pleasant.

I keep coming back to this review and having to adjust it.

First, this is one of my favorite Virginia and/or Virginia Perique blends. The Perique doesn't show up in significant amounts enough to totally consider it a Va/Per, but it is in there.

The reason I have to re-write this review is because after smoking it a good while I have come to the conclusion there's something particularly unique in this blend. Initially, I knew I tasted mostly sweet bready Virginia as the primary body of the flavor with hints of the variety of other lighter virginia components. I almost thing there's a lightly stoved bright or orange type flake in there because it has that baked bread quality. It's just superb. Also, the perique is strands of ribbon cut, rather than granulated or the more peppery. This perique has flavor with nose tingle, but it's not much like other perique's as it always comes with a flavor if that makes sense.

As I've smoked it, and smoked other straight Virginia's and Va/per's alongside it, over time I realized there's something, not really a topping per say, but it may be, imbued in the tobacco. First, the tobacco coloring is just ever so slightly shifted in color. There's a common yellow/green type shade consistent across all the ribbons. That's a little different than the color's of the natural tobacco spectrum that I'm used to seeing. The colors are usually bolder not muted or shaded consistently across a range of color like in Dunbar.

Then, there's something about this flavor. It is very natural Virginia tasting, but there is something imbued in this. Something is enhancing this taste. It's almost ever so slightly flowery and I couldn't pinpoint it exactly (though I tasted its presence) until after I smoked it over a period of time in tandem with other varieties of Virginia's. No other Virginia blend has this. It is slightly in Dorchester and Tillbury as well, but not as prominent as this.

It almost reminds me of McClellan's Vinegar enhancement. Very similar, but not the same. These Dunbar Virginia's have some kind of floral type enhancement, but done in a way that doesn't interfere with the flavor of the leaf or compete with it in any way, it just enhances it uniquely. This is unique to Esoterica. I've been toying with the idea of attempting to recreate this stuff out of blender's that I have so that's why I think it is standing out. It is really intriguing and like McClelland really begs the question as to what process Esoterica is using to treat their Virginia's to add this wonderful nuance.

Holy mackerel! This hard to find tobacco is a great vaper. Much less harsh than fresh Telegraph Hill, less sweet than its sibling Dorchester. This stuff will hook you during the charring light-very smooth. It has a soft, bready quality, citrus from the VA, fig from the Perique, some wood. The nicotine is light. The tin is a light brown flake, sort of a cross between a broken flake and a shag cut. Packs great. The tin note is fruity, hay like. I wanted to try something; I eschewed some slightly aged tins for this brand new one. I was curious how it tasted fresh out of the tin. It is outstanding fresh.

What an odd one this was!

I had high expectations, as I had found a stash of this and some of the rare ones at a B&M that I claimed without delay.

This needed to be dried out for quite a while. I loaded it from the freshly opened tin and nearly used a book of matches trying to keep the thing going, whilst giving myself dry-mouth in the process (rookie at the time), but then took some out and dried it and lit up for round 2.

Tangy, sour, grassy, almost slimey texture from it. I liked it, the smoke was very interesting in the aroma with a lot going on and clearly high quality, but there was something in that taste that made my face pucker up like man eating a whole lemon.

I admit, the nuances are beyond my palate's limitations so I don't want to talk down something due to not understanding, but for my taste, I couldn't get into it, and traded it on to someone who might appreciate.

Good quality, complicated, but not for me.

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..

Hey fellers, Red here. Esoterica's Dunbar is an interesting Va/Per that is pressed and aged in a way that creates an interesting blur of flavors. In most well executed Va/Pers the Virginia and Perique come at you one at a time, each rising then falling in their turn, until building to a crescendo in a symphony of sweet and spice. In some blends the Virginias stand out, and in some it's the Perique. Not so with Dunbar. This Va/Per resonates consistently throughout the bowl with a harmonic balance of sweet/spice an octave or two above one dimentional. Don't get me wrong, I don't find this Va/Per boring. What's more, I think it was well done keeping a blend this flavorful marching in such well drilled cadence. However, where in most good Va/Pers the Virginias are there in all their naturally sweet glory, Dunbar seems to use less than prime Virginias and compensate by adding a smidge of sugar. Tastes slightly fraudulent. Like a good knock-off, it works when you realize what it is and accept it for itself without trying to compare it to Escudo or some of the other 4 star Va/Pers. Worth a smoke if you are out of the great stuff. Borderline 3 star but I can't get over the sugar, which should not be necessary.

Two Stars.

PS: Don't be alarmed, the tin note that is a witches brew of prunes and vinegar doesn't carry over into the smoke. Thank god, or else this would be one radical aromatic.......