Esoterica Tobacciana Margate

This is Dunhills EMP with a touch more Latakia. Both have that lemon background, probably from the orientals. I love EMP as my first of the day rotation and I could see myself substituting Margate on occasion.Both EMP and Margate have that ribbon (hair texture) cut that I find very easy to pack and sometimes over pack. Margate's Latakia comes through a little stronger, but this does not overpower the orientals. I find EMP to be a short smoke, just when your getting into it, the pipe is done. On the other hand, Margate, seems to burn slower, has less smoke (but a slightly hotter smoke?)and you get more satisfaction from the overall pipe full. This will be my mid-morning tobacco.

Highly recommended

UPDATED 5/6/11 I have found some problems with this tobacco,it bites because it comes a little too damp to smoke and needs some drying. Second, it doesn't burn evenly in the bowl and actually becomes difficult to tamp.There are two diffrent cuts of tobacco a shag ( hair) and a broken flake, these have two diffrent burn rates and are difficult to control. I've reduced my rating to SR

Update 7/6/11 After letting this breath and dry some, this has improved and most of the bite is gone. You must smoke this slow. Doesn't produce a lot of smoke, best smoked at a smolder. Bumped back up to "recommended". This would be a 4 star if it wasn't so hard to deal with the diffrent cuts of tobacco in the blend.

At first, I wanna say that this site is my reference to buy new stuff. I live in Brasil, and we don't have most of the tobaccos people talk here, and when yoo find some, you better buy it or somebody else will do. It is very expensive too, so you need to search for the right thing to buy. About Margate: for me, the best English I've tried. The right amount of Latakia makes it good after a hard working day. I smoke it outside, because my wife hates the smell. Ithink it fits really well with the outside, since the smell is a bit strong. It burns well. Tends to be hot if you smoke it fast. Perfect moisture (I think). Beautiful color in the tin. One of my favorites now.

Here is my first review. Keep in mind that I have only been smoking a pipe for about 6 months, and have only tried a few different tobaccos. I just recieved a sample of Margate from the local shop, and only have smoked it once. To me the Tin Note is that of Bug Spray. The fist third of the bowl made me laugh because all I could think of is that it tasted, and smelled like a Nursing Home on fire. I pictured depends Diapers burning. The perfume taste, and smell was overwelming. By half way through it started to mellow somewhat, and was a bit more enjoyable. To my amazement the aftertaste has none of the aforementioned qualitys, and is really quite pleasant. The aftertaste is what I would describe as "Ginger, and Honey", and there is no after-bite. The aftertaste is so good that I may be willing to re-enter the Nursing Home.

I've read every review on this blend and I find most of the reviews on Margate in the last year or so not true of my opinion.

I'm on my 16th ounce of Margate and 10th ounce of Pembroke, so I feel very comfortable with my thoughts on this. I think both are fantastic, but Margate, being less rich than Pembroke makes for a better traveling companion, which is something I think most of us consider on occasion.

I think POUNDER 5000's review is very true to my opinion of this tobacco and worth reading again.

"Esoterica can seriously kick some butt. This blend is magnificent. While penzance is treat at the end of the day, Margate is the perfect companion throughout. This blend delivers a good size hit of Latakia and is complex enough to fight it out with any similiar blend from Dunhill or G.L. Pease. The Virginias are sweet and the perfect back drop for the Latakia. This blend will simply not bite! I don't care what you do, it is one of the coolest smokes on the market. The closest thing to it is Nightcap, and although I won't detract from that wonderful blend, this is similiar to it minus the perique, and perhaps a little smoother. This will always remain a member of my rotation. By the way, it smokes like a champ outdoors on a brisk day, which is where you may be required to smoke it as the room note is a little strong."

I've not done hardly any reviews of pipe tobacco in the public domain. Obviously, we should all investigate every tobacco and decide for ourselves. If it's good enough, we should speak out.

As a previous reviewer stated, compared to Odyssey, this might taste like air.

Unfortunately, I tried Odyssey before I tried this, and because it said "Full English" on the tin, I was expecting something quite, well, full. I know that an english shouldn't bowl you over with latakia, but I was having difficulty trying to pinpoint the subtleties of this blend with any proficiency. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing inherently bad about the blend: it is pleasantly full and luxurious, burns nicely to an ivory ash, and has all of the characteristics of a quality enlgish. But my thinking is it needs good cellar time to fully appreciate. I hate to say it, but I probably won't buy this one again. Pembroke, on the other hand, is a different story, and if I can ever get a hold of Penzance, I'll keep you posted.

For now, Margate failed to astound me. I really wanted to love it, and I do appreciate it, but there just wasn't enough of a wow factor to really dazzle me and make me want to smoke repeat bowls. Perhaps my palate is still developing. Still, three solid stars for quality -- it does embody a well rounded, straightforward english.

For not having smoked a pipe for a long period of time, it's curious to me why I would be so willing to call this a very straight forward, "old school" English blend. I mean, come on, I don't really know what Old School is. I guess you'll have to trust me on that prognosis. The tin is positively PACKED with very thin ribbon-cut, lighter va's and a good amount of smoky latakia. I bet if you let this age for a few years, you'd see a solid cake once you opened the tin -- that's how densely it's packed. The thinness of the cut is something I really like about it because it burns very consistently if you are careful not to pack it too densely in the pipe -- which is the pitfall of this style of cut. It seems like it's on the lighter side of English fare. Something like Odyssey will make Margate taste like pure air in comparison. But Margate is still a very good blend in it's own right. Perfect morning or warm weather english. Not too exotic, just Va and Latakia predominately (to my palate anyway). I think a lover of English blends could find room in his or her rotation for this fine blend.

Very much in the neighborhood of a 3 to 4 star blend depending on individual preferences. There are others I like more, but this one is just fine.

I was perplexed and wondering, when I saw the sporadic bad comments, if they were speaking of the same blend. I know that tastes differ, but it is strange to understand how can someone say that this is the worst thing he´s ever smoked, and that his throat ached for three days. What does someone have to do to get to those levels with this mixture? The only thing I know is that the mixture inside of the tin I have with the name Margate written on the forefront is one good tobacco.

Burning qualities are perfect, due to the fine ribbon cut (all the bowls I´ve tried have been one-match-till-white-ash bowls), and the flavor is deep and nostalgic. It is very perfumed, yes, as someone notes, but it´s the natural perfume of good latakia, and nothing else.

Good bye My Mixture 965, I don't need you anymore. I've got my new girlfriend Margate. 🙂

I call this blend Margret myself. It is a nice satisfying smoke. It is classic in the English sense, but it does not burn harsh, it is not dripping wet, perfect moisture content.

It burns nice and slow and did not bite in the least. The flavor was present all the way to the bottom of the bowl. Some English blends are too perfumy for me, some don't have enough flavor to last through out the smoke. This does not seem to be true for Margret. I like this blend.

Just a note. I put away a pound of this stuff in a jar to age. I noticed a few flakes here and there that looked suspicious like it could have mold, so that's why I popped the jar and began smoking right away. Keep a close eye on this stuff if aging long term.

For me, this is one fine English blend. And I appreciate getting a 2 oz. tin vs. 50mg; it was priced right for a high quality import. As others have noted, it is in an extremely thin shag cut - thinner even than the original Sail offering before Orlik - and hence, care must be given to properly load it. Once lighted, a thoroughly enjoyable smoke especially if not stressed to overheated status. Another "thinker's" blend, one for the quiet times.