Esoterica Tobacciana Margate

Wow! Practically Perfect in every way (Just like Mary Poppins)

This is the baccy I've been searching for since I started smoking a pipe way back in the early 1970s when I lived on t'other side of T'Pond. I used to smoke TBSOSM when I lived in Abingdon, and TBSOSM along with their 759 mixture were my favourites! Margate was recommended this afternoon by a good friend, and my goodness was he right on the money, or what?

A great blend and I’m a fan of the shag cut. It burns well and stays lit with minimal relights.

It’s got a slightly different taste about it being an English (an edge most others don’t have, but a good edge) and I can’t quite put my finger on it. It does benefit from dry time and I find it to be a little more mellow with some drying. So, I go back and forth between straight from tin and drying a little.

Plenty of reviews on here to give you a glimpse of the flavor profile, some finding way more then I - so, cheers to those palates. At the end of the day, it’s a great smoke and one I certainly enjoy. I don’t smoke it too often because of availability, but I will pick up a sack or two of this when I have the opportunity and don’t have to break the bank or fight 20 people for it. It’s not worth that to me.

Esoterica has quite a bit of hype surrounding it, so who would’t want to try it. I don’t think it’s worth paying double/triple the cost though. That being said, if you happen across it sometime I do strongly recommend it.

December 4th, 2020

The cut of this tobacco is a fine shag cut with very long ribbons that tend to tangle themselves in each other. Pulling from the jar and packing felt a bit like eating a plate of spaghetti. I kept finding more strands connected to each other as I pulled it up. It is definitely wet, but not goopy, so I dried it for about half an hour. In the blend you'll find a lot of black latakia supported by chestnut Orientals, and just a bit of bright Virginias that give the blend's look a sparkle.

The tin note is very smoky from the latakia with a slight, sweet ketchupy smell from the Orientals and Virginias. None of the smells are overpowering or sharp, in fact, they're very round and soft.

The wetness of the tobacco still left made lighting a bit difficult, but after a couple charring lights, the shag cut left a nice ash on top that lit well. I probably could have let it dry a bit longer as I found I was lighting 2 or 3 times at the start, and a few times at the end, but overall not too difficult mechanically. The tobacco burns a little on the warm side, but nothing that paying a little attention to your cadence can't handle. I also found toward the bottom of the bowl it burnt a little hotter than a normal bottom of a bowl, so keep strong with your cadence discipline to not lose all the goodness and get your tongue bitten.

The start of the bowl was definitely the base of the smoke. The Orientals and Virginias lend a a sweet floral note to the soft leathery and smoky latakia that makes for a light, but full flavor profile that I find in most of the esoterica blends.

Halfway through the bowl, a bread quality came out, with a salty, earthy finish almost how burnt grill charcoal smells. The retrohale has a beef jerky quality to it that finishes with more of the floral qualities.

The last third of the bowl smoked a little hotter as mentioned, and the charcoal flavor evolved into a sweet, chalkiness akin to smarties.

The bottom of the bowl had a vanilla oak flavor like from a nice bourbon, and I also got draws that had a maraschino cherry flavor that went from mild to wild depending on what was burning at that moment. Throughout the entire bowl, the latakia was the base that the other flavors played around on.

I gave this a mild to medium strength, not too much of a nic hit, but I felt a little whiff.

The flavor profile is full. I don't get any real casings but there's definitely sweet, floral and smoky, slightly leathery notes that prevail but are very well rounded. You're not going to stretch to find the flavors in this blend.

I smoke outside, so the room note is difficult to really comment on, but I'd say this isn't your usual nasty smelling latakia blend.

At the time of this review, this tobacco has been sitting in a Mason jar for about a month.

If you're in the Denver area, there are a few tins/bags at Edward's Pipe and Tobacco as of 12/4/20.

I gave it a 3 of 4. Not on my list of absolutely must haves, but definitely enjoyed it, and will buy it again when I can find it.

One of my all time favorite blends though relatively new to pipes compared to many of you. I have about 80 jars of opened tobacco at the moment I wanted to try it all; find what I love. About 25 of those jars are English blends. I actually go to this more than Penzance, more than Quiet Nights, more than 965. I love this along with Squadron Leader as my 2 favorites. plum pudding s.r., saseini, Sobranie are also there. It’s the only tobacco my wife has commented on, that she really likes the “aroma of whatever that is.”

As far as commenting on the flavors etc., I’m confident with cigars and wine but not quite there yet with pipe tobacco being in a little over a year. Though I have 4-5 bowls a day. I’ll leave that to the rest of the reviewers for now. I can say it’s well balanced. Not a lat bomb. It has a unique aroma I can’t quite pin to it. It’s not a casing or anything. Maybe the type or Latakia or orientals. While I have 3-4 tins, the next time Esoterica is in stock, I’m getting enough to make this a daily smoker.

I just wanted to add another thumbs up for this blend and try it if you haven’t.

3rdguy

Just finished a full tin, 3 years of age on it. Appearance is a lot of latakia but this blend is so nicely balanced it is never overpowering. There is a lot already written here about this blend but it is a must try if you are a fan of English blends. Another plus is that it seems Margate is one of the easy Esoterica’s to obtain. At least I have never had difficulty finding this one.

Worthy of your pipe and cellar.

Beautiful smoke. Loads well into pipe and lights perfectly. Smoke is cool, dry and tastes great to the bottom of the bowl. This is a favorite blend to smoke after blends with a heavier load of Latakia.

Summary: A mild English with plenty of flavor, strong internal sweetness and nicely balanced extremes.

Esoterica blends remind me of the death metal band Immolation. When listening to it, most people like it, but then forget about it when it is not there. Similarly, I can appreciate these blends at the time, but then turn toward something with more personality. "Margate" offers a mix of Virginias that spans the range from sweet to bready, then adds in a fair dose of Latakia and Orientals. Somewhere in here the extremes of the Latakias have been muted and the bitterness of the Orientals tamed, with the Virginia present but mostly absorbing those flavors into its own. This smokes exceptionally well good burn and a mild, gentle flavor, but beyond that offers nothing to distinguish itself from other medium Englishes.

I would call this a narrow ribbon and not a shag. Mine was in a bag of uncertain vintage recieved as a gift from a friend. When I jarred it, the bag had small holes in the creases where you could see the light. It was slightly dry. I would recommend not waiting to jar once you get a bag. I have been smoking it as came out of the bag, but I might try hydrating it a little. If that produces a significantly different smoke, I will edit the review.

The blend is a very smooth, and presents as a mellow aged smoke. Initial impression was oriental with a medium smoky latakia. The oriental spiciness diminished as the bowl progressed and I picked up some dark Virginia notes. This leads me to suspect that some of the spice is a mild topping.

This was a good smoke, but it did not knock my socks off. I found it to be a medium Balkan that easy to recommend.

Spicy, latakia with a sweet undertone. Very clean smoke - got a hint of a slight potential bite since I was puffing on it for a while consistently. Very high quality tobacco - perfect moisture, not dry tasting or feeling. Very fine ribbon cut.