Esoterica Tobacciana Margate

Nice mellow well blendid smoke. Latakia forward. The nose of the tin was a bit strange as it was Oriental forward. Very woody and just a hint of Latakia. I was surprised how smokey it was when lit. It really gave me a spicy bite around the edges of my tongue. That must have been a combination of Oriental and Virginia that ganged up. Honestly I grabbed the tin looking for Perique in the blend, it was that spicy. Regrettably didn't like this one much.

I have to say with all the hype surrounding this tobacco I’m a bit disappointed. Not say this is a bad blend far from it but with the price ($17 for 2oz) I expected a lot more. The taste I found to be almost non existent lacking any type of complexity. Maybe the problem lies with me, lacking a refined palette. Nothing in particular grabbed my attention and left me wanting. I did put some of it away to smoke at a future date in hopes that age will bring those flavors out. But in the mean time ⭐️ ⭐️. I will be posting an update on my final thoughts.

Preface: I have been smoking Dunhill Standard Mixture Medium for near-on 30 years, believing that it has no equal anywhere on earth. But it is gone now, and so I begin a quest for my Holy Grail: A substitute to replace the standard on which all English tobaccos are based:

Margate is an English from England. Reading the reviews here (ecstatic, mostly) I only wish they'd all gone on to try SMM. Because Margate is in the ballpark, but SMM is so much better.

Phantom55 said: "Tried this based on the overwhelming positive reviews here. Smells good in the tin, like fermenting Virginia. Unfortunately, to me, does not smoke like it smells. I must be quite sensitive to whatever flavoring agent they use, and there definitely is one. The tobacco just has a very peculiar flavor that I can't readily identify."

Well, that flavoring is definitely there. Almost like perfume, and I don't much care for it.

Pipestud (who's reviews I generally respect) said: "I consider this to be a traditional English, yet not quite as plain as, say, the Dunhill English blends. This one packs more complexity. If you like Dunhill 965, take a step up in class and grab yourself a tin of Margate. You'll be glad you did."

Well. Dunhill 965 had Cavendish so, yes, Margate is a step up from there.

Of SMM Pipestud said: "If you want a smokey flavor lingering in your mouth for hours after you finish a bowl, grab a tin of this stuff"

Precisely. Pipestud offered 3 stars for Margate and 1 for SMM.

Margate lacks the complexity & smokiness of SMM, as well as the full body. The tin description bears no mention of Virginias, whose omission, if correct, may account for some of this.

Tin was deliciously moist. perfect in my opinion, and it burned very well. But it DOES have that perfume smell and taste.

Margate smells much like a Cabernet out of the tin. The aroma seems to be pleasent to others, even if a little strong. No need for an airfreshner to cover up nasty smells with this around. Maybe my neighbor needs to smoke some it might help him out.

Enough about my world back to the tobacco. It is very pleasent most of the time, however smoking this to much it gives me a mild headache. It's the flavor, even though similar to Pembroke, I don't know, I can't describe. But for a bowl now and then it is quite nice.

Margate I imagine would be great to smoke on the beach with a nice Cabernet Sauveignon at hand. I live in the deserts of Washington State so a beach setting I can only dream. I give this tobacco from my personal notes a 8.6 I'd buy it again but its a give or take.

A bit of a change here, no longer on a beach thats for sure, I just smoked some of this outside and yuck, It burnt my mouth like I was trying to inhale the sun, then A sour taste started around the back of my throat, after that severe thirst set in, and then a bitter taste preceeded by the sourness, it was total ick. On top it was burning really fast. It was gone in about five minutes for a 3/4 inch diameter bowl by about 1.5 inch depth. My new rating 4.1 I won't be buying this again since I wish to try so much.

Overall, this is a pretty decent tobacco. I felt like there wasn't a whole lot of Latakia in it, but many orientals. It burns well, it smells good, but in my opinion, the flavor leaves something to desire. Margates flavor seems to have a smoked meat flavor to it, and just doesn't work for me. The quality is there, but the flavor isn't.

This is a tobacco that has a well balanced nose, in that the Oriental's, Latakia, perhaps South American Virginia, and Cavendish do a smart performance of impersonating the other. A medium brown in color, and not to moist. The tobacco packs well, like most ribbon cut, and the charring light post no aversion. Most of the journey down the bowl remains constant, without anybody getting upset. A good entry to the world of full English blend's, without recourse. Burns to a medium grey ash, little dottle. A good blend, but not one that is pronounced enough for my taste.

This is a quintessential English blend and most of the savory descriptions that others before me have proclaimed are true .... so I'll leave those eloquent notations to suffice. However, in my experience this is a finicky blend. That means straight out of a fresh bag or tin … I found it tough to light & keep lit. IMHO, it’s tastier when fresh ... but it’s still difficult to light and keep lit even when it's permitted to dry appropriately. I didn't expect this from a shag/ribbon cut blend which I normally find quite easy to light & stay lit ... but such was not the case for me (and I tried several packing methods with little difference). IMHO, the mystique and limited availability of this blend has gone overboard. Don't get me wrong, I do like it but I'm not inclined to pay a premium (again) when me thinks there are other noteworthy English blends readily available & just as good. 4 stars for taste & aroma and a 2 points off for being so finicky = 2 stars.

I smoked my way through a single precious tin that I was Able to acquire back in 2012. As noted by previous reviewers, the cut is a shag/extremely skinny ribbon cut. It is dark in color and I cannot easily identify any of the constituent tobaccos. The tin note is pure Latakia. I could not discern or taste any of the promised orientals. The Virginia, if there is any, is largely smothered by the heavier smokier leaf. I would agree with many of the older reviews that this comes sopping wet as many traditional British blends do. While I am a fan of several other blends hailing from the Channel Islands, this one just isn’t for me. Smokers who enjoy a stiff dose of Latakia and whose taste buds aren’t fried by the dark smoky leaf may get much more mileage from this concoction. I’m just not sure it is worth the hunt...

I often feel as though these smaller blends take on a status that is perhaps disproportionate from their relative merits, driven in part by their 'exotic' quality, and particularly because of the scarcity of their availability -- which thus makes them seem somehow more desireable.

Margate is certainly in that category for me. It's and English, period; a sort of "meat and potatoes" type blend.

Is it worth the hype? I don't personally think so. You'd be as well off to just focus on easier to get Englishes like Plum Pudding or GL Pease Westminster.