Esoterica Tobacciana Pembroke

Pembroke is supposed to be Margate with a cognac casing. Margate is in my rotation, so I gave this a try. There are few English tobaccos available with a liquor casing, Pease's Mephisto is the only other that comes to mind.

Pembroke comes almost wet, far too damp to smoke well. The aroma is dominated by the casing. After letting it dry out some, I gave it a try. My impressions are that this is a very good tobacco, but that the cognac is just too much. I have had good success by mixing this down about 50% with some other English mixtures I had open. I did not have an open tin of Margate to mix this with, but I'll bet that mixed 50/50 or even less with Margate, that this would be a very good change of pace.

Pembroke is one of the more unusual smokes I've tried. I smoked my first bowl right from the tin "as is". It was hard to light and resulted in a fairly bad gurgle. Using the advice of previous reviewers, I fluffed the blend and left off the lid for a few days. The result was near perfect. The tobacco lit quite well and burned to completion with no relights or gurgle. The first half of the bowl has light smoke with a strong cognac flavor. I pick up on a certain musty flavor as well. The tobacco really comes into its own in the second half. The smoke volume increases. The full tobacco flavor starts to stand out. The blends finish is fairly strong. This blend is different, not the same song different verse. I plan to keep a tin around for something different. May try Margate (uncased version) in the future. UPDATE: I have downgraded my original opinion of this smoke to make room for a much better version by GL Pease. If you like this smoke, you'll love Barbary Coast.

It's a good smoke , but in my mind the congnac only detracts from an already stellar tobacco . I'd rather buy Margate , just MHO.

Like other Esoterica blends I have tried, it's tough to get this blend just dry enough to smoke well without ruining the flavor. Sometimes it smokes well with a good taste, other times it smokes hot with a thin flavor. It always smokes on the sweet side, always has a good room aroma, and always smokes clean to a fine black ash. With the world full of outstanding tobacco blends, I got tired of messing with this one, and didn't restock my supply once it ran out.

Pembroke is one of my favorite tobaccos when I am in the mood for an English, but with a twist. This is margate topped with Cognac (please see review for Margate). The main difference is that the cognac adds substantially to the aroma (both tina nd room) and the nuance it adds to the flavor while smoking is rather interesting. It doesn't dominate the blend, rather enhances the already wonderful interaction between the Virginias and latakia (primarily). Pembroke seems to be a bit moist out of the tin,so I recommend letting it air dry slightly before packing. This will help it smoke better. It burns cool, but can smoke wet. Slow puffing, as always, is recommended. A wonderful smoking experience.

This is probably the one that will have Esoterica fans at the door with pitchforks and torches, but I simply don't

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like the burn of this blend. Its flavor is very nice, but it wants to burn hot and wet for me, and despite various different levels of

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humidification and the smoothest smoking techniques I can muddle forth, it remains a tongue-blistering experience. It's on the sweet side,

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presumably from the rum(?) flavoring added, and perhaps this is the cause of my smoking problems. I smoke it every so often for a change

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of pace, but don't plan on replacing it once my current supply runs out.

A different mixture. The cognac topping remains practically throughout the entire smoke, although at the end of the pipe, as is usual in this type of mixture, it softens. One thing that surprised me was the earthiness, not of the flavor, but of the texture of the smoke as it entered your mouth. Despite there being many tobaccos on the market with the addition of some type of distillate, I would say that Pembroke is compatible with any of them, since its coverage, and therefore its flavor, is different from anything I have tried.

I enjoyed the Margate version of this tobacco and read some reviews for this one before buying. My expectations were high. When I opened the tin, I found plume on some of the components. This was new to me, but I was told that it is a good thing, so I smoked some and tinned the rest.

Overall, the tobacco is moist and needs to dry. Depending on the pipe I use, I get a lot of condensation and have to run a pipe cleaner through it several times during a big bowl. Drying more helps, but doesn't alleviate it fully. The shag cut may be part of why.

The smoke is very smooth. It's hard to get tongue bite. I like how smooth it is.

Flavor-wise, the Balkan flavor is muted when compared to Margate. This is a very easy smoke without too much flavor. It's an easy smoke for the hammock on a summer day, but not one I would go to for an evening pipe when wanting flavor.

Overall, I like this but probably won't buy it again - leaving time for trying new tobaccos.

This blend is absolutely delightful. I’ve been hitting the English blends hard so I thought I’d revisit Pembroke. It has a slight brine that is immediately contracted with the sweet cognac topping. Latakia has a lead role but it’s the brine-y/sweet notes that really make this unique and delicious. I will be buying a full bag next chance I get.