Esoterica Tobacciana Pembroke

I bought this tin from my local tobacconist and was not sure what to expect. It said that it had a topping of cognac, and I thought: "why not?" I popped the tin open and was dazzled. It smelled superb with its blueberry scent wafting through my nostrils. This is Margate with some cognac help. Anyway, it has the same body and basic temperament as Margate, but that wonderful wild, blueberry taste is present. That is what must happen when one takes a white grape booze and laces it to Latakia. It's fabulous. Smoke this stuff until you have a permanent blue afro.

This is a very full-bodied blend. It has a very warm toasty-velvet sort of taste and aroma to match; the cognac is very well married and is the overall tone of the blend. Some other spicy oriental flavors come through as well. Very highly recommended.

A year or so ago a gentleman at the tobacco shop turned me on to a sample of this. I liked it pretty well at the time but didn't buy a tin at the time. Well I finally got around to buying some and forgot about it in the cabinet. Late this summer I found it and have been enjoying it very much. I do not know what cognac taste like but the Pembroke like others have mentioned is much like Margate only sweeter. Normally I am not a huge fan of sweet tobaccos but this one I like very much. It is not overpowering and you still have a fine tobacco taste unlike some which leave you thinking you just ate too much candy. I will keep some of this around for sure.

Pembroke in the can smells like a nice Merlot Wine. It has a terrificly strong smell which almost makes it seem un-smokable. Quite the contrary this tobacco is excellent. The smell from the can comes out in the room note. It smokes well indoors and out. However I most enjoy it in the evening just after sundown. I like to smoke this one while out for a walk given that passers by seem to approve of the smell.

I would keep some of this on hand most of the time. Either this or Margate or Tilbury. I am excited about trying Penzance since it is highly recommended. As for staying lit no problem here, it is a slow burning tobacco to take your time on. Rushing it seems to cause me hiccups and quite a bit of tongue bite. Smoking to fast tends to cause problems with pipe juice.

Slow and steady. My personal note rating was about 9.4 I can't say it is a perfect 10 but worth having around.

I have also done a video review of this tobacco. view it at

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or at

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just search esoterica tobacciana Pembroke

I like trying new things either to find something special or to reaffirm my existing favourites. It is very well balanced and fairly complex, I really enjoyed this one a lot. This has one of the best tin aromas that my schnoz has ever encountered.

I am a confirmed Latakia nut, and I do not care for aromatics all that much. That being said, this tobacco is very mild on the aromatic side, if at all and leans strongly towards the English, with the Latakia gently combusting in the background. Very good for folks who want to stroll along with Latakia for awhile without completely going off the deep end.

The sister blend Margate is no slouch either. In my opinion Pembroke is a tad deeper and more dynamic. If you really want to get the party going I would invite over Penzance. Peaceable puffing.

The description says this tobacco is cased with French cognoc. This may be true, however I don't recognise the casing as cognac (but more important is that I like it, whatever it may be). This stuff is great imo. Especially on a hot summer night, together with a sweet drink. But careful sipping is needed! (there is a tendency to burn hot).

I've been smoking this a long time and decided to enter this review. Yup, Esoterica has another great one for me! Yes, as the description says, Margate w/ Cognac. The Cognac adds a slight perfume/sweet taste and scent that is relaxing for me. I can easily drift off into pleasant thoughts with this one. It's great with a cup of coffee that's been brewed over a fire. Ribbon cut and packs, lights and smokes the same as Margate. That is, a dark and rich English blend. The moisture may be too much for some, and drying just a bit would improve burn. But, either way I dig it. Straight away it burns fine for me. I love smoking this sitting around a campfire. Great stuff when you want just an added bit of flavor and aroma to that great weed called Margate. Four stars.

This is a very interesting smoke in that it is the most mutable tobacco I've smoked. In the first third of a bowl, the cognac and Latakia team up to produce a powerful smoky, almost soapy taste. By the middle of the bowl the taste becomes much more rounded and the sweet taste of Virginias plays a much greater role. By the end of the bowl you'll swear you're smoking a Virginia blend in a pipe that's been used for smoking English blends. Now to me each of these flavor phases (with the exception of the soapiness) is very attractive. I love following the flavor changes as I smoke a bowl down. Highly recommended.

I frequently smoke this in a Sansieni 4-dot apple which I feel controls the right balance of aroma and strength. I find myself rotating this mixture with "And so to Bed", but I prefer this one a little more, probably because I will often drink a brandy while smoking.