Esoterica Tobacciana Pembroke

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

http://www.myspace.com/elemental_pipes

or at

http://www.youtube.com

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).

It has to be a little dried so that you can smoke it pleasantly and to improve its flavors. This is also due to aging. A thin gold, brown and black ribbon. Aroma: fruity flavor of prunes and autumn fruit, French cognac and honey compose a very good tobacco, which in my opinion is very heavy. After the necessary drying it burns leaving a white ash without muddying at all. Very soft and fine taste. The more experienced say I should have smoked Margate first.

General observation: I was disappointed because I expected it to be much better.

This is the first tobacco I have reviewed on this site that I had to give a one star rating. Keep in mind I have not tried Margate yet.

It smells foul in the tin - a sour smell that does NOT remind me of cognac at all (a spirit which I like BTW). The taste is equally gross - think sour latakia. I would rather spend my money on a pack of premium cigarettes (like Nat Shermans) than Pembroke. Heck, there are drugstore aromatics that I think taste better than this blend. Now I know why this was "on sale" at the B&M tobacconists I purchased it at - YUCK!

An interesting blend, Pembroke marries a great English blend with cognac; the result is surprisingly quite impressive. Allowed to dry (as Pembroke is simply too moist straight from the tin for my tastes), the latakia is barely noticeable yet is nevertheless complemented by the slight tang of the cognac.

Margate is a better blend overall (and Penzance is my favourite of Esoterica's offerings), but there are times that seem to call for Pembroke.

If you a smoker of non-aromatic English blends, you most likely won't like this. If you are an aromatic smoker, you still may not like this! It's somewhere in the middle and definately an acquired taste. I have tried it new from a tin and purchased some in bulk - cellared and aged nicely. It mellows nicely with 5+ years of age and I prefer it this way.

It was a little moist in the tin and needed some drying out. I found this blend to be tempermental, it smoked differently in different pipes and can certainly bite. Be careful not to smoke it too moist. I use a high intensity light for a few minutes to dry out wet blends and flakes.

I thouroughly enjoy the cognac and although it's strong, not too strong on the nicotine ~ no jitters. For me it's comparable to Stonehaven in the nicotine strength, yet stronger than most aromatics I normally smoke.

This is another fine blend from Esoterica, one I enjoy occasionally. Pembroke is a pleasant English style (aromatic) blend, as others have stated this is Margate with Cognac; same cut same mixture. The Cognac is not overpowering but only adds some extra sweetness, depth of flavor and a room note which my wife finds pleasant. A worthy smoke: 8 stars out of 10.

Pembroke, along with Margate are 2 tobaccos that I have in both bulk and tinned as they`re both in my rotation for early evening smokes though, can be puffed all day if one chooses. This works well for me when dry and does DGT very well! It is 1 tobak that can take you above the clouds as the cognac-taste will settle down once in cruise. Always an extremely dry smoke and provides a nice ride for the trip! Grey ash at the bottom lets you know your journey has ended much too quickly! This tobacco will always be in my hanger!