Esoterica Tobacciana Penzance
(3.48)
A wonderful complex secret recipe of the finest Virginia, choice Turkish and Orientals and Cyprian latakia, all hand blended together, hard pressed and broad cut into thick flakes. Long matured and easily crumbled to facilitate pipe filling.
Details
| Brand | Esoterica Tobacciana |
| Blended By | J.F. Germain & Sons |
| Manufactured By | J.F. Germain & Son |
| Blend Type | Balkan |
| Contents | Latakia, Oriental/Turkish, Virginia |
| Flavoring | |
| Cut | Flake |
| Packaging | 50 grams tin, 8 ounce bag |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Production | Currently available |
Profile
Strength
Medium
Extremely Mild -> Overwhelming
Flavoring
None Detected
None Detected -> Extra Strong
Room Note
Tolerable
Unnoticeable -> Overwhelming
Taste
Medium to Full
Extremely Mild (Flat) -> Overwhelming
Average Rating
|
3.48 / 4
|
Reviews
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Displaying 21 - 30 of 42 Reviews
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Apr 09, 2008 | Medium | Extremely Mild | Medium | Tolerable |
I smoked this blend for the first time a little over a year ago and was extremely impressed. Everything from the presentation in the tin, aroma, burning quantity and flavor were top notch. I purchased a second tin and was equally impressed with this fine tobacco. Wanting to put it in my regular rotation I ordered 8 ounces and this is when the love affair started going down hill. The best description is that it tasted like it swam from England to the US under water. Salt was the only flavor present. If you?ve ever rinsed your mouth with salt water you know exactly how this bag tasted. Not to be discouraged a few months later I ordered another 8 ounce bag and while the salt water taste wasn?t present, it still wasn?t anything like the first two tins I thoroughly enjoyed. Sealing them in jars to let them age, drying them for different lengths of time, smoking in different pipes all proved to be futile.
Am I just unlucky to have ordered 2 bags from different tobacco shops and both being almost unsmokable ? possible. Has this blend become so popular that trying to keep up with the demand that quality control has suffered ? probable.
If I had written this review after the first or second tin my rating would have been 4 stars. Considering only 4 of the 20 ounces were enjoyable bringing the cost to 21.27 per ounce of smokable tobacco, 2 stars here is very generous. The hopes that these two bags were an anomaly keeps this one out of the 1 star group.
Am I just unlucky to have ordered 2 bags from different tobacco shops and both being almost unsmokable ? possible. Has this blend become so popular that trying to keep up with the demand that quality control has suffered ? probable.
If I had written this review after the first or second tin my rating would have been 4 stars. Considering only 4 of the 20 ounces were enjoyable bringing the cost to 21.27 per ounce of smokable tobacco, 2 stars here is very generous. The hopes that these two bags were an anomaly keeps this one out of the 1 star group.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 28, 2008 | Medium | Extra Strong | Mild to Medium | Tolerable |
2 stars., good topping, taste and aroma but too much gurgle etc.
Get some Frogmorton and you'll have everything there is here without the hassle.
As for now, I find Penzance too pricey and too high maintenance,,, but would like to revisit it if the artificial shortage and price gouging would stop,,, I mean Really Esoterica?? Is that the image you want your customers to have of you? Long term it's self defeating to do this shortage thing just to get some quick profits,,, open up your market a bit OK,,,,??? For your own financial well being.
Also, I must add that in reference to Penzance, G. F. Germain/Esoterica Tobaccos has demoted itself to irrelevance and insignificance by keeping a stranglehold on the the market for its products and not keep production level with demand.
Essentially, Esoterica blends are a fiction, they don't exist anymore, no one has any for sale and I suggest they remove them from their websites - they all say the same thing,,, "Out of Stock"..... 🙁
Customers (like me) feel gouged and abused for our loyal fandom. Thus I suggest all you lovers of Penzance, never buy it again. Buy Plum Pudding instead and send the message you are tired of being gouged and abused by Esoterica's lack of concern for its customers.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 12, 2007 | Mild | None Detected | Medium to Full | Extra Strong |
I like this tobacco ok. I find it a bit one dimentional, and wouldnt smoke it more than occasionaly. I find it hard to keep lit,and if you put the flame to it too often and long,youll get a sore tongue, and a bitter tobacco. I like the flavor, Im not sure its worth the labor. I know some love it. And some I believe smoke one bowl of these tobaccos, and rush to write a review. Take some of these stars its earned with a grain of salt.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Sep 03, 2006 | Mild | Extremely Mild | Mild to Medium | Pleasant to Tolerable |
Ok, so I guess I am one of the oddities. I tried Penzance on a recommendation looking for a fuller English than what I usually smoke. My first bowl had me puzzled, It was pretty much a non-entity for me. Decent tobacco flavor, the Latakia is noticable, however it doesn't really make a strong presence. A very very subtle sweetness of the Virginias way in the background. These come and go as you smoke down through the bowl. Nothing unpleasant except more of tendency to bite than I expected. Since the first bowl I have smoked 3 more times this same week, rotating through my "English" pipes. All pretty much the same as the first. This is a fine tobacco, certainly very refined and top quality. I really like the crumble cake cut. It just doesn't stand out near as much as I expected.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Aug 20, 2006 | Medium | None Detected | Medium | Tolerable |
I'm not sure about this one. I've heard great things about it, read rave reviews, and couldn't wait to try it. It was perfectly humidified, crumbled easily, packed well, and lit with no problems. The taste was a bit underpowering at first, but finally began to coax its way forth after about one fourth of the bowl.
I really wanted to like this blend, and tried really hard to do so. But it just didn't do it for me. The latakia was definitely present, but I couldn't quite discern anything else in the mixture. And it's not like the latakia was overpowering everything else. Just that I didn't find much enjoyable flavor to it. It wasn't bad, just not my kind of stuff. I like the orientals to come forth a little more in a blend like this; some spiciness to balance out the latakia.
I really wanted to like this blend, and tried really hard to do so. But it just didn't do it for me. The latakia was definitely present, but I couldn't quite discern anything else in the mixture. And it's not like the latakia was overpowering everything else. Just that I didn't find much enjoyable flavor to it. It wasn't bad, just not my kind of stuff. I like the orientals to come forth a little more in a blend like this; some spiciness to balance out the latakia.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Jul 14, 2003 | Medium | None Detected | Medium to Full | Strong |
A great tasting english (latakia, oriental, virginia) in an odd flake form, but due to its cut, it is difficult to pack, keep burning, and smoke the whole bowl through. Smoky virginia, rich, heavy in the room. Tastes like heaven at times, but sometimes due to the size of the crumble, it bites. Needs a master's hand to pack and puff just right. Try as I may, I can't get there often enough. Still a good tasting tobacco most of the time.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Aug 13, 2001 | Medium | None Detected | Medium to Full | Tolerable |
Decent stuff , but not memorable . A nice latakia blend with camp fire smells . Some acidic flavors towards the end of the bowl .
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Mar 23, 2023 | Mild | None Detected | Mild | Tolerable |
In few words, good perhaps very good but definitely overrated. For my taste too mild and quite unsatisfactory. I used to smoke it when it was almost available, I searched for it when it became unavailable. I am smoking now my last tin and…. Will not miss it. There are plenty of first class balkans UK US or EU and wouldn’t waste time for this. As per what it is please refer to other reviews, yes it is a Turkish Virginia Latakia crumble flake. Nothing else. Sorry no 4 stars from me.
Pipe Used:
Mainly small pipes
PurchasedFrom:
Was presented to me
Age When Smoked:
Any
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Oct 15, 2011 | Medium | None Detected | Medium | Tolerable |
I've been waiting for a LONG time to try this blend. Based on the reviews here, you'd think this was the holy grail of English blends.
This is nothing more than a one dimensional Latakia bomb. Anyone calling this complex or full bodied has defective taste buds or has never tasted a complex English (3 Oaks Syrian). This reminds me of Westminster in many ways. This is not a complex blend and changes very little from beginning to end. These Latakia bombs are really getting old. A big disappointment.
In response to Steelcowboy: Virginia is a very complex tobacco and can be smoked by itself. Have you ever tried smoking straight Latakia? One dimensional and not very good.
This is nothing more than a one dimensional Latakia bomb. Anyone calling this complex or full bodied has defective taste buds or has never tasted a complex English (3 Oaks Syrian). This reminds me of Westminster in many ways. This is not a complex blend and changes very little from beginning to end. These Latakia bombs are really getting old. A big disappointment.
In response to Steelcowboy: Virginia is a very complex tobacco and can be smoked by itself. Have you ever tried smoking straight Latakia? One dimensional and not very good.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Jul 22, 2009 | Medium | Extremely Mild | Medium to Full | Tolerable |
This review comes right after a hour or so respite from smoking, a visit to the dentist, and a pipeful of Penzance for the ride home. No doubt this a quality, well made, crumble cake (flake), however the latakia proportion of this mixture overwhelms any other tobacco presence to be discovered for most of the bowl. Again, this is not a regular for me, and I might have missed something that others have reported, but Penzance is an interesting smoke if nothing else, certainly not a classic in my 40 years experience of pipe smoking. All in all, it is worth a try, especially if you crave latakia.
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