Esoterica Tobacciana Penzance

After reading nothing but good things about Penzance I really wanted to try it. Not an easy blend to find but I was fortunate to locate some in bulk. I could smell this blend through the packaging. I wonder if the mail lady was picking this up while it was riding along with her. My first impression was that this stuff smells great! Reminded my of a woodsy smokehouse beef jerky kinda aroma with a hint of latakia hanging around. I looked at the clock and it was no where near 5:30, it would have to wait till I got home. Penzance requires little if any rubbing out. It does rub out very nicely though. I let it dry for about 20 minutes to let it "breathe" a bit. I loaded it up, got my Makers Mark Bourbon and I was good to go. The initial light and the first draw was freaking incredible! This was going to be good.... Two relights later, I settled into what was going to be one of if not the BEST bowls I ever enjoyed. I did'nt even touch the bourbon because I wanted a one on one with this fantastic blend. Incredibly smooth and flavorful from start to finish. Towards the end of the bowl I was picking up a sweetness almost as if I was tasting the briar along with with the tobacco. It was like they got married and was getting along extremely well. Remember when you were a kid and your mom gave you a pudding cup and your were enjoying that pudding cup but after you was finished you were kinda sad cause you had no more pudding and you wanted more? Thats the way I felt. I looked in my briar and all I saw was a fine ash. I smiled real big because I'm in control of the pudding now. Smooth, flavorful, pure bliss in one very hard to fine tobacco. I did finish my bourbon afterwards reflecting on the incredible bowl I just smoked and how lucky I was to find it. Definitely purchase some if you can find it.

Makin' my wife rich one bowl at a time.

So I scored a pound in April-2 eight oz bags, looked to be a year old or so when I recd them. Canned 1/2 under heat immediately, left one bag sealed. I am finishing first "tin-full" of that bag-10 months later. I've smoked several English and Lat prevalent blends, of which NightCap, Legends, Maltese Falcon rule, but this stuff can't be fit into a strict category.

To start with, this baccy crumbles with a grimacing look, no force needed. It crumbles perfectly though, I mean that, perfect every time.

It burns thoroughly, burns with little effort, is forgiving to relights and generates smooth buttery smoke, easy on the nose with retro-haling.

The lats and orientals stand out over any Virginias, and the taste profile has some flavoring I cannot-with the 10+ bowls I have consumed, attach a description except to say its slightly medicinal....? It's tasty, can become somewhat sweet for a puff or two, then return to profile just as quickly.

My only beef-minor though it may be, is that the taste coats the tongue and stays there for quite some time-to the point where it limits what other tobaccos can be properly enjoyed for hours after sampling Penzance.

It is fantastic, it's in a class by itself. I will be on the lookout for more this year, I bet it ages gracefully 🙂

There is reason why this is the 322nd review of this classic blend. I do not find it to be a “Latakia Bomb” as it has been described by a few. (In a world filled with so many Straight Virginia's how come they are never called “Virginia Bombs?”) There are many more dominate Latakia blends out there, think Ten Russians, a true heavy Latakia blend. Penzance is not a “beginners” blend either. While not my favorite Krumble Kake, there is a nice interplay between the Orientals and the Latakia. It arrives too moist to smoke out of the tin and I find it smokes best fully rubbed out and dried. Like many Krumble Kakes one has to be careful not to “over-rub” it or it can turn to dust when dried. I do agree with some other reviews that while this is a very good blend, it is IMHO not worth paying the internet auction price. Recommended.

one of the best pipe tobaccos I've ever tried. Room note and taste are unique and strong, but in a good way, though I'm not sure how this would fare with a significant other.

No artificial flavoring detected, but it definitely tastes like a full bodied, smokey grade A tobacco!

Opening my tin I definitely noticed the almost smokey.. beef jerky smell.. not in a bad, store-bought kind of way, but the kind of smokey goodness you'd find at your local farm, or out up in the mountains to the west.

Almost takes you back to simpler times.. and it is, so far, one of the most "tasty" tobaccos I've ever had, after smoking it, I don't feel like brushing my teeth, instead I want to savor how good it is!

Highly recommended!

Penzance should be the very best tobacco in the world, but it isn't. On taste alone, it has few peers. One of my favorite thrills is the first bowl of a freshly popped tin. The wax wrapper oozes more oil the my old Triumph (shift with the right foot, thank you), and the first taste makes me utter "Oh, momma!" I can't think of another English blend that has such a strong underpinning of delicious Virginias. It's incredibly smokey and lush, and completely unique in the world of pipe tobacco.

The troubles arise from the cut. The crumble cake format, though novel and, at first, nifty, proves problematic. I know of no other blend that seems to lose its essential oils as quickly as Penzance. Even in tin form, I'll take the first few bowls, and you can have the rest. Bulk is far worse. Werner Heisenberg could have offered Penzance as proof of his uncertainty principle- just LOOKING at this stuff makes it fall apart. The lightest of hands are required to handle it, lest it crumble into oblivion. The ensuing increase in surface area only serves to accelerate the decline.

Penzance is like a flower that must be appreciated before it withers and dies. But what a flower it is.

An absolute must try.

Smoked this wonderful Balkan on and off again for some years now but had a kind of prejudice in that we had two guys in our pipe club who never ceased gushing on and on how great a Balkan it was. These two also only smoked Bangs and Jess pipes..... This is a VERY well done tobacco to be sure, but I don’t get all the hype (and HIGH price) this one gets. There are many other Balkans of this caliber that come to mind, Durbar and Bill Bailey‘s as an example. A great smoke to be sure, but dents the credit card pretty hard........

As of this writing, there are 448 reviews with an average of 3.5 for Penzance. Do you really need another review?

This is the Mona Lisa of English blends. If all Esoterica did was make this, it would be enough. Penzance is proof God loves pipe smokers.

Smooth, mellow-sweet and smokey Latakia rounded by age. A prominent oriental character without the rough spots. Virginia undertones to balance it out. An elegant flake presentation. This is a great tobacco, worthy of praise. I’ve been a pipe smoker for over a decade, and I finally had a pipeful of this celebrated blend. Unfortunately, I had to rely on the kindness of a fellow briar brother for the experience. It’s a great smoke, but there are a lot of English blends out there that are great smokes. Pease has some amazing stuff, Dunhill (Peterson), the folks from the Lakeland region, C&D, PS...lots of great English and Balkan blends on the market. I really enjoyed this, but finally getting to try it brought me back to reality. Buy the blends you enjoy now, because they may not be around tomorrow. Don’t spend so much time and money seeking the stuff you can’t find... The golden age of our hobby is probably over. Our enjoyment has been vilified. Gather what you can, don’t spend time and money on a holy grail that can’t fill your cellar. I have nothing bad to say about this tobacco. It’s a great one. I wouldn’t spend above market price for it though. I will no longer spend so much of time trying to get my hands on it either. It’s amazing, but there are too many blends I can horde without so much effort. 4 stars, because it’s great, but my time is better spent on the things I can enjoy without so much effort.

This tobacco is good. It's smoky with the Latakia being present, but not overwhelming. It's strong for my tastebuds, but I do enjoy it. Like others have said, the tobacco itself is superb quality and is in a crumble flake that easily fills your pipe.

The one thing you will find is that it's difficult to find. I've stocked up on a bunch to cellar or sell/trade at a later date, but will most likely keep it. Buy some if you can find it.