Esoterica Tobacciana Penzance

I finally got a couple tins of Esoterica Penzance - one over-priced from an online tobacco scalper and one fairly-priced from an ebay pipe smoker. Two days after I ordered these tins, Cupojoes had 8 ounce bags for about $30, but they were gone the next day.

I'm not sure of the production date. The tobacco seemed wet but had tiny (salt?) crystals that may have taken awhile to form. It took three lights but then it burned perfectly to the bottom of the bowl.

People at the outdoor cafe where I smoked probably have never seen anyone as into their pipe as I was for my first bowl of Penzance, or my second bowl 20 minutes later. It's good. If you don't love Virginia and Latakia, then don't try it - leave it for me. I have probably only smoked one other tobacco which is better, and it's a close race. But I'll never review that one.

Update: I read some other reviews of Penzance online. It seems the crystals on the tobacco were probably sugar. Some of the reviews mention flakes--my tin did not have any flakes to speak of--it's appearance was that of rich garden soil, as someone here mentioned previously. Although I rated this 4 stars, I do not mean to suggest it is exquisite leaf. Rather, it is a solid tobacco that should be an everyday smoke for those who love it. The manufacturer should double the wholesale price to let the blend go to those who appreciate it, and to prevent over-hoarding and scalping.

Update 2: I'm over Penzance. It's too rich, while still remaining middle-of-the-road. It lacks something for me--maybe not enough Oriental? I've realized I like good clean English blends rather than dark, compressed, soil-y tobaccos. Less processed seems to equal more pure. Maybe it's the warmer temperatures? It's springtime now. Downgrading to 3.

Sampled from a 2008 vintage tin. The aroma is of a smoky Latakia presence combined with Oriental essence. I did not detect any flavoring from the sniff. I don't know but the majority of reviewers say it contains an extremely mild flavoring...I'll just go along with the majority on that one. The flakes are packed upright & sideways & occupy the full length of the tin. They are tender flakes that crumble more than seperate but the end result provides easy packing and a fantastic burn rate.

The main differences I found between this and quality English/ Balkan mixtures is: Penzance isn't as sweet or as flavorful & doesn't pack much of a Vitamin punch. However, I can see why so many pipesters are attracted to this particular blend...because most pipesters seem to prefer the milder blends. It smokes cool & mild without any harshness or bite. Very comfortable on the palate but is almost like stoking your pipe with plain air. It seemed to have lost its flavor & became rather bland after about 1/3 of the bowl is smoked down. To my way of thinking, it's like drinking decaffeinated coffee. What's the use? Since I don't inhale, I prefer a stronger blend & Penzance was a little too wimpy to suit me.

Lately, I've been sampling Latakia and Orientals, or a combination of such. I found Penzance to be a pretty good pipe tobacco that is probably one of the best in this genre since it is one of the most reviewed blends on this site. However, I prefer a blend of this genre that provides more flavor & strength....not one that offers a bland taste & a Latakia dominance. I doubt I'll be trying this one again... from a fresh or aged tin! IMHO, Penzance is very much overrated. Mississippi Mud is similar, stronger & tasted so much better to me right from a new tin. Therefore, IMHO, Penzance merits only three stars.

I opened a tin that has been stored for about 6 months. I had just finished a tin of SG Bracken Flake and thought I would try the Penzance. Great scent upon opening - my tin was fairly damp so I let some flakes dry for about 10 minutes before loading.

I expected this to be difficult to crumble and/or load based on my experience with Bracken Flake. I was really suprised - it almost crumbles by itself! I decided to go really loose with the bottom of the bowl and then to roll a flake up for the top. It crumbles so easily I could not roll a flake.

I went really slow during the lite up stage and this seemed to work to get the top of the tobacco evenly lit. Slight tamping and quick relite and it was off to the races!

Good rich smoke and burned well. Changed complexity as went though the stages of the bowl - but all were pleasant to me. Burned to a nice fine ash and was very enjoyable. This tobacco is maybe a little milder than Bracken Flake and much milder that Petersons Irish Flake.

A great tobacco!

Helloure It is pssible to purchase this tabacco directly by the Company : JF Germains and sons... I am not shure... Is the tabacco in the Tin diffent than the big bulk?? Up to know I am not compleately convinces by this tabacco. I love the Special Latkia though

First, this isn't a review but a response. Daisym, you can buy the 8 oz. bags online at www.iwanries.com. I just ordered some today.

My brothers nieghbor dropped me off this as I had given him tobacco to try in the past. This is my first english blend so I dont have much to go on. I smoke Boswell blends almost exclusivly so this was very different than what im used to.

I opened up the tin and took a smell and thought "hell no" there is no way im filling a pipe with this but this morning I tried it. I used one flake which gave me almost half a bowl. I can say it wasnt as bad as it smelled, a different flavor than what im used to maybe alittle soapiness but it wasnt an unpleasent experiance. It needed a relight but left the pipe dry. Despite the liking of something different I think im gonna give this back to him, however this makes me want to try the Boswell mild english blend if anything just for something different.

First off I must say that this is NOT a social tobacco. I have smoked some English blends around my wife and this one drove her out of the room. It is a very strong English in my estimation, but pleasant. I liked it. It was somewhat difficult to stay lit but maintained it's flavor to the bottom of the bowl. Produced a nice ash...very good, but definitely not for everyone.

On a side note. The tin is very small and since it is a broken flake tobacco, if you are using a bigger sized pipe, you will need several flakes to fill the bowl. One flake for me barely filled half in my Philip Trypis Freehand pipe, and it is medium size.

I must first apologize for this review in advance. I am a new pipe smoker ? I was given a beautiful Cavicchi pipe from my wife for Christmas and this is one of the first tobaccos I have purchased for use. I bought the tobacco based on the reviews on this website. I figured I would look for a mild tobacco with numerous ratings that were good in the mild to medium category. It is as described by the previous reviews. I am in the wine business by trade and feel comfortable with my palate. I noticed aromas of steak sauce when I opened the tin. Needless to say I have never even seen pipe tobacco that was packaged as such, like bacon! It has a very fragrant burn and, fellow Catholics, reminded me of incense from a funeral? This was not a bad experience by any means. Well rounded, great burn, flavorful? But I think I am still in my ?wine cooler? stage of smoking. I think I need to try more of the fruit flavored (cherry?) tobaccos before continuing down this path. I would recommend this to a more advanced smoker. I believe I would appreciate this more had I smoked for a longer period of time.

I tried this again and felt that it needed a new review.

My first impressions of Penzance were less than favorable and although it didn't meet my initial expectations, there was something about it that kept bringing me back. The crumble cake flake is a very nice texture and humidity. Packs perfectly and burns cool. I don't know if this is a complex smoke, however it is full and satisfying. I prefer this over Odyssey, but Old Ironsides was better than both.