Esoterica Tobacciana Ramsgate

Jet black ribbon with traces of white - kind of a dusty grayish color, with a fairly heavy bag aroma of licorice. I was not expecting much of this. Quite honestly, Esoterica's line doesn't excite me much, with the notable exception of Stonehaven.

In the bowl this turned out to be better than I anticipated. The licorice smell became more of a moderate sweetener rather than actual licorice flavored. This stayed lit easily and burned well. I did find that smoking two bowls back to back was problematic and wore me out, which is common with flavored tobaccos. The sweetness was more plummy than sugary confection, dark but not heavy, mellow but not boring. The room note was very pleasant and inviting. I'd call this an aromatic but it's a long way from a gooper, as it smoked very dry without a trace of excess moisture. I'm sure I'll never buy this again and it'll probably take me a good long while to finish the 8 oz (review is based on 2) but it's a very decent smoke and will satisfy me when I'm in the mood. Recommended for those who like a sweet aromatic that doesn't require filters or multiple pipecleaners.

Well, Germain has yet to let me down and this Esoterica offering is no exception. I was given a pretty good sample of this from a friend and enjoyed it very much. It is kind of an oddball offering that is good for the changeup, but I think may get a little old if smoked too often.

The blend is very black as the description would lead one to assume. The licorice flavor, to my tastes, was kind of light. I also picked up a citrus taste, but am not sure whether this is from a topping or part of the natural sweetness of the Virginias. It was really quite pleasant. I received and smoked this in the winter, but imagine this would be a fantastic hot weather smoke.

So impressed with this was I that I immediately bought an 8 ounce bag while making one of my frequent calls annoying B&Ms while looking for Stonehaven, Penzance, Dorchester, Dunbar & Tilbury. At the rate the latter three have become nearly impossible to find, it is only a matter of time before this and a few others join them. I say stock up now.

This is a Virginia that has been stoved within an inch of its life. Think Dark Star. It looks a little similar and shares the quality of being damper than might appear and being tougher to keep lit than you might expect. The tin note is a heavy, sweet licorice. I smoked this fairly dry, and I crumbled it as best I could with my fingers.

This is interesting and good. There is a heavy full quality to the aromatic that is not cloying or overpowering. The stoved Virginias are sweet and slightly tart when puffed. The fruit taste had no citrus, and maybe the best flavot to describe it is a ripe plum. For my palate the licorice in the topping barely appears in the smoked flavor, but it is part of the heavy. sweet profile.

It burned clean and smoked well in a variety of pipes.

I enjoyed this, but I am not going to have my name put on a list to be notified when someone gets a few sacks.

Dark, heavily stoved, juicy broken flake. Fragrance of licorice???, I don't know about that. It is something sweet and tasty but I wouldn't call it licorice. I really don't know how to describe it, but it is pleasant. Definitely required the full three light method, but once it got started it was on for the duration. It provided a sweet, mild and pleasant smoke. No bite. For me it worked best in a smaller bowl, maybe a #3 or #4. I will finish the rest of the 4oz in my Peterson Dublin, 999, with a Savinelli 9mm balsa filter. That worked best for me. I will probably buy more.

Think of Ramsgate as an aproximation to the blending ways and style of Samuel Gawith and Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. If you are expecting an experience of licorice -in your face- this wouldnt be. This is pure straight virginia with delicate and sublimated undertones of licorice, rich soursweet grassy flavour and mid strength virginia body with a very subtle addition of the character of an aromatic.

It comes in beautiful stoven broken flake, a bit oily and demanding rubbing exercises, the smell is pungent and piquant while on pack. A bit of ferment and mildly vinnegar note circumvented by a little licorice note. In its first ignition presents a dense white smoke that comes to the palate as a very mild virginia, the licorice is very distant yet distinguishable, astringent smoke with a dry mild sweetness properly associated with pure virginias.

As it advances its character defines more the body of a robust and fermented virginia, aproximately to the league of "Lakelands" yet, never as floral, a lot less subtle in aroma but with all the strong body of a typical aged and stoved flake from that house, it is to notice its mid strength in the nicotine department and electric blue smoke. The virginias will denote its more characteristic grassy and soursweet qualities by the mid of the bowl and decreasing onwards when it will become more a mild virginia with a vague licorice aroma.

This is a very potent and exciting blend, it gets better by aging, softening its smokey and robust temper. Apt for a day of intellectual endeavours or a large lunting by the nature.

This is a really good aromatic. I find English made aromatics are quite different from American made blends. This has a natural licorice essence added to it,along with a very good natural tobacco taste.It is slightly sweet with no goop,gunk,or gurgle.It is slightly dry and quite pleasant on the palate.As a point of reference think Gawith tobaccos and you will get a pretty good idea of the flavor.3 of 4 stars.

I have two 8 ounce packages of Ramsgate that I have had since 2004 or so when Esoterica tobacco's were available everywhere. I just opened one of the packs last week and it was in great condition although I should have transferred the contents to a ball jar years ago. Stoved until it is jet black and cut very thin with a licorice aroma. Lighting was easy and required two relights down the bowl which was clean and needed just a quick dump of the ashes. I enjoyed Ramsgate and will finish the 8ozs but will not go out of my way to locate more. Those who enjoy stoved Virginia might appreciate the light topping which IMO enhances the smoke.

I have passed up on this Esoterica offering a few times as I am not normally an aromatic smoker. Having really enjoyed Bengal Slices and Fusiliers Ration, I realized that licorice can really enhance a smoke as opposed to killing it, so I gave this a try. I am glad I did. This is not an easy blend for me to review. The tin note is sweet and plummy, I don't get the faintest smell of licorice. I don't get the licorice flavor in the smoke either. It is certainly sweet and the stoving of the Virginia's has really smoothed and rounded out the tobacco flavors. That coupled with the casing creates a very unique smoking experience. The best way I can describe the flavor is of dark stewed fruit, with a mottled hay undertone. The casings provide a smooth sweetness but it isn't saccharine sweet, it is almost like the glaze on a doughnut. Retrohale provides some toasty notes and it has a pleasant after taste on the finish.

Not a go to blend for me but it is definitely enjoyable and a nice morning coffee smoke or dessert smoke in the evening.

Ramsgate is one of three similar blends (Blackpool, Kingsbridge). Mild, cool smoking, sweet, with a pleasant room note. Properly stored,these blends will age well, and I am anxious to experience the result.