Esoterica Tobacciana Ramsgate

I have been meaning to review Ramsgate for some time now. It was quite unique yet seems similar to some of the other Esoterica offerings that are similar in added flavoring and stoving (Blackpool comes immediately to mind.)

I smoked a nice sized sample sent by a friend over the course of a week and enjoyed it mostly in the evenings when a lighter, sweet smoke was in order. It is quite nicely stoved and certainly Licorice like in taste.

For some reason, this tobacco does not stay lit well and produces a whale of a lot of smoke. But, if semi-sweet Virginia leaf that is heavily stoved meets your requirements, then Ramsgate may be your ticket to paradise.

I've smoked this for a number of years and seem to be appreciating it more and more. Perhaps the perfect tobacco flavor...a deft balance of molasses, raisin, fig and mild licorice. In addition, the tobacco flavor is allowed to shine through. Easy to work, easy to pack & light, burns well and clean with no bite or harshness. Very, very high quality. This is a UK scented flavor bomb gift to smokers everywhere. And if you try some of this right next to Stonehaven, you'll notice a very close flavor similarity. Interesting, that.

I've smoked many of the tobaccos by Esoterica for quite some time now and Ramsgate remains one of my favorites along w/Kingsbridge. For what it's worth, I gave it the highest recommendation mark because I've noticed that I seem to be coming back to the Eso's more and more often, and to Ramsgate in particular. The many pro's such as cleanness of burning, the quality tobaccos used and the tastes and aromas most assuredly outweigh any con's there may be. The mostly black tobacco rubs out easily, although I see no need to rub it out too much more, and packs well enough in any size bowl. Even "chimneys" would work well as long as you don't get too heavy fingered, but I find the smoke can get somewhat "stout" (but not overly unpleasant) nearing the last part of the bowl. I enjoy the lightly sour taste mixing w/ the mildly sweet, raisiny sort of taste that lingers through most of the bowl becoming less noticeable after the 2/3's down mark where a rich, dark smoky flavor seems to take over. Virtually no bite at any time, and just a slight gurgle near 1/2way point which was eliminated w/a quick swab of a cleaner. There were a few extra re-lights near the end, but since I wasn't in a pipe-smoking contest, who cares? The tobacco burned down to a pure, fluffy white ash w/maybe a tiny bit of dottle. When it comes to lightly flavored VA's this is one blend well worth trying, and any flavoring there is in no way masks the tangy taste of the quality VA tobaccos in this blend, so if you like hot-pressed, well matured, "savory, slow-burning, non-biting VA tobaccos", you may enjoy this.

I have no frame of reference by which to judge this blend; this style of preparation is entirely new to me: Well-cased but not at all syrupy, stoved to hell and back, musty and dark, Ramsgate has a phenomenal flavor with a tempered sweetness somewhat like anise, but by no means is it full-on licorice intensity. More like a sweet, leathery flavor with slightly fruit-like notes here and there.

A very fine cut helps keep moisture in balance and bowls evenly packed. Moisture level was a bit high out of the bag, but not unreasonably so, and dries quickly enough left out or under a lamp.

Everything about this blend is exceptional, but the tin note is really something else---an addictive, leathery-heathery sweetness like a Speyside Scotch.

Great blend, a true aromatic that is made with quality leaf. This is a very sweet blend, I actually tasted juicy fruit off all things during my first bowl. While flavored with licorice it doesn’t taste this way, the licorice flavoring gives a very unique taste that must be tried to truly understand. The blend moisture was perfect out of the bag but this blend rested for a couple of years before I finally gave in. I did allow it to dry for about 20 minutes.

Although very similar to Blackpool I actually prefer Ramsgate, both have the same flavoring however Ramsgate just hit the spot for me. Definitely not an all day smoke, more of a dessert or after dinner blend. Although it’s an aromatic it is in no way goopy and leaves little moisture in the bottom of the bowl, it did require a few re-lights. Awesome flavor and room note here, if you can find this blend I would definitely suggest jumping on it especially if you like sweet blends. In the year since it has been jarred it has aged very well accumulating tons of plume on the jet black leaves.