Esoterica Tobacciana Stonehaven

(3.55)
A marriage of air-cured leaf and Burley with selected dark Virginia. Hard pressed and aged to produce brown flakes with dark undertones. A traditional English flake favored by experienced pipe smokers.

Details

Brand Esoterica Tobacciana
Blended By J.F. Germain & Son
Manufactured By J.F. Germain & Son
Blend Type Virginia/Burley
Contents Burley, Virginia
Flavoring Other / Misc
Cut Flake
Packaging 2 ounce tin, 8 ounce bag
Country United Kingdom
Production Currently available

Profile

Strength
Medium to Strong
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Extremely Mild -> Overwhelming
Flavoring
None Detected
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
None Detected -> Extra Strong
Room Note
Pleasant to Tolerable
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Unnoticeable -> Overwhelming
Taste
Medium to Full
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Extremely Mild (Flat) -> Overwhelming

Average Rating

3.55 / 4
149

46

15

7

Reviews

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Displaying 21 - 30 of 217 Reviews
Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Aug 03, 2020 Mild to Medium Mild Medium Pleasant
For my third review, my favorite VaBur! As with FVF, this is already a well-documented classic and nothing more needs to be said, yet here I am. Again, similarly to FVF, this needs to be dried out thoroughly if the smoker wishes to glean all they can from this blend. As with most flakes, the moisture hides those flavors - or at least the depth of those flavors. This is a treacle/molasses topped burley/virginia blend with a depth most tobaccos can only dream about. I smoke this in small bowls because the flavors are so huge that they wear me out if I smoke too much at once. Even so, I've smoked 3 bowls of this during the same 24-hour period several times. I was fortunate enough to stock my cellar deeply when this blend was as common as dirt, although I'm always on the hunt for more.

Somewhat burley-forward, but the virginia plays an important role to help naturally sweeten the burleys heavy tobacco taste. The topping is, of course, the ne plus ultra of this blend. One would think that drying out Stonehaven would cause that topping to recede and it does in a way, but drying somehow balances the blend more fully. Again, dry it out thoroughly if you want to experience this blend at its best. It appears that the more knowledgeable among you are already fully aware of this, so once again I must state that I expected nothing I write is news. This is so highly recommended that it's a no brainer; buy as much as you can find, smoke it, or trade it. It's trade value is like money in the bank!
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Dec 27, 2018 Medium Mild Medium Tolerable
Stonehaven.

The lore. The legend. The hype.

How to review?

I’m relatively new to the world of pipe tobacco – only 5 years now – so, in no way do I profess to be a master of the craft; nor do I have the more sophisticated, discriminating palate of those more seasoned, practiced and knowledgeable connoisseurs of tobacco who have been at this pursuit much longer than I (in some cases, for many decades). I almost feel unqualified (unworthy) of even reviewing such a revered tobacco as Stonehaven, almost mythical in reputation and notoriety. With that being said, I am writing this review for the newest of the new pipe smokers in mind (basically, where I was at 5 years ago). This review is in no way meant to patronize or condescend to the more experienced brothers of the briar out there.

I have a little less than two pounds of Stonehaven cellared. One pound was produced in 2012 (purchased on ebay in August of 2015) that has been resting quietly in a very dark place these past 3+ years. The other pound was purchased from my local tobacconist (at retail cost) in May of 2018.

Appearance: Truly magnificent looking, dark brown flakes, 5-inches in length and 1-inch wide. (I riddle, or turn the mason jars once every 3 months or so, and as a result, the 2012 flakes have uniformly split down the middle, becoming 5-inches long by ½-inch wide). The flakes are quite moist (even after 3 years in a mason jar, the 2012 flakes still feel cool and quite damp to the touch). The 2018 flakes still look new and fresh, while the 2012 flakes look slightly more ripened, presenting some (barely perceptible) tiny blotches of white, which bear some resemblance to what a cigar enthusiast would call “must” on the wrapper of a well-aged cigar. (I hate to add to the already overly-hyped, but one final note on appearance: If you have never opened a pouch of Stonehaven before, I would suggest queuing Dmitry Shostakovich’s Waltz No. 2 as fitting background music for such an unveiling – the flakes are, in actual fact, that pleasing to behold).

Pouch note/aroma/bouquet: Dark fruit, fig, raisins; dark cacao chocolate. The 2012 Stonehaven has a more appealing/tempting/pleasing aroma in the jar than does the newer 2018 batch (but both smelling fantastic).

I’ve sampled a few grams of the 2012 Stonehaven over the past couple of years (at Christmas time, mostly). I also smoked a bowl of the 2018 batch just after purchasing. In each of those instances, I don’t think I gave the tobacco enough time to properly dry before smoking.

The following review is for the 2012 batch of Stonehaven. I sampled 3 different bowls, with varying degrees of drying time (one for breakfast, one for lunch and one for dinner).

At midnight I took one flake (which is really ½-a-flake, 5” x ½”) and laid it out on a leather tobacco mat overnight (on purpose). I didn’t get back to it until 8 hours later. The flake was completely dry (almost as if it had been baked in an oven). No moisture could be detected at all. There was no pliancy or spring to the tobacco. Thinking for sure that I had just wasted a strip of perfectly good Stonehaven, I carefully (gingerly) broke it up, being careful not to turn the brittle, little shards of tobacco into dust. I delicately packed it into a Dunhill (Chestnut, Group 3 size) and lit up. I was expecting a structure fire inside my Dunhill, but the tobacco behaved flawlessly for something so utterly parched. Yes – Stonehaven is a Virginia-Burley blend (and I’m guessing there is more Burley than there is Virginia) – but methinks the Burley in Stonehaven is not your run-of-the-mill Burley. (This is top-quality leaf -- and I don't like to compare tobaccos -- Irish Flake and Old Dark Fired are both great tobaccos in their own right, but neither IF or ODF are Stonehaven, and the same is true in reverse). Despite the tobacco having suffered the brutalization of such a tortuous desiccation, Stonehaven tasted great and performed flawlessly, burning cool and even (no relights), leaving only fine ash and no dottle (and obviously, no moisture) at the bottom of the bowl.

Stonehaven is a full-flavored tobacco, but I find it to be medium in strength (I like my VaBurs strong). The predominant flavor (from this ultra-dry bowl) was earth; earthy, wood, nutty, some malt (couldn’t detect much chocolate or sweetness, though the Virginias did come through). This driest of dry version of Stonehaven confirmed my earlier suspicions that I had not given the stuff enough time to dry, as this bone-dry version was far superior to what I can only call “the wet stuff” I tried to smoke on previous occasions.

Lunchtime: 1 whole flake (two of the 5” x ½” flakes). Drying time, 3.5 hours.

I didn’t intend to dry this for so long – I was planning to dry it for 2 hours, and then keep a close eye on it – but an unexpected, emergency trip to the store wrecked my plans. I wanted some moisture left, enough to fold-and-stuff the tobacco, but after 3.5 hours, it was no longer “foldable”. I lightly rubbed it out, and packed it into a Peterson 03 spigot. Again, the tobacco performed flawlessly, smoking cool and even the whole way, from beginning to end (no relights). The smoke was a little heavier/creamier than the extra-dry version was. The flavor was still earthy, more nutty/malty than woody this time, and sweeter than the ultra-dry version, with some of the dark fruit and chocolate coming through, but just barely (the latter flavors being largely MIA in the ultra-dry version).

Dinnertime: 1.5 flakes (three of the 5” x ½” flakes). Drying time, 75 minutes.

This could have/should have dried for another 30 minutes. I was able to fold-and-stuff this into my Jeppesen Ida smooth bent Dublin (basically, a big hunk of briar, with a chamber large enough to accommodate 1.5 flakes of Stonehaven). This third trial – the one with the least amount of dry time – was the one that tasted most like the tin (pouch/jar) note of the tobacco itself. The Burley still dominated, but the Virginias came out more, and I detected more (fermented) dark fruit and some fig this time, along with some molasses that I did not detect in the previous two trials. (I must admit, my palate is not experienced/sophisticated enough to pick out what flavors the treacle topping contributed to or was responsible for – I’m guessing it accounts for at least some or perhaps all of the molasses taste; I was hoping the sweetness was coming from the Virginias as opposed to the topping – and for this I will take a wild stab and rate “mild” for the flavoring). Burned cool and even, but it did leave some moisture – and hence, some dottle – at the bottom of the bowl that I didn’t encounter in the breakfast or lunch bowls. (3 successful relights; a 4th relight wasn't going to work -- too much moisture).

Stonehaven is certainly worthy of four stars. Is it my favorite tobacco? No. Is it my favorite tobacco blend? No. Is it worth the outrageous prices being charged on ebay? As I’ve said before (as with Penzance, for example) that is a normative, value-laden choice that is most easily decided by one's personal tastes, preferences, and the amount of disposable income one has at one’s disposal. But Stonehaven is definitely worth a try, and – for me, personally – worth cellaring some as well.

PurchasedFrom: ebay (embarrassed to say)
Age When Smoked: 6 years (2012)
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
May 05, 2013 Mild Mild to Medium Mild Tolerable
I second, rather heartily, the very spot on review of Vytis. It is high quality leaf, about that there cannot be any doubt, but the magic is just not there. I bought a pound of this and smoked probably 5 ounces, in pipes of many styles, shapes and material (briar, meer,cob and cherrywood) before coming to the conclusion that the blend just was not worth the hype. It was rather like smoking hot air regardless of how I went at it. Even when sipped slowly, it failed to release any flavor. Luckily, I purchased it at retail thus saving the aforementioned second mortgage. I ended up trading the rest for an equal amount of Samuel Gawith's "1792 Flake"-- Wise decision. If you are gifted some or find it at retail, do give it a try but do not expect pipe smoking Nirvana. The two best in the Esoterica line are Dunbar and Margate. I would look there first.

As a side note, while my sample did not have the age on it that the previous reviewer's had, I did hang on to this for about two years and kept it sealed in two bell jars. I would visit it from time to time, hoping that age would be kind to it. Alas, it was not to be....

(Up next... Penzance and that's not looking too good either!)
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jan 18, 2005 Strong None Detected Extra Full Strong
Woof! and Again! The VA/B answer to 85% latakia balkans. I was intrigued by the above reviews and, being of virginia mind and burley body, gave this a whirl. It whirled me instead. All the previous reviewers nailed it collectively. Really: a sensory blitz that saturates the palate. Monochromatic it definitely isn't nor is it delicate. Plan on 2 hours for an average bowl during which you'll find every taste above plus a dozen more that don't have words. I can only add a couple I didn't see: maduro and red cameroon. I'd recommend this to smokers of the richest cigars. They may never go back.

Unlike other high nicotine blends, this doesn't numb or bite my tongue. It may not please bystanders. To hell with them: they wouldn't understand.

Definitely not an all-day smoke. One bowl is enough for a long while. My half pound will last me until there is world peace. In case of another eggs-in-one-basket warehouse fire or nuclear holocaust, I may lay in another half pound.

My highest recommendations. In a class by itself.

Update: one of the reasons I like this so much is due to its cigar character. A downside is that it craps up a pipe, especially if you leave ash or especially dottle in it. I now have two pipes dedicated to this as a result. Another aspect: as with cigars, I despise relights. No DGT for me with this. No complaining, just a heads up. Still love it. Ex-cigar smokers: manna here.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Feb 01, 2020 Mild to Medium Mild Mild to Medium Unnoticeable
The other day I was looking through reviews and realized I had bought some of this years ago. I dug through my two foot lockers and finally found it. I had bought 3 ozs of this around 2013 at a tobacco store I have frequented. Probably not recommended but I had left this in the small zip lock and jarred it. I opened it up and was greeted with a very pleasant smell which I have no clue as it what it is. I took out a black beef jerky looking strip and I swear on a stack of bibles it still felt somewhat moist. I rolled it up like you might do chewing gum, stuffed it in my pipe and pinched off the top. This is one delightful smooth tasting blend with just a faint taste of cocoa. I smoked three bowls and since this is as rare as gold and just about expensive, I decided to revisit this in about another 7 years, 😊. With over 200 reviews what more can I add except if you can get a hold of some of this at an affordable price, grab it and if you do not like it believe me there are plenty of takers out there that will take it off your hands.
Pipe Used: Preben Holm Caprice Tan 33
Age When Smoked: 7 years
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Nov 20, 2015 Medium Medium to Strong Full Very Pleasant
With any legendary, generally well regarded... Well anything, there will always and forever be those who will claim to dislike it based strictly on principal, although never would they admit it to be so. They wil act as though it is somehow beneath them, not wishing to be seen be seen as fanboys or girls. Sure, some will genuinely either dislike or think average, but there are a great many "haters". This is a hall of fame, top of its game tobacco. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. Get if/when you can. $100 a bag is steep to be sure, but try scoring world class anything for less.
Pipe Used: Dunhill Diplomat #5
PurchasedFrom: Pipestud
Age When Smoked: 5yrs
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Sep 24, 2014 Strong Medium Full Pleasant
Blend Name: Esoterica Tobacciana Stonehaven

Description on Tin: "A marriage of air-cured leaf and Burley with selected dark Virginia. Hard pressed and aged to produce brown flakes with dark undertones. A traditional English flake favored by experienced pipe smokers."

Leaf: Virginia, Burley

Tin Aroma: Fresh baked cookies

Taste: Good virginia flavor with burleys there, and molasses in the background

Smokability: I rubbed this out. It does take a few relights at times. Burns to a white ash. Can smoke all the way to the bottom of the bowl with no change in flavor

Room Note: Pleasant

Thoughts: This tobacco is one of the few that I think live up to the hype. It is very delightful to smoke

Recommend to: People that prefer a darker virginia or kentucky flavor, molasses flavored. Very stout.

Summary: I very much enjoyed smoking this. No tongue bite. It does have a nicotine kick so I could only smoke half bowls. Great tobacco to sip on and still get that great flavor.

My Background: Been smoking pipes for about 1 1/2 years. Started out on aromatics, then moving on to Virginia and English. Not a big fan of Latakia, but I really like Perique and Kentucky Dark Fired.
Pipe Used: Block meerschaum, cob, briar
PurchasedFrom: Gift
Age When Smoked: unknown
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Aug 21, 2014 Medium to Strong None Detected Full Pleasant
In reviewing this blend, I tried not to be biased by the fact that this stuff is in very high demand. This is only because for some reason, supply is very short. Germain must not want anyone to smoke any of their tobaccos. Ever.

That being said, I was very excited to try this. A friend was able to acquire some and shared some with me. I'm normally not very keen on Burley. This dark rich smelling flake has its fair share of this full bodied leaf. Now, either I've been smoking shitty Burley up till now, or Germain just knows how to do it right. The Virginia in this tobacco takes the drivers seat but the Burley adds an incredible dimension to the smoke. Every once in a while I smoke something that really WOWS me. This was one of those times. The experience was absolutely sublime.

Rich, deep, sweet, creamy, and slightly nutty. I was getting a really nice flavor of what I can only describe as Pistachio/Vanilla ice cream. The flavors were constantly changing throughout the bowl and it held my interest the whole time.

Summary- IF you ever get your hands on this stuff, save it for a time when you can sit down and think of nothing else. You will be richly rewarded. BUT, please do save some for the rest of us 🙂
Pipe Used: Aldo Velani Filtro
Age When Smoked: unknown
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
CTS
Mar 02, 2014 Medium None Detected Medium Tolerable
It's good - much of the flavor complexity can be missed if the baccy isn't slowly sipped, to pull out the flavors. Has a medium nic hit, which is plenty for me. I really like the way the burley in this balances out the VAs for flavor delivery. Complexity develops the further you go in the bowl. Very pleasant. 3+*.
Pipe Used: Italian Basket 35+ years old.
PurchasedFrom: Unknown; gift from BOTL
Age When Smoked: Unknown; gift from BOTL
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Oct 02, 2013 Medium to Strong Extremely Mild Medium to Full Pleasant to Tolerable
Based on a one ounce sample. This is an interesting if contradictory blend. The leaf aroma does have dark cocoa overtones, which doesn't come through in the smoke. The flavor is mild, yet deep, dark, and somewhat complex. For me, this cool smoke doesn't taste of either burley or Virginia, just slightly malty tobacco, just barely on the sweetish side. While excellent, it's not so great I would pay a premium price on the secondary market, but on the off chance I ever see it listed other than as ‘out of stock,' I would snap up a bag to cellar without a second thought.
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