Esoterica Tobacciana Stonehaven

I smoked this blend quite frequently about 27 years ago, before everyone started hoarding it. I walked into a Tinderbox and nearly fainted when I saw a sealed half pound bag. This tobacco is long thin flakes the color of dark chocolate. Folded or rubbed out, the tobacco produces wonderful burley and sweet Virginia sunshine. The burley comes in up front with the Virginia adding a sweetness. This tobacco is a full blend that does pack an over medium N. I’m not sure what the topping is but it could be better with a lighter touch. The aroma is friendly and the taste is full and satisfying.

Stonehaven is heavily cased with Single Malt. Which one, I have no idea, but its aroma is vey malty. It is also very earthy with a bit of sweetness. The deep dark flakes are very thin and prove surprisingly easy to rub out to one's convenience. Typical of British moistening practices (Condor; Samuel Gawith; Gawith & Hoggarth), it is quite damp upon uponing; thus requiring a lot of drying time, ideally waiting some weeks after opening before being able to smoke it without too many difficulties. By then, unfortunately, it loses a majority of its taste and flavour potential, which is common with all British tobaccos. Nevertheless, it still remains an enjoyable burley dominant tobacco that rotates between earthiness, spiciness and sweetness. It delivers mild to medium nicotine and burns slowly. It took me several years to be able to acquire a few 2oz tins and am not inclined to dedicate any extra effort to acquire some more. Stonehaven is worth getting some; but not worth deploying tremendous effort and energy nor paying insane amounts to do so.

I enjoyed the smoke just not my cup of tea prefer S G tobaccos.If it were readily available I might some to keep around.

Dry in the same way a good whisky can be and dark like a piece of 70% chocolate. Without doubt a fine smoke that I've been enjoying a lot lately, but not something that can make me forget about my beloved straight Virginias.

Appearance is a dark brown ragged flake. Smells of chocolate and fruits, in the main dried cherry. Tastes lightly sweet and dry.

Revisiting Stonehaven as I had smoked it years ago and did not see much reason to order more at that time. With the recent reviews praising it highly, I decided to give it another go. It's not terribly strong in strength nor in flavour. I would not rate it less than three stars, but it's just not very exciting, and therefore as in the past, Stonehaven will not make my rotation. There's just very little "there there".

The flake cousin to Tilbury. Tastes a a bit more cased than its counterpart. A bit strong but worth seeking out. Best after a very large meal with an alcoholic beverage - this is only an occasional smoke for me. Make sure it is dried out before smoking for best results.

I bought some of this to try because of all the positive reviews. Combine that with it seems to be difficult to find I thought it was worth a shot. I am half way through my 2oz sample and I have to say it is a a classic. I can see why so many enjoy it and why the reviews are so glowing.

Packs well, lights well, and burns even. The taste seems mild but I get a wonderful flavor with each puff that I find hard to describe....earthy, slightly sweet,....hard to say, but it is good.

If you can find it give it a try!

Enjoy!

I just ordered and received a pouch of this tobacco after reading much about it. I wasn't sure what to expect, but was pleasantly surprised upon opening the bag. Thin strips of tobacco, much like thin strips of beef jerky, with a strong scent of Champagne.

The contents of my pouch were very moist, and I probably should have let a strip dry for awhile before packing, but I was impatient and wanted to see what all the fuss was about. So, I crumbled one strip, packed my favorite bowl, and not surprisingly, had a hard time getting it lit due to the moisture. Next time I will definitely allow it to dry some before packing.

Once lit however, I enjoyed the taste very much. A very pleasing, sweet aftertaste in the first half of the bowl, and a nice nutty, almost cigar-like taste in the second half. You can definitely taste the Champagne taste, especially so in the first half. I typically prefer pure Virginias (Full Virginia Flake is my current favorite), but this is definitely a nice alternative for when I am in the mood. A very nice blend.

Bought this one, of course, based on the reviews here. While it's certainly not a life changing tobac for me, it is clearly a high quality blend that produces creamy billows of smoke. A bit cigar-ish at times and certainly not "English" in the sense that most would think. A darker, woodier flavored smoke, little to no sweetness that I could detect, fairly heady with the nicotine level. The aftertaste is stronger than most but tolerable and clean. Definitely something I'll smoke during the colder months.