Esoterica Tobacciana Tilbury

Esoterica Tilbury- When I opened the tin amd smelled the tobacco I knew this was the one ! VaBur blends are my favorite and this one lives up to the hype of Esoterica blends . I have sampled a few bowls of Stonehaven and Tilbury beats it by a mile ,IMO . Buttery is a very apt description. It is nutty with a slight cocoa note and sweet citrus fruits . Needs little dry time , burns great with a perfect ribbon cut . Mild to medium nic hit . So easy to smoke . I scored 3 tins and it will be very hard to let them age . Outstanding! 4 stars

Summary: gently fermented Virginias remove the acidity and bring out a more Burley-like flavor with a honey-brandy topping.

Although this is listed as a Virginia blend, the fermenting process has removed much of the evident sugar, causing it to burn and taste more like a Burley blend without the cloying sweetness of most Virginias. A topping that tastes like brandy or plum brandy with honey mixed in has been gently applied, and in the right amount to just nudge the flavor upward. This, and the fermented Virginias, give it a stewed fruit or plum wine flavor on the edges, so that you mostly taste that broad almond-wheat Burley essence of Burley, then pick up the honeyed Virginia increasingly as the bowl caramelizes, with these broad-cut ribbons burning slowly like ready-rubbed leaf. By design, the bowl moves from the stronger flavors to the gentler, and brings out the best in each leaf, similar to other British nautical blends.

Thanks to Pipes Magazine Forum member "misterlowercase" for this generous sample.

I popped a rather young tin of Tilbury and found a highly compacted brick of dark golden shag that falls apart very nicely. I can only describe the tin note as sour apricot -- but that did not translate into the taste or aroma of the burning leaf. Rather, it delivers a subtly sweet, natural Virginia taste that belongs more on the fruit-like side of the Va. spectrum rather than the grassy or sharp side. It has a buttery, clean-tasting natural tobacco taste with nut-like undertones, hints of olive, and a bread-like, maybe even yeasty, flavor. Not exciting, no pizzazz, just good smoke. If someone asked me what unadorned tobacco tastes like, I would have to offer Tilbury as the example of choice.

Tilbury exudes quality and refinement, and it produces a nicely rounded mouth feel and great volumes of creamy smoke. There is good balance between strength, flavor, and body, which makes for a very smooth smoke of medium strength (bordering on strong). It burns dryly and is totally bite free; and if I needed some clean ash for a batch of pipe mud, this is what I'd smoke.

If you like uncomplicated blends of high quality you should give this a try. It would be especially suitable for people trying to transition from cigarettes to the pipe.

This one was a surprise winner for me. With the exceptional quality of Esoterica's Stonehaven, I thought any other VaBur in the Esoterica line must be lackluster. Not so! Tilbury is very different from Stonehaven both in processing and ingredients, but it is an excellent blend. It likes thorough drying for best flavor. Pack this ribbon cut rather loosely for best results. This one is an explosion of fine Virginia flavor, with just the right amount of sweetness. The burley adds great complexity, coming through as a nutty undertone through much of the bowl. As others mentioned, this blend is exceptionally smooth. I usually get greedy when smoking a good Virginia forward blend, resulting in tongue bite. Tilbury is very forgiving, and can be pushed more than most. This makes it a great all day blend for an active pipe smoker or a novice. I am very glad I tried this one, I will definitely be stocking up on some Tilbury when it is next available.

A friend of mine had two Esoterica blends that I got to try today. This one was almost about as good as it gets. This one he purchased at the store and when I asked him where he got it, I found out it was kept behind the counter. Maybe the next time I go there I will approach the counter, give the secret code word and be taken back to a secret vault with every out of production and hard to get blend that is glistening like the gold from King Midas’s touch. He opened the tin up and it has a really wonderful sweet VA smell and smoked smooth and like a charm. Thanks again my friend for sharing.

Described on the tin as A Broad-cut Extra Mature Virginia.

Contains Virginias and Burley. Fine ribbon cut, close to a shag, no topping detected, typical high quality tobacco and excellent blending.

Full taste and strength, moderate to high nicotine, rich full smoke with lots of complexity, dense smoke, lots of mouth coating.

Kind of blend that is best to savor and contemplate while smoking, lots of enjoyment experiencing the true tobacco smoking experience.

Smokes relatively cool considering the components, burns evenly to nice gray ash. This is a full strength smoke, not for the faint of heart, you will notice the nic.

Stronger than Margate and Pembroke, high quality mature Virginias keeps you alert so to speak.

A very good experience for the seasoned pipe smoker.

Erik Nording Zulu.

First off, I’m not an Esoterica fanboy. I won’t say I love it just because JF Germain makes it (and I don’t like Stonehaven). Tilbury review: Speaking proportionally, this might be one of the most well done “blends” I’ve ever smoked. Neither the va or the burley jumps out. The perfect proportions make a wonderfully easy smoking tobacco. It does start to build in flavor by mid bowl. Becoming med/full. I love this blend because every draw is different, bouncing between the va and burley being slightly more forward. Such a simple blend and so complicated at the same time. It burns dry and slow with large amounts of smoke. No dottle ever. All day smoke for sure. I wouldn’t want to get tired of it though. 9/10.

UPDATE 1/22/2018

I somehow smoked through an 8 oz bag without returning to update this review. Based on what my impressions were about 5 and a half years ago this one really needs an edit. In context, I had only been smoking for about 6 months when I first reviewed this blend. To my good fortune my local B & M had three Esoterica tins sitting in stock, one each of: And so to Bed, Tilbury and Dorchester.

I ended up buying all three of these out of curiosity more than anything else as I had no idea what a treasure this was to behold at the time. The three of these tins offered such sweet smokes due to the aged Virginia, that I have been unable to replicate any of them since. I attribute this to the age of the tins and have really put aside a lot of the Tilbury and Dorchester in hopes that I will have a lot of that taste in the future.

Back on topic. The tin I had was so sweet that I really thought that this was a straight Virginia. TR descriptions at the time did not offer me any contrasting ideas that Burley was a component at all. It was not until I tried 8 ounces of this fresh did the burley make its presence felt. By presence I mean the nuttiness that was still outweighed by the Virginia IMO.

Tilbury is a fantastic smoke whether new or old and maintains its 4 star rating for me even with this update. I think that people who like burley but are a bit of lightweights will especially enjoy Tilbury, if they are able to find some, as this blend will not clobber you with nicotine at all. Although I do enjoy a hearty blend, I find this not to be a problem for me. It really is a great blend and I look forward to the day when all of my stash is aged.

ORIGINAL REVIEW 4/16/2012

I just finished my first tin of this and each bowl of it reinforced that it was my favorite straight VA blend. To my knowledge there was no way to actually date the tin I purchased, but the four different pricetags suggests to me that it was ancient and perhaps could be the reason for my adulation.

Not normally a VA smoker as my name would suggest, I was only able to compare it to two other straight VAs. Those other two were also highly rated on here, so I feel comfortable giving this one four stars.

I have found I really like the VAs used in all of the Esoterica blends. There is a subtle sweetness that is left in the back of mouth with each puff. I notice this in ASTB and Dorcester as well.

I plan on buying more of this and will be interested if a new tin has a different taste than what I encountered with this first tin. If anything changes then so will this review.

btw . . . Tin smell is heavenly, perhaps best I have ever experienced.

Simply wonderful. A lovely red/brown easy ribbon cut mixture of very mature Vas and a touch of Burley. Makes me think of blue cheese for some reason, it's strong, certainly, but has an undeniable sweetness which I was nearly convinced was natural. Burns great, high 'N' levels but always leaves me wanting more more more. I could smoke this day and night. Yes, I like it, and have ordered in bulk to make sure I never have to not smoke this.

Update: Sweet milk chocolate to Stonehaven's dark. I smoke this every day all day in a tiny Dublin that takes 10 minutes to clear. This stuff is it for me. I alternate with Dunbar depending on mood and weather. Cloudy: Tilbury; Sunny: Dunbar.

There's only one drawback in my mind: it does not like tamping out, pocketing and relighting later. Gets bitter, not sweet.