Esoterica Tobacciana Tilbury

The tin of Tilbury I opened was from a large buyout of a fellow smoker and was sealed when I received it in August of last year. When I saw it the next time, about the first of February this year, it had lost it's vacuum seal but was mechanically sealed. So, I opened it and discovered that it was still moist enough to smoke. I also discovered that it had a strange tin aroma that was about one half fermented grass and one half dirty socks. Not quite off-putting, these "flavors" reflected it's composition of Virginia and Burley with fifteen years of aging behind them. Now, although this sounds groovy, the smoking qualities of this blend were weak and thin and I had trouble extracting enough enjoyment from it to feel positive about the experience. This lackluster performance was repeated in every bowl I smoked . I began to use Tilbury in blending, but this didn't produce anything notable. I don't know whether the age of this tin was a causative factor in this bland performance or not. Age is, usually, a positive factor in pipe blends but it didn't turn out to be the case here. I intend to obtain a fresher tin of this blend to smoke for comparison but, until then, two stars.

Tilbury is presented in a fine ribbon cut with a tin aroma reminiscent of dry autumn leaves and a hint of cocoa. Easy to pack and perfect moisture. The blend of gold and dark Virginias produce layers of dry grass, sweet hay and citrus balanced by light fruity notes. Burley is predominant but not overwhelming and steps in with a sweet nuttiness, white pepper and notes of maple wood. As it burns moderately to a white ash, the aroma reminds me of an autumn stroll in the neighborhood as hardwood leaves are smoldering away. Won’t bite your tongue even if provoked. Can be an all day smoke. Balanced and smooth but on the upper side of medium in strength, aftertaste is pleasant and leaves a very enjoyable room note.

I am enjoying a sample of this a friend sent me. This is a very high quality and tasty VaBur that presents initially as a straight, slightly sweet Virginia. As the bowl progresses, you start picking up the burley. I claim there is no topping at all. I just taste tobacco here, and it is very good. I do not find this to have any unusual nicotine hit as the description and other reviewers have suggested, but maybe I am less sensitive to it.

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.

People always ask me the same question: "Hey, Pip," they say, "is an Esoterica blend worth all the hype with so many excellent, readily available blends on the market today?"

I often respond with a question: "You mean, do I enjoy an Esoterica blend from time to time?"

It's easier to answer my own question. ("Yes.")

I can only speculate as to why people hoard tobacco, but they do. Perhaps to be ready. Ready for when... the GOVERNMENT comes? ...the ZOMBIES come? ...JESUS comes? I'm not so worried. Esoterica is an unfortunate casualty of this "end times" paranoia because it's produced in such small quantities. Are the blends "good"? Quite, but it's also true that their scarcity and the general unscrupulousness of the tin scalpers distorts this a bit.

That said, Tilbury, like most of the others, is a really well composed blend using exceptional quality tobacco. For me, the image of Plato's chariot comes to mind: the two winged horses are the Virginia and the burley components - one part obstinate, the other virtuous (you determine which is which) - while the hand of the master blender/charioteer reigns them in, directs them toward the ridge of heaven. Sometimes the Virginia glides ahead, sometimes the burley edges forward, but no one would dare say which is more important, because they are both needed to pull the chariot, and each excels where the other would be considered weak.

It's an excellent blend. Very subtle and refined. Ignore the hubbub surrounding it, and enjoy it if you can get it (or a friend can share it), but don't go crazy scouring the earth for it, or paying sucker prices, or even worrying if it's "worth it." I don't even think about it, it messes with my serenity. I smoke it on occasion, which is sparingly, because I only have a little on hand (about 78 oz), and I'm not interested in fretting about getting more. Pipe smoking should be the opposite of stressing about such things.

3rdguy

Just finished a full tin, about 2 years of age on it. I like the body the Burley adds to this and for me that kept it satisfying enough to reach for frequently. Needs a little dry tme, takes a relight or two. Retrohale is very mild. I did get a slight bite at times but probably more from my cadence. Burned fairly quickly but down to a nice white ash.

A solid blend but I really want to revisit my remaining tins with a bit more age on them. I think this could be a incredible blend then.

Highly recommended.

Took me three bowls to appreciate this beauty, but I'm glad I stuck with it. My first impressions were that the flavor was too light, lacked some sweetness, and came off a little flat. However, it dried just slightly (came a little wet) and I started to appreciate the nuance. There is a great herbal note that I don't find in a lot of virginias, which keeps me guessing and intrigued throughout the bowl. The spiciness comes up over the course of the pipe, but never gets overwhelming, but balances into the herbal qualities.

It's not the sweetest virginia in the world, nor the richest. Smoke this when you can really focus, the subtlety requires some attention to appreciate. Smoke slow, it can burn hot and ruin the experience. Smoked well, its a real treat, and a unique flavor profile.

I remember back around 2008-09 when I first started my pipe tobacco sampling frenzy. I used another handle at the time but have recently rejoined TRs & forgot about this one. I'm gathering up my notes & editing them. Back then, all tobacco blends, including those from across the big pond were readily available most all the time & Samuel Gawith tins were around $7.00. There seemed to be no scarcity of any blend & prices were very reasonable.

I left the hobby for about 7-8 years but became revitalized in 2018. FWIW, I could not believe the changes that had occurred in those years... almost went into shock! I didn't even know McClelland had closed their doors or that Orlik & Mac Baren Dunhill were out of business as well when I rejoined TRs. OK... upon opening I was greeted with a semi-sweet aroma that was very pronounced. I'm guessing that the sweet aroma had to be from an aged Virginia variety.

The cut is that of long ribbons and after about an hour it was at the perfect humidification level for stoking and smoking. This blend lit very well and produced a good volume of smoke. The taste did not impress me as many other similar blends that I sampled but thought the aroma from this blend was surprisingly sweet since it stated there was no topping.

It seemed to me, back in the day, that Esoterica blends were simply ordinary with the exception of Stonehaven which became one of the best of that genre that I ever tried. I never tried any of their English. The Virginias were tasty, the tobacco smoked mildly & had about a medium kick to it. There was a little sweetness from the VA & a creamy nuttiness & additional strength from the "light" Burley infusion which became stronger as the smoking session progressed. I found this blend to be fairly satisfying but prefer a blend with more punch. I think it could have used a little more Burley for added strength but that's just my personal opinion but then again, it would be something else.

There was a little tongue bite initially but at the time, I was unaware of the DGT method. I only tried one tin of Tilbury, so, I guess I didn't think it was a great blend but look forward to trying it's cousin Stonehaven soon & did eventually acquire a pound of Stonehaven (two 8 oz. bags) from Iwan Ries for around $75.00. It was heavenly & Tilbury does not measure up to a comparison. That was right before the scarcity epidemic hit around 2010.