Esoterica Tobacciana Tilbury

I'm not sure how Esoterica matures its leaf, but this stuff makes this one of the most subtle and complex tobaccos I have smoked (and I've smoked about 200). If my descriptors in the following review (it was blind) sound disgusting, ignore my words, because everything works beautifully together. This is the kind of tobacco a mad genius would put together.

I don't know if this would appeal to just a few smokers, or to many, but I enjoy it immensely. Everyone should try this at least once. While it smokes cool, give it a slow puff-rate and your full attention. You will be richly rewarded.

(Blind Review) Sample "C", first smoke (corn cob).

Appearance: A finely-cut, almost cigarette ribbon, tobacco. ~95% of the leaf is light brown, 5% dark (which I suspect to be stoved Virginia). A bit dull in appearance but will probably stay lit well due to the cut.

Tin aroma: Sitting beside me on my desk, I am picking up a clover honey essence that I believe is a natural aroma of this tobacco, and nothing at all like the MacBaren casings. A closer sniff discovers a very mild malt vinegar note (unlike the "sparkling" McClelland vinegar aroma), a light fermented/musty undertone not unlike a faint Gorgonzola cheese aroma (if this sounds disgusting, fear not. It really works here.) My nose impression is that there is plenty of matured leaf in here. Upon a subsequent sniffing, I could swear I smell some cigar tobacco tones, or perhaps some Turkish.

The Smoke: Upon light-up, the perplexity remains. I don't sense any Lat here, and if there is any bright VA, it's matured. The first flavors that arise are raspberry, prune/fig and a mild mustiness. Not expecting to like this blend, I find myself nodding approvingly when I come out of focused analysis mode 10 minutes into the bowl. There IS a nice top range, a touch of zing, which could be the raspberry tone or an orange/red VA. Orientals? Overnight DGT does the flavor no favors, and light-up is bitter and a bit ashy. I believe this has a decent Oriental component, both because of the old cigar tones today, and the warm, brown mid-tones from yesterday. Or again, it could be some cigar tobacco. Overall, my first impression is that this is not especially complex.

My second smoke was in a Savinelli Oscar Dry Bulldog. The first 70-plus degree day of the year brings a thunderstorm, followed by a warm, misty evening. Porch smoke. I'm really liking this now. It really is unlike anything else I have ever tried. Initially, I am hit by notes of cigar and honey, with secondary fig/date flavors and a musty coolness, possibly indicating some age to this blend. There are a lot of flavors here that I just can't identify, which usually means Orientals, but could also be from well-applied toppings. Next, an unsalted sweet butter nuance appears, close to a mild Gorgonzola. Maybe a touch of sweet liqueur. The blend is very cool, sweet without being obvious or cloying. There is a mild Virginia toastiness though it is under the buttery tone; and there are occasional hints of black pepper, though not harsh in any way. Still, I'm betting there is no Perique in this. While the entire tobacco doesn't change, it evolves with new flavors developing to compliment the solid, tasty, mid-range theme.

At ½ bowl, whatever topping there was burns off, leaving lusciously smoky, mushroom-musty, cigar-toned smoke. Smooth, still very cool. Gorgonzola feel still present. This tobacco sometimes defies description, other times there are too many flavors going on to capture. For instance, now I am picking up comforting campfire tones, which have cropped up occasionally through smoke, and I'm in last .125 of smoke. Caramel and burned marshmallow tones, then ammonia (in a good way). It would take many smokes to get the full measure of this wonderful, unique tobacco.

I will definitely buy a few tins of this tobacco. It gets a 92 of 100.

If you want a tobacco w/real tobacco taste as well as other positive attributes going for it then Tilbury may be just what you're looking for. As I've stated w/other Esoterica Tobaccos I've reviewed, this is a clean-burning tobac w/a natural and very flavorful taste. The tin describes it as a broad-cut extra mature VA., that gives off a very pleasant, slightly sweet, musty and woodsy-like aroma when you open the tin. The tin I have has brown/black age blotches on the paper, and the smell translates to the smoke when you light up. Packs easy enough and typical lighting ritual is all that's required. The VA tang presents itself straight-off but not in a "bitey" way, sort of "sparkly", and the Burley gives a subtle note to round out the flavor. Slight sweet/sour notes are present w/maybe a bit of a citrusy flavor @ the back. Mostly though, I taste rich, deep earthy flavors that linger and deepen as you smoke down the bowl. There is a pleasant sweet woodsmoke (?) flavor sort of like an apple pie cooked over an open campfire and the crust burns a little bit. Smoking this blend transports me to an "Old World" time and place, maybe one of those English country cottages like you see in a Thomas Kinkade painting w/the thatched roof, stone fireplace and sitting on a comfortable bench in the garden on an early Spring morning. Tilbury smokes clean and cool and dry, w/virtually NO bite. I used one pipe cleaner about 1/3 the way down and no more. Smooth and creamy most of the way becoming deeper and more smokey near the bottom, burning to a fluffy light grey ash. Perhaps a bit pricey, but not overly more than an 8oz. bag from other esteemed blenders. This may not be an overly complex tobac, but it's not boring either, and I find it equally pleasurable while relaxing w/a good book as well as doing other things. It's flavorful enough that I taste the nuances even while otherwise occupied. There are so many good tobaccos out there, but I seem to keep reaching for the Eso's more and more often. Hey, works for me........

The greatness of this blend lies in it's simplicity. The sweetness of the virginia comes through clearly despite the blends overall mild flavor. Hints of dried fruit complement the caramel nuttiness of the burley. I've been drawn to the va/bur since I started pipe smoking and have always wished for a blend as well balanced and straight forward as this.

After opening the tin, the paper that covers the tobacco appears completely impregnated with oil, as is usual in Esoterica mixtures and even more so when they are a few years old. After lighting the pipe, my way of understanding this tobacco is as if it were a hybrid between some of the most predominant virginias that make up Dunbar and C&D's Briar Fox burley, two of my favorite tobaccos. The earthiness of the burley increases progressively during the smoke and depending on the puff it will feel more or give way to virginias, but always within a line of great smoothness and balance. I would advise smoking it at a very slow rate, as its delicate flavor can easily be lost and it would be a shame to waste every single strand of this tobacco.

It would be a very good recommendation for those who want to venture into mixtures with burley, or those who have tried others and found them heavy, but who already have some experience smoking a pipe. It only has one problem, and it's not a small one: how difficult it is to get it.

A fine mix (one more), of Esoterica Tobacciana, of those that invite you to have enough spare parts to repeat...

This is just an exceptional blend. Germain & Sons have a special touch, no question about it. This is a light and dark Virginia ribbon cut, with a background of unsweetened burley. I dont taste any dark fired leaf, so it cant be much thats in there. Im not a fan of ribbon cut, but this is Esoterica, long unavailable, so Im not going to complain. Im just glad one can get their tobaccos again. This is medium strength, very tasty -- there is that naturally sweet grass taste of virginia, of quality virginia, and some fermented dark fruit taste too. (The dark stoved virginias). The burley gives it a bit of extra character. Its simply delicious.

This is a review I'd written on Tilbury around eight or nine years ago. I have since rejoined TRs under a different handle. This blend comes in a nice copper colored tin with a white label affixed to the front; the font is fancy on the tin label and very appealing to my eye. Upon opening I was greeted with a sweet, fairly strong fig-like aroma. The cut is that of long ribbons and after about an hour was at the perfect humidification for packing and smoking. This blend lit very well and produced a good volume of smoke.

The taste and aroma was heavenly. The Virginias were smooth, sweet & tangy. There was a creamy nuttiness due to the burley and I found this blend to be very satisfying. There was a little tongue bite initially due to my puffing cadence but things cooled as I set my pipe down for a little while & restarted with proper puffing. This is not a top ten in my rotation but liked it really well... good flavor. I look forward to trying it's cousin Stonehaven soon. I like the few Esoterica blends very well that I've tried thus far. I did finally get my hands on some Stonehaven & liked it even better. I purchased two eight oz. bags from Iwan Ries for around seventy-five dollars. How much would a lb. cost today? More than I'd be willing to pay.

Opening up the bag, I did not enjoy the smell. Similar to Stonehaven, there was an "almost chocolate" off-putting smell. I jarred most of it for aging, but let a few bowls sit in a bag for two weeks. I pulled a bowl out of the bag and let it sit for 10m before packing it. While the smell was off, the taste was on. I enjoyed the bowl. The chocolate tasted chocolate and it was a bit creamy.

I will keep it simple. This is superb smoke. If your taste buds are not burnt from heavy or flavored tobacco, you should try this! It is a very delicate stuff. Simple and highest quality. It requires passion to get the best out of this blend, but it can be smoked any way, and it will still deliver. If you like pure tobacco taste, you will love this.

Despite ET's veiled suggestions to the contrary, Tilbury is not a strong or robust tobacco. It is not likely to cause an experienced smoker dizziness, and I'm not so sure about "piquant", either. On the other hand, the smell of white chocolate (or cocoa) over the well blended, aged tobacco seems to be a result of natural processes, and the parallel flavor and aroma of the smoke is quite comfortably nice. The constituent tobaccos are well melded, round and smooth, end to end. It's probably partly because of its simple, easy going nature that I tend to smoke Tilbury as a no-brainer, since it delivers its comfort and satisfaction with minimal effort from me; not to mention, it smells and tastes good! One need only load gently and avoid tamping while staying light on the draw in order to enjoy this tobacco. It does smoke down rather quickly; but it seems pretty safe to me to just go ahead and enjoy another bowl. Very easy going for a VA/Bur.

Nothing Fancy; Just Plain Good.