Esoterica Tobacciana Tilbury

This is an interesting tobacco. I would consider this, in most cases, a "consolation" tobacco. This is what you may buy when Penzance and/or Stonehaven are out of stock. That said, its surprising. A shag cut tobacco, Tilbury is reminiscent of very fine, high-quality cigarettes. The Virginias are a bit subdued, but the burleys are earthy. Fresh out of the tin, I was not impressed by this blend. However, after a month or two in a jar, it began to take shape. Not always a dependable smoke, however. Sometimes, it just tastes...off. Regardless, its a decent tobacco for anyone who likes natural VaBur blends and/or shag cuts...

I should start by admitting that I am not a huge fan of VA's to begin with, but I do like to change it up from my regular diet of English blends. Having said that, I was not super-impressed with Tilbury. The VA blends I've tasted have been either straight VA flakes or VaPer's and I've preferred all of them to this.

In the tin, it smells lovely. Many reviews have already described the wonderful aromas and the promises of a great smoke to come. It's a bit wet and along with the shaggy cut, makes it a little difficult to load. It dries out relatively quickly though and once you understand it's moisture, you can get it to load and light pretty easily.

I divide my smoking experience with Tilbury into two phases. The first is a relatively mild virginia smoke - a little sweetness and a bread-like savory taste with ample smoke. Smoked slowly and thoughtfully, it's pleasant enough, if understated. After the rich tin aroma, I'd hoped for something more though.

The second phase is that in which the burley becomes more pronounced. The flavor becomes characteristically nuttier and flatter. My experience with Burleys has always been thus. While not unpleasant, I just find it boring, What the matured Virginias have to offer seems almost entirely covered up by the Burley.

All in all, it's a decent smoke. The quality of the leaf seems good. There are no unpleasant flavors or aromas and the consistency of the smoking experience tell me that much. The "potency" of the smoke is another issue. I don't have the highest tolerance for nicotine, but I can smoke this without fear of dizziness, which makes me wonder.

There are numerous other VA's out there to try, most of which I think I'll enjoy more than this VA/Burley blend. I probably won't ever get through the tin I have because of boredom, let alone purchase another. Still, I'm certain that others like it just fine, as the reviews indicate. I think it's just not my cup of tea.

Virginia is my favorite tobacco type. All that is most perfect about virginias can be found in a tin of Tilbury: the sweetness, the floral notes, the fruitiness, crispness are all present. Not only are they all present, but they come together in harmony and seem to play off each other right to the bottom of the bowl.

Why then do I only smoke this on occasion? Because the stuff is just too good for me, and I don't deserve to smoke it all day.

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**Update Unfortunately, the more I smoked this the less I like it. It's still a top notch tobacco, but my tastes have moved on.

This tobacco has an odd sweetness to it, not sure if cased or natural process, but to me it tastes like a sweet dark wine. Other notes are woody and caramelized sugar. This just has an peculiar taste and aroma that is hard for me to get by, not very fond of this. This is the first Esoterica blend which I don't favor. Though the flavor profile is weird, the smoking characteristics are quite good, burns well, nice smoke volume, too bad about the taste.

Smoke in peace, brothers and sisters of the leaf.

Slim broken brown and chocolate ribbons tossed with a bit of chopped tan leaf. At one time this blend may have been a broad-cut, but the current preparation (for Butera) is anything but. The fine cut and overall dull appearance of the mixture is not initially all that attractive, but the bits of Burley interspersed throughout an undistinguished mélange of broken ribbons foreshadows what, in the bowl, turns out to be a rather noticeable nicotine punch ? certainly one of the most interesting feature of an otherwise rather humdrum blend.

Tin nose of dried figs, mushrooms, and earth with a piquant Burley top note. Quite moist in the tin, the mixture retains its moisture long after opening and thus requires a bit of dry time prior to packing. Properly dried, Tilbury packs and burns easily, if not a bit quickly due to its rather fine cut.

On the full sided of medium bodied, in the bowl Tilbury presents a solid core of semi-sweet matured and stoved Virginias encased by on again, off again, notes of toasted nuts and earthy spice. Tongue bite is rarely an issue, although the Burley makes it presence known by way of a notable nicotine punch which seems to assert itself most strongly towards the end of the bowl. The finish is short and crisp, if not a bit flat at times.

Overall, Tilbury is what it is. Given the preponderance of excellent Virginia-Burley blends currently available (of which a number of C&D offerings come to mind), in this reviewer?s opinion there is little need to settle on this admittedly good, but certainly far from excellent, example of the genre.

I think Im would have liked this more if it were not so potent. A very good natural tobacco taste but a NICOTINE WALLOP! Too much for me. I can not pan this though. If you can take 1792 flake you will be good with this.