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Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JimInks (2693) |   |
Medium | Medium | Medium | Very Pleasant |
The first thing I notice when I start smoking this blend is how sweet it is. The topping must be red wine. The Virginias are tangy and fruity sweet with some earth. The burleys are a minor player, and at times, barely noticeable beyond a little nuttiness. The Cyprian latakia is also a minor player, and offers smoke and wood more than it does flavor. The Oriental/Turkish is floral with a very slight dry note and wood, and though evident in every puff, it, like the other components, takes a back seat the sweetness of this mixture, which never weakens. The nic-hit is mild to medium. Burns cool and slow, and may need some dry time, and certainly requires some relights. Leaves a little moisture at the finish. No bite. It has a fragrantly sweet room note and a lingering after taste. Probably too sweet to be an all day smoke. As sweet an English as I have ever smoked, it's virtually an English-aro.
-JimInks
13 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Appalachian Apprentice (3) | |
Medium | None Detected | Medium | Pleasant |
I had a chance to sample this at a local tobacco shop. In the tin, the note is somewhere between apricot and red wine. The tobacco itself was a bit moist out of the tin. It is a log, medium-fine, shaggy tobacco that packs very well. On the light, a fair amount of sweetness came through. After the tobacco was lit and I had settled into the smoke, I realized that the scent from the tin is similar to the scent and flavor in the pipe. Not nearly as strong as the tin note, however, and there was an added smokiness that joined the flavors nicely. The Virginias and I believe the Macedonian leaf seems to take the lead in this blend with the Latakia adding a pleasant non-typical smokiness. The bowl was pleasant and easy to keep lit. Some moisture did accumulate (probably due to me not letting it air out before packing.) The flavor swirled nicely along a continuum of sweet smoky floral...just enough to keep my attention with all the notes coming to the front from time to time (but none dominating or disappearing.) It wasn't quite an aromatic and not quite what I would consider a full blown English. I would consider it a nice balance between the two.
Age When Smoked: new
11 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LoneRider (23) | |
Mild to Medium | None Detected | Medium | Pleasant |
First of all, if you love heavy English blends as your steady diet, you probably will find this blend unsatisfying. This is "English Lite". I enjoy strong English tobacco. That said, I love this blend as a morning tobacco with my coffee. Open the tin and a wonderful aroma enters the nose. LIght and fragant, with an almost citrus odor. I'd swear i'd smelled this before, but it might be (sing it boys!), "just my imagination, runnin way with me." This blend packs easily and when smoking, needs no relights. A masterly blended tobacco, its different leaves mix wonderfully for a nice, smooth smoke. There is absolutely no bite to this blend. I could easily see this as an all-day blend, leaving the heavy artillery for night smoking. This blend will be in my rotation as long as they make it (and DO NOT change it!).
Pipe Used: Ashton bent billard
Age When Smoked: 2 months
Purchased From: Smokingpipes.com
10 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| moniker (200) | |
Mild to Medium | Very Mild | Mild to Medium | Pleasant |
Popping a new tin of Essenza Cipriota, one smells first apricots and plum over the slightly musty (not dusty) blend. The ribbons range mostly from orange/gold to medium brown, with some darker bits I suppose are Latakia. The initial smell from the topping fades pretty fast, but it remains for the smoke. After a day or two, rose (or rose geranium) comes up, and it all unfurls quite nicely in the smoke, when it’s dried before smoking. The VAs are flue and air cured, along with a little stoved. In the tin their overall, sweet grassiness is more or less swamped by the loamy Macedonian leaf and the woody smoke from a small portion of Old School, Cyprian Latakia. I don’t smell the Burley here. Because of the topping and the fine, ribbon cut, I prefer EC dried some before I smoke it. Otherwise, it can be slightly acrid and a trifle "oily", which I dislike. Once it's dried, I pack it tightly into a number 4 briar and tamp and smoke it gently, to keep its fine ash out of my mouth. Again, the originally prominent toppings fade quickly a short while after the tin it’is opened, but they and the rose are present during the smoke, Though smelled and tasted top to bottom, they are properly restrained and wholly complimentary to the well-met, well-melded tobaccos, to the point where I’m not sure I’d call EC a “crossover”, like Brunello Flake. Smoked, the sweet VAs are grassy, rich, and slightly earthy, and they are well melded with the loamy/mossy, slightly sour Macedonian leaf, which also features some fairly faint, exotic spices. The Latakia is woody, sour and “smoky”, sans incense. The Burley seems to add a little cashew, and it smooths and rounds out what might otherwise be a sharper blend. As a well-melded whole, EC smokes like a trouble free, first quality, Oriental-forward, light/medium English blend. Strength is closer to mild than medium. Tastes are closer to medium than mild. Room note is nice. Aftertaste is a sweet and sour, smoky best of the smoke, provided enough dry time before smoking it.
IMO, Essenza Cipriota deserves 4 stars for quality and relative merit as an interesting, original, light/medium “English”, based on what’s available today. So far, the more I smoke it, the better I like it, and it’s muscled its way toward Penzance in my rotation.
Pipe Used: settled on a group 4 Ashton used for English
Age When Smoked: Fresh from the tin and from jars.
Purchased From: 4Noggins
Similar Blends: Compare/contrast to Penzance....
6 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capt Chris (1) | |
Medium | Very Mild | Mild to Medium | Very Pleasant |
Today I was buying from barclay rex NYC where there had some tobaccos you could try. I decided to try essenza cipriota just for curiosity because when I opened the tin the smell wasn't great or astonishing or nothing that could call my attention. But, I decided to give it a try anyways and was pleasently surpised. It was a very easy mild, nice smoke. It lights up easily and stays that way throughout. The room note is really nice and the flavour is simple and easy going. I am including this one in my favorites. The only downside at least for me was that i would have thought to be more on the mild strenght. I could feel the nicotine (i regulargly smoke squadron leader or nightcap). A tin of surprises!
Purchased From: Barclays Rex
6 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JEM (21) | |
Medium | None Detected | Medium | Very Pleasant |
This tobacco has become my favorite and I dedicated a pipe to it. I packed my bowl, gave it char light and tamp, and it stayed lit all the way through, with an occasional tamp. This tin was over two years old when I bought it, so the flavor was sweet Virginia, my favorite blend. There is Latakia in a supporting role, but it's not at all in the way of the Virginias. The room note is very pleasant, almost as much as an aromatic, and I always receive compliments from those around me when they smell it. If you like sweet, Virginia forward blends with an almost aromatic aroma, this is it.
Pipe Used: Savinelli
Age When Smoked: 2 years
Purchased From: The Humidor, Murfreesboro, TN
5 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gentleman Zombie (729) | |
Mild to Medium | Very Mild | Medium | Pleasant to Tolerable |
The Latakia is light, but provides an ample enough smoky note. The Virginias and Orientals lead with the Virginias providing some fruit and tang and the Orientals providing a woody herbal/floral note. The sweetness seems to be a little more than the Virginias normally can provide and must be coming from a topping. The Burley can barely be noted in the background giving a hint of nuts. Overall a pretty good English blend. Solid 3.
Mild to medium in body. Flavoring is very mild. Taste is medium. Burns fairly well, needs a few relights.
Pipe Used: MM Little Devil Cutty, Little Devil Acorn
Age When Smoked: fresh
Purchased From: Mars cigars and pipes
5 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pierre (14) | |
Mild | Mild | Mild | Pleasant to Tolerable |
I made my first review VERY lengthy, but I reconsidered all the details and figured this review could be shortened up a lot. It's an English Aromatic, so expect just that. Smells fruity, specifically like grapes to me, maybe fake, maybe not. Doesn't actually taste fruity, but there is a sweetness. Latakia is very muted, VA's as well. I don't get as much out of burleys as others, so I think that's what dominated this blend, and why everything else was not as prominent as it usually is (strong english blends have tons of lat, strong VA blends have tons of VA). Altogether, the combination was fine, just not strong enough or distinctive in any way for me. Lat barely came through, VA is even less so, and I assume the burleys weren't cooperating? I don't mean to say it's a boring blend, it's just fine for an everyday smoke. Not too heavy, good for the morning, good for after dinner. If you like "stout" in your tobacco like me, this will not be the blend for you.
Pipe Used: Savinelli, Klodt Freehand
Age When Smoked: New
Purchased From: Gifted from Reddit
5 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| pylorns (14) | |
Mild to Medium | Mild to Medium | Medium | Very Pleasant |
The floral note to it is strong, and for a second I thought it was a lakeland. But I was surprised at the flavor and room note. It's a very good smoke, breakfast or lunch! The orientals in this flourish throughout the whole bowl, and while there is some latakia in it I'm told - I don't notice it at all.
Age When Smoked: 2 months
Purchased From: Trade
Similar Blends: Smoker's Haven - Select Mixture.
4 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rustedrailsmokes (227) | |
Mild | Medium | Mild to Medium | Pleasant to Tolerable |
I found this one an odd duck. I've been working my way through the Saveinelli blends and next up was the Essenza.
I popped the tin and the note smelled English. Nice smokiness which I figured would be perfect for a cool and damp fall weekend in a 320. The tobacco was a little drier than I expected and was a jumble of darker and lighter thin ribbon cuts.
Packing my 320 full, I found it quick to flame and really hot burning at first. Tamping got it down to a good smolder. The smoke was quite floral and tickled my nose, mouth, and throat. It produced good quantities of smoke from beginning to end and was quite consistent.
If you hate tobaccos with a floral tone, don't buy it. I'll finish the tin, but I'm not sure if I'll be buying more.
Pipe Used: Savinelli 320
Age When Smoked: 2 years
Purchased From: Smokingpipes.com
3 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chrisj2001 (2) | |
Mild to Medium | Mild to Medium | Medium | Tolerable |
Kind of a different blend. A moderately cased latakia blend that is overall smooth and smokeable. Not cased enough to be aromatic, not enough body to be a full English, this blend does an average job trying to serve two purposes. The quality of the leaf is apparent and burns clean and dry. Very toasty with a red wine/grape undertone. 3/5.
Pipe Used: Cob/hardwood/Briar
Age When Smoked: <1 Month
Purchased From: Gifted from Reddit.
3 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| georgariou33 (16) | |
Mild | Mild to Medium | Mild to Medium | Pleasant |
first of all im not a woman but a 70 year old retired businessman....second i have a collection of 105 different brands and blends....third i find this blend a very nice soft smoke with a floral nose...nice blend in a serious rotation...a keeper
Pipe Used: stanwell and big ben only
Age When Smoked: 70
Purchased From: pipes and cigars
Similar Blends: 000.
2 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Old German puffer (106) | |
Extremely Mild | None Detected | Extremely Mild (Flat) | Unnoticeable |
By far this is a tobacco made for women pipe smokers. It smells like flowers. I don't know why but that is all I get from it. It is not an English so I don't know why folks call it that. I have tried this now on 4 seperate bowls and all have had the same result. Half way down I lose interest and get it out of my pipe. Flavor starts out ok. But as you smoke whatever the casing that is put here dies and fades away. In all very weak.
Pipe Used: Captain Black
Age When Smoked: New Tin
Purchased From: New York
2 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DeathMetal.org (171) | |
Mild to Medium | Mild | Medium | Pleasant |
Summary: a subtle take on an aromatic American English, this delivers the experience that the Frog Morton blends and Presbyterian do.
No one can talk about an aromatic English without mentioning the Frog Morton blends, which took the light English formula -- more sweet Virginias -- and added a slight topping to make an entirely different formula. Similarly, "Presbyterian Mixture" uses a high proportion of Virginias (and possibly white Burley) to frame Latakia tips, which ironically makes the Latakia flavor stand out more instead of becoming lost in an overwhelming deluge of smoky flavor. "Essenza Cipriota" mixes up white Burley, golden Virginias, Orientals, and just the right amount of Latakia to be the backbone of the flavor without overwhelming everything else, and then crests that with a very gentle floral and orange topping. This creates a light English with a slight twist that does not make it to full aromatic status, but has the benefit of an aromatic, namely a gentler flavor and much improved room note. Over the course of the bowl you get a "Bob's Chocolate Flake" effect where the sweet topping and Latakia combine to form an almost cocoa flavor. In my view, the star here are the Virginias, but they make the Latakia stand out as a condiment. You can smoke this all day without getting nicotine spins or having your wife throw you out of the house.
Similar Blends: MacBaren - Presbyterian Mixture, McClelland - Frog Morton Across the Pond (Craftsbury Series), Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. - Bob's Chocolate Flake, Peterson - Wild Atlantic.
1 person found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ScienceSmoker (15) | |
Mild | Medium | Medium | Pleasant |
I just received this tin yesterday, and the date on the back says it's from June of 2014. It's November of 2020 right now. So I have a nicely pre-aged, 6 year old tin of Essenza Cipriota.
When opening the tin, the smell is nice... it's floral with a slight smokiness, and that "red wine" that people refer to as well... but there's a mysteriousness to it. It's definitely something I can't quite pin down. First puffs... very nice, sweet floral, very sweet Virginia flavors. I wouldn't call this an aromatic. It's more of a lightly flavored, mild English blend. I say "mild" because the Latikia isn't that strong. I don't taste any Burley, but the smoke is thicker than a traditional English blend, and the Burley may be the cause.
As the bowl progresses, it seems to get more complex. It's like what I imagine an 18th century Turkish market smelled like... there are hints of rose, cloves, spicy, incense-y flavors wafting all around. The Latikia is still, unfortunately, not coming through as much as I'd like.
Bottom Line: This is a light English with a really nice, very light, mysteriously fruity floral flavor added. I recommend it... but if the Latikia were stronger, and the overall English-ness of the blend were stronger... I think it might be even better.
==UPDATE== The more I smoke this blend, the better it gets. I find myself smoking it more than any other blend in my rotation. I was wrong when I said it should have a stronger Latikia flavor... it's perfect the way it is. I'm enjoying the "lightness" of it... and embracing what it is instead of what I thought it should be. Not everything has to be a super Lat-bomb. It's light enough to replace Early Morning Pipe as my, well, early morning pipe... and it's complex and delicious enough to be smoked all throughout the day and enjoyed constantly. I'm bumping it up to 4 stars. It's in my top 5 blends now. I only wish I knew some similar blends so I could try them out as well... but I can't think of anything quite like it.
Pipe Used: Georg Jensen Rebild
Age When Smoked: 6 years old
1 person found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JimmerWest (5) | |
Strong | Medium to Strong | Overwhelming | Pleasant |
Three strikes and your Out. Three bowls and I am. I went into this believing a great pipe maker has got to have a Great tobacco. They might have it but it is not this one. After 3 bowls in 2 hours the experience was Serious Burn effects from tongue to throat. Water wouldn't resolve it and cranberry juice couldn't prevent it or Burn it Back off after those 2 hours. It literally took a huge bowl of vanilla ice cream to stop it and calm the entire scar tissue, if I may call it this. Sure felt like it was going to be.
If I continue to smoke this "Stuff" I would expect to get throat cancer in six months.
Pipe Used: Savinelli
1 person found this review helpful.