Savinelli Essenza Cipriota

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!

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.

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.

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.

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 beautiful... it's sweet, fruity, and a bit floral... but nothing like the Lakeland floral, more like the natural scent of blooming fruit trees, with a slight incense and smokiness. But there's also a mysteriousness to it. It's definitely something I can't quite pin down. Some people say it's a "red wine" topping... but I'm not so sure. Maybe... I just don't know. First puffs... very nice, sweet apricots, spicy Oriental incense, and sweet Virginia flavors of grass and fruit trees. I wouldn't call this an aromatic though. It's more of a lightly flavored, mild English blend. I say "mild" because the Latikia isn't that strong. The Burley is very faint as well, but it does seem to firm the blend up and thicken the smoke a bit... and they add a touch of nuttiness. The high quality Macedonian Orientals and Virginias are the main players overall.

As the bowl progresses, it seems to get more complex. There are hints of rose, spices, incense-y flavors wafting all around. I'm guessing this is due to the Macedonian leaf, which usually gives a nice floral/earthy complexity. The Latikia is still quite light, but it's enough to enhance the Oriental's earthy incense flavor. The interplay between the Macedonian leaf and the sweet topping makes for an amazing flavor.

Bottom Line: This is a light English with a superb, light, mysteriously fruity floral flavor added. I highly recommend it, especially if you like mid English blends like Presbyterian.

*==UPDATE==* The more I smoke this blend, the better it gets. I find myself smoking it more than any other blend in my rotation. Not everything has to be a super Lat-bomb. Essenza Cipriota is light enough to replace Early Morning Pipe as my, well, early morning pipe... but it's complex and delicious enough to be smoked all throughout the day and enjoyed constantly. 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.