I will stick with Gaslight, the Dunhills and my other classics and will not bother with Penzance no more. But, there are tobaccos out there that ar e very, very close in smoking quality and that are much, much easier to obtain. Customers (like me) feel gouged and abused for our loyal fandom. It's high quality stuff, but I just don't think it's worth the effort you have to put into aquiring it. Lighting took a few more lights that I would have liked, mostly due to the high moisture content. A need say no more than I have many dozens of tins in storage, far more than any other tobacco, ever. Took two relights down the bowl, in very humid weather. When I first tried it, I had just started pipe smoking and having begun with Kendall's Sweet Peach, this English blend was a bit of a shock I wasn't ready for. I believe that Penzance will one day be for me as it is with many of the conniseurs of the pipe. In fact not until #7 do we encounter a tobacco with a notable Latakia presence. It is something I would smoke on occasion I wish to have something entirely different. That first puff was then and still is now the best pipe moment I've ever had. Just scored 6 ounces of this stuff and it is the most amazing tobacco blend I have tried so far. That said I will try to give some tips that work for me with this blend. Penzance is like a flower that must be appreciated before it withers and dies. I did not detect any flavoring from the sniff. This is terrific stuff. Just hope I can get one in my shopping cart before the supplies run out again. It wasnt an aversion to Latakia as I loved and smoke a number of f heavy Lat blends in thos e days. This is not a complex blend and changes very little from beginning to end. I've never experienced Cyprian to be so deliciously creamy. I only smoke this on occasion, but would smoke it more often if it were a little bit closer to my budget. Altogether it's quite tame and sophisticated. bag of Penzance in their pipe tobacco humidor. I didn't like it very much, then, due to the fact that my few encounters with tobacco had been of the Walgreens varietyI'll say no more on that. It does have a tendancy to smoke very wet if over-rubbed and over-packed. But as Maxwell Smart would say, it "missed it by that much". Only the very finest tobacco, whether pipe or cigar, has the ability to make you stop what you?re doing, sit down, and release your mind for a little while. Softer, smoother, and sweeter than most of what I was smoking. You'll have to decide for yourself if it is worth the hype. Penzance is better at big picture than any other lat blend. Update March 2013: I have seen a few reviews posted saying that the later vintages of this blend are inferior to the older vintages. I am smoking some more today and this is really good and can see why it has over 450 reviews. Packing: This tobacco crumbles easily and packs easily into any size pipe. The tin note is captivating. It may be evident that my review is biased by my fondness of VAPER. I think I am going to have to give this stuff away. Milan Pipe Tobacco I smoke this blend more than once a week almost always in a meerschaum and it is sometimes for me difficult to pack perfectly(which way is that?) There you will find wax paper that appears to be stained with that oil. If you like full Latakia blends, and haven't tried this, you really should. WARNING, IF YOU LIKE PENZANCE , DO NOT READ !!! A better approach might be stack ranking those that consistently sign up for alerts only to be disappointed by sold out, giving the rest of us a chance to purchase. I am new to pipe smoking and purchased this tobacco based on the recommendations on this site. I unsealed the tin and upon opening , Iodine smell wafted from the tin. My bowl lasted nearly an houran hour of pure bliss. Stock Name. Suffice it to say, this may be the most wonderful latakia blend (perhaps the most wonderful of all blends) in the world. The sample came as mostly crumbled cake, broken into many different fragment sizes, and the moisture level was rather low. No hype. I finally got a 2oz tin of it by chance. Enough has been said about this well crafted english! The moisture content was spot on. Otherwise they could have added: This tobacco scares away mosquitoes, birds, rats, nagging wives and door-to-door salesmen. BAM! I can tell you that this blend is so delicious and intoxicating that I get a great desire to physically eat the stuff it tasted and smells that great. Medium in body. Pipe Used: briars but best in a cob so far. The room note, I believe is divine. Pease comes quite close to Penzance. Sometime a all day Smoke. Updates on New Cigars, Pipes, Pipe Tobacco, Accessories, Though I have smoked better balanced and/or fuller English blends (Rennaissance & Margate to name a few) there is something about Penzance that continually draws me back. If all Esoterica did was make this, it would be enough. It provides a nice eucalyptus-esque flavor, and is not entirely unlike King Charles. Packing is a gentle proposition with this and all Esoterica blends and filling my Sasieni King Size billiard was a cinch. As my palate develops I will be coming back to update this review. Absolutely no work involved, and we all like that ;) Lights up to a delicious BAM! It seemed to be two different blends depending on where I was in the bowl rather than a blend cut from a single cloth. Penzance brings back a lot of memories for me. Never bites. Our enjoyment has been vilified. -Z. Tin: Light smoky Latakia smell. Tin aroma is latakia, like any other, great but nothing special. I can see what the hype is about. Taste could be described as smoky with just a hint of natural sweetness in the background. I bought a fair amount of this stuff ten years ago, and it is really fine now. Seems to pack a lighter load of orientals, but, like old black BS, it has excellent balance and an abundance of complex flavors and full bodied richness. This is not to say it isn't an excellent blend, well worth smoking (if you can get your hands on it). I really don't believe it's the Oriental/Turkish turning me off, and I love Latakia. It does rub out very nicely though. I have liked this tobacco for several years. I do not know what Germain does to process their Virginia's and Latakia (yes their Latakia as a sweeter more complex character than any other I have tasted). This is one of the better English slices I have tried and I'm sure I will always keep this on hand as a change of pace. I cannot give more than 2 stars because of i'm not a latakia addicted.. Penzance is possibly the most addictive substance known to latakia smokers, and well worth every penny. Now I usually smoke GLP's Westminster when I'm in the mood for an English, which admittedly isn't too often these days. Maybe one day another blender will come up with something which is comparable to Penzance, but nothing comes close to the 2010 batch I hadaccording to 1,000 or more pipers' opinions who say the same. . I didn't age it. I called everyone (Smokingpipes, Pipes&Cigars), I called random tobacco shops in New York, Chicago, LA, Boston, San Francisco (I live in Santa Clara, CA) and nobody had the stuff. I think I need to try more of the fruit flavored (cherry?) Excellent blend that I'm excited to get a tin (or twoor thousands) of someday! I have an incorrigible penchant for latakia, and to that end Penzance delivers a smooth, rich, and complex smoke. It has right humidity so handling with it makes no trouble. I'll skip the "flavor profiling" in my short & sweet review, as others before me have so eloquently told it all by now. I find Penzance excels in the colder months and is excellent smoked outdoors, too. So is it as good as it's reputation? From the moment one opens the tin it is a treat. It's a very good discipline as it cuts out some of the hype. So I cannot say whether some airing out would have made a big difference throughout the tin. I previously wrote a review that made it sound like the folks that own the esoterica brand were business morons for not finding some way to satisfy the strong demand for their products. Contact Info. A bit grassy, but not too sweet. Unfortunately not available in EU. At first, I struggled with this blend. I went back to the tin for a half flake, repeated, and finished with a sprinkle of shake to top the bowl off. The Rolls Royce of tobacco. Given all this, we've first got to cut through the hype in order to give a proper review. Well-balanced, but the Latakia is the showcase. It seemed to have lost its flavor & became rather bland after about 1/3 of the bowl is smoked down. Certainly not a every day tobacco for this pipe smoker. Don't hate me. I have vastly enriched my smoking pleasure from the reviews I've read here. One of the finest tobaccos I've ever smoked. It is a pleasure to pack and it stays lit very well. Good luck and many relaxing moments w/ Penzance. After I smoke a pipe for 45 min, I would like to have a little buzz. Tin aroma: superb; packing and lighting qualities: superb; smoking characteristics: superb. fully matured luxury blend. It is, simply put, sublime, and is what makes Penzance unique. These come and go as you smoke down through the bowl. I like this tobacco ok. It's like a Mediterranean sunset. Also great are Margate and Quiet nights , both a wee bit different . It is a quality tobacco for sure - there are better. Esoterica Penzance - when available, very limited! If you have had the pleasure of smoking Germains version of The Balka n Sobranie you will immediately recognize the flavor as soon as flame meets tobacco. copyright intellectual property of the reviewer and STC Holdings LLC and may not be Good as it was, I could still taste the latakia two days later despite intervening meals and brushing of teeth. iannweeks@msn.com. The burning characteristics of this blend make me suspect that it has been treated with something. The cut has its advantages - ease of packing - and disadvantages - dries too soon - but on the whole is an interesting alternative to ribbons and flakes. Age When Smoked: Fresh, 2 years & 5 years. I acquired a tin of Penzance because I wanted to compare it with two other blends. It broke apart easily enough though and was perfect for packing into our pipes. The smoking flavor is on the medium to full side. In a virgin briar no less. Now though, it seems a bit heavy handed. Mississippi Mud is similar, stronger & tasted so much better to me right from a new tin. Nothing else like it.. Ah Penzance. The smell and taste in the mouth of these burning coils of cow sh*t is exactly what Penzance remindes me of. Substitute for Penzance? :: Pipe Tobacco Discussion Someone recommended having a bowlful of Penzance with a glass of Laphroaig. when it is available. Certainly, there is an art to loading even krumble kake, but really just about anything will do with this tobacco, is is very tolerant of lazy pipe loading. The virginias used are of a substantially better quality than you will find in most other blends, having absolutely no cigarettish taste nor aroma. If you can get your hands on this blend I absolutely recommend it. Like a chocolate brownie. After discovering this website and doing a bit of research I landed on Penzance as one of about 3-4 new tobaccos (Dunhill's London Mix, McClelland's Frog Morton on the Town and Anniversary are others) to try in two new pipes (a Comoy's Guild Hall and a nice little Bjarne). The Latakia is quite nicely appliedoffering an assertive cedar smokiness that melds well with the sweetness from the Virginias. On some days I consider this to be one of the most over-rated tobaccos on the market and can only watch with disbelief as its value rises on the vintage tobacco market. The smoking experience itself demands that one takes their time when enjoying it. I highly recommend getting at least a tin, if not an 8 ounce bag. Easily burns to grey ash and starts leaving remains attached to bowl, so it will cake the bowl quickly. A little sweet, a little smoky, but it goes well as a mix of the two. This jumps right out of the tin at you. This is a very mild smoke. Penzance is an exceptionally good blend! This stuff is really, really good. This is, along with Legends, Durbar, Nightcap and Aperitif, the best Latakia offering I have ever tried in my 15 years as a pipe smoker. I would contrast it with many of the other luxury 'English' (as Americans seem to call them - I'm English) blends containing Latakia, in that some of these have very little weight at all - you puff them in and out and there's nothing there but the dry, ashy, smokiness. I am reminded of the Dunhill brand Aperitif. Just one more fan of Penzance wanting to chime in. We borrowed the name from the diaries of Samuel Pepys, Esquire. The tin aroma is smokey and its appearance is predominantly dark, black in fact with some light strands here and there. The dampness is disturbing. It's a delicious tobacco, no doubt, and combines pungency with a delicate balance of ingredients for an excellent strong smoke. Having had years now to consider this lack of kindness, I would like to apologize to all of the worlds business morons for lumping the owners of esoterica in with you please forgive me. If you are too heavy handed with the tobacco, you get a wet lump at the bottom of the bowl. It is very good and tastes just as an English should and the crumbling flake is indeed interesting. Plum Pudding isn't just close, I think I like it a little better. Paddy. Another keeper for my monthly shopping list. This is slightly fuller in body than 965, and on par with Odyssey. I warn you. The one, the old 1894 established Riches Cigar in Portland had been out of Penzance for a while and suggested the Germains as a reasonable substitute. I find this blend very hyped up. One de-caffeinated disappointment at a time, s'il vu plais; I haven't bothered with Stonehaven. Given the reviews I expected something quite enjoyable. I'll buy a full sleeve of tins as soon as I can. I find it hard to keep lit,and if you put the flame to it too often and long,youll get a sore tongue, and a bitter tobacco. From the first bowl I knew I would love this smoke. bag. This presentation comes quite moist in the tin and the flakes are quite dark in colour. Although I enjoy the taste--which is full, deep, and very tobacco-y--I find that this stuff often smokes wet and bitey for me. It finishes soapy where it used to finish clean. They both look and feel similar, smell similar, and smoke similar. If it isn't for you, you may want to save your time/money. A balanced earthy, SOMETIMES suprisingly sweet, solid balkan. So I forked over the $200 on my phone and ran over to the package to open it up. Older vintages: Hall of Fame nominee IMHO. 5/5 in my personal rating system. I still have yet to have it "bite" even with the moisture. I moved on to my Grandad's favourite Erinmore Flake which I enjoyed and then to Erinmore's Balkan Mixture which has some really interesting flavours and aromas with the Latakia and Orientals. AWESOME!!!!!! Moisture was perfect on opening. I won't be trying Penzance, ever again from a fresh or aged tin or pouch! They rub out easier than Bengal Slices while still offering the tunability of the slice form, so you can rub it more coarsely for smoking outdoors for example. After 140+ reviews, the jury's certainly in on Penzance. I'm smoking a great big bowl of it right now and it is wonderful and totally without Iodine scent or taste. Long matured and easily crumbled to facilitate pipe filling. Dislikes: Too many relights near the end and got a little hot. It packs easily and lights quickly, burning through a bowl with a below-average number of relights required. it's a shame it's so hard to obtain though.. I used to love Penzance, but one day it just turned on me. Been after this tobacco for a long time. My first impression was that this stuff smells great! If you've tasted Laphroaig, you've got a good idea of what Penzance is like. I purchased a second tin and was equally impressed with this fine tobacco. Yes two or three but then, only one of those tobaccos is a Balkan. Some, of course, will genuinely not care for it, but many others will dislike it because it's revered, subconsciously or not. I highly recommend this blend for the novice and the drug store smokers who are looking to expand their pipe smokiing experience.The room note is not sweet smelling like an aromatic so many significants may not like this blend.However it is a must try. I like to flip their stock on eBay whenever possible, but I go slow so they don't realize that an 8 oz bag is reselling for $150. Disappointed. I hadn't. 103.83.91.250 IT was quite large and rather heavy! In conclusion, Penzance is a five star tobacco on a four star scale. Although I normally smoke straight VA flakes, I found this an enjoyable change especially after meals or when outdoors. I have gotten lost and almost fallen asleep smoking this in the late hours, it relaxes me so. If there's Virginia in Penzance I can't taste them. Get exclusive updates on all our fresh offerings, sales, and promotions -- right to your inbox. I am so glad I finally bought a couple of ounces of this in bulk from my local tobacconist - El Fumador. Yeah, I can see why it has so many reviews and folks are hoarding it! I then walked up front and asked the store's 'pipe guru' what he thought of it. I understand the annoyance about it's rarity (I haven't had or seen any in six years)but if found, is worth a try! probable. But I can safely say - Penzance didn't disappoint. It feels moist right out of the tin, and in my opinion this is when it smokes the best. Sometimes, it's all a poor writer with no imagination has to explain critical differences. Has this blend become so popular that trying to keep up with the demand that quality control has suffered ? Just hope to get it more easily in the future.and for the tin lover maybe a more appealing label more worthy of the content would'nt hurt either! If this were as readily available as other blends, it would not be receiving the praise it gets. Something in this blend makes ur mouth feel cool kinda like menthol although in no way does the penzance taste like it, it's just the feeling, the way it coats ur mouth, it's just perfect. However, approached with gentle hands and patience, they will both yield their hidden delights and favor you with their mysterious and oriental treasures. I also have never been bitten by this tobacco, no matter my rate of smoking - it really shines when you slow your pace down a little though - a deep, creamy, rich taste that I simply never seem to get tired of! Those who like full bodied tobacco should try it at least once. Creamy smooth just a bit of natural sweetness. nasty after- taste?.IMO. I would make this an all-day smoke, except I fear that familiarity might breed contempt. As a Brit, getting hold of this stuff is impossible, same goes for all of Esoterica's 'British made' tobacco. Best Tobacco Stocks | US News Best Stocks But none of them smell this good to bystanders. Good solid English. A luxury English blend, Esoterica's Margate is married with fine French Cognac to create Pembroke. All in all one of the best pipe tobaccos out there!!! x 2? Pipe goes out. Until last night. This English is really good. Allow me to offer my thanks for your years of wisdom and taking the time to type your thoughts so succinctly (in most cases)you have all been a great help. With so many widely available better tasting English blends available i just dont get the hype. The first time I smoked this it was remarkable. The overall flavors and smoking mechanics are quite similar, however, with the exception of a slight bergamot and heather flavor that comes through on the back end of the smoke, throughout the first quarter to one third of a bowl of Penzance, but, after that, the two smoke nearly identically, in my experience. Then they get on the internet and try to convey some semblance of civility. I can't get enough of this! Limit One Bag Per Customer Took to the flame fast and almost immediately started turning into a nice white ash. Also i collect pipe,s from Eli Belgium a master pipe maker ( see his website ). Crumbling it out into those tiny cubes adds to the ceremony of pipe smoking. This blend seems to find a great happy medium by having great latikia and oriental flavors but without being overly smoky tasting from excessive latikia. Its amazing, but there are too many blends I can horde without so much effort. Less processed seems to equal more pure. The Orientals are what I cant quite figure like the VA, its fermented and smooth as well, lacking any spice and don't posses the floral and herbal qualities we expect. I just finished a bowl of Penzance (dated February, 2012, purchased-and-jarred in August 2015). Could be my new #1time will tell. I often find the tin itself to be insufficiently sealed -- closing the remaining tobacco back up in the tin isn't tight enough, and it dries out too soon. As with many tobaccos this requires a little time before you will master the technique that works for you. Esoterica- Ramsgate 8 ounce. Very unique and lovely. It puts me in a nice relaxed mode. A true Reformer Blend. The lingering aftertaste was pleasant and sweet sugary sweet, and similar to sucking on a hard candy. However this on the other hand really is something else. Every website you go to will likely read Out of Stock. Room Note: Wife actually said she didnt think it was an overpowering room note, which means anyone else may not mind it. It demands your attention! The problem, and why I cannot give it the highest rating yet, is that it seems to have been a bit too moist until the last few smokes. Penzance is a good English/Balkan with a good flavor, though I would not call it full. The after taste will stay with you most of the day, so forget kissing the wife. The crumble cake form is easy to load. Where Is The Best Place To Purchase Penzance Online There is something about it that is just magical. I read all the "hype" about this blend and rarely follow the crowd..well they were RIGHT! No more, Penzance is my new bench mark. The lingering, haunting, room aroma is uniquely "Esoterica". Availability: Out of StockPrice: $42.95 USD. Note: I am a Latakia fan, BTW, but I prefer it to be in some sort of harmony (or perhaps a counterpoint) with the other elements of a given blend. In taste I was surprised how much this reminded me of my favorite blend -Cornell and Diehl's Engine #99. Lighting takes 3-4 matches before I can get a good burn, and I have frequent relights because I try not to overpuff this tobacco. So, like I said, I feel guilty; it seems a little rude to say, Hey, you know that tobacco you cant get right now? The smoke is headily rich and hangs heavy in the air; qualities I really enjoy. Theres a lot of hype with this tobacco and is hard to find. The older the better for this blend, as the Virginias develop their tell tale sugar crystals. Another guy in my pipe club has been unlucky enough to have had at least one tin lose its seal. View All (73) Esoterica Penzance 2oz Reviews. It never wears my mouth out yet has a great taste. penzance comes in a small rectangular tin, but don't let the size fool you. Moving into the second third, the taste is becoming even darker, maturing into a remarkably full and satisfying flavor. I wish it was a bit more together. I have spent many nice evenings around our firepit with a nice blaze going and a bowl of penzance. The blending of latakia, virginaian and orientals is very nice. As wonderful as Penzance was two years ago, I believe that this sample contains one of the best tobaccos I've ever enjoyed. colored Virginia tobaccos. So, it was with much surprise and pleasure, when I found four ounces of bulk at my local tobacconist. I highly recommend trying this blend. going to wait a year before trying a new tin to see how it ages. All of the aforementioned components are still here; a swirling melange of the symphony that, I am now seeing, is Penzance. If you tamp too much or smoke it too moist, you end up with an impossible to keep lit soggy mess at the bottom of your bowl that ends up tasting nasty. Provides a full, creamy and tasty smoking experience for the latakia lover. The smokiness never disappears, but does pop in enough to remind you of It's presence. So I was finally given a chance to try the blend that seems to be the most legendary of any. Esoterica Scarborough Pipe Tobacco It was a nice and smoky blend but I found it slightly boring. If you receive this confirmation repeatedly, you will need to enable cookies so that your response can be saved. It is very different from penzance yet both display age like no other. Some smokers like this (a la Frog Morton?) Never opened since. either way is fine. The less available this becomes, the more people are going to seek it. This has got to be one of the best latakia mixtures around. I thought the first bowl was great, yet each successive bowl of Penzance seems to get better and better. Fish out of water; I didn't know how much I didn't know. I closed the tin and sealed it with a hot glue gun and threw it in the cellar. But, compared to your average medium - full English or Balkan, are they? It truly is a shame that Penzance is hard to get now, how people buy it out and hoard it, and worst of all are those who buy it only to sell on eBay for ridiculously price gouged amounts, this goes against everything the pipe community is about. Margate, a classical English mixture of choice Orientals and generous So I finally got my hands on some, opened the bag, and wow, the smokey mesquite filled the room and ghosted my pipe. Hurray! I was angry that both Penzance and Stonehaven were readily available on ebay (at $400 per pound), but nobody, no tobacconist anywhere had this stuff stocked. Cool smoking and no bite. Essentially, Esoterica blends are a fiction, they don't exist anymore, no one has any for sale and I suggest they remove them from their websites - they all say the same thing,,, "Out of Stock".. :(. I don't care that the dog runs off when I crack the tin open or whenwell, you get the idea. I went really slow during the lite up stage and this seemed to work to get the top of the tobacco evenly lit. He would drive by in a orange and yellow VW "NEW" beetle, and he would throw the penzance out the car, I was to wear a red balloon for identification. That said, rating an English isn't easy for meI don't smoke them often enough, and I find most (Cyprian)Latakia blends so similar to each other that separating them out is nigh impossible. Though I am firstly a VA smoker I will always reserve a spot in my bosoms for Penzance. This wonderful crumble cake typically comes moist. One of my new favorites. 1. Dark, full-flavored, slightly sweet, though savory, this is certainly the best Germain has to offer in their Esoterica line. Nothing unpleasant except more of tendency to bite than I expected. It comes in crumble-cake, which is an annoyance if you carry / travel your pipes, but is really the right packaging for this style of tobacco. if anything, i may even like this one a little better, but they are both great tobaccos. I recently got 8 oz?s of this Penzance cause it ticked all the boxes as well, but it?s not nearly as good. There is a difference. The tobacco lit up quickly, instantly showing its flavor and wonderful aroma. This simple phrase has been repeated by generations of tobacco enthusiasts. I can totally see why people will sell their kids/cars/& wives to try and get this stuff. I just wanted to register my 4-star vote. Upon opening the tin I was hit by a familiar scent that I couldn't put my finger on, it was hidden behind the nice smoky latakia. Hand blended, hard pressed, broad cut into thick flakes. Very etheral, woodsy, slightly sour with some hint of floral notes to it. Great all day smoke and I tend to enjoy it while reading a good book. This baccy has a lot going on in it. I crumble them gently and allow them to dry for 30 minutes. And Esoterica has a knack for bringing nuances to its blends that can't be found in any other brand (well, except for Germain, but since they are blended by the same company, ). This English tobacco is presented in a crumble cake form. Just don't give up if the first pipeful puts you off -- try a different pipe until you hit the magic button. Mac Baren Pipe Tobacco An very mild smoke, with a simply intriguing blend of flavors coming together from the finest of exquisite tobaccos, and laced with delicious latakia.