Margate

[Brewdude]

OK so I'm late to the party. That notwithstanding, just had my first bowl of Esoterica Margate which was generously gifted to me by one of our own here at BoB.

I didn't take tasting notes, but it did transport me to one of those rare moments where time seemed to stand still and the focus was all on the pleasure and enjoyment of the moment at hand. I should add this sample was well aged. I had it in my Peterson "Fat Boy" as I call it, which is normally reserved for Lat-forward blends. And that was what I was half expecting.

Much to my surprise (and delight) the L-component was very well integrated into the sum of the parts and did not assert itself in any forthright manner. NTTAWWT (sorry Kyle - Not That There's Anything Wrong With That)



Anyhoo, the overall balance here was something like I'd never had and I found it much to my taste. Very different and unique and while I'd like to describe the individual elements, at the present I just cannot. Suffice to say I was focused on the experience and not the evaluation.

8)

In any case this will be getting more scrutiny in the future. It isn't often that one bowl rocks my world but there you have it! Perhaps all the elements were in perfect alignment - great pipe weed properly aged, the right pipe and moment, mood, etc.

And there ya go.....



Cheers,

RR

 

[alfredo_buscatti]

I was just looking at Capt. Earle's "Ten Russians" from Hermit Tobacco, checking on availabilty and price, and I also read about 15 reviews of it on TobaccoReviews, half of which said it is a lat bomb without redeeming characteristics from other components in the blend, and then I saw your post about "Margate" and remembered all the wonderful things I've heard about it.

Refocus: Margate.

 

[Dave_In_Philly]

Margate sure is good stuff. One of my favorites.

 

[alfredo_buscatti]

From what I read, Margate's description is only latakia and orientals—no VA. No VA? In my experience lat blends have always used VA as their base, but I'm sure burley could be used as the base as well. Orientals, from the little I know, are used as a condiment.

This seems strange.

 

[Kyle Weiss]

Much to my surprise (and delight) the L-component was very well integrated into the sum of the parts and did not assert itself in any forthright manner. NTTAWWT (sorry Kyle - Not That There's Anything Wrong With That)

*oldmangrumble* :study: :study:

:lol:

I love doin' the tabac-timewarp. 8)

 

[Dave_In_Philly]

I was surprised when I read that too. But whatever it is that they do, it works.

 

[alfredo_buscatti]

I've been reading TobaccoReviews again about Margate and I can't tell you the number of bimbo posts I found. "Tasted like crap," "left a strong taste in my mouth," or "didn't rise up out of the tin when I played my snake charmer's magic flute."

 

[Kyle Weiss]

Opinionated laziness is often confused with enigmatic, guarded intelligence. It's the "new Internet thing."

"Lame."

See how easy that is? :lol:

 

[ZeroContent]

TR needs to add a "did you find this review helpful" like on amazon so half assed crap gets knocked down the list.

 

[Cadfael]

An excerpt from one of "those" reviews:

"I was able to pinpoint the aroma to Lucerne Grass, which is used in the manufacture of Rabbit pellets (by the makers and the rabbits). This tobacco rates alongside a good Welch Claret, or a fine Scottish cigar."

I guess he did not like it!

 

[Kyle Weiss]

TR needs to add a "did you find this review helpful" like on amazon so half assed crap gets knocked down the list.

+1,000,000 to this.

 

[alfredo_buscatti]

I propose that all true believers of this board rise up and flood TobaccoReviews with email proposing the enactment of ZeroC's excellent suggestion, that although we can't stop bimbos from taking up space on TR, that we can rate posts and watch these deadbeats plummet to the bottom of the reviews, and thus won't have to read them.

 

[Cadfael]

Let's remember that tobacco (like many things) is in a large degree a matter of personal preference. One man's lat/oriental bliss is another man's "licking a dirty ash try" as they say. It is very hard for people to separate their personal likes/dislikes from the quality or complexity of a blend. Hence, I believe, the reason for the wide range of reviews about many tobaccos. JMO

 

[ZeroContent]

Yes but "Tastes like crap" and "Was good" as being the entirety of the review unhelpful.

On that know, how would you compare Margate to Penzance? Looks like on TR Margate just has latakia and oriental while penzance has VA and Turk was well.

 

[ZeroContent]

I propose that all true believers of this board rise up and flood TobaccoReviews with email proposing the enactment of ZeroC's excellent suggestion, that although we can't stop bimbos from taking up space on TR, that we can rate posts and watch these deadbeats plummet to the bottom of the reviews, and thus won't have to read them.

I send one.

 

[alfredo_buscatti]

I have only smoked three bowls of Penzance and haven't smoked any Margate. My remarks about bimbo reviews of Margate are solely based on the ridiculous opinions given by too many reviewers. Remarks that are off the wall, such as I stated (but the snake-charmer remark was my invention, to add to the absurdity), I think can be read as evidence of a more or less total lack of considered experience with a tobacco. I think smoking 100 g before writing a review is a good standard to follow. Have I written a review when I have not smoked 100 g? Yes. But I would not make formal, public statements until I felt sure that I had understood a tobacco, unless I stated that my opinion was based on cursory experience.

 

[Brewdude]

Interesting replies re: the TR site. Frankly I haven't gone there to read any on Margate so far, but now I think I will. I don't check the review site very often, and sometimes find the reviewers have a very different evaluation than myself. Of course, the trick is to identify one or more reviewers who seem to be dialed in and have similar tastes to yours. I haven't spent enough time there to do that yet.

Re: the Margate I spoke of earlier - yes it was one of those Epiphany moments, all elements in place, blah blah....

Haven't yet smoked a second bowl to confirm my first experience. That will come this weekend when I'm not all tired out from work.

I guess what I wasn't expecting from this was the subliminal role the Latakia took. In fact it was "Sotto voce", to use the musical term.

This may have everything to do with the age of the weed. I can't remember just now how old it is, suffice to say that it just is! And I only have about another pipe load or two from the sample I received.

So I guess if I get in some Margate I'll need to be prepared to wait a similar period to get it into this kind of balance. And of course I'll have a bowl or so along the journey.

Finally if this is truly just Latakia and Orientals, then slap my ass and call me Shirley!


:monkey:



Cheers,

RR

 

[the macdonald]

Margate has always been a runner-up to Penzance in my humble opinion. Penzance has a stronger profile, more latakia and orientals whereas Margate is mellower, and probaly a better "point of departure" than Penzance for novice latakia smokers but perfectly balanced. Sort of a Highland vs Lowland Scotch comparison.

 

[Dave_In_Philly]

Margate has always been a runner-up to Penzance in my humble opinion. Penzance has a stronger profile, more latakia and orientals whereas Margate is mellower, and probaly a better "point of departure" than Penzance for novice latakia smokers but perfectly balanced. Sort of a Highland vs Lowland Scotch comparison.

Its interesting that you say that, because I think Margate actually has more latakia in it. To me, Penzance doesn't seem stronger, but rather more complex (though to be fair I have smoked much more Margate then Penzance). If all things were equal I would probably smoke more Penzance, but given that Margate is so much easier to get a hold of, I am quite happy with it.

 

[the macdonald]

When I said stronger profile I think I should have said that Penzance is slightly out of balance (not a negative) enabling the different flavors to manifest. I think Margate is so balanced that it becomes almost flat because and no one flavor ever comes to the forefront. I think that Penzance is more popular, outside of the hard to find factor, because there is just more going on in the bowl than with Margate. This is all based on my "balance theory" which I came up with smoking Star of the East. SOE was billed as a lat bomb but sometimes it seemed to just hum (instead of scream) in the pipe and all the lat and Orientals would converge at the same point and cancel each other out.

A blend can have a ton of latakia in it, but if other ingredients come to forefront due to flavor profile, or even cut of the tobacco, the lat might not take center stage.

I’ll also add, again in my own opinion, that Margate’s balance lends itself very well to creating Pembroke, which is Margate topped with cognac.

BTW, I have been smoking a lot of newer Penzance. I taste more of the oriental tang in the young Penzance than I have in previous versions.