Esoterica's Peacehaven - Old and New

[cosmicfolklore]

I was lucky enough to get 8 oz of fresh Peacehaven and 8oz of some old. I was back in the tobacco storage of the local Brairy and pulled out an old bag on the bottom of the Esoterica pile, and when I asked the owner how old it was, it seems it could be anywhere from 2-8 years. I was sold at "hello" on the old unopened bag, and I couldn't wait to get home to do some comparison smoking. I have since been smoking from both batches at least once a day for a week.
The first thing I did when I got home was open and jar the bags in 1.5 oz per jars. And, when I opened the bags, the first thing I noticed was that the older bag was much darker in color, compared to the fresh batch.


The new was grassy smelling, with a lemony hay like aroma. The old was creamier smelling, less grassy, but still a lemony smell.
Both had a top note in flavor of lemony sweet, but the older batch had a more rich and zesty flavor. The new batch had a more tingly on the tongue flavor, more acidic.
Both, were wonderful smooth smokes, but I think the age adds more zest and darker aromas, like a caramel-ly stoved flavor. The newer batch had a fruity taste that wasn't present in the older batch.
Both batches reminded me of Germaine's Medium Flake, without the slight citric topping. I think GMF is going after the flavor profile in this blend.
I also preferred a tall narrow dublin-shaped chamber. A wide pipe muddied the flavor, more smoke, less taste. I found the .7" dublin conical bowl with a 1.8-2.2" height was my favorite for this blend. It continues to stove the tobacco, bringing out a more caramel spicy flavor as the bowl progresses.
If I had a choice, I would select the older batch over the newer one anytime. Hands-down a little age adds a depth to the sugars and more zest. Both batches are now jarred up and awaiting a few more rides around the sun before I break it out again. But, until then I have four ounces pulled out for the current rotation. Is it worth the higher price of $40 per 8oz? Yes, I think so. Is it worth $115 or more that ebay would cost you? Hmmmm... that really depends on your wallet and how bad you want to try this. I will say that if you enjoy the nuances of a delicate Virginia flake, with nice high notes and deeper caramel low notes, you will most certainly recognize a quality you don't find in any other pure Virginias. If you are not a Virginia connoisseur, then these delicate nuances won't impress you. Me? I am just thankful to have an ancient pipe shop close by that has given me an option to just come in and browse all of these fantastic blends. If blindly ordering tobaccos off of a website was my only option, I would never have taken the risk of trying such a hard to find blend. I am enjoying this blend immensely. YMMV ::

 

[mrenglish]

Nice review, Michael.
I used to smoke a lot of Peacehaven back in the day. Still have some small jars from 1998 in the closet. Might have to break one of those out.

 

[cortezattic]

What a rare opportunity to do such a comparison! Nicely presented. Thanks. :clap:

 

[bulldogbriar89]

very nice review cosmic. now I will be on the look out for some aged Esoterica's Peacehaven

 

[saltedplug]

Years past I was gifted 8 oz of this tobacco and got rid of it because it was topped. If I had the same luck to come into 8 oz again today, I'd try to like it, being more accepting of flavoring. Earlier I was sold on the idea that there are so many flavors in natural tobacco-why bother with the artificially wrought? Now I'm not sure that this is all that important. Take flavor where you can get it-up to a point, Molto Duce, who in case you are wondering is a cousin of Il Duce, is completely overdone for me.

 

[jmatt]

Thanks for the review. Excellent picture too.
I am surprised how often "high price" comes up when discussing $40 per 8 ounces though. A typical tin is 50 grams, or 1.76 ounces. That means an 8 ounce bag is like 4.55 tins. This suggests a relative price of $8.79 per tin. Is $8.79 a price anyone balks at?
I guess my point is, Esoterica seems to make some really remarkable blends. And they are being sold, for the most part, at very reasonable prices.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

When I first tried Germaine's Medium Flake, I was put off by the casing or topping because it didn't seem to fit the tobacco. It had that aromatic taste, hard to describe, but more like a lack of taste than a taste. Peacehaven is more flavorful, IMO, with the lemony zest hard to tell of it comes from the bright Virginia or the casing, like it's more combined, if that makes more sense.
As for price, this site has people that bawk at any pricing, pipes and tobacco. It hits my nerves when people do this. It just shows a lack of class. I am no rich man, but the pipe hobby is my one and only splurge. If I can't afford something, and there are a lot of things I cannot afford, I just move on to the things that I can afford. And, yes, I find the Esotericas very affordable, for the quality that you get. I am trying some Stonehaven now, good stuff. And, my B&M calls me to let me know when they have it. Unlike online vendors who run out minutes after sending out an email. It's hard to have a real relationship with online vendors, and for the small but extra you pay a B&M the one on one service is impeccable. YMMV.

 

[davidintexas]

Thanks for the review, Cosmic. By your description of the relationship you have with your tobacconist, it almost makes one want to move to your neighborhood in the great state of Alabama.....but not quite
P.S. I have an uncle and aunt that live in Hueytown

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Hueytown is just stones throw from me. Well, kind of, ha ha! You'll have to visit The Briary when you come down. It has an old and new feel to the place. Lots of great tobaccianna about with a fantastic selection of high end pipes and artisan mades. He tries hard to avoid all of the stuff that can be easily found at other places online, and it's awesome to walk in when he has a few well known pipe makers just conversing about the place.
The place has spoiled me. I was under the assumption that every town had a place like this, till I started looking for pipe shops when traveling. But, now I know we're lucky to have a pipe shop like this close by. I try to buy all of my pipes through him now. It's a gem worth keeping afloat.