I'd be packing that hole with my special tamper....all night long. packing, packing, and more packing until the smoke came rolling out. :wink:
What's closest thing to Penzance?
- Thread starter mattnelson23
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If I haven't beat Hobie to it...I will say there is "no equal" to Penzance,
put in the time and you will aquire it , also taken from the book of Hob ;-)
make lots of calls to B&Ms, understand their stocks and build great
relationships, then they will call u and tell you it has arrived and how much
would you like ;-) my experience
put in the time and you will aquire it , also taken from the book of Hob ;-)
make lots of calls to B&Ms, understand their stocks and build great
relationships, then they will call u and tell you it has arrived and how much
would you like ;-) my experience
I know this is an old thread, but since Penzance is my favorite tobacco, I wanted to add my .02.
I'll agree with the poster who noted that there is nothing else that smokes like Penzance. I'm always baffled by those who think of it as a heavy latakia mixture; it's not at all. But there is a zing to the Orientals in Penzance, when fresh, that I've never gotten from any similar blend -- not even those also made by Germain/Esoterica. Exhale through the nose and you'll immediately recognize if you're smoking a fresh tin or one with a year or more of age on it. (Herein lies a problem, too; I much prefer fresh Penzance to aged. . . but aging is inevitable if you want to assure yourself of sufficient supply down the road.)
Now, if you want to get close, I'd recommend Germain's Royal Jersey: Special Latakia Flake and Samuel Gawith's Squadron Leader. (I'm definitely interested in trying the Brebbia blend that others have recommended. I think their Preludio Mixture No. 60 is outstanding, and a bit similar to the discontinued Raven's Wing from GLPease.) I enjoy Margate a lot, but to my palate it doesn't resemble Penzance.
Bob
I'll agree with the poster who noted that there is nothing else that smokes like Penzance. I'm always baffled by those who think of it as a heavy latakia mixture; it's not at all. But there is a zing to the Orientals in Penzance, when fresh, that I've never gotten from any similar blend -- not even those also made by Germain/Esoterica. Exhale through the nose and you'll immediately recognize if you're smoking a fresh tin or one with a year or more of age on it. (Herein lies a problem, too; I much prefer fresh Penzance to aged. . . but aging is inevitable if you want to assure yourself of sufficient supply down the road.)
Now, if you want to get close, I'd recommend Germain's Royal Jersey: Special Latakia Flake and Samuel Gawith's Squadron Leader. (I'm definitely interested in trying the Brebbia blend that others have recommended. I think their Preludio Mixture No. 60 is outstanding, and a bit similar to the discontinued Raven's Wing from GLPease.) I enjoy Margate a lot, but to my palate it doesn't resemble Penzance.
Bob
Ya, that was me said that. I just tried another bowl, and I still stand behind it. Pretty good stuff.
I haven't tried Germains Royal Jersey yet, I've sworn off PAD so if anyone can send me a small sample it would be greatly appreciated. Squadron Leader is way out of the same ballpark from Penzance IMHO
I love Penzance; smoke a bowl every evening and I am the fella who "commissioned" Sterlings 1776 American Patriot. It has an almost identical pouch aroma and it offers a similar smoke experience. Unfortunately, Jack Peterson is unable to press his tobacco so it is not exactly the same. It is a robust blend and it requires some smoking experience but unfortunately there really is no substitute for the real Penzance. Everything IMO is second best.
Chris wrote:
"This is a solid English blend that puts a slight emphasis on the orientals and shifts the latakia into a support position. The orientals here are slightly sour and pungent, and they bring just the right note to the blend. (To my palate, orientals range from sour or acrid to sweet and incense-like. But "sour" or "acrid" shouldn't be taken as negatives; I enjoy ALL of these variations.)
My favorite tobacco style is a rich Balkan blend, so I had to keep reminding myself this was never intended to be that. It's a mild-to-medium English that just happens to highlight the orientals, balancing them with some darker-tasting Virginias and a good dash of latakia.
Over the years, I've had a number of middle-of-the-road English blends that simply didn't bring anything special to the table. Squadron Leader stands out. It doesn't reach the heights of some richer blends that I absolutely love -- Westminster, Odyssey, Penzance, Yenidje Highlander -- but it soars."
Maybe it's telling that I didn't directly compare it to Penzance in this review. . . suggesting that my memory of how close it fit might be off. At the same time, re-reading this review reminds me of how much I enjoyed that initial tin. Maybe it's time to revisit it!
Bob
It's been four years since I've smoked SL, but here's what I wrote back in 2008 when I went through a tin:
"This is a solid English blend that puts a slight emphasis on the orientals and shifts the latakia into a support position. The orientals here are slightly sour and pungent, and they bring just the right note to the blend. (To my palate, orientals range from sour or acrid to sweet and incense-like. But "sour" or "acrid" shouldn't be taken as negatives; I enjoy ALL of these variations.)
My favorite tobacco style is a rich Balkan blend, so I had to keep reminding myself this was never intended to be that. It's a mild-to-medium English that just happens to highlight the orientals, balancing them with some darker-tasting Virginias and a good dash of latakia.
Over the years, I've had a number of middle-of-the-road English blends that simply didn't bring anything special to the table. Squadron Leader stands out. It doesn't reach the heights of some richer blends that I absolutely love -- Westminster, Odyssey, Penzance, Yenidje Highlander -- but it soars."
Maybe it's telling that I didn't directly compare it to Penzance in this review. . . suggesting that my memory of how close it fit might be off. At the same time, re-reading this review reminds me of how much I enjoyed that initial tin. Maybe it's time to revisit it!
Bob
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