Esoterica Ramsgate

[EvanS]

Just finished my 2nd bowl, courtesy of TimB...one prepped and packed this morning while the other was fixed up after work this evening.

Dark and moist in the bag, semi-sweet smelling the way molasses is (except flavored more like a veery mild anise) with a slightly floral essence (soapy?). Needs to dry a fair amount to stay lit without paying much attention. I think I like the floral, it's not overpowering at all.
Description says nothing of burley but I taste dark burley on inhale, similar to a dark PE&W Nut Brown with the perfume. But the longer I hold in my mouth the more the flavor changes to slightly sweet, dark VA...and on exhale, especially thru the nose, it's all VA, dark but pretty mild. But 20 minutes after the bowl is done the finish heads toward the flavor I would expect from orientals, slightly tart and citrusy. Go figure. So each puff is not complex in and of itself but there is a complexity to the overall experience that I quite like.

The first bowl was pretty dry and burned fine. The 2nd bowl was a little more moist and took a little more attention, requiring a relight at about 2/3 bowl.

Nice little nic kick, maybe medium and, like every other Esoterica blend I've had, it burned down to nothing but ash with no problems. If you like to smoke hot it actually started to get a nice raisin flavor and you can push it pretty dang hot before the blend starts to fall apart and get sour/bitter.

Since this is my style I'll certainly give it a 4 of 5. It is not gonna unseat Stonehaven, even though there are some similarities. But I think I would certainly choose this over Blackwoods Flake or Dark Star. Even now, 40 minutes after the 2nd bowl the citrus qualities of the finish are deepening. I'll update more this weekend if I come across anything else.

THANKS Tim!!

[EvanS]

SLIGHT UPDATE - had another bowl 1st thing this morning. What this reminded me of last night was eluding me but now I got it! There is a resemblance to Stonehaven but I was disounting that...but that's what Ramsgate mostly reminds me of...DGT's Stonehaven, meaning Stonehaven whose rum spritz has burned away.

Nothing wrong with that in my book. All in all I really like this blend, but I have a hard time saying that I would specifically reach for this. There's just too many others that make the A1 list..where Ramsgate, for me, would be an A2.