WARNING: Smokingpipes.com does not sell tobacco or tobacco related products to anyone under the age of 21, nor do we sell cigarettes. With so many good tobaccos on the market today I'm very happy with the selection I have, to be great It has to be in production once and awhile. This is a pure Turkish smoking experience. I guess I first tried it nearly 35 years ago. Once I opened a can and discovered that one of the stems (it had its share of stems) was in fact a rusty nail. Tobacco is a thin ribbon cut of black and brown, with a little tan mixed in. First third of the bowl is quite mellow and mild, but the flavour and complexity increases the further down the bowl you go. It contains Virginia, Syrian Latakia and eastern Tobaccos. . However, for many, the newer blends are just as enjoyable, if different. Although, you may want to let the tobacco dry a bit before smoking. The subtle interplay between the Orientals and the Latakia along with the suspected aged virginias became sublime.as well as whatever word denotes that which is greater than sublime. Isadore Redstone sensed this void in 1995 and negotiated with the Lane Company to manufacture the old blend under a new name "Balkan Saseini." At a benefit concert at Town Hall in NYC in the 1960's, I watched Thelonius Monk shambling onto stage with a pipe in his mouth and a can of Sobranie in his hand, which can he proceeded to place on the piano before starting to play. Misrepresentation of your Individual reviews are the opinion(s) of the contributor and do not reflect the opinion(s) The yenidje seems to have been the same in all versions. I would have rated this version of the BS as a two star blend, or maybe 2.5 if I were feeling generous. I need to first say that below, Leiconnsel's review must be the gold standard for all reviews on this amazing blend. Balkan Sobranie literally was Our Best Blend at that time. I have smoked it many times since, but it never became part of my standard repertory. Westminster is a complex finely tuned mixture that will appeal to those who appreciated the splendid English blends that once were easily found, Red Odessa is a straightforward, profoundly old-fashioned English Blend that will bring back wonderful half-memories. 4th Generation Pipe Tobacco I first tried this in college. Oh boy, now what? Balkan Sobranie Products - Cup O' Joes Bottom of Bowl: It is over too quickly. I'm anxious to try the new Grand Orientals series from McClelland to see how they compare to BS (specifically, Yenidje Supreme, Yenidje Highlander, and Yenice Agonya) and will update this review at that time. My only gripe is that 70% of the blends that I smoke are made by Germain and most of them are almost impossible to come by. When available. Ok, now to the tobacco. For joy. It is almost all black and had compressed, so I broke it and rubbed it out. 5 smooth. (50 Grams) Packaging: Tin Limit One Tin Per Customer This tobacco in my humble opinion should be the standard by which all Balkans are judged by, it is that good. PS: Save your coin if you think that Sasieni is going to get you any closer to those bygone days I personally think it's somewhat better than BS but not much. !Thats my opinion.Exellent in all respects. The amount of red Virginia was decreased by 1982. In the late 70s and 80s I took this mixture for granted and smoked a lot of it and I highly appreciated it until it suddenly disappeared. I said, no problem I'll buy it from you. The Latakia-based blends status as a legend is due to the exceptional sweet and rich qualities of this particular tobacco mix. I've never had a freshly opened tin that was not perfect for smoking. Having now tried this blend, I can now rationalize the crazy prices I see on the web. There aren't any really. 2023 TobaccoPipes.com identity verification to validate that fact. A fine grey ash results and despite the high Latakia content it doesn't flavour the pipe too much. This is perhaps the most interesting review thread on here, dedicated as it is to a legend rather than to anything that still exists. Before lighting the first bowl I was scared by a possible great strength and power. Posted by Bob Sizemore on 8th Jan 2023 Didn't particular like. It may need a couple of relightings, but after each one of them the taste seems to get even better and richer. Cheers! Browse by Category, Family & more Hide Filters Show Filters Price Update There are no products listed under this brand. Finally I was able to secure a tin. Balkan Sobranie - The Country Squire Tobacconist For me, this is a very difficult tobacco to review as I don't really have anything to compare it to. I had the same experience with 759. The quality of the tobacco is excellent. I deem this an excellent, one of the best Balkan blends ever & I'm not a big Latakia fan but it facilitates this blend's sweet, creamy, smoky flavor. This is by far the best English Balkan blend ever made including the suppose Gallagher version. IMPORTANT NOTICE: Milan The same topping as the 1981 and pouch version. Stock photos, 360 images, vectors and videos We have in stock for your choice! (50 Grams) I've never had anything labeled Balkan that was remotely close to this. Us |Contact The sweet, smoky, woody germain Latakia is present with every puff and very enjoyable. Balkan Sobranie. It's a slow burning, cool and dry smoke with an incense like aroma, very smooth. Because this is the weak spot of J.F. I gently separated the cake and allowed it to absorb some of the water vapor from the water below. Min: $ 0. I also liked other mixtures of Sobranie of London, like the rare Birdseye Cut, and the famous 759 for example. Similar Blends: No other Balkan on the planet I've tried tastes as good but some have come close Really good stuff & I'm not a big Latakia fan but it facilitates this blend's sweet, creamy, smoky flavor. Won't bite or get harsh. It's just I don't think there is anything quite so good. Balkan Sobranie for sale | eBay Once open the tobacco rests in a paper as is often customary with on top of that a thin round insert with nothing on it. Once rubbed out I could pretty much gravity feed it into a pipe that is currently dedicated to it - a small to medium sized bent Dunhill shell dublin collector. Anyone who disliked Germain's Balkan Sobraine can send their tins to me. It was dry as dust, despite being sealed. The strength is a couple of steps short of medium. On ebay, astronomical amounts were (and still are) asked and paid for these tobaccos. On ebay, astronomical amounts were (and still are) asked and paid for these tobaccos. (I still haven't cracked the tins I recieved from him.) All in all, highly recommended for this wall of honour blend, an excellent starting place for Aromatic or Virginia pipers all briar brethren of the good leaf whom intend and desire experience with the genus Balkan or English. Lots of moisture. Balkan Sobranie Tobacco - TobaccoPipes.com I can only imagine how good the original issue was; I smoked it in my college days (1970s) and also smoked the Sobraine-made Smokers' Haven blends (which I still smoke in their Germain incarnation) but the taste memory has faded over the years. Just a slight leathery flavor in the background. If I had plenty of money, I'd have more Balkan Sobranie Original Mixture. I removed the cake of tobacco and set out to re-hydrate it thus: Placed in a kitchen type strainer (sieve) over a pot of boiling water for a few moments the tobacco softened. A very smooth smoke that developed slowly and continuously. 1 in stock. I follow the Machiavalian point of..availability. I won't go into the more esoteric territories trying to describe it (others have done a good job on that already, both for the original and the reincarnation), suffice to say I do enjoy it, but not every day and in modest quantities. Ideally, I should have kept it in the freezer. Perhaps its uniqueness is one of the reasons why so many pipers love it. I was impatient while filling my first bowl straight out of the pack which I later regretted, but I will come to that. This is not merely a Balkan, it can be said this is possibly the Balkan that the term Balkan refers to about similar blends. I guess I hate the others - they only remind me of the real gal. This tobacco is so fine that if it was food you were eating, you'd want to regurgitate it and eat it again. It is legendary for a reason, and it certainly isn't nostalgia. It is a lost age. Current Stock: Decrease Quantity: Increase Quantity: Add to Wish List. A TRUE MASTERPIECE. I like subtleties up to a point, beyond which I cannot detect them. Cyprian latakia is present along with turkish in the nose. I opened this tin given to me as a gift by dm14 and I thank him for it. Waited a few days until I was off work to try it, opened it up, and found mold growing on it. Finally got to smoke my fabled white whale, Balkan Sobranie.TRANSCENDENCE!!! This blend consists of dark brown and black ribbons in the pouch along with a few flecks of tan. Having not had the opportunity to smoke the original when it came out I cant speak to a true comparison but I have smoked the old Balkan Sobranie with a lot of age. tobacco that gives this blend its characteristic flavour and aroma. My 5 star rating is based on the original blend but I have never tried this newer iteration. Smokingpipes has been down for a few days for maint. There wasn't much virginia citrusy virginia "pep" but you could still smell it's "expensive cigarette" qualities, I think you can blame the age of the tin for that. Dating back to around the 1920s, this is a combination of wonderful Virginias, excellent Orientals and enough Latakia for a robust and flavorful mixture. Over the past few days, I've had Gaslight, Plum Pudding, Balkan Sasieni, White Knight, Sextant. Joe had some sort of preferred agreement with Charatan, I believe, and also sold lots of Dunhills. What's in there, you smell! For those who like how the Latakia played with the Turkish, and both were supported by Virginias, smoke either GLPease's Westminster, or Cornell & Diehl's 968R (Red Odessa). I prefer it in the truck on a road trip, or in the evening sitting in my smoking chair. The tobacco presents a fine white ash when burnt. With the history and price tag/availability of this blend came concerns it could be a bit of a letdown but those were swiftly erased almost immediately after lighting my first bowl of Balkan Sobranie. Put my name on the list to try the new one out. Customer satisfaction Over 30.000 customers. In just a few minutes I judged that the tobacco was moist enough, placed it on a dish and then a few minutes later, into a "ZipLock"?.After allowing the moisture to migrate throughout, overnight: Sobranie vs. Sasieni The pouch aroma is very inviting (noticeably more so than Sasieni). The tobacco feels so soft and silky.