Nope. (I still haven't cracked the tins I recieved from him.) Like most germain produced tobaccos sobranie dries to a certain point in a rather short time, and I find 20-30 minutes brings it to a nice moisture level, being slightly dry but having that oily texture. smokers to be superior. This is not present in the taste, but it stays in the room note from match to the end. Oh yeah, I forgot, "It's not the way it used to be, when it had yenidje, and I walked up hill both ways to school during blizzards, and used pliers to pull out my own tooth". This is what a pipe tobacco is supposed to be! Disclaimer: This review is based on four bowls as this is a late 80's tin and I am savoring it slowly due to its demise. Just a slight leathery flavor in the background. Not everyone appreciated the room aroma. I fell in love with it immediately, my stable of english blends are rather limited since I reach for it only when in the mood for Latakia which is about once or twice a week, I have to add that this is a blend, not a latakia orgy which really agreed with me. Germain & Son. Probably. Esoterica Pipe Tobacco Comparisons to Balkan Sasieni are obvious due to the tin art but Sobranie is miles ahead in flavor and depth. So it was very perplexing when I got tongue bite, tongue bite, tongue bite. Well, not a real review, just sharing my story. Easily qualifies as a four star blendIMHO, of course!!! It has a grayish hue to it, which upon closer inspection, is a wonderful sparkly crystallization. Age will make all the difference. This pipeweed is certainly an icon and one of the best oriental blends out there. I've tried Balkan Sasieni, the current Balkan Sobranie, the current Best Blend from the current Smokers' Haven, and Balkan Sobranie throughout the '70s, '80s, 90's and '00s, as well as Margate (probably the currrent Best, as Germain now blends for Smokers' Haven, I've heard), Caravan, Penzance, McClelland's Yenidje Highlander and Yenidje Supreme (which lacks latakia), and countless other English/Balkan/Oriental blends from the late-lamented Dunhills to those corner tobacconist bulk-bought or hand blended attempts to clone Balkan. It's a little like a bowl of Squadron Leader but even smoother and milder, and without the spicy and sometimes peppery 'orientals'. First: I never really imagined smoke the legendary The Balkan Sobranie. Afterwards, it loaded nicely and lit without trouble. Off the top of my head, Black House and White Knight are definitely in the ballpark and I am surprised to say I like Balkan Sasieni even better! I'm no expert but I think that both today's Sobranie and Sasieni (made by Stokkebye) are using poor quality VA's that produce that (combined) effect and sensation of, as another reviewer has written, "smoking hot air". All Balkan fans should give this one a try. Now it seems to follow the path outlined by Balkan Sasieni, since it looks like that more and more: same cut, same colour, almost same taste. I'm going to try to find a steady source for this, but can't afford to shell out the $25/pouch I gave for these. Ok ..lets all get over the Balkan Sobraine tag because this stuff isn't anything like the stuff I smoked in the '60's and 70's, in fact, it reminds me of Bill Baily's Balkan a bit. Its available at pipesandcigars. Do your self a favor and try at least one tin you won't be sorry. The nicotine content is not heavy at all, but a solid medium. 1981, transition year to the Gallaher production, good but really just not it. Both generate wonderful clouds of leather and oak, and upset the women. I feel it can be smoked anytime of the day accompanying many pleasurable activities be it reading a novel, fly fishing, walking the dogs, even after cigars and cask strength single malts. I feel I need more time to deliberate upon the subtley. If you want to obtain a tin you have to keep an eye out on international fora and tobacco sites and just be VERY lucky because when it is available, poefff it's already gone.. I bewailed the last tin in my Weed Store, sold to an undeserving oik who wanted to try 'Sumfin' new. I rarely smoke now. Initial smoke is full and sweet, and the mix of latakia and turkish is beautiful. As the tobacco rose on the initial light and one tamped it with the index finger and relit, all the wonderful, contradictory adjectives began to pertain. Pouches continued to be manufactured but this is another story. 2. I love Abingdon by GL pease, adirondack campfire by cupojoes, mclelland british woods as much more pleasant, complex and satsifying balkan styled blends. The label on the tin is cheap looking and not printed well but I dont care I want whats inside. But. It was really good, superior to Caravan, Balkan Supreme, Balkan Sasieni and just as yummy to me as P&W's #10 with a little more weight and a cooler temperment. Original Review 12-25-11 This review is for the newly released J.F. It has a slight, salty flavor in the Orientals from the ocean breeze blowing onto the leaf & has an enticing aroma. Maybe the preparation or selection of red & brown Virginias topped off with tasty Yenidje? This is probably the best English/Balkan type tobacco I ever had and I can only wonder if I will ever smoke it again. Once lit, I walked back through the cloud of smoke that had been produced and of course, a rush of great memories came back to me. If you like Balkans, what's not to like here? Personally, I've only tried two of them. As Balkan blends are a bit lighter on the Latakia and heavy on the Orientals it is a bit different than a regular English blend, but not as light as P resbyterian Mixture. Like everyone else who's been smoking as long as I have, I can confirm that this is nothing like the old tins we used to smoke decades ago. Great stuff and ill be stocking up. Perhaps its uniqueness is one of the reasons why so many pipers love it. No bite whatsoever. I'd rather own 50 grams of this than 500 grams of any other Balkan blend out there today. The virginias are present and provide their own standard notes for the first half of the bowl, but as the smoke strengthens they fall deeper into the background and the smoky, spicy flavors take over. !Thats my opinion.Exellent in all respects. Personally I've never smoked that real old version and I think there was not so much wrong with the pouch version. Having heard so much about this blend I was prepared to be under whelmed, but it really does live up to the hype. At least I find it impossible now to say from the room note alone what Balkan has been smoked, but with Balkan Sobranie there never was any ambiguity. Same Day on in Stock Items If ordered before 10 am EST. Government (in the UK) considered it to be a pure tobacco for generations. For my tastes, the #1 of all of these Hall of Fame blends. Yes, this tobacco is all that I remembered it to be. I bought some in the spring from Boswells in Chambersburg, PA. I find Nightcap, Penzance and Black Mallory to be more complex. . Somewhat regarded as a classic and rightly so, however it has become somewhat degraded in recent years, no doubt a by-product of being taken over by the Gallaher tobacco conglomerate. A great blend, but there are blends available all year long that are just as good by GL Pease, and also his Drucquer and Sons blends. If all this good smoke is coming from the tobaccos alone, that's incrediblealmost magical! This is a fine tobacco. And yet, the aromas and flavors of the other ingredients were not overwhelmed. Easily qualifies as a "five" star blend IMHO, of course!! None came close to the White Tin with the neat wagon on the front of the tin. Quite moist in the tin, it smokes fine directly from the tin but a little drying time is recommended. Again, whatever. balkan sobranie in stock : PipeTobacco - reddit I never thought a blend containing Latakia could be enjoyed so much until I smoked The BSOM. Here's the deal, folksfor as long as it's available, I will own this. The "Junk" you're writing about is produced by J.F. I used to smoke this tobacco mixture back in the early 90s. So it was very perplexing when I got tongue bite, tongue bite, tongue bite. This has more legends than any other and according to my tobacconist has been going downhill for years. If it's true that this means a tobacco never is as good as when fresh, this tobacco must be magical, as it is as good or better than any balkan I've ever smoked. I will prove the New Balkan Sobranie and I really wish they would have achieved a blend as good as the original, because I think just like that, honestly, never will be. Somehow, with all of that, it managed a very pleasant room note. The mixture was overwhelmingly harsh and acrid really vile stuff. Having said that, I want to be perfectly c lear I DO believe it is a solid tobacco blend worthy of some distinction. I remember the room note. Roomnote: The old Balkan Sobranie Original Smoking Mixture was (in)famous for it's for most people baaaad roomnote. I don't know any of the ingredient ratios, but I was told that the ratios changed every year to compensate for seasonal changes in the individual ingredients' strength and taste. I never thought a blend containing Latakia could be enjoyed so much until I smoked The BSOM. 1, I'm not quite sure how old this can is as it was a gift and 2, I did not smoke my usual 2oz for the review. The flavor from top to bottom was full and rich. Maybe tobacco grown in the Balkan region has some affect on the flavor. Although I prefer this indoors since it's extinct and demands my undivided attention, rightfully so. The cut is a fine shag like the ribbon which is a little finicky getting lit and keeping it so but chalking that up to a moisture thing mostly I believe. I still wonder if the dumbest thing I ever did with regards to this hobby was to not buy that second tin. I simply loved the flavor. Mid way the orientals take over and some sublime spicyness tkaes over from the Latakia. It hints at this blend -- maybe it needs more Yenidje?? This is also the case with Balkan Sobranie Original Smoking Mixture. I had never smoked a version of the tobacco in her presence but when I was puffing away a "Jeeeezzz.. What are YOU smoking?? It needs to be dried out quite a bit before smoking. Man oh man oh man! )which would make this more of an english blend than a Balkan. I remember the blend being "light and dark" ribbons but this 25 year old tin of tobacco (dated to 1979) was "dark and darker". Very neutral aroma that does not disturbs the room. After a few puffs, the tobacco flavors begin to meld & it just keeps getting better until the very end. Is this the best tobacco in pipe history, as many smokers claim? The ribbon cut was tricky to load, and if clumped up could cause voids. Last year a friend picked up some pouches from Japan: the tobacco was good, but a pale shadow of its glorious former self. The first cigarette I ever smoked was a Sobranie Black Russian, one of the great looking black ones with a gold tip. Appearance: Over 80% black leaf, with a few nut brown to dark brown strands, ready rubbed in a medium cut ribbon. Without question this was the most anticipated tin I have ever opened. The room note is unique. Balkan Sobranie Pipe Tobacco (1.76oz) - Hiland's Cigars Perhaps all of the above. Please for the life of Pete, tell me where once again I may get this fine tobacco that I have been without now since the 1990's. The tobacco came super-dry in the pouch and required almost a month of rehydration. British pipes were it, and though Joe had other makes on hand, I don't remember any Danish or Italian goods. All of that said this is a 4 star smoke. It has a peaty, brackish astringency that is quite unique as a taste?it reminds me of some olives, in a way. Sorry, persons under the age of 18 cannot use this site. Because it is with this tobacco as with wine. It's taste was definitely much better than it's smell, full-bodied and smoky, and the room note was not too aggressive, there's somewhat of a "tang" to it, but you could easily smoke it unnoticed in a group of cigarette smokers. Comparisons: Similar to the GL Pease blends in the same way a red crayon drawing resembles Rothko's "Red on Maroon"; the flavors are there; but this is infinitely more complex and more subtle. By entering this site, (50 Grams) Wow. I have tried this blend recently, I do agree with fellow reviewers that it is a brilliant blend, it is creamy and smooth, burns really cool with a nice hint of sweetness in the background. They were definitely not alike. The amount of red Virginia was decreased by 1982. I've had no luck trying to blend existing blends to emulate the original Balkan. I guess I'll just keep trying but i t very frustrating for those of us who haven't gotten to try these blends. On the contrary! There are so many old blends I'll never get to sample, yet I've managed to fulfill a dream by getting to try this one. Never had the chance to try this one, because It's never in stock, I use to check it here every day for a year, I gave up. Had a pleasant, lightly lingering after taste and room note. Not much piquant, pretty monochrome. It is not nearly as heavy with Latakia that Penzance is, nor is it quite as creamy regarding the mouth feel although there's some. I didn't get tongue bite, but if I smoked multiple bowls per day I would, which reminds me of said Turkish at least until aged some. I can't make a comparison, but this Original Mixture seems very good to me. Since in Italy it's still fully available, I can submit a review of the latest pouches. I must say I am very disappointed. I have been told that Smoker's Haven 'Our Best Blend' is a near-match to the Balkan Sobranie white, and that their Exotique is very similar to the Balkan Sobranie black.