| Although Garvey's Balkan is an American English blend containing both latakia and burley, I have a hard time comparing it to other examples of the genre like Spilman Mixture or Dr. Bradley (both from Iwan Ries). It follows the basic structure of this type of mixture, but is also its own unique creation. This is one of the mixtures that Jon's blends in store, and you can really tell that the leaf is high quality.
Garvey's Balkan is very smooth and creamy in the bowl, and has an aroma that smells a lot like an old-time pipe shop (actually it smells a lot like Jon's itself). It's really an effortless smoke and I could see it as being an everyday mixture. It's not as complex as many standard English mixtures, but it's also not boring. I feel that it's beauty lies in its simplicity.
I suspect that Garvey's Balkan uses Smoking Mixture as its base, but has the addition of a large amount of white burley. At times I get faint hints of sweetness in the aroma, which makes me wonder if the burley used is something like BLWB. But then, this is just pure speculation on my part and knowledge of the ingredients would not detract from such a fine blend.
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