Iwan Ries - Balkan Supreme pipe tobacco reviews

Review

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Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
Showing reviews 1 through 8 of 8 reviews of this tobacco
piedpiper	07/20/2010	Medium	None detected	Mild to Medium	Tolerable
Tried this offering from IRC a couple of times. The first experience was as advertised-a substitute for Balkan Sobranie. The second batch wasn't as good. Would give this 2 stars as a rather pedestrian English at a reasonable price.
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
CPT/VSG	04/19/2009	Medium	None detected	Medium	Very Pleasant
I don't know about Balkan Supreme being a replacement for Balkan Sobranie but it's a good blend at an excellent price from Iwan Ries. It has a particularly nice room note, burns extremely well-down to a white ash. In the flavor department, again, it is good but not excellent, not being particularly complex but enjoyable.
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
thedstnguishdgntlmn	02/18/2009	Medium to Strong	None detected	Medium	Tolerable to Strong
If you are in a pinch and need an English blend this could do it. It is better than most Bulk English . It is Stokebeye's aBalkan Sobranie. I have had better.
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
beaupipe	12/23/2008	Medium	None detected	Medium	Tolerable
I'm one of those deprived souls who never tried the original Balkan Sobranie that stained so many underpants and yellowed so many beards. And yet I feel pretty comfortable saying that this ain't a substitute for that Hall of Famer. But this is still pretty tasty stuff and I'm glad I discovered it in a forgotten bin full of IRC pouches. If I lived in Chicago...even if I lived on the outskirts of Chicagoland--Napierville, Batavia--I might smoke this Latakia-heavy, faux-Balkan with some regularity. But I don't, and I won't. Still, if you're looking for a fullish English with an easy-to-like style, good smoking characteristics and a modest price, I think that you might enjoy this. Trouble is, there are waaaaay too many similar but more characterful tobaccos on the market.
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
herfinmickey	06/03/2008	Medium	None detected	Medium	Pleasant
I made my pilgrimage to Iwan Ries. The helpful and friendly clerk recommended their Balkan blend to me along with a few other blends. Unfortunately I simply did not enjoy this blend very much. It has lots of Latakia but seemingly not much else to offer or perhaps the heavy handed Latakia obscures anything else. It came out a bit arid from the "Perma-Moist tobacco pouch". This dryness may have led to its fast burning characteristic. There are perceivable differences in Latakias. It could be that the one chosen for this blend does not meet my preferences. The flavor of IRC Balkan Supreme is of a kind of strong but bland,dull smokiness with very little sweetness, spiciness or other flavors. I would not say this is an awful tobacco, it would be OK if there was nothing else to smoke but there are so many other tastier options out there. However I will give it another go in the near future.
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
LostInDaJungle	08/24/2007	Medium	None detected	Full	Strong
Pretty run of the mill Balkan. Sweeter than what I usually prefer my Balkans to be at first light, but it settles down mid bowl and does the trick. I generally prefer my Balkan blends to have just a bit of the earthy/dirt flavor to them which this lacked. Looks gorgeous in the bag, well cut, right moisture. Broke in a new Nordling with this and it smoked well. I wouldn't turn down a bowl of this, but I wouldn't special order it either. For my tastes, the Gawith Balkan hits the notes I prefer, and is also cheap as sin. If you're looking for a slightly smoother sweeter Balkan, this might be right up your alley.
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
Wolfpaw	05/28/2007	Medium	None detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable
I'm a Balkan fan, and the very reasonable price of Iwan Ries Balkan Supreme made it irresistable to try some out. Like so many veteran pipe-smokers, I used to enjoy the original Balkan Sobranie back in the "old days," so the comparison to that venerable old blend was added incentive to order some of this from Iwan Ries. I wasn't disappointed; though it isn't exactly how I remember Sobranie, it is still a very pleasing Balkan blend. A comparison to the contemporary Balkan Saseini is apt; they are indeed very similar-- though I wouldn't go so far as to say they're one and the same, I couldn't state positively that they're not. Latakia is at the fore here, giving Balkan Supreme a rich, semi-sweet smokiness. The Oriental leaf adds a second level of spicy, smoky flavor. I don't particularly notice the Burley or Kentucky in Balkan Supreme; they remain well in the background. Pouch aroma is enticingly smoky, with hints of leather and autumn leaves-- typical of most Balkans. Room note is typically Balkan too; I like it, but it won't earn any points from non-smokers. The silver pouch does a great job of keeping the tobacco at a near-perfect moisture level. The tobacco is good quality, packs and lights well, but occasional relights are usually called for. For the Balkan fancier, Iwan Ries is offering a genuine bargain here. If you've always wanted to try a Balkan mixture, this is a good chance to do so without having to invest a lot of money. Definitely one I'll keep in my rotation.
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
Eric Cioe	04/30/2007	Medium to Strong	None detected	Full	Tolerable to Strong
I'm a Balkan lover. I went into Iwan Ries one day and saw this, and figured for the price, I may as well pick it up. I wasn't disappointed, but not surprised either. To me, this tastes quite similar to Balkan Saseini, which I don't think is particularly good either. The price is right, but the ratio of orientals (not enough) to latakia (too much) is not quite right. That said, if I had a few bucks to spend on a Balkan, and IR was out of all of the Pease blends, I wouldn't complain too much about this. It isn't bad, but just not really a standout. Somewhat recommended.
Showing reviews 1 through 8 of 8 reviews of this tobacco