update: I found a small clump of hairs in my tin.. couldnt tell if they were of human or animal origin.. could this be the secret ingredient to balkan sobranie? was it merely an oversight at the factory, or is this really some kind of mythic witches brew. in any case, all humor aside, it hasnt effected the quality of the smoke

This version contains lighter-colored tobacco components than its stablemates, with considerably more Oriental leaf and less Latakia. The cut is predominantly shag, but also includes tiny bits of dark broken flake similar in texture and appearance to Penzance, as well as a few small, scattered Oriental leaves. You really need to dry this out sufficiently for best results. When you do, you will be rewarded with a dry, cool smoke that burns to a fine, light-grey ash.

The Orientals mirror what I've tasted in other Germain blends and are pleasant but low-key. I don't get the Red Virginia depth and mild sweetness that I do with Margate, and it doesn't deliver the sweet-spice flavor and complexity that I get in some other Oriental- forward mixtures such as McClelland's Yenidje Highlander, but like all Germains, there's something about the integrated refinement of BS that keeps me coming back for more. I increasingly enjoy the subtlety and finesse of less strident English/Balkan fare, and BS delivers the goods, although it is fairly easygoing and lacks intensity. If you crave Lady N, look elsewhere.

All in all, this may be my favorite of the Esotericas, and I suspect that additional tins will be difficult to procure.

It is well blended. The various component tobaccos weave a tapestry of flavors that seem to change constantly and there is enough Latikia to keep my attention. So it is a keeper.

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. I could see this becoming my "go to" blend except that it to is mostly unavailable. So if you are going to feed me, feed me but don't dangle a carrot in front of me and then take it away because it makes me angry. So I will back off of this stuff until there is an adequate supply and then I will buy a truck load of it because I really like it.

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. 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"

Without further ado here's mine for it is worth, knowing very well tastes vary, and in many cases significantly from each other . Germain's Sobranie is a mixture of bright, tan, dark and black leaves in a somewhat shag over ribbon cut. When I leveraged open the cover I stuck my nose very near the lid in an attempt to get a woof of the fragrance however, surprisingly, I didn't get much of anything in the way of an aroma. The tobacco once exposed completely was damp to the touch and when pinched together did not unfold so drying time was needed. I plucked out a couple of grams and placed it in a tin bowl for fifteen minutes. I did the pinch test again and it seemed good to go. I always use my Lorenzetti bent billard to test drive a new tobacco as it has a track record for getting the very best out of a blend. False light, not much of any taste. Tamp and second light gets the pipe going. I'm getting the unmistakable Germain Virginia taste, a little Latakia, some oriental and a faint but distinguished casing of some sort. First half of the bowl, very flat and unexciting. Second half same with a slightly stronger oriental presence. The finish was rather hot and soggy.

Okay, without writing a short story here, I'll sum up the four days that followed my maiden voyage with Sobranie by telling you I sampled it in several different pipes, dgt'ed it for 30 minutes, one hour, two hours and finally four hours. I aired it for 30 minute intervals up to three hours as well. I also sipped different beverages with the smoke including water, dark beer, bourbon and coffee. The results were the same no matter what I did to this mixture to make it work for me.

Conclusion: Germain's Sobranie, for me, is a very flat, uneventful, mild to medium nicotine strength tobacco. If this is the original Sobranie of yesteryear and the best of the best during that time I think we should count ourselves extremely fortunate to have great master blenders as; Pease, Tarler, Oulette, Peritti etc in the 21st century.

I have to tell you though, I believe there is a blend today that is the smitten image of the Sobranie of two, three decades ago. I am referring to Gawith & Hoggarth's Balkan Mixture. I validate this opinion from reading the reviews of BM here on this site and in other locations as well. G&H, upon the disappearance of Sobranie responded with BM and many a British pipester as well as American pipemen swear BM is an exceedingly close approximation to the famous Sobranie long since gone. I have been smoking Balkan Mixture for about two months now and it is an absolutely amazing old world heavy weight Balkan tobacco.

A very good friend of mine that smoked pipe since his youth in the 1930's passed away a couple of years ago. He was instrumental in my starting to smoke a pipe in the early 80's as he hated my cigarette habit. When he passed, I was notified by his widow that I had been left his cellar and pipe collection. There were many very nice old Dunhill and GBD pipes along with about 50 odd assorted tins of aged tobacco. Included were 6 tins of the old 759 and 3 tins of the #10. Unfortunately, there was no Original Mixture. I will always thank him for his gift of friendship to a man 50 years his junior. His life experience was invaluable to me in many ways.

You see, this story is what I think of when I hear the name Sobranie. When Germain reintroduced the Sobranie Original Mixture, I was eager to try it. I had no experience with the blend previously but, had tried the others years ago. (I still haven't cracked the tins I recieved from him.) It was unavailable on any of the internet sites, so I called one of my local B&M suppliers and found he had 3 tins instock.

The tobacco in the tin is finely cut, almost a shag. The smell is definately english/balkan in nature. Cyprian latakia is present along with turkish in the nose. The virginia presents itself in the form of a winelike aroma.

The tobacco was a little wet in the tin so some airtime was mandatory. Afterwards, it loaded nicely and lit without trouble. The flavor on first light is latakia dominate. The flavor becomes more balanced as you get into the first quarter of the bowl. Buttery is a nice description. The winelike aroma of the virginias translates to the flavor and is sublime in the mix. The virginias appear to be aged nicely. No bite whatsoever. No bitterness.

The tobacco presents a fine white ash when burnt. And when dried properly, leaves no dottle in the bowl. No pipecleaner needed during the smoke.

The flavor is very nice but, could use a bit more weight to it. The nicotine content is not heavy at all, but a solid medium. This should be approachable to all but the most puny of smokers. Not a terribly expensive blend, so value is not really a concern. I do hope they reintroduce the 759 as I would be more intersested in it, but they have done a fine job with this.

Cheers!

Update 02-25-12

This is a fine tobacco. Air time and letting it open a bit was all it took to take this to a new level. Germaine is producing some of the finest tobacco available and this is no exception. If you try this, the best thing to do is open the tin, put it in a jar and introduce air every so often(read once per day) for a couple of weeks. This will provide you with the best smoking experience.

Remember that not all of the tobaccos available back then are available now. This is the closest I have ever tasted to the original product. Age will make all the difference. 5 years from now, a tin of this stuff will be as sought after as the old stuff.

Cheers!

Sometimes a product that is no longer available becomes legendary. This was the case with the Balkan Sobranie Original Smoking Mixture. Yes, WAS. In the first years of the new millennium only a pouch version was available. A weak version of the original from the 70's, 60's and before that. Personally I've never smoked that real old version and I think there was not so much wrong with the pouch version. On the contrary! But despite the large demand the tobacco became less and less available and the production finally stopped. In the years that followed Balkan Sobranie Original Smoking Mixture became a legend. Together with Balkan Sobranie Mixture 759 and Balkan Sobranie Virginia no. 10 it became kind of the Holy Grail of the pipe tobaccos. On ebay, astronomical amounts were (and still are) asked and paid for these tobaccos. It only was a matter of time when someone would want to bring out again the legend. The pipe smoking market appears to be becoming larger thus the time was right for a new version, a new "vintage" of Balkan Sobranie Original Smoking Mixture. Because it is with this tobacco as with wine. The year tells you how good it is. 1971, oh tremendous!!! 1981, transition year to the Gallaher production, good but really just not it. 1999, pretty nice but nothing compared by the old original. 2011........ Arango Cigar Co. became the one that acquired the rights of Balkan Sobranie Original Smoking Mixture. But having the rights is 1 thing, bringing out the tobacco on the market is something veeeery different. So they have found J.F. Germain & Son willing to make the tobacco. In my honest opinion the best choice that they could have made! This because J.F. Germain & Son is the maker of some other legendary tobacco, Penzance. But also of the Smoker's Heaven tobaccos that for years counted as THE replacement for the original Balkan Sobranie tobaccos. Nice detail, previously the House Sobranie made the Smoker's Heaven tobaccos.. So J.F. Germain & Son have experience in "imitating" the House Sobranie products. Also they have men in service that formerly worked for the House Sobranie. Interesting..

Package: A 50 gram tin with a somewhat cheap version of the old stately artwork. 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. I myself reproduced the old artwork (tin and insert-card) and e-mailed that to Arango and Germain. I hope that I hear something of it..

Composition: The composition is that of the pouch version and the '80's Gallaher version. A fine cut mix of dark and light Virginia's, Macedonian tobacco and Cyprian latakia. Originally there was Syrian latakia in it but for yeeaaars that was no longer the case.. Anyway, there is more latakia then in the pouch version. The tobaccos is a ribbon-cut but something coarser than the pouch version. Resembling the tobacco in my 1981 tin.

Smell from the tin: Yummie! What's in there, you smell! Together with Penzance some of the best tin-smells ever.

Taste: Regarding taste the tobacco is a good mix of the pouch version and my 1981 tin version. What I was missing in the 1981 version were the oriental tobaccos that halfway the bowl began to sing the dominant part. Something that was better in the pouch version. Just lit you almost taste the pure latakia. Something like an espresso without sugar. And the same beginning as with Mixture 759. Here you can really notice that there is more of the dark smoked leaf in the 2011 version. After a few puffs the sweetness comes forth, the Virginia's. And yesss, halfway the bowl the oriental tobaccos (I think Kavalla) are coming to the front. The last part of the bowl is the best as all the different tobaccos harmoniously sing together. And not unimportant, the topping is also spot on! I already once said before that I can instantly recognize latakia holding Dunhill tobaccos when I smoke them. They all have a little bit of the same taste, something typical Dunhill. This is also the case with Balkan Sobranie Original Smoking Mixture. The same topping as the 1981 and pouch version. Absolutely wonderfully done by J. F. Germain & Son who prove their well earned reputation!

Roomnote: The old Balkan Sobranie Original Smoking Mixture was (in)famous for it's for most people baaaad roomnote. If you smoke yourself you will not notice that but people around you will utter their displeasure. As with my girlfriend hehehe.. I had never smoked a version of the tobacco in her presence but when I was puffing away a "Jeeeezzz.. What are YOU smoking?? This is really your most fowl smelling tobacco! Gross!" escaped her lips. Despite that I was allowed to finish the bowl, the darling :) So here also: points for authenticity!

Combustibility: As with every version I know, excellent. You do not need to tamp it a lot and it burns down nicely to a grey ash. Although, you may want to let the tobacco dry a bit before smoking. It comes pretty wet out of the tin.

Varia: Regarding lady nicotine you can notice that you are dealing with an "elder" tobacco. Ok, I'm a bit of a nicotine wuss so I do not smoke it on an empty stomach.

Price: At 4noggins a tin of this new version costs $10.19. And it is worth every dollar cent! IF you can obtain it. Because this is the weak spot of J.F. Germain & Son. All tobacco is made the old fashioned way. Really great because you can taste the love and craftsmanship. But producing vast quantities, no, they cannot do that. 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..

Conclusion: Applause! In my honest opinion J.F. Germain & Son has succeeded in producing a worthy version of the legendary Balkan Sobranie Original Smoking Mixture! Is it as good as the 70's, 60's and before version? Noooo idea, I've never smoked that one like I said before. Also there was yenidje in that one but that has become very scarce.. Is the tobacco as good as the beginning of the 80's version? Better! Is the tobacco as good as the '90's and beginning of 2000 version? Better! In short, Balkan Sobranie Original Smoking Mixture is back! And for now it seems it's here to stay. Now I really hope that Arango and Germain also will bring out Mixture 759 and Virginia no. 10 again One can only hope and pray..

The very first thing that stands out for me is how "buttery" the Orientals are in this blend verses others. I do not know if this is a result of aging or as it was at that time as I was an avid cigar smoker in those days and never smoked a new tin. Secondly it is very balanced with each tobacco playing very well together. The flavor is very deep and rich and burns to a clean white ash. A very, very smooth English. If my wallet actually agreed with me, I would be seeking out much more of this wonderful English blend. It is my understanding that the version that I was smoking was not the quality of tins sold in the 1970's. If this is the case and the viewpoint hasn't been romanticized too much, I can see why this was a Hall of Fame blend as even the era that I smoked was excellent. Some reviewers have claimed this to be sharp or harsh and I did not have that result, but it could be due to the age of the tobacco. At least for this one time, the cost of the tin was well worth it.

It remains to be seen if the new production, coming from a quality blender that currently has trouble meeting demand for its best blends will be able to supply enough product and of high quality. I am rooting for them as this is very highly recommended!

***UPDATE***12/31/11***

I was gifted a fair number of bowls of the new Germain production BS and smoked it side by side with my remaining 1990's era BS. This is SOMEWHAT of a comparision, understanding that I am comparing a new tin verses an aged tin and the 90's era Original Mixture was, by most accounts, not the best era of the blend. So with that in mind, I find the new Original Mixture to have the same creamy/savory quality of the 90's mixture. I find it to be better balanced and the flavor is outstanding. The cut is comprised very thin ribbons that are a little too moist, but given the cut, it dries quickly. The quality of the tobacco is very high. It burns very cleanly and leaves a white/grey ash. Germain has really done a fine job with this blend, so much so that for my personal taste, the new era BS wins hands down! I hope that the folks at Germain have considered the demand and are prepared to meet it rather than leaving pipe smokers frustrated with a lack of supply. Four Big Stars for the new Original Mixture!

The BS that was available to me in the 1990s could be purchased at just about any tobacconist as well as many chain grocery stores and drug stores. It came in a pouch and in a large tin. As much as I loved (and continue to love) latakia, I can't say I ever really loved this particulat mixture. I smoked a good amount of it, but largely because there were so few latakia blends that were easily available. I often mixed it with other tobaccos to get something closer to what I wanted, sometimes adding some perique or cavendish. The BS at that time was basically a latakia dump with just enough VA and oriental leaf to add a hint of sweetness. There were also undertones of olives and spice.... Not terrible, but nowhere as good as the many Dunhill mixtures I occassionally got to try. Of the many Balkan blends available today, I would say that G&H's Balkan Mixture is the closest match to this, only the G&H product is considerably better. I would have rated this version of the BS as a two star blend, or maybe 2.5 if I were feeling generous.

The more recent version, however, was absolutely disgusting. Almost no sweetness, the olive notes tasted rancid, and the latakia was so muted as to be undetectable. The mixture was overwhelmingly harsh and acrid... really vile stuff. I almost feel that one star is too good for it! I was quite disappointed, as I'd paid a decent amount for several of the pouches from a vintage seller and now must figure out how to dispose of them...

This review is not meant to disparage older versions of the BS, as I've never tried any of them. I can easily believe they were every bit as great as their reputation claims. If nothing else, they served as the inspiration for the whole genre of Balkan mixtures available today, and some of my favorite blends fall into that category (Odyssey, Abingdon, Magnum Opus, Wilderness, etc.). Unfortunately, the versions I've tried ranged from "decent but unspectacular" to "horrible." I would call it a shame, but there are too many truly great mixtures around now to mourn this stuff at all.

It's hard to add to the excellent reviews of this wonderful tobacco. Mine was from a Gallagher 50g pouch. 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. The Gallager version is, to my taste, rich and satisfying; smokes cool and is perfectly balanced between components. Hopefully, the rumors are true that this is being brought back blended by Germain. If it were, it would be in my regular rotation.

The best of the very best. Here's the deal, folks...for as long as it's available, I will own this. I just received 50 more grams of it in today's mail. Is it inexpensive? Nope. What I paid was ten times the original price tag still on it. But, I don't care. I'd rather own 50 grams of this than 500 grams of any other Balkan blend out there today. It's simply that good. I will always share a bowl of this with my best pipe friends, as everyone should have that luxury once in their life. Why no other blender has ever been able to recapture the amazing balance, complexity, creaminess, coolness, and wonder of Balkan Sobranie, I don't know. Most of what you can buy in auctions today is dry to varying degrees, but I'll instantly transfer it to a Mason jar, wet a paper towel with distilled water, lay it over the top, seal the jar, and let it slowly rehydrate. When the towel is dry, I'll gently mix the contents and repeat until the moisture level is right. And then, pure bliss. For my tastes, the #1 of all of these Hall of Fame blends. Simply amazing stuff, and I mourn that it's almost gone.

Now I am back to the pipe after a time out for raising two great sons. I have tried a bunch of English-- mid to full-- blends and a few Balkans over the years. None came close to the White Tin with the neat wagon on the front of the tin. I hear you can get this across the pond. I wonder if Balksn Sobranie Smoking Mixture will ever re-emerge in the US of A as Dunhill has recently.

Who knows? Maybe these are the good old days!

Highly recommended.