Despite being cellared for only a few months, I did find the blend took several days to "breathe" after being opened to reach it's potential.

I will be getting more.

I've been breaking in a Peterson Army mount (102) billiard and to be honest the first few bowls are to be discounted due to the fact that new pipes don't really give you a feel for a blend. I've made that mistake in the past and refrain from reviewing ANY blend in a new pipe until it's properly broken in. Once I got to the point where I was comfortable the pipe was past the tannin notes of sourness and beginning to sweeten up nicely I realized I was smoking quite a good blend.

At first match I thought I was going to be smoking a latakia powerhouse. It was a full on rush of latakia both in taste and room note. I enjoy latakia immensely and was slightly disappointed when it faded far into the background. The Virginias took over along with the spice from the Orientals and a very faint floral note. My disappointment was quickly replaced with elation at the fact that this blend is so well integrated. Sure, it doesn't change much throughout the bowl but I'm not always looking for a blend like that. This blend smokes quite smoothly and even does well in a smaller bowled pipe if you are short on time.

A few words of caution. Don't smoke this blend when it's right out of the tin. Give it a little bit of time to air out. It's moist and you'll feel cheated if you smoke it while it's still moist. You'll get nothing but steam, no flavor and a hint of floral topping. Packing this can be a little bit of a challenge at first. Pack it too loose and it burns hot and fast. Pack it too tight and it takes a large number of re-lights. I've found that drying it for about 15 minutes followed by rolling it into a "log" of sorts that will fit in your pipe works best.

I highly recommend this blend either from bulk or in the tin. I haven't noticed any difference between the two. If you're looking for an all day blend in the English spectrum then this may fit exactly what you're looking for. Some may pass over it due to being too "light" and that would be a mistake. I enjoy very full bodied blends but still find myself quite attracted to this blend due to it's interesting taste integration and smoothness. My hat is off to Gawith & Hoggarth on this one.

The smoke starts with the L right up front and it takes a few minutes for everything to round out, with quite an acidic or zesty start, I find, that sometimes seems almost bitey but I think it's just strong natural flavours flaring up. Once they merge and all the various tobaccos are in action it has a wonderful taste; complex, sweet yet dry. As for "soap" - wha'?? Though sometimes the full potential of this mix only appears fleetingly it is satisfying pretty much all the way through. It's easy to smoke, burns well and rarely needs a relight.

I don't find it very strong however, and have tended to smoke this as my first pipe of the day and then can smoke it regularly and it keeps on calling me back for more. I love the taste and have dedicated a pipe and a tin to this, bought a second pack (my tobacconist stocks this in pouch form with a different design to the tin above - the one they show on the GH website) as soon as I was running low of my first and regularly have a sniff of this. Until I can get hold of other VOL tobaccos this is going to stay a regular for me. If there's one quibble it is that the orientals could come in a bit more, but I'm still getting my palatte adjusted to the VOL mix so I may not be sure what I'm tasting.

Good stuff. I like I like.

The shag cut is a bit difficult to work with. There are many other Balkans that are less expensive and easier to purchase. This tobacco can taste a bit medicinal.

That said, this is a very pleasant medium Latakia blend with a hint of the unique GH flavor profile.

If you like shag cuts, or like GH products, and want to try something with a reasonable amount of Latakia that isn't a lat bomb, this is worth trying.

This is a good medium Balkan/full English style of tobacco, with a largely Latakia/Va profile. There is just a ghost of Lakeland essence, if you go hunting for it, but it is not at all off-putting. Then again, I like Lakelands.

There are very good orientals present, but they don't come to the front of this blend at any point of the smoke. The flavor has a good richness, a dry semi-sweetness with a solid Latakia bottom. Very smooth, no sharp edges. Burns beautifully for a Balkan. Last night's smoke, in a Peterson 80s Shannon, was an hour of pure enjoyment.

This is absolutely recommended. I am ordering more to cellar, and may update this review once I have some with some age on it.

A small drawback is that Balkan Mixture tends to be too moist when you buy it pre-packed. The smoking experience is much enhanced by drying (this doesn't seem to apply when you buy it loose, though). It isn't, perhaps, for the newcomer to pipesmoking, because Latakia is very much an acquired taste. Also, the room note has the usual tarry/acrid fragrance of Latakia: if you like this fragrance, you like it, but I know a lot of people don't, so potentially there's an IB [= innocent bystanders] problem.

These are quibbles, though. BM is in all important respects a first rate smoke: cool, tasty and uniform all the way down the bowl, and there's absolutely no bite. If you like Latakia mixtures this is a very fine one indeed. A lot of people make the point about a 'soapy' Lakeland flavour. I must admit that I don't see this. Oddly enough - because contrary to what some reviewers are saying - I do think that BM would be improved by a little more Latakia; but I really don't find much to criticise here. Very good stuff. BM smokes a little quickly, I find, and leaves you wanting more; but the experience is well worth it while it lasts - and you can, I suppose, always fill up and start again. I'm not always in a Latakia mood, but this and Samuel Gawith's Commonwealth Mixture are my go-to tobaccos when I am.

Update, 6th November 2009: on an impulse, I bought 75 gm of BM and 25 gm of Cyprian Latakia and mixed 'em. The resultant smoke is, to me, superb: not to everybody's liking, I imagine, but not a Lat bomb - just much more body and richness than the untampered-with BM has. Give it a try: cuss me if you hate it, but give it a go. I feel (perhaps this is wishful thinking) that I've stumbled serendipitously upon something very like the old Craven Mixture. Alleluia! When the Latakia mood strikes me in future, this is what I'll go for.

Update, 16th May, 2012: Having not had any Balkan Mixture for a while, I just got a couple of ounces. I have to say that it's better than I remember it, either because GH&Co have improved it or because I've found new nuances and dimensions to it. I would still call it an English rather than a Balkan mixture, though. I'm inclined to promote it from my original three-star rating to four stars. This really is first-rate stuff. I hope the rumour that they're going to discontinue it is not true.

I think this blend is much more a Latakia blend than a Balkan Mixture. On the pouch under the Balkan Mixture line it writes also "Latakia Blend". The Latakia proportion is too much for me here. I get bored, fortunately the pouches are only 25 g.

I had the sense that the latakia has a greasy, resinous taste. This may be interesting or pleasant for some of the pipe smokers. On the other hand this taste may be soapy for others. Maybe just because of this it leaves a strong taste on the palate which was OK for me.

I think it worths trying. Not a bad blend, neither a perfect one.

I was looking to get a (20) sack of Margate, but alas, none was to be found. (Not, at least, at my proprietor of choice.) In my long standing feifdom, I have amassed an as yet to be disclosed amount of opinionated verbiage from whence I thunk it once:

Man, I do like Balkan Mix. I picked well. As a substitute for Margate, this is both splendid and bitchen. The latakia content is, for me, about right. It is a bittle more than most folks think of as balkan, probably, but hey, what's in a name?

Balkan mix has a smoothness that I enjoy while working in the shop, and it don't get me too loaded, neither.

As an aside, my poor dog has been of late, stricken. Limp ears he has, due to embolisms, and far from his champion show throne he feels; he has seemingly fallen. In fact, he was saddened, as was I, when he fell head first into his bowl of morning edibles on account of being all dopey from medication.

I, knowing what was right, plucked him from his momentary linoleum looney bin and spilled him unto the sofa. We both agree that a bowl of Balkan mix made me feel better.

Having said the above; I will agree that this G&H high voltage stuff is a Balkan mixture in the most general of terms. It sure has a heavier dose of Latakia than any Balkan mixture I remember ever smoking. I'm also glad the friend who sent me some of this blend didn't send me much. A couple of bowls was all I wanted. Too heavy on the Latakia with nothing more than a "campfire" effect regards taste. And speaking of taste, the Latakia flavor will remain on the palate hours longer than the leaf remains in the pipe. Where's the Crest and Listerine?

Try Davidoff Royalty as for English/oriental tobacco without soap.

My rating:

* Bad blend ** Good blend *** Excellent blend **** Exceptional blend

I found the taste much more delicate and there is no bite whatsoever to be found.

As I reach double-digits in my Lakeland Tour, I've finally found a real uncontestable winner in the latakia mixture category. This is the first of the lakeland latakia mixes that I think can hang with the best of Pease and Germain. In fact, it has jumped to the top of my favorites overall in english/balkan baccy's.

This is rich stuff. I notice hints of brown sugar, liquid smoke, and worchestershire sauce. The perfect combination of sweet and salty, the way I like it. Also very toasty with plenty of oriental character (i.e., an earthy, sour flavor--not a bright sour or tangy note but darker--and just a bit of the characteristic "perfumey" or incense note).

As a side note, I experienced with this a very similar phenomenon to what I experienced with Odyssey. When I first opened the tin, before the tobacco had aired and dried out sufficiently, this was very salty, one might say "alkeline", with a very fluffy mouthfeel. As with Odyssey, I didn't like it then. But a bit of drying and airing, and sitting in the tin for a week or so, caused this to dissipate and allow all the qualities I did like to come forth. Unlike some reviewers, and like others, I noted absolutely no lakeland "soapiness," (i.e., florals). But it just might be that the fluffy alkeline flavor of the mix when first opened might lead some to conclude otherwise. I think if you like Odyssey, or if like some your only problem with Odyssey is that you had trouble keeping it lit (not a problem I had), this will probably appeal to you.