I'm keen to try some of the more exotic Balkan blends such as those made by GL Pease, but this is likely to be my "general purpose" blend for the foreseeable future.

It never ceases to amaze me how some tobacco can change after sitting on the shelf for just a short while. I loaded up a bowl of this in a bent Comoy and it was easily one of the best smokes I've ever had, period. I've got Balkan Sasieni and Yenidje Highlander sitting right next to it and this one blows those two away. It was so good, in fact, that if every bowl is like that, I would have to say this is better than Balkan Sobranie. Do yourself a favor and get some, just let it sit in the jar for a while until it has a chance to dry a bit. The flavor is a scintillatingly strong, spicy, intoxicating smoke in the Balkan tradition. Utterly sublime and 5 Stars!

Original Review from 5/29/2008 follows

A very solid Balkan with lots of taste and a very nice aroma. I really find myself sniffing this stuff while smoking. It has a healthy dose of incense-like smell to it that I adore and so I'm guessing there is some Yenidje in here. In fact I'd swear there was more than in Yenidje Highlander, that I also have on the shelf right now. A great smoke and I will definitely sample some more of this company's blends!

Enough nicotine to satisfy without being as strong as Dark Flake and enough flavor to want more when the bowl is finished.

A keeper for me.

easy to load and light. and the taste: fragrant, spicy, slightly sweet, absolutely beautiful! and there sure is virginia in it, i suspect it's the bright cr flake finely rubbed out... or at least i seem to find, somewhere in this haze of taste and smell, that there's a whiff of the "nina ricci" i mentioned in my review of bcrf.

it burns absolutely impeccably in my old small wide-chambered w.ö. larsen sandblasted lovat. how this can be only virginia and divers orientals is hard to understand. at times there are incense-like flavours, at other times i could almost swear i taste perique.

truly delicious in a very discreet, elegant and civilized way. the tobacco equivalent of a fine persian carpet!

If you like traditional blends, this is the place to start your Balkan adventure. It's a very, very approachable mixture for newcomers and sturdy enough for experienced smokers to enjoy. Each variety of leaf is represented nicely and balanced quite well. Balkan Mixture delivers a broad spectrum of flavors on top of a mouthfeel that is more delicate, for lack of a better term, than some of the powerhouse Balkans or Balkan-style English blends, such as Abingdon or Odyssey from G.L. Pease or Margate from Esoterica.

THIS TOBACCO IS NOT FLAVORED IN ANY WAY!!!

This is not a tobacco in my regular stable of Balkans, as I require more body and mouthfeel; however, Balkan Mixture is a great change of pace for me. Its quality makes it an extremely worthy choice, and its superb execution makes it a fine point of entry for those who are looking for their first Balkan blend.

This loose blend is spicy on the nose, cool in the pipe and tasty on the tongue. Latakia and orientals here come through with finesse and sufficient subtlety to give a really pleasant smoke. I am making my way through my 50g (2oz or so) with a real anticipation of how it will bring particular pleasure as Autumn (Fall) descends upon us.

I can almost feel the nip in the air, the fog on the ground and the leaves underfoot :)

Burns cool but seems to take more relights to get to the bottom of the bowl than my staple tobacco intake. No arguments, however, as I am a big fan.

Appearance: Upon very close inspection I can detect at least 4 different hues of leaf in this mixture Virginias are in abundance, darker browns of Oriental with nearly jet black Latakia. The cut is a somewhat varied rough ribbon cut.

Tin aroma: This smells like a moderately complex mixture with a nice soft smokiness. The Virginias are evident, with rich earthy tones and under-currents of fig/raisin and cocoa. The smoky Cyprian Latakia makes the main statement, plenty of smokiness with underlying astringent tones of bergamot and sandalwood. Just under the surface I detect the Orientals giving the mixture?dryness? and lending depth to the mélange of flavors. A slightly damp and musty oder is evident as this product arrives fairly moist.

This tobacco is excessively moist requiring at least ½ hour's drying time to smoke well at all. I employed the ?once like a baby, once like a lady, finally like a gentleman? method of layered packing. The pipe I've chosen for this review is a Cassano rusticated Canadian well seasoned with English/Balkan mixtures. I have pre-smoked it with several bowls of this mixture to remove other mixture prejudices.

Lighting usually is a single match affair, and with a friendly ?lighting tamp? I was well on my way. As expected, the initial flavor is very smoky with an astringent (very gently so) quality I?ve come to expect from Orientals. Latakia and Orientals tend to live ?nasally? for me, so I often employ the ?French curve? method of inhaling the slipstream smoke. The Virginias set a firm background and foundation on which the Latakia and Orientals play with my senses. This blend slowly builds in flavors and complexity with each puff.

Mid Bowl: Approaching mid-bowl, the fullness tends to build and the flavors gaining intensity in unison. Unfortunately, the humidity I tried to avoid by drying this before smoking it has come back into play. This has happened with every sampling in every pipe I've smoked it in. The initial strength of the Latakia is slowly giving way to other components, the Orientals slowly numbing (not at all in a bad way) my soft pallet and nasal regions. The Virginia comes through a bit more assertively from time to time with rich fruity and sweet tones. While the quality of leaf in this blend is very high, none of the desired complexity and flavors develop enough to really captivate me. This is what I call an ?autopilot blend? not requiring concentration. That is not a bad thing in itself, just that there are other blends that I appreciate more in this category for far less money.

Home Stretch: As end of the bowl approaches, moisture has become a defining issue for me. Try as I might I can't find a satisfactory way around this, and the result is a steamy though quite flavorful smoke that I just don't enjoy enough to include Balkan Mixture in my rotation. Overall it is fine tobacco, with a nice round soft flavor, too bad the moisture level is too much for this seasoned smoker to tame.

A nice ?autopilot? Balkan blend from a fine Lakeland tobacco blender.

Supplemental Notes: Rating for those interested in numbers **

Appearance: A brown to black thin to medium cut ribbon, fully rubbed out.

Aroma: Sweet, round aroma. Red claret wine, dried cherries, plum pudding, incense stick, walnuts.

Taste: Mellow, smooth, sweet complex. Subdued flavor, reminiscent of the Sobranie mixture. Bing cherries, plum-cake, German lemon-butter pancakes, walnuts. Rich and creamy, almost voluptuous, on the palate, with winey flavors and frankincense.

Comparisons: Amongst the so-called Balkan blends, this is one of the most under-rated. It is the essence of the Balkan Sobranie, only with the volume turned down. It lacks the potency and vibrancy of other blends, such as GL Pease's Bohemian Scandal, but it has the balance of flavors down quite well.

Bottom Line: Smokers who loved the Balkan Sobranie, but are prepared to accept a gentler, quieter version will be well-pleased. Those who demand a potent latakia-heavy blend will be disappointed.

This is a superb pipe tobacco; upon lighting the smoker is greeted with plumes of petrol-blue smoke, the tongue immediately satiated with a rich, leathery salty tang of fine latakia.

The mixture burns cool all the way through the bowl, there is no tongue-bite and the tobacco never becomes harsh or sour. Since discovering Balkan Mixture this has become the closest to a "desert island" blend that I have ever tried, and now replaces both Dunhill 965 and Squadron Leader as my preferred daily smoke.

I love a smoke that is both forgiving and adapts to my mood, and I find Balkan Mixture does all of this and more. This is one of those rare blends that can be smoked at any time of the day or night and would be just as relevant on a hot summer's afternoon as it would be huddled round the hearth on a cold winters day.

I have yet to discover any flowery note to this blend, for my money it is the copious quantity of latakia that does it for me, and I fail to see how any latakia enthusiast could feel let down by this one.

2012 Update: Since then, I have experienced several times the version in a pouch (sold in the UK as "Kendal tobacco - Balkan Mixture Latakia Blend", although inside the name Gawith & Hoggarth is clearly stated). No more to add to what I had previously said, as it is very consistent in quality. Moisture in the pouch is lower, at a perfect level for smoking. What I still complain about after many many bowls, is the overall lack of subtlety, the slight roughness of taste and the relative lack of backing creamy sweetness from the Virginias. While this one is good in "modern" terms, it sure is no Balkan Sobranie. With some effort, it might be compared to the last Balkan Sobranie pouches sold in the early '80s... certainly not to the older ones.

This blend was received from tobaccomkt.com in very moist condition and the blend has a lot of long ribbons that I prefer to break down. It is very dark, there is almost no lighter ribbons or flakes. The latakia is not particularly smoky or sweet and, frankly, is a little too pungent for me. The smoke has a little harshness to it that makes it a difficult smoke.

This is my first try at a G&H. The tobacco is of high quality, but is a disappointment to me. I have now smoked just three bowls. I think my pipe club will get the rest.