Peter Stokkebye - Balkan Supreme pipe tobacco reviews

Review

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wintermute	07/11/2010	Medium to Strong	None detected	Medium	Tolerable to Strong
This is the best product that Peter Stokkebye puts out. It, in fact, is better than most tobaccos I have tried. When you get it, the initial look and aroma are of a typical quality English and one supposes that this will be another Latakia dump or English attempt. That's probably why the quality and smoking pleasure seem to be so high. When you pay an average price, you expect an average smoke. But you get a lot more than that here. You get close to perfection! It packs and lights easily and you are immediately struck by the fullness. I don't mean you are over-whelmed, but that the flavor is a naturally pleasant smoke right from the start. No waiting to get to the middle of the bowl. It hits the ground running. The flavor is of an extremely smooth English with more Latakia than normal. However, this is balanced with the addition of a bit of black Cavendish. Don't let the last statement scare you; it's just a bit and it in no way bites. The Black Cavendish only adds balance to the high latakia content. The nicotine level is a bit high, but not excessive. The flavor stays the same all the way down to the last. The ash is beautiful and falls out of the pipe nice and clean. I am glad I never got to try that other Balkan mixture from the 70's and on back. It might have been wonderful, but it is gone and I can't get any of it. Maybe one day, when I am old, I will tell the young smokers that, "This Balkan is nice, but nothing can compare to the Balkan Supreme of 2010." And, looking to the future, if our government finally succeeds in driving tobacco out of business, I'll make sure my last two bowls are Balkan Supreme followed by Peterson's Irish Flake.
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Barbellion	06/12/2010	Mild to Medium	None detected	Full	Pleasant to Tolerable
Having only just started to explore the world of pipe tobacco properly, after years of messing about with pleasantly inoffensive aromatic blends, I stumbled upon Gawith Hoggarth's Latakia Blend a few days ago and fell in love with the smoky taste immediately. Attempting to find out about my local tobacconists' stock I found this site, and set my heart on obtaining some of this Stokkebye blend. I asked today and the backy seller just happened to have some that Stokkebye had sent by mistake - it was going back today, so I'd have missed my chance if I'd visited the shop tomorrow. After having had several bowlfuls of this blend, I have to say that this whole thing must have been down to divine intervention, because I cannot imagine a finer tobacco. It has redolences of many of my favourite tastes; peaty malt whiskies (particularly Lagavulin and Talisker)and Lapsang Souchong to name a couple. It has a satisfying complexity of taste which lasts the whole bowl through, and the room note is very pleasing. I can see this being a favourite for many years to come, and a mainstay of my fledgling exploration of the world of fine pipe tobaccos. I don't do huge concentrations of nicotine very well (I shall be posting about my hilarious encounter with Gawith Hoggarth's Black Irish Twist shortly) but have found Balkan Supreme to be just right in this regard - it's got a pleasant nicotine kick but mild enough for relatively inexperienced/occasional smokers like myself to enjoy thoroughly too. Wholeheartedly recommended.
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Davo	05/12/2010	Medium	None detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

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don1688	04/25/2010	Mild to Medium	None detected	Medium	Tolerable
This is a good blend and a great price. Very smokey and musty in a nice way. Not very "complex", but tastes good from top to bottom and is different from other English/Balkans on the market. I do not get any sweetness from the blend as others mention, but my sample was somewhat dry and this could have effected that I can see how this is stocked in so many cellars. Not quite sure if it will be in mine yet- but I do recommend all Balkan fans try this.
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Xeneize	04/02/2010	Medium	None detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable to Strong
One of the best Balkans I've ever tried. I don't find it similar to Balkan Sobranie, as the description claims, but it's a great balkan in its own right, among Compton's and GLpease's. This one is sweet and velvety, and a bit towards the English class (Orientals play a big role, but not so preponderant like true balkans). It's also velvety, leathery and mellow. Marvelous, the best Stokkebye tobacco far and away.
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Bibster	03/12/2010	Medium	None detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable
This tobacco provides tremendous value for the price. The cavendish and Virginia provide a very pleasant sweetness, with the Latakia and orientals providing some robustness. The tobacco yielded a very cool, flavorful and full smoke and burned extremely well. I have smoked this in a Savinelli bent volcano and in a Charatan Dublin, and the larger bowl of the Charatan seemed to bring out the full character of this tobacco. The blend didn't offer up any "changes of pace" and may not be deemed to be very complex by some reviewers, but the excellent flavor of the smoke remained consistent from start to finish. This outstanding blend should be a staple for every smoker of English/Balkan mixtures.
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SteelCowboy	02/20/2010	Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable
Every once in a while I need to put a blend down and come back to it later for a "retry". This is one of those blends for me and I'm glad I did. This is a very good medium English/Balkan. I smoke a fair amount of Balkan Sasieni and I don't find the close association that others seem to be finding. I find it to be sweeter than Balkan Sasieni. I also don't often make taste comparisions to food, but I find this to be a bit chocolaty in a good way. It gathers strengh as the bowl progresses, but never bites. I like it best in a larger bowl not packed to tightly. I tend to like fuller Balkans like Pipeworks' #400 or Comptons Macedonian, but at this quality and price point, a pound will always be kept in my celler. Recommended
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Feetup	02/17/2010	Medium to Strong	Very Mild	Medium to Full	Tolerable to Strong
A bit strong for me as I like oriental / latakia style blends. I’ll place into storage and see if my palate changes.
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BriarBurner	02/09/2010	Medium	None detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
Balkan Sobranie is gone!! Can we not stop comparing tobaccos to this old favorite?? I find it amusing to read what a phenomenal tobac it was.In its day it was a good smoke but not close IMHO to the reviews I have read. Peter Stokkebye knows how to blend tobacco. All his tobaccos are readily available.Take Balkan Supreme.A fine english/oriental blend full of flavor, rich in taste, burns great and does not bite. One of my favorites is English Oriental Supreme which is similar but not as rich in taste.It does not disappoint and is available right now.
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stephenspring	01/30/2010	Mild	Medium to Strong	Full	Tolerable
Of late I ventured into various latakia blends. I love the full flavor. This particular blend is nothing less than sheer perfection. What surprised me the most was it tasted as mild to the tongue from the top of the bowl to the very bottom, and I smoked every bit of it. Didn't go out - no tongue burn at all - just a really full flavored, mild tobacco that stayed lit throughout. Really, really wonderful.
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BingCrosby	01/26/2010	Medium	None detected	Full	Tolerable to Strong
As far as I can tell, and as others have noted, this is pretty much the same blend as balkan sasieni.. and I am glad for it.. very full rich smoke with plenty of latakia and turkish.. and for a very reasonable price.. I prefer a tin for storage but hey it is worth it for a good bulk deal. this is a great smoke that gets especially good, for some reason, as you reach the bottom of the bowl.. (i am not tasting the briar because it has the same effect in a cob)..
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Smoking-To-Port	01/22/2010	Mild to Medium	None detected	Mild to Medium	Tolerable
This one is good,very very good.Lush ,smoky latakia rich.Great price point.Peter has some very good tobaccos in his stable and this is one of his greatest hits.If you are looking for a medium english at a good bulk price,give this a try.I have found it to burn very well,and taste smooth as silk.You could do alot worse. PS...It only gets better.
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Uncle Arthur	01/21/2010	Medium	None detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant
With it's nice amount of latika and a well rounded flavor this is among my favorite tobaccos. After going back to English blends after years of aromatics this is my nice quiet evening smoke. Great with a book and nice cup of coffee.
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Walkman	12/09/2009	Mild to Medium	None detected	Medium	Tolerable
Balkan Supreme is one of my favorite tobaccos. I would classify it as a medium English vs a Balkan, as the Latakia takes precedence over the Orientals. It is very similar to Balkan Sasieni, but slightly sweeter and a little less salty to me, which I prefer. Highly recommended.
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Tripjoker	11/22/2009	Mild to Medium	None detected	Medium	Tolerable
After all the hype about this blend I was persuaded to buy a pound for the cellar. I still have 12 ounces there after nearly a year. This is not a bad blend for sure, but not one that really rings any bells with me. It's available at a very reasonable price. But as I have said before, price is not a big issue for me. I would be much happier to buy quality than quantity. And if that means cutting back on my purchases and/or smoking less...so be it. With that said, this is more of an english than a balkan. The latakia is more in the front and the orientals tend to follow. The quality of the leaf is good, not great. It is priced as it is for a reason. There are no free lunches...lol. It does tend to leave a rather mouth filling aftertaste that is not very pleasant. Don't get me wrong, I love latakia, but this just has an off taste to it. Not enough off that I will not smoke it, but enough that it will not make it into a regular rotation on my tobacco table. My hope is that with a little time in the cellar, the components will settle into a more palatable harmony. I will retest this at the three year mark to see what has happened.
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MadMarv	10/27/2009	Mild to Medium	None detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable
This is NOT really similar to BSOM, but does have a strong family resemblance. I find it much more similar to Balkan Sasieni. That said, it is a very good medium Balkan, with a heavy scent of Latakia in the pouch. Nicely balanced, not too sweet, and cool, but for me personally I found the smoke to be too irritating. A matter of personal chemistry, I'm sure, but every bowl left my hard palate feeling burned, as if I had eaten a slice of too-hot pizza. Still, it is well worth a try. Nothing wrong with the taste or burning qualities, and as others have noted the price is right. BTW, I found another bulk Balkan in Altadis Byzantium that ranks right with this one in terms of taste but did not have the alkalinity of the PS.
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Cancerman	10/24/2009	Medium to Strong	None detected	Full	Pleasant
I bought a pound of this based on the reviews on this site and I'm glad I did! I think this is one of my very favorite tobaccos. It seems like a very complex blend, full flavored, and a medium amount of nicotine to satisfy the craving. It started out like a VaPer (Virginia / Perique) but just faintly sweet, perhaps a bit more 'spicy'. Then towards then end of the bowl I tasted the latakia. The smell of the tobacco in the jar does smell smokey and you can taste it at the end of the bowl. There seems to be something else in this tobacco, which gives it a nice old fashoned pipe tobacco taste. This is how a 'real' pipe tobacco is supposed to taste! My pound came rather on the dry side, a good thing because it seemed as though the bag was much larger than my other bulk pounds (more for the money). At times I do wish it had a bit more nicotine but I do like to really get in the 'zone' at times. However, this would be great for an all day long smoke. I read a post below posted in February 2009 where it sold for $21 a pound. I paid nearly $30 a pound at 'pipesandcigars.com'. Get it while you can while it's still legal and while the price is still lower than all other tobacco products. I see other premium bulk pipe tobaccos are selling for over $60 a pound, too expensive considering that this premium tobacco is really all you need! I think on my next order I'll be ordering several pounds of this for the canning jars. By the way, this is a fantastic website and has really helped me to buy my tobacco with no regrets. I usually buy by the pound without even trying a tobacco, then ask for a few small samplers along with my order just for kicks. I still have about a dozen tobaccos in the cellar that I haven't even tried yet, I'm looking forward to it, and stay tuned for the reviews!
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Huck Finn	10/16/2009	Medium to Strong	None detected	Full	Tolerable
For every English blend out there is an unlimited amount of opinion as to what is right, wrong or what even constitutes the making of a 'good' English blend. Some of the more highly recommended blends would make a frugal puffer put down their pipe for the price per ounce they command. Here again is another Peter Stokkebye blend that rises to the front of the ranks for not only the virtue of the blending but for also the price point of which it can be had. The Latakia, Virginia and Orientals combine to produce one extraordinary smoke. As it ages it improves and belongs among the best of its kind, it deserves to be noted for its unmistakable quality. Buy it well you can!
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murp	08/20/2009	Medium	None detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable
Outstanding everyday English. If rating on taste alone, maybe only 3 1/2 stars but hard not to give it 4 stars when considering the extremely reasonable bulk price. Maybe not quite on a par with Compton's or Sobranie Original but plenty of interest if you decide to pay attention and sufficiently inexpensive that it's OK if you don't. Excellent burn characteristics, moisture level fine as shipped, no-hassle cut, just load up and enjoy. While it may not be the absolute pinnacle of your cellar, it's hard to imagine any fan of Latakia blends not enjoying and respecting this one. My "default" English for years.
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Thorre	08/10/2009	Medium	None detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable to Strong
I have come back to the pipe after a few years hiatus. I never intend on that happening again. So, I have to build a new stable, because I was a dyed in the wool Dunhill man. First I wanted a replacement for 965. After reading the good reviews in here on this blend, I had to try it. I ordered 8 oz from the fine people at Cup a Joes. The price was very low. When I received the package, I could smell it from across the room. That smokey goodness. The appearance is a dark brown with a few light specks. It comes at the right moisture level for smoking right away. I packed it in a pipe that I had cleaned with 151 rum the night before. I used the air pocket method. I began smoking very slow and had no trouble keeping it going. The taste starts with a great leathery, slightly salty taste I crave. In the middle of the smoke I could taste a mild, but wonderful spicy flavor. The bottom of the bowl is a slightly sweet cavendish taste. This tobacco burns down to a very fine white ash I associate with fine quality weed. I will buy more of this for aging. I just say get it while you can.
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