I wish I loved this but I don't. The Orientals are background, adding a little tang and coffee ground bitterness. This is mostly about the interplay between the Va and Lat. This tobacco bears a resemblance to Lancer Slices, but I find the venerable slices more enjoyable. This one doesn't have the same indescribable note from the Lat that C&D's Pirate Kake and Ten Russians share, which is good because I'm not nuts about those. This is smoky and leathery, just not lusciously so the way Lancer Slices is.

No real complexity here, but I will credit this tobacco with being very consistent. I have smoked no bowls of this that varied in experience. As bulk Lat blends go you could do worse, but this is not even in the same class as their bulk #505 Super Balkan, and probably not as good as #64 Mountain Camp. It's arguably better than Engine #99, although that one has a little more going on in it. This kind of strikes me the same way Squadron Leader does. Just average. Once this jar is empty we part ways.

The Cyprian Latakia leads in the blend, softened by the Virginias. The Orientals are really in the background, to the degree they're there. It's hard, I think, to create a complex flavor profile in blends of this nature but SotE does a decent job of it. As a result, it could be a fine all day companion. Like many C&D blends, it's fairly dry in the tin (not a bad thing to me) and burns well. I haven't had the flake version of this but I suspect it will have a little more punch and complexity--I'm looking forward to trying it. Recommended (in a 2.5 stars kind of way)--not wild about it but would smoke it from time to time.

edit: a bit of time in the jar has improved SOTE or possibly my taste has just come around to it--upping the score to 3 stars--

In many respects I find Cornell & Diehls' STAR OF THE EAST (SOTE) as the perfect replacement for Balkan Sasieni (BS) and at less than half the cost ($28/lb for SOTE versus $7/50g tin for BS, which works out to approx. $63/ lb).

I find in both blends a dense campfire smokiness provided by the high Latakia content, although its much higher with SOTE (50%) than with BS (I'd estimate at approx. 30%). But the effect of the Stoved Virginia base and the sparkling spice provided by the Orientals is very similar in both to my palate.

The blend comes as a rough cut ribbon, rather on the fat side. The color is a dark brown with a 50% of pure black leaf, the latter presumably representing the Latakia. By the way, off topic, is it la-ta-KIA or la-TA-kia? I have heard both in common parlance. Anyways, the thick ribbons pack well via gravitation feed, with a stout thumb press to finalize the pack. After a preliminary charring, the top ash takes readily and offers a one- match smoke. The water content is ideal out of the sack, and keeps well in sealed glass bell jars.

As an aside, I have tried to find a replacement for BS for quite some time now. Cup O Joes offers a bulk version of Balkan Sasieni for only $40/lb. However, this is not exactly the same as the 50g tinned version. I presume that this is a house blend that approximates the original.

As the first post mentioned, this blend was created in June 1998 by "FredSmoke" (aka Fred Langer) and blended by Craig Tarler of Cornell & Diehls. Hats off to these fine gentlemen. What really impresses me with this blend is the cost of $28/lb! I don't think a better deal exists for the lover of English / Balkan blends who by necessity operate on a shoestring budget. I for one will be feeding my cellar with this fine blend to the tune of several pounds. I expect the Stoved Red Virginias, that neutralize the 50% Latakia and serve as a base of fine sweetness, to age well.

I would HIGHLY recommend this blend to any lover of English Latakia heavy blends. I give it 4 out of 4 stars. Happy smoking to all.

When I started smoking, however, i kept looking for some sort of taste.

I gave up at the end of the fifth bowl.

This blend contains not just a high level of Latakia but also a very substantial amount of Turkish which gives it that almost minty lightness on the edges of the latakia body. A beautiful piece of art from the blender but one that I'm sure will only endear itself if the smoker is a fan of Latakia. I feel very comfortable in recommending this blend to any lover of the Latakia English/Balkan blends.

I drooled. Until I lighted up. Surprisingly, this mixture has no taste, no strenght and no personnality.

So far I wasted money on GL pease and Spillman. I will add C&D on the list...

What am I going to do with the rest of the 8 ounces? i guess throw them away and learn from this expensive lesson. When I think that I also bought a 8oz tin of Pirate Kake...

This is in no way a knock on GLP. I dig his stuff. Which is why I use it here as sort of the gold standard. The point is I personally think SOTE is damned good pipe tobacco. As good as there is out there.

Throw in that it costs less than 30 bucks a pound and it to me is a clear , no-brainer, stock builder.

If you like English/Balkan blends just try this. Could be a mainstay for you..

To me it lacks balance. The finish is surprisingly light, so you can shake it off your tongue fairly easily. Frankly, I prefer many other blends in this category. Hmm . . . It's also available in flake form . . .

Being familiar at this point with the obvious scent of latakia, SOTE surprised me with its barbecue-esque aroma, a new one on me. A friend of mine generally describes latakia as smelling like "beef jerkey," but I believe I finally understand his comparison: SOTE really hits the nose with a pungent leathery, earthy tang that smells of spice and soil -- and maybe even beef. Beef could definitely describe the chewy smoke SOTE left in my mouth after each puff, that is, the smoke was so rich with flavor it almost had a chewy texture as it coated my tongue. It was very cigar-like, and oddly even the room note (though I was outside) was very cigar-like (think maduro). Throughout the bowl, the light was kept well, and the flavors seemed to continue to crescendo into one very full smokey mixture that lingered long after the bowl was done and the pipe was cleaned. Again, like a cigar, I could feel the fullness of this tobacco in the back of my throat, as well as that feeling of having just eaten a porterhouse steak for dinner. This could be attributed to my rocket-puffing syndrome, but I digress: SOTE is a great blend and highly recommended to all lovers of rugged, full-bodied blends with a lot of smokey, spicy characteristics.

Whether this becomes a staple for me is a verdict only a few more stout bowls can deliver. 3.6 out 4 points for me.

Described as a broken flake I wonder what difference there is between this and C&D's SOTE Flake? I guess I must buy that as well. However, upon lighting this up I was immediately pummeled by a fine Latakia with the sweet Virginias quickly coming to the surface. Sweet smokiness without the tannic pasting with which other heavy Latakia blends have left me (Three Oaks Original, for one). Unsure if I like this right off I immediately repacked my pipe and had another go. Yes, I liked it and can see how others have likened it to Penzance- it seems to be Penzance on steroids - the Latakia more to the fore, the Va's sweeter. The "finish" of this, to borrow a cigar tasting term, is short and does not linger for hours in one's mouth.

I very much like Penzance and could smoke it all day. I'm not sure if I can handle this all day, however; it is more powerful in nicotine (not that that is a bad thing). I do wonder why no comparison has been made (unless I missed it) to other heavy Latakia blends such as FrogMorton or Benjamin Hartwell Chesdin Mixture. Those blends seem more in the genre of SOTE, IMO. I prefer Star of the East to both of those and it has over the last two weeks replaced the Frog for me. I may not smoke it all day, but I do smoke it at least once per day as the drive-to-work blend where it satisfies my tobacco yen until lunch twelve hours later. 4 Stars - no equivocation.

The previous reviewer nailed my feelings on this tobacco. It's a fine, high quality blend that misses the mark for someone who prefers a complex smoke with some side flavors. I just taste latakia that ebbs and flows in intensity. This was smoked fresh out of the tin and I noticed that some reviewers find that it improves drastically with some age. I may try that experiment.

As is, it's a very flat, monodimensional smoke. That doesn't make it bad, though - and if that's what you desire, this is one to try, especially if you've ever mainlined latakia. :)

This is a fairly full English mixture. Mine was a bit old so might have "drifted" from the original concept but basically it's fairly heavy on Latakia, light on Virginias, and zero Burley. The result is a fairly flat and dry smoke, with some depth and spice, but not overwhelming. It's not sweet, not light, not open, not flavored.

People who prefer a flavor other than Latakia will want something else, also if you like a bit of sweetness or tang, this might disappoint. (There's a teeny bit of tang in this, but not much.)