Dan Tobacco - Bill Bailey's Balkan Blend pipe tobacco reviews

Review

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Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
< PREVIOUS Showing reviews 41 through 51 of 51 reviews of this tobacco
sasha	08/19/2005	Medium	None detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable
The first thing to say is that this is NOT a Balkan blend, despite its name. The second thing is that this is an heavy mixture: not full or strong, just heavy, probably due to the amount of out-of-place kentucky (what the hell does kentucky do into a balkan blend?). It's a nice smoke anyway, but to me it becomes boring after half a tin.
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Beer	06/09/2005	Medium to Strong	None detected	Very Full	Strong
At the price this tobacco is sold in Italy (it costs as much as Balkan Sobranie!) it had better be good... Dan Tobacco usually makes good stuff, so my expectations were high: well, this won't become one of my favorites, but it is fine nevertheless. It is not a typical balkan blend, as it contains some unusual ingredients for the genre: kentucky and perique!!! It must be said that these two are present in little quantities (when I first smoked it I was unaware of their presence, until I read the composition on this page), so the effect is very subdued and lets the latakia prevail. As many other balkans, this is a very heavy and bitter latakia-laden mixture: it definitely has a lot of taste, but lacks in roundedness and variation. While it is a good smoke, it has some subtle notes that are not in the right place: probably the earthiness of the kentucky, and most particularly the high metallic touches of perique. A heavier dose of Virginia would have made a deeper, subtler blend. As it is, I find it a bit too "dry" (not as opposed to "wet", but as opposed to "sweet") and with some harsh edges. Not the mouth-watering and complex Sobranie, by far, though it is an interesting (and well burning) alternative approach to the world of balkans. I might have given this blend three stars, but the fierce competition makes the comparison inevitable... Worth a try, but it will hardly become a favorite. EDIT June 2005: I tried another tin, and I enjoyed it much better! This tin seems rounder, with less heavy notes and more sweetness. Less kentucky earthiness, still some Perique metallic tickling, but overall a very tasty and enjoyable blend. It has some weak moments in the second half of the bowl, but this time it was much more complex, rich and interesting. Not simply a full latakia sledgehammer. Hey, it is almost as good as some legendary GLPease Balkans! Definitely worth smoking! EDIT April 2013: Returning to this blend once in a while. Still not bad, still one of the few strong Latakia blends remaining in Europe. Still too much Kentucky (which should NEVER belong in a blend called "Balkan"), still a bit unsubtle and not very elegant. But certainly tasty and much better than many other fake Balkans...
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
RCUSElder	04/14/2005	Medium to Strong	None detected	Full	Strong
Revised 04-14-2005 Appearance and aroma: ahh... dark, musty, medium cut ribbons of latakia, turkish, and an ocassional speck of gold. Packing and lighting: a little moist upon opening of tin, but packs and lights rather easily. Initial flavor: This is a balkan! delicious! Mid-bowl: flavor intensifies, a slight tingle from the perique, but not enough to trigger my allergy. The flavor is similar to "Nightcap" but not as much perique. Bottom of bowl: more fullness, yumm.. Perique tingles a little more but does not overpower. Finishes dry with a fine medium grey ash and you are satiated. Overall: This is a delicious Balkan, not quite as rich and complex as Pease's blends, but still in my top 10 of Balkan blends. It does pack a nicotine punch, but not as intense as Dunhill's Nightcap. Lastly, this will not bite and there is no need to puff stongly to get rich flavor.
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
pocket	12/18/2004	Strong	None detected	Full	Tolerable to Strong
Went to Germany yesterday. There I buy my Nightcap. From the man in the store I got a little of this stuff to try out. Well I must say that it is not bad. tastes like a Balkan. It is a very tasty, spice tobacco. But not as fine as my Sir William (English latakia) or Nightcap. But when I lived in Germany (what I do'nt) I would smoke the stuff now and then. Not bad at all.
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bigjonburley	12/08/2004	Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
I like this well made blend, due to the fact that I have a passion for latakia. Like most full strength balkan's, flavor abounds from this tobacco. Dan tobacco puts a high price on their tobacco but, some times you just have to treat yourself to the finer things in life. This blend is a true balkan in the purest of sense. I get all the flavors of twangy smoked venison that are so prevalent in the fuller latakia blends. Allthough this blend is exquisite, I do prefer a bit more oriental content than this blend provides. This blend is no "965" but will still satisfy the deepest latakia cravings out there amongst smokers.
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
1ManCircus	12/06/2004	Strong	Strong	Full	Tolerable to Strong
The tin smell is reminiscent of lebanon bologna. I find that's pretty common for latakia blends, though. On a warm day, the latakia tastes like barbeque and the perique lends a bit of metallic tang to it. A good taste compared to other tobaccos, in the sense that a beer and a coke could both taste good. My suggestion is to keep this stuff for a cold day. Get out a long stemmed pipe and just stand outside when it's so cold you have to grip the bowl to keep your fingers from freezing up. It's then that the latakia and perique REALLY shine. The blend becomes nutty and herby, with a complexity somehow enhanced by the chill. The room note is not as pleasant for the unwashed masses as it could be for a brother (or sister!) smoker. But then again, talk is cheap because supply exceeds demand. Just don't plan on having a big fan club if you're smoking this. The nicotine kicks a little harder in this blend than in others I've tried, especially if you inhale a mouthful or two. Overall, I wouldn't make this my daily bread, but it'd serve well as an occasional treat. I can't wait to try it when it's really cold and snowy out.
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
Chessnut	11/03/2003	Strong	None detected	Full	Pleasant to Tolerable
This is a wonderful complex blend. A must try of latakia and englis blend smokers. It smokes very cool and very full bodied but never harsh. no one type of tobacco in the blend overpowers the other, they all work extremely well complementing each other. Delicious!
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
Fazby	05/22/2003	Strong	None detected	Full	Pleasant to Tolerable
I like this one. It is a good balkan blend. Good latakia and all the tobaccos work together. Best on a winter's night. Not the same in the summer.
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Eulenburg	11/03/2002	Medium to Strong	None detected	Full	Pleasant
I like my Latakia strong and smokey?I like Syrian Latakia, in other words, and plenty of it. So if I lived in Germany and this were at my corner tobacconist, I would be very glad for it. [40% of the Syrian] But I don't see why we would pay Dan's prices for a type of blend that Dunhill does better. [Think: NIGHTCAP] Not that this is bad: it is, in fact, a good pseudo-Sobranie offering, with a modicum of Périque, to keep one awake. Try it, in spite of the stupid tin art.
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pmonroeb	07/29/2002	Very Strong	None detected	Very Full	Very Strong
Latakia overkill. Not much subtlety here. The latakia used is a very smoky variety. The tobacco packed and burned well. I recommend this only to those that love their latakia stong and smoky. Curiously, I found this to be a good mixing tobacco because of its smoky quality. I put a pinch of this into several different blends that needed a little oomph and found it worked well for that. I had a tin of Old Ironsides on hand as I was smoking this tin and found it to be more satisfying as strong latakia slices go.
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Paul Tatum	01/17/2002	Medium to Strong	None detected	Full	Pleasant
A good full english blend , though much like a lot of other english latakia blends on the market . Good , but not memorable .
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