Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) Balkan Sasieni

My first Balkan experience and i greatly enjoyed it.. this is a very nice dose of latakia and oriental as i expected with a nice light virginia.. very nice as an after dinner treat.. very woodsy and natural tasting.. as others have noticed this one changes a lot as it is smoked.. i notice a substantial increase in the latakia in the middle of the bowl.. but a strange sweet creaminess comes out in the end.. spicy throughout, very tasty.. i am tempted to buy more and see if a little age will improve this even more.. i really enjoyed it..

short edit.... i am picking up more on the orientals midbowl now.. but i am also noticing that this can be very difficult at times to smoke.. if you smoke it even a little bit fast the latakia/oriental can get pretty sour - which might explain a lot of negative feedback.. i still like it a lot - but i can see why some people might not.

another edit.. I just have to up this to 4 stars.. over time I just like this stuff more and more. I find it as pleasant as my black mallory which is saying a lot because that is another very nice blend.

I have just finished another tin of this delicious smoke. Sasieni is what originally turned me on to Balkans. It is well balanced and with a proper light, will burn cool and dry.

I keep plenty of tins around.

If you’re reading the top rated reviews here, you’ll find that many of them are incredibly old, and this could make a difference. Personally, I couldn’t find much of what JimInks said back in 2014 for example, or what others said about their experience with this blend many years ago. So take that into consideration. We’re in 2022 now (few days will be 2023). Also, many people mention that this is different from the old Balkan Sasieni, as a friend of mine with whom I smoked it also mentioned, so this must also be taken into consideration. The tin I’m reviewing here is only two years old, so from 2020.

The tin note is just mindblowing. Musty, fermented, leathery, smoky.

Moisture level was moderate when opened, ready to pack the pipe. Jarred it up and it remained like this, so it’s still ready to go right in the pipe without any drying or rehydrating. The ribbon cut is short to medium, mostly brown and dark gold leaves with some black ones.

Always at the first light I get a sweetness, but also a little dark fruit and fig, but that changes quickly to a very smoky, very leathery and somewhat woody taste, and at times it might give some vinegar notes as well. There is just a little spice in it like black and white peppercorns, cardamom or cloves, and it is lightly herbal with some anise, artichoke, bay leaf. Some licorice, angelica and fennel notes would be what we can compare the sweetness of this blend to. And speaking of the sweetness, my friend with whom I smoked it with mentioned that while it is still sweet, the old version was even sweeter. For me, the sweetness it has now is just perfect, if it would be sweeter I might not have enjoyed it as much. However, as you progress, the smokiness gets more serious, and so does the leather taste and woody notes. The spice and bitter taste also gets more pronounced, sometimes reminding me of the Swedish Bitter my mother used to give me when I was a kid.

The first half of the bowl tastes more like an english blend than a balkan, since I taste more latakia than oriental. It becomes an oriental only after the half of the bowl. The smokiness of the latakia is somewhere between the latakia used in American English blends like those from GL Pease and C&D, which are stronger with a peaty taste, and the latakia used in european english blends like Dunhill or Esoterica blends (very much like the one in Margate) which is towards a smoother, incense like taste. Some wood notes will come by the middle of the bowl and will stay, replacing the leathery notes but keeping company to the smokiness.

I think this is very well balanced, and keeps delivering lots of taste, although I can’t say it’s super complex with too many different notes. Someone mentioned the possibility of having red and stoved virginia, which I also suspect, and the friend I mentioned before also has the some impression (especially since he has an organic intoleration to red virginia that gives him tongue-bite).

Even though the taste is medium or medium to full, it’s quite a smooth smoke. It’s creamier than a usual balkan blend.

Delivers a thick smoke, a heavy but pleasant room note to me and tolerable to non smokers and has good lingering aftertaste. Nicotine is mild or mild to medium.

All in all, I really love this blend and it goes on to my favorites list. If I could, I would definitely get more tins of this.

Beautiful blend. The tricolored mix packs and burns readily from the newly-opened tin. It feels like perfumed talc around the palate and nose. Incense colors remain as the room note and aftertaste. The flavors are light. It is one of my favorites.

One of my favorites. A very rich Balkan with tons of flavor and complex well-balanced blend. Latakia is forward but not over powering, Oriental/Turkish gives nice spice and adds complexity to the overall flavor. Virginias helps with keeping the tobacco burning nicely. No relights needs and evens out the flavor.

Medium strength with medium nic. Taste is slightly more mellow than Blackhouse, a little like White Knight with more Latakia. This is a very complex blend, which is a great introduction for those who wish to enjoy the full pipe tobacco experience. Tobacco, tobacco, tobacco.

I smoke this blend a lot. Great when you want to just sit back and enjoy and contemplate. Very highly recommended.

This is my go to balkan blend, it has everthing in it and nothing left out. It's great with a Coffee in the evening while you are relaxing by the fireplace.

I'm not into heavy lat blends for the most part, but i do like to be slapped across the face with latakia every once in a while. When I do want the lat punch, I usually go with this one. It always leaves me satisfied after smoking it.

I don't have anything else new to add that others haven't said already. It's at an excellent priice point and it's pretty damned good. When someone talks about a good latakia mixture, this is what I usually think of.

Lets face it each review is a opinion, an yes I have read some, most. I have smoke this blend for over a year now both fresh from the tin and with at least 6 mos. aging.

It was never intended to be a Latakia Bomb sort of speak if you are looking for that look else where, it's just not here. What is here is a pipe tobacco that is mellow and mild , tasty, satisfying with just enough nicotine .

It is oriental forward with lat. always there, never having to look for it and of course Virginia mildly grassy and tongue friendly. If never smoked try a tin I buy in bulk, even at tin price it is a wonder value.

As good, if not better, than Balkan sobranie. Nice musty Latakia and orientals. A very good standard English, comparable to 965. Smoky,sweet,meaty give it a try if you like English blends like northwoods,965,meat pie.