Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) Balkan Sasieni

Preferring power in the pipe, and generally going for latakia in order to satisfy the requirement, I was recommended a tin of this by a tobacconist. Naturally, I was disappointed with its mildness, despite its inclusion of latakia.

What can I say about this Balkan? Well I have read everyone comparing this the Sobranie Balkan of past. It has some of the character of the sobranie but thats about it. I think it is a very good balkan mild with a subtle sweetness towards the mid point of the bowl.A very good mild smoke and no bite . I would recommend this to anyone who would enjoy a good mild balkan. I am smoking it out of a Sherwood Savinelli pipe . I got a tin for christmas and will be adding this to my rotation. I think it would get better if aged for a year or more.

Sampled from a fresh tin, aired out and dried a little. Tin aroma...Typical Balkan smell...Latakia & Orientals. Aroma reminds one of the Balkan Sobranie Original Mixture but that's where the similarity ends. I'm using The Balkan Sobranie Original Mixture for comparison purposes since it is unquestionably the hallmark of Balkan blends.

This stuff has a good burn rate. After a light & relight to let my pipe cool, I'm getting a slightly bitter taste. With Balkan Sobranie, I got an abundance of sweet, creamy smoke from each draw after the first few puffs. This blend was also a little stingy with the nicotine. The Balkan Sobranie OM was perfect in strength for any smoker...medium to strong. This is wimpy! I toked until there was nothing but ashes left & I failed to get that depth of tasty flavors from the aforementioned king of Balkans.

Toward the end of the bowl, I was beginning to get a minute amount of the sweet taste & flavors with only a slight semblance of the BSOM. It was fleeting, however and only lasted a short while. I found this to remain a little more bitter than sweet & it took too long for any flavor to develop.

This blend did not propel me to immediately reach for a second bowl. I found it rather bland near the end, whereas BSOM flavor remained to the end & kept me coming back for more of that elusive, palatable flavor that I deemed exceptional. I also preferred PS Balkan Supreme over this mixture. It had more flavor & sweetness nearing mid bowl.

This will be my first & last tin although I'm glad to see that many pipers like it quite well. I will however, keep searching for that Balkan Sobranie flavor in a blend or start blending my own. I will air this tin for another week and opine further if any change in character is noteworthy. Therefore, IMHO, I feel that Balkan Sasieni only merits two stars. Sampled in a size two Dunhill.

This is truly a tobacco in the spirit of what I have come to know as Balkan. The orientals are blended with the VA in the front with Latakia playing in the back. To the experienced Balkan smoker I would say you will be pleased. Similar to Presbyterian, though I believe the Latakia is heavier in Sasieni. The true beauty of this, as well as many other Balkan's that I have smoked, is that you can smoke it slow and pick out the melded flavors, or you can smoke quicker and still enjoy with less complexity.

Lastly, at only $6 something a tin you cannot beat the price.

I cannot state it better than A. Morley Jaques in 2007 or Lustra from 2002.



Summary: An ordinary one dimensional smoke with a tendency to bite and turn bitter, high and strident with no bottom notes.



Lustra tried to improve it with a blend of MacBaren Scottish Mixture (horrible by the way). Others have tried Captain Black. I tried adding Prince Albert Choice Blend (quite good actually).

But why bother. Balkan Sasieni seems more of a RYO menthol cigarette blend in a can than a pipe tobacco.

If you need something equivalent to a piano with no keys to the left of middle C give it a try. I will not buy it again. But the presentation is perfect, tin aroma is excellent and I will reuse the tin.

Want the same flavor profile with high end tobacco? Try Davidoff Royalty, smooth, sweet and very satisfying, 100% better.

Listen to me - I'm giving it to you straight. I got plans see, and there's no room in them for you. You couldn't never mean nothing to me - nothing special that is. You know what I mean.

This is a very pleasant medium-to-mild Balkan with a significant amount of oriental leaf. While I do feel it to be a high-quality smoke with good flavor and burn characteristics, I agree with the observations of Mr. Servo, below, however, that the overall smoking experience is flawed in the sense that it is a bit too disjointed. Every time I foray into the territory of the Saseini in search of blissful harmony, it starts out slighty rounded, smooth, smokey and savory, with a light dose of well-balanced latakia...yet mid-bowl the latakia begins to sign off too substantially and abruptly, leaving what seems to be an excess of almost lemony, quite tasty virginias to run amock, which endure as the controlling faction for some time, punctuated by stronger and stronger hits of nutty, floral oriental leaf, but not in the sense of a balanced, spicy, brooding balkan. Then, in the bottom third of the bowl, the orientals begin to dominate too significantly, virginia then vaults, and lady latakia leaves the battlefield altogether, causing you to wonder exactly what sort of blend you've just smoked for the entire latter half of the session. It is highly possible that this blend may benefit significantly from some serious cellaring time to pull its standoff-ish participants into a flavorful truce, but as it stands I have not yet found the correct pipe to pull this young, mild mixture together. It is clear that this blend prefers to be smoked quite slowly to keep the orientals calm, and seems to benefit from a smaller-bore chamber. Still, in all, a tasty and noteworthy smoke. Half-star deduction for the disjointed finish, so for now, Two and three quarter stars.

It‘s my first tobacco.Latakia is very suitable in this mix.But I feel the strength is not strong enough to me.

Smoking from a 2006 tin of the imported Stokkebye blend. This is a mild Oriental/Latakia blend that despite its tameness delivers a well balanced smoke that is rich & satisfying. Packs well and has no bite.If you like a strong latakia presence, skip this one.Stokkebye surely is a Master Blender IMHO.