Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) Balkan Sasieni

I did not like this but others may. A very light English with absolutely no character. Add McClelland's blending Perique and it can be saved and turned into a decent and serviceable tobacco. But really, why bother? I just happened to have an open tin of the Perique. I would skip this. NOT a BALKAN at all. More like a light English. A lot of better stuff out there.

I must admit I was bewaring of this blend when I heard it was now produced by Stokkebye rather than Sasieni in London; tobacco manufacturers in Denmark have a radical and, mainly,different approach to what a Balkan or English blend must be like..often to the detriment of the quantity of Latakia put into the tin, thus to the detriment of the poor smoker!

But, my practical side ( i.e."cheap") decided to risk the experience, especially at 5,85$ a tin at www.pipesandcigars.com. What did I have to loose? Not much!

I was surprised to find an almost identical mixture than the one available in pouches, besides a cut that appears less long and what seemed to be a bit less of Latakia. That illusion is created by the shorter cut for, when I reach into the tin to lay down the tobacco on the chart table, prior to planning the filling passage, there is lots of Latakia present, just like the original ( in pouch,during the 90s that is, not the 70s and prior...which I am unaware of).

A bit on the dried side, but with a good level of humidity, this tobacco is a pleasure to smoke. Nothing really sophisticated, but definitively enjoyable. A nice alternative between the sweetness of the orientals, spiceness of the Latakia and the more pure tobacco taste of bright VA interplay all along. Three distinctive tastes, no more, no less. Its simpliness allows maximum enjoyment of nice flavors. And this is often better than too much "sophistication".

Definitively recommended, this is a First Sealord-friendly tobacco.

Decent blend...not as good as Nightcap. Nice price...6.25 per 50g. For me, who cares if it comes in a pouch. Nicely ribboned and predominantly Dark in color. Found quite a few stems, not pleased with this....poor quality control.

Burned well....but not overly complex to my palate.

This would be one of those blends that you feel blessed to find while at a remote location after forgetting your kit at home. For me this won't be kept as a staple...but I may keep the pouch to dip into at a later point in time.

This blend is awesome. It's very difficult for me to tell the difference between this blend and the much heralded Balkan Sobranie. In fact I have been smoking BS (The Original Mixture) for the last week and I don't think I would be able to tell the difference between the 2 blends with one noticeable difference - the sweetness of the Virginia's. I can tell I will smoking a lot more of this blend.

I've gone through several pounds of this in bulk in the last few years, until recently I've never bought the packaged or tinned version. I've always found it to be a nice medium-taste Balkan. I've now opened a new tin (purchased from Pipes and Cigars) and it seems very similar to the bulk version I've been smoking. This is a fragrant mixture, with the emphasis on the Orientals, the Latakia follows and the VAs stay in the background. To my taste more tangy than sweet. 8 out of 10 stars.

Note: Balkan Supreme, from Stokkebye [same manufacturer], is similar and pleasant.

Update 10/12/2009

I finally tried a tin instead of a pouch, manufactured by Stokkebye. Was that ever a smart move on my part!

Despite the high amount of Latakia, the room aroma remains pleasant. Even my wife did not complain at all. She never noticed I was smoking a Latakia blend.

There is truly a difference between the same blend when it is produced in a tin vs a pouch. The tin is always better, of course.

This is a medium balkan blend, fit for an all day smoke. It smokes better than the pouch version. And has all that I like: the smokiness of the Latakia combined with the sweetness of the orientals and the grassiness of the VA.

It just needs to be smoked at a decent pace. If not, it willl tend to bite a bit.

Definitively recommended, this time!





Original review 08/25/2007

Humm...I've ordered a couple pouches of this one, after a hiatus of at least 10 years...I can't say I really loved it.

The bakkie is a long cut, mostly dark with brown leaf. The moisture level was very low, almost a bit dry upon opening.

The aroma is balkan big time, big Latakia/Oriental; couldn't make out the VA in there.

Easy too fill, easy to light, burns a long, long time because it's a very dark mixture. The moisturte level kind of dried out my mouth and the proportion of Latakia made it a bit too much on the taste buds and turned down the fun somehow, because it prevented me from tasting the orientals or the VAs.

Definitely a good quality blend, but maybe a bit too much latakia for my liking...

Several reviewers have commented that Peter Stokkebye's "Balkan Supreme" is the same blend as Balakan Sasieni. Well, PS may manufacture both Balkan Sasieni and Balkan Supreme, but the two blends are not identical, in my opinion.

The two blends are similar - no question, but there are both differences in physical appearance and taste between the two blends. To me, Balkan Sasieni is a more elegant and refined blend with less up-front Latakia and it tastes (paradoxically) sweeter and has more tangy "sourness" than Supreme.

It's that unique sourness of Balkan Saseini that I love and Supreme does has some of this, but at a much lower level. I'm probably splitting hairs here, because there is a lot of similarity between the two blends and Supreme is much less expensive, but Balkan Sasieni is the better blend in my opinion (and perhaps, due to its more expensive price, should be!)

And, despite the Danish heritage and PG shared by both blends, Balkan Sasieni is in a class by itself and remains my favorite Balkan. At once sweet, sour, rich, and mild. Balkan Sasieni delivers these attributes uniquely and the Balkan lover is treated to a tremendous smoking experience.

I was attracted to this blend by smelling it in the pipe of another smoker. But it not deliver on its promise. The storied name aside, it's nothing more than an anemic Balkan. The Latakia is faint at best, the Orientals are nothing special and the Virginia is mere filler. If there's a market for mild Balkans -- an oxymoron if ever there was one -- then this might fill that niche. But I can't see any point to buying this when there are so many truly fine Balkans on the market (e.g. Pease's Odyssey).

There are essentially two differences between this blend and the Balkan Sobranie of old. First is the Virginia component, and second is the oriental component. You can use the same recipe to make two cakes, but if you use all purpose flour and cocoa rather than cake flour and baker's chocolate, the cakes will be different. In any case this Balkan Sasieni is a pretty good balkan mixture; it just does not resemble the old Balkan Sobranie to any great degree. The the oriental leaf lacks the zest and the distinctive flavor found in the old Sobranie. And the finish is quite cloying which I suspect is due to this particular latakia/oriental combination. I can smoke this tobacco, but I do not care much for the finish.

By the way, I think the new version of Balkan Sobranie is closer to the old version than is the Sasieni. However, it also lacks the oriental element. It is pretty good, though, and I like it better than the Sasieni. Paddy.