Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) Balkan Sasieni

Jan. 2006: This seems identical to Balkan Supreme. Both are blended by Peter Stokkebye.

April 1, 2005: This is a review of a post-James Norman U.S. distribution .50g pouch. This probably does not matter, since James Norman-era and current production are allegedly from the same blending house (P. Stokkebye).

This looks like a drugstore blend due to the paper/plastic/mylar foldover pouch ala Captain Black, et al. If you equate drugstore packaging with mediocre leaf, flavored with low quality toppings (as I do), Balkan Sasieni is a pleasant exception.

If you have never smoked a Balkan blend before (as I was when I first tried this years ago) and you are an aromatics smoker or a burleymeister, this is not the place to start. Try McClelland's Syrian Full Balkan or Frog Morton to get used to the tanginess of Oriental leaf and major Latakia. Better yet, get thee to Skiff Mixture or And So To Bed to start with mild English blends. Cornell & Diehl might have some suggestions, also.

Balkan Sasieni is edgy, but not razor sharp, deep but not brooding, and subtly sweet (from dark, ribbon and flake Virginia), but not bright or goopy. Smoke this fast and thou shalt burn, and give thyself ample ventilation to avoid ocular dilation and respiratory arrest. The Turkish is the focal point throughout the smoke, closely followed by delicious Latakia (I suspect a mixture of Latakias here) and supported and reined by quality Virginia last.

Balkan Sasieni smokes easily once lit, burns cleanly, thoroughly and is dry to the end. I do not pack the bowl with it firmly or loosely, as it is unforgiving. One of the few Balkans I can actually smoke back to back bowls of if I pay attention to heat. The intensity of the flavor says use a smallish bowl, but the long, thin strands argues for a larger bowl or wider opening- but I would anticipate heat with too much tobacco-surface to air ratio.

The more I smoke this, the more I like it. It travels with me now. I would not call it elegant, but it is not shabby or uncouth. It is complex, without opacity or high-minded appeal.

It reminds me quite a bit of Paul Olsen's MOB 7000 and Dunhill's London Mixture (faintly of 965). Not as refined as Caravan, but Balkan Sasieni is perhaps a bit more chipper. It has much more going for it than Aperitif or Durbar. This might end someone's allegiance to the Frog Morton series. Just get some experience first.

The mind is known to play tricks, even when you work hard to keep it from doing so. I told myself over and over that this only *looked* like Balkan Sobranie on the tin, but wouldn't taste like it. That was ok with me, as I was never a big fan of Sobranie White anyway, but I don't recall exactly why not.

This is a decent balkan blend - no glaring faults, but nothing to write home about. It should please the middle of the road crowd who like a blend that tastes like a balkan without all the heavy spiciness of the stronger ones. "Early Morning" pipers should be able to step into this one without too much fuss. As for me, when I want a latakia blend, this won't be the one I reach for but I wouldn't throw away a free tin, either.

Did the fact that the tin makes this look like Balkan Sobranie have any influence on my tastebuds. Probably. Hard to escape biases. Too bad... but I don't think this one would have worked for me anyway.

This is a full flavored, full aroma, bold Balkan blend. Tin note is smokey Latakia and woody and sour Orientals with some hint of grassy Virginias. 3 tins came ready to smoke in terms of moisture content. This is easy to pack and lights and smokes easily. The flavor is what I would call signature Balkan. There is a base of sweet Virginia's (red and stoved by my observation). The Latakia and Turkish/Orientals balance beautifully with the sweet smokey Cyprian Latakia and woody spicy orientals (maybe a hint of spice from the stoved Virginia's?). To me all great Balkans have a "malty" like flavor and this is no exception.There is also a spicy incense like quality in the smoke. It is very complex and consistent throughout the bowl. The orientals also have a club soda like "flavor" or fizziness to them. Overall this is a top 5 tobacco for me. Fantastic in every way.

Balkan Sasieni, to me, is the same as Balkan Supreme (bulk). Some people detect a difference, I don't.

Balkan Sasieni is good, but I get a better deal in bulk.

Good, Latakia forward blend with a strong oriental component. The cut is easy to pack and light though it burns a little fast.

Comes at the right moisture level right out of the tin, which is a little on the dry side but still pliable.

Try it and also try Balkan Supreme in bulk. If you agree they are the same thing, then stick with the bulk version (cheaper)

Another 4 star tobacco blend that I had smoke. This blend came with a nice package tin and the tin note is good, smokey herbal tobacco smells little bit strong when I open it for the first time. Dark brown, black and yellow gold tobacco mixed well and pleased my eyes so well.

Like usual, I pack it with 3 layer method and this time I'm using my Ben Wade Standard pipe. It is a poker barrel shaped bowl, a tall bowl. Lot of senior pipesmokers tolds me if smoking English/Oriental blends using a wide short pipe is more better to get all nuances, taste and flavor and to catch the complexity and tall bowls are for virginia. I agree with that but this time I want to give a little bit "ghost flavor" of smokey blends to my Ben Wade pipe.

With a nice cherring light this tobacco burn quite well on my pipe. The first strike is spice and peppery taste fill my mouth and touch my tongue. This is the signs if I must smoke and draw this stuff properly. A smooth and long draw is proper way to enjoy this tobacco, draw it with rush and hurry just ruin the pleasure and just make lost all the nuances of this nice blend.

This is a well balanced blend and smokes great at my pipe. The spice, peppery, smokey, and the grassy is mixed so well at this blend, taste so firm and subtle. A very decent smoke, and it give me more then an hour of pleasure on full packed pipe, the strength is medium and not overwhalming. Not difficult to maintain the light and at the ending, it just a nice smooth white ash at the bottom of the chamber.

First tin, second bowl. So I ordered 5 more. I usually grab a Lat or Nic bomb, but there's just a wonderful balance here. It won't replace Ten Russans, but it will handily fit into my Rotation. Frog Morton didn't make the cut. FM is just too mild. I'll finish it off, but add some Latakia & Perique to get it up to a more respectable level. Really wanted to like FM, partly because the art is so cool.

Edited: Now that I have a meer, this really shines. Started my 2nd tin, & I'll have 15 cellared when my next order arrives. Damn, this is grand stuff at a great price.

Tin note: Super strong musty orientals and smokey lat. This is one of the most potent tins I've ever cracked open.

Cut is random and a slight pain, there are "stick" bits of stem intertwined with the coarse ribbon. I let a portion dry on paper while I rub down the sticks and load them, along with the ribbon in my Stanwell featherweight.

Light and initial char - Oriental upfront, and not much more. Musty, caraway with cumin spice, and very savory. Not a lot of bready or even bright notes.

Midway through the bowl, I'm getting a bit more virginia, and a slight hint of a potential bite but that subsides. This is a particularly dry smoke (dry as in moisture, and in flavor), there is no gurgle despite smoking in a full bent. Typically I get a lot more sweetness in an English (which is typically pretty dry, so this one is REALLY dry) from either the Virginias or the Lat, nothing like that here.

Smell was great, a very savory, coriander and caraway seed spice that was thick and very rich.

As I got down to the final dottle and char, i got an incredibly strong ammoniated taste. I've experienced this before with other Balkan/English (including ones I really love), and I can only surmise it's a byproduct of leaf fermentation and "steaming" in the bowl. However as soon as I had this flavor, I dumped a coarse, pebbly gray ash into my ashtray, there was no tobacco left - so I really can only blame myself for this off taste, and not the tobacco.

This blend really seems to be one-sided. I did enjoy it and completed the whole bowl, but while smoking did wish for a bit more boldness and complexity.

I'll have to give this a second shot. As it stands it really wasn't great. Maybe I'm just disappointed that the tin had such a righteous smell but the smoke was lackluster.

Some people compares this tobacco to BSOM. Although they share some characteristics, they are quite different. Compton's Macedonian Mixture is a bit closer, and maybe Charing Cross too, but they are all excellent tobaccos on their own right. Out of these, Sasieni is the mildest and mellowest, so it should be the choice for those who love Balkans but are often overwhelmed by the taste.

A friend of mine at our local pipe club gifted me about a tin of this. He did not care for it very much and he asked me if I liked it. The only catch was I give him the jar back that it was in and how could I say no. I think he is more into Virginia tobaccos overall, anyway I erroneously told him I had tried this but now I am not so sure. I have two tins from around 2013 but if I have smoked any my memory fails me. I loaded my pipe up this afternoon on the porch with my Hammerhead coffee (shot of espresso and coffee) and upon taking two puffs I already knew how I was going to rate this. This is really a great tasting Balkan/English blend, I do not care what they call it as a matter of fact all I know is the Latakia/Oriental/Turkish in this blend is very well blended. I especially liked the way it smells out of the bag. I have had three bowls of this and that is enough for me to give this one a 4 star.