Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) Balkan Sasieni

Pouch Aroma: Musty Latakia for the most part, along with some sweet Virginia undertones.

Appearance: This tobacco is probably 75% dark brown/black, perhaps 15% medium brown and 10% yellow and pale green, in a short, narrow ribbon cut.

Packing and Lighting: Being in short ribbons, this tobacco packed quite easily in my old Hardcastle "Hallmark" pot and lit up easily with very little crown. The initial flavor was very smoky and rich, but with some initial sharpness and sweet tones that I consider a a warning sign for potential tongue-bite. Still, there was some promise here as I picked up undertones of holiday spice and some of the mustiness of old leather.

Exposition: My main problem is that the initial light-up flavor didn't last - what started out mouth watering and spicy rapidly turned sour and musty. There were still hints of what lay beneath, but I was having trouble picking them out.

OK, fifteen minutes into the bowl and things are a little better - some of the sourness has turned darkly sweet and the mustiness is reduced. There is a wonderful sense of rich, smoked meat that I get from Balkan blends, but it's rather thin in this one...is it the pipe?

The Story: I've hit the halfway point now, and things aren't much better. The sweetness has turned from dark brown sugar to something like cheap sulphured molasses, the spice flavor has faded to a whisper and the latakia just tastes...ashy. I tried dumping the ash, using pipe cleaners, letting it rest for a few minutes, all to no avail.

Denouement: Down at the bottom, the tobacco didn't want to stay lit and the flavor had turned bitter and sharp, both factors conspiring to give me a mild case of tongue bite. Argh! I think I'm going to just dump the rest out.

Despite the longing we have for many blends of the past, I contend we are living in a golden age of pipe tobacco. Never before have so many blends from so many sources with such high quality been available to Joe Pipe Smoker. When our nannies in Washington ban internet tobacco purchasing and/or shipping--which they will eventually, mark my words--we will all look back longingly on these days as we cough our way through pipefuls of Captain Black and Borkum Riff.

I've never tried Balkan Sobranie, but I've heard the hype. Balken Sasieni is supposed to be yet another attempt at recreating it. I'm sure Balkan Sobranie was a fine blend, top-notch, perhaps even amazing, but really was it all the hype cracked it up to be? I mean, we're still just talking about a pipe tobacco, right?

I can only somewhat recommend Balkan Sasieni because it just doesn't stand out in a crowded field to me. It's lat-heavy, full, flavorful, and fragrant--but so are dozens of other blends, many of which are more affordable. It's made with quality ingredients, but so are dozens other blends, many of which are more affordable.

To my palate, it's too smooth, too easy-going. It lacks complexity, something to hold my interest. But it's certainly a fine smoke and YMMV. Perhaps there's something in your soul it will speak to, but as for me, I won't be replacing it when my stash runs out. Life is too short and there are just too many other blends out there I can try. Well, for now anyway...

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.

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.

I wanted to like this blend because I love the combination of VA/Lat/Oriental. Unfortunately, it didn't work for me. I didn't think this blend was terrible, but I don't want any more of it. Burned hot, bit my tongue. Tastes fairly one-dimensional. Smoke Penzance instead.

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.

I received my first tin of Balkan Sasieni a few days ago. Naturally I was eager to give it a try, so I popped the lid to see and smell the contents. I must admit there was nothing much in the smell to make this one stand apart from anything. Not to be deterred, I loaded up my pipe and had my first smoke. The tobacco loaded and lit easily and almost immediately started to produce quite nice volumes of smoke. It was an okay smoke, but I couldn't detect anything that makes this one stand out from any other Balkan style blend. Now, after a few days and a few more smokes I still can't identify anything special or unusual about this tobacco. Yes, it smokes quite well, and I don't have a problem with it. I'll easily smoke my way through this tin. However I'm finding the Sasieni experience just a bit plain ordinary, nothing much else to write about. As others have said, this reminds me of smoking something by Stokkebye and I think it's just a Stokkebye mix put in a tin with a special name. I won't rush to buy it again. Although this all sounds a bit negative, it's really a rather 'neutral' review - it doesn't float my boat, but on the other hand it's an okay decent smoke at a good price and in a nice tin.

Interesting how reviews can be all over the board. So I'll add mine. The good: the moisture content was perfect out of the can, lights easily, stays lit better than most other tobaccos I smoke (ribbon cut the reason?), smoked to the end with one light, and I don't vacuum. The bad: uninspiring taste. Little character. Not a horrible taste, just "--Oh well--, I'm smoking a pipe" kinda feeling. The ugly: The name just drew me in. Generally I am a Balkan kinda guy. but a rose----

I have smoked two tins of this stuff over a period two years and I don't believe I shall smoke it again. Balkan Sasieni consistently lets me down. At times a rich creamy smokiness will come through but is quickly replaced by a sour taste. If one likes a rich "Balkan" they should try Steven Books' Irish Man's 5 O'clock and gift any remaining Balkan Sasieni to some novice pipe smoker who has yet to develop a palate.

Soli Deo gloria!