Mac Baren HH Balkan Blend

The very smoky, woody, earth, mildly sweet Cyprian latakia is the lead component, but not by a lot. The moderately spicy, woody, floral, earthy, dry and buttery sweet Orientals play an important support role with the sweetness and wood being just a little more prominent than the other aforementioned attributes. The nutty, earthy, woody, lightly cocoa-ish, lightly molasses sweet burley plays a step below the level of the Orientals. There seems to be more of the grassy, citrusy bright Virginia than the burley, but it is in a secondary position below the other tobaccos. The woody, earthy, lightly sweet and floral dark fired Kentucky is a condiment at best. The strength and taste thresholds sit squarely on the medium mark. The nicotine is a little closer to medium than it is to mild. Won’t bite or get harsh. Expertly blended, you’ll notice all very consistent flavor nuances from start to finish in virtually every puff. Burns cool and clean at a moderate pace. Leaves little moisture in the bowl, and requires an average number of relights. Has a very pleasant, lightly lingering after taste. Can be an all day smoke.

-JimInks

One of the better Balkan mixtures I have had. Well balanced between the smokiness of the Latakia with the Oriental right behind it making for a well rounded smoke flavor with a richness not usually found. There is a citrus note and sweetness from the Virginia, but also a sweetness like brown sugar or molasses from the Burley, neither being forward but rounding out the back ground with a nuttiness and maybe a touch of cocoa. Smokes cool and not at all harsh or bitter like some Balken's are to me. Consistent through out the bowl but not monotonous with little variations here and there. All premium tobacco and it burns clean to the bottom of the bowl after a little drying. I can definitely see this going into my rotation and being an all day smoke, a really nice English that should improve a bit with some age, the tin I tasted was only a month old!!!

Mac Baren - HH Balkan Blend.

I love a Balkan for my morning smoke and popped 'Pease Piccadilly the other day and that's one hell of a blend. I like to have a few on the go so opened this up.

Appearance: a medium ribbon where there's a higher amount of brown pieces to black. The Latakia can be easily identified in the tin-note and the water content of this tin was smack on.

It's a smoke with an undeniable presence of Latakia, but not one where the Lat' rules the roost. The rest play an important role. To be fair I find the least character comes from the Virginia, but the others meld together to create a flavoursome back-up. There's exotic Orientals, some coarse Burley, and a fire-cured flavour from the Kentucky; it's this that reduces the rating, for me. It burns fairly slow, distributing a cool, bite-free, smoke.

Nicotine: medium. Room-note: not great.

HH Balkan Blend? If it weren't for the Kentucky I'd rate this with three stars, but as it is I'll give it two:

Somewhat recommended.

This is the last of the trilogy, i.e. the third tin gifted to me. The others were Fillmore and Janus. Upon opening the full tin, the tin note was outstanding. Hard to describe but your basic Oriental/Latakia smell. I wish I could find an after shave like it. This lit up easily with a couple of matches and was love at first puff. This tin was dated July of 2018, so it has a little age to it. I detected mostly the Oriental with the Latakia lurking in the background. Surprisingly it always put out quite a bit of clouds of smoke. I really relaxing mild-medium tasting blend. The smoothness of the smoke in some ways reminded me of Vintage Syrian but with obviously a different taste profile. This is one if I were a buying man would get some but my hoarding days are over. Thanks again to “M’ from the pipe club for the generous gift.

I am newer to Balkans. I've tried Plum Pudding, White Knight, Black House and Artisans Mixture. I usually smoke a good VaPer or a Scottish Mixture but this is a good blend to try. This is the last of the non-flake offerings in MacBaren's HH line, with the notable exception of HH Vintage Latakia and Vintage Syrian both of which unfortunately went out of production before I seriously started smoking my pipe. If they ever come back they will be on my list to try first.

These blends come in nicely packed Scandinavian tins. I would call the cut a shag or a coarse cut, it's ribbon-like but not quite there. The tin note on this one is smokey Latakia, sweet Virginia, and complex, slightly sour, and flowery Orientals. The smell is intoxicating. Being a shag cut, this is relatively easy to pack and it lights well. I found the tobacco to be a almost perfect dryness but your milage may vary.

First off I notice the Latakia, it is very full, smokey, and almost buttery. The Orientals are very prominent and they are herbal, floral, and sour. There is a Virginia sweetness in the background. As you smoke down the bowl you will find the flavors evolving and changing. It is a nice complex smoke. You won't get bored with this one.

I suspect that your well intentioned significant other or your friends might not mind this one, but room note is very subjective. It takes a lot for this to burn hot. The taste on this one is a think one step stronger than medium, and the strength is a solid medium. I think I would buy this again, it is a decent smoke. I think it's decently priced, $11 for a 50g, and $20 for a 100g.

Pipers here on Tobacco Reviews who have a penchant for Balkan blends probably have reservations pertaining to Mac Baren's HH Balkan Blend. I don't know when it became available on the market because I've been out of the hobby for a five years. It contains a type of Burley that usually isn't found in a Balkan blend. I'm writing this review from the charring light to the finish & will try it in two different pipes before making a final evaluation. The tin note is that of a sweet, sour, fermented smoky aroma. Those of you who've smoked Balkan blends know what I'm referring to even though I may not have pinned the aroma down specifically.

However, a strength test noted that the Burley was condimental only & barely noticeable but probably added to the strength along with the Perique which also seemed lightly applied but noticeable in the flavoring. I was also able to determine that the Cyprian Latakia was the main player initially in the tin note as well as through the smoking session but tones down about the halfway point as all the varietals interact and come on in to join the party. So far as I can tell this is a quality Balkan but will know more when I sample my next bowl in a Missouri Meerschaum that's caked up.

OK... dried out another bowlful quantity and put fire to it... not much flavor other than the Cyprian presence & a bit of harshness initially which is usually the case when lighting up. Set the pipe down a short while & fired up again & was better this time around... less harshness, & more of a milder flavor. After another short break in the action, tamped it down a bit & fired back up... much better. Very little bite or harshness. I'm about 1/3 the way through my second bowl & I'm not as yet getting much sweetness & the Cyprian presence is still most notable & there is still a little harshness but we have a ways to go yet. I'm approaching the halfway point now & noticing a very slight sweetness as the varietals are beginning to interact but I'm cooling my pipe at this point & taking a quick break.

OK... it is only about the halfway point that you'll finally experience that tasty interaction process. It just seems to take a while for this flavor to finally develop but when it does, Balkan lovers can expect that alluring & elusive flavor that we expect from a good Balkan. From my experience thus far, it would seem that this blend would be better served up in a deeper bowl... at least 1 3/8 inches or more... similar to what we might use to smoke a Virginia blend. FWIW, I liked this better than the HH Vintage Syrian Balkan because HH VS contained an abundance of Syrian Latakia that sort of overwhelmed the Oriental but then again, they are two different animals... one heavy Syrian & the other Cyprian in moderation.

The HH VS was a real treat straight from the tin but much better after I tamed it down with a combination of Orientals containing mostly Yenidje, Green River Black Cavendish, added a "pinch" of Lane Vanilla Cavendish & turned it into a proper Balkan blend itself. I guess I just favor a sweeter Syrian Balkan. This HH Balkan was/is better than anticipated. Also, it's hard for me to determine which of the Latakias I like best... they're both good but I think I would use the Syrian if I were going to mix a "great" Balkan... I'm thinking some vintage Wellhauers would work really well for a Syrian & McConnell's Cyprian for the other. I plan on mixing some up in the very near future.

My blending experiments are still an ongoing process & we'll see how things turn out & if something extraordinary develops, I'll pass my notes on to all interested parties. I hope this review helped those who are as yet undecided on whether or not to try Mac Baren's HH Balkan Blend. I think it's a very good Cyprian Balkan... better than most I've sampled so far with a reasonable price tag. Crystal Palace is my favorite Balkan because of the sweet flavor & Arango is also a real treat & the price is right. Two saw-bucks for a half pound ain't bad!

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The most surprising thing about this blend is the fact that I am only the third person to review it here. That is truly strange, given that this is the latest addition to Mac Baren's estimable HH Series, and was assumed to be the successor to the highly and oft' reviewed Vintage Syrian. Well...here goes.

Like Vintage Syrian, Balkan Blend is lovely to look at in the tin, and even lovelier to smell. There is firm reason for that: the two look and smell exactly the same, presenting a melange of different-colored leaf, and an olfactory feast that will bring back the good old days for smokers of a certain age. But then you light it up.

I wish I could give Balkan Blend a glowing review, but America is all too plagued by "alternate facts" right now. So, here are the facts as I see them. This is at best a mediocre blend. Something seems to vanish between the tin and the pipe. That something is character. The blend has a flavor, but it is non-descript. The Oriental is there, and the Virginia, and, one supposes, some Dark Fired Kentucky. The Latakia seems to be MIA. In fact, Presbyterian Mixture, which many argue has no Latakia at all, has more Latakia presence than Balkan Blend.

The scuttlebutt on this is that Balkan Blend is Vintage Syrian, but with Cyprian weed. There seems to be some merit to that rumor. Even late in the game Vintage Syrian had an intrigue and body that are totally lacking here. Balkan Blend is better described as Balkan Bland.

Excellent blend.

Burley, Kentucky, Latakia, Oriental/Turkish, Virginia

I am a huge fan of the now retired Vintage Syrian; this blend has Cyprian Latakia now that Syrian is apparently finally gone for good. This blend is much less Latakia forward, due I guess to the fact that Cyprian Latakia is milder and this blend is more Oriental forward.

The result is a smooth but still full taste Balkan. The pronounced Oriental taste makes for a very smooth and pleasing smoke. The strength is medium to full. The smoke is very pleasing to the mouth and is somewhat a middle ground between White Knight and Black House.

Highly recommended.

My first Balkan ever tried. But in the same I am comparing this to White Knight and Black House. I love this Balkan, taste really great, on the tin as even better while smoked.

Smokes pretty cool, dry. It leaves a great aroma like it was added a little flavor , but it's not. They are the orientals.

Overall, it's a great product that will keep inside my rotation. This is a good variant to the Old Dark Fired for an all day smoke.

4 Stars.

Edit 07/24/2022

After smoking other Balkans, superior in taste and overall satisfaction , I would rate it as 3 stars , because is a very good blend but still under compared to others in commerce.

This one grew on me. I waited until I had smoked the whole tin to render a verdict because I found it to be a bit finicky. The first few bowls were straight from the tin, no drying. A bit on the wet and bitey side, but not nearly as bad as som MB blends. A little drying does wonders for this blend. Without drying, this is just an average, oriental forward English, but once you dry it even a little, it really shines as a proper Balkan. Some find the Latakia to take center stage, but I don’t get that. In fact, I hardly notice it. The orientals play really well with the VA’s for a subtle tangy sweetness, but not as tangy as some of the more interesting orientals on the market, making this a more middle of the road, but solid Balkan. Burns well. Found it to smoke best in a wider bowl.