Solani 779: English Mixture

Update jan 2011: After smoking a lot of Dunhill's, Synjeco's and Sam Gawith, the Solani casing has become a little bit off putting for me, still a good tobacco, still recommended, but knocked of one star. Have 4 tins aging, will report how they fare after they have some years on them.

Update: In january /february this became my favourite after-dinner smoke. However since the good weather started in june, I have not touched it. Now I smoke mostly Virginia flakes, plugs and twists. I start to discover that my taste changes with the seasons... Anyone else has that as well?

Original test:

Nice looking gold coloured tin. Alas, here in Holland half of the beautifull "Sobranie" style engraving stamped on the lid disappears under a very ugly anti- smoking slogan. Do sticky labels really improve public health?

The tobacco is pleasantly clean to the touch although the tinnote is a bit too syruppy for me. The smooth salty tobacco taste lingers on in a nice way after smoking.

Being a lover of Latakia I like the roomnote, but as ever my girlfriend hates it 🙂

This Solani offering has become one of my favourite Latakia tobacco's.

Golden Label is certainly a very good Medium English made in Germany. Recommended for a trip to English Medium Mixtures before facing heavier weights.

Great quality leafs, but in the lighter side. Delicious and sweet Virginia, balanced spicey Orientals and a Syrian Latakia a little bit shy.

I agree with respected previous reviewers in the dryness and fast burning, which prevents it from deserving a better score. I experience the dryness in the mouth aftertaste as well. My favourite ones leave me an enticing chewing sensation in mouth, not this dryness (Skiff, 965 and even Balkan Sasieni and Squadron Leader)

Rdx score (10 different pipes): 89.40

This blend produces a mild & smooth smoke without bite. I'm mainly a VA blend person but this is a pretty good English. This mix represents a good marriage of quality tobaccos and the Latakia is not overwhelming as in some stronger English blends. This mix is so mild, if not for the smoke and Latakia smell, you'd think you were just pulling on an unlit pipe. A little too bland to suit me.

Room note is fairly pleasant, not extremely noticeable and doesn't stink up the place like some stronger Latakia-dominant blends. I didn't get any sweetness from the Virginias and the mild, aromatic Orientals were almost as tasteless as the Latakia. Burn rate was fast but smoked relatively cool. If a cool, & very mild smoke with a touch of Latakia is what you're after, well, here you go! Therefore, IMHO, Solani's 779 Golden Label merits three ***s!

Again an old tin to clear off the cabinet.

It came about '98/'99. The friend who brought me from Switzerland said: "this is the continuation of Balkan Sobranie no 759 which is no longer produced". Oh yes, the tin shows the famous picture (not the wording Balkan which is nowadays so abused...) but the contents is visually something of the like of Standard Mixture Mild and the tin aroma also reflects a mild english mixture.

I don't know how long it will take to smoke the remainder, approximately 2/3 of the tin, not if I even will finish or throw it into the garbage (or may I bake it?)

It smokes hot and wet, bites the tongue, and poorly delivers anything worth to smoke.

I will have still a couple of bowls more, but I'm just feeling this is not for me.

I have recently purchased a couple tins of this tobacco, following a hiatus of 3 years with Golden label, and was extremely disappointed after realizing that this tobacco is radically different than what is was!

As where the leaf was in an almost rubbed-out flake state, composed of mostly medium brown, black and some golden brown leaf, this tobacco is loose cut, with a lot more golden brown and green leaf than it used to be. Also, on the tin aroma side,it used to be the smell of pure slighly sweet tobacco that was a delight to smoke despite the lack of strength; now, it is an acrid tin aroma and taste.

As where I consider Black and White to be an exceptional tobacco, Golden Label has strongly disapointted me. I don't know who modified the recipe at Solani, but it was a poor idea.

This is truly a pity!

Not recommended

779 appears to be another good tobak in the Solani line. The smell of orientals and latakia are welcomed upon opening the tin. Packs and lights with ease. If too aggressive, can be acidic. Sit back and enjoy at a smooth speed. You do not have to be above mach 1 to have your hair on fire! Will only improve with time. Still my favorite birds of the Solani lines are; 633 and 763.

For some reason I expected this blend to be darker in the tin than it turned out to be. Expecting a higher proportion of dark Latakia, I instead found a lighter, golden blend heavy on Virginias and Orientals. It is a beautiful mixture, with black and varying shades of brown and gold and the occasional sighting of an almost olive drab-colored leaf, presumably an oriental varietal.

The tin aroma is heavy with Orientals and Latakia. The moisture was great and the cut, well the cut was one of those that makes you pause and realize the inferiority of the cut in so many other blends you?ve been smoking. It packed nicely and burned great all the way down with nary a relight. Given the high proportion of Virginias in the blend, I braced myself for some biting. But the bites never came. 779 turned out to be a very smooth and rich smoke. That richness, or complexity, was also a surprise. From its tin appearance I expected this to be pretty standard Virginia-with-a-little-latakia-thrown-in-for-body blends like Peterson?s Old Dublin, Pease's Piccadilly, or Dunhill Early Morning Pipe. As I smoked 779, however, I realized its superiority to any of those mixtures, owing largely to the great Orientals in this blend and the use of Syrian as opposed to Cyprian Latakia.

I can't comment on the whole Balkan Sobranie comparison issue, since I never had the pleasure of the old favorite, but I can say that I find this balkan/oriental blend much superior to the current Balkan Sasieni. If this is, indeed, similar to the old BS, then I can see how that venerable blend gained such a following.

779 is a bit pricey, though, which means that before I would purchase another tin of it, I would more likely spend the same amount of money (or less) and pick up a tin of GLP Renaissance or my beloved Robert Lewis Tree Mix.

As I have just realized it, tinned blends tend to become better with both a fair amount of time and drying -- this blend is no exception. I have found that of the three non-aromatic blends from Solani (this one, 633 and Black and White), all need to be smoked almost at the point when the leaves become crunchy and upon first light they are all a bit "sharp" -- I can find no other words to describe the sensation.

Also, these three blends have several characteristics in common: very different tin aroma than any other blends, a great amount of taste, smoothness, and quality through and through (after that first light).

I have read that some think this is a sleeper blend -- great, more for me! I'll stock a dozen or so tins now and let time do the rest. This is definitely not a blend for the first bowl of the day, at least for me, but can be enjoyed two or three bowl in the afternoon or evening without getting boring or overbearing. I really like having this blend around as a change of pace from some of the othe powerhouse English blends.

My review is from a sample of 779 provided by my local tobacconist.

This is a no nonsense, full English blend of high quality tobaccos.

Everything about this says expertise: well-aged, slow burn, cool, dry, decent complexity with variation of flavors throughout the smoke, and a nice balance considering the weight the Turkish and Latakia have (which is forward). This ends in white, fine ash.

If you prefer more Virginia sweetness, 779 is not for you, though it is more so than Margate, Crown Achievement or Balkan Sasieni.

I like more of the rich, caramelized flavors from Red Rapparee, 965, Night Cap, Squadron Leader, and Brebbia's Preludio due to the higher proportion of Virginia-type leaf.

The exotic charcoals used to prepare Latakia are evident in 779 and make up its charm. A nice change to my pace.