Blatter & Blatter Blatter Reserve

I'm a big fan of English blends, especially ones with some latakia tobacco. Blatter Reserve does not disappoint at all. Well blended. Nice mixture of the Virginia and latakia tobaccos. Smokes nicely right to the bottom of the bowl. An excellent souvenir from my trip to Montreal.

Good: Great English, subtle yet with a solid bit of sweet in the midst of a savoury smoke. Low risk of tongue bite.

Not so Good: A bit pricey; the bag I received had a substantial amount of unsmokeable dust.

A contender for my first place favorite. The beauty of this smoke I find, is how complete it is, very full, and evolving throughout each bowl. Its an easy smoke, burns well down to fine ash. The aroma out of the bag is strong, sweet, and speaks mostly of Latakia. The smoke itself is dominated by the latakia for the first half of the bowl with the périque and cavendish progressively taking over through to the end of the bowl. It carries the smoky qualities of english tobaccos at fist and the musty quality of balkans throughout. Balanced and Lovely.

The only drawback I've noted is the cut is somewhat irregular and it does happen that a fleck of leaf is pulled up the stem, but it isn't enough to put me off the blend.

Just to make sure I've covered everything, I've never tasted Balkan Sob, but I really can't say it compares to Balkan Sasieni at all, it shares the musty notes, but the resemblance stops there, and I'm quite glad of it, considering I'm not particularly fond of the former.

This is a dark English blend that is full flavored without being heavy. In color, it is almost black with brown and orange-red ribbon and flake like pieces. Although it tastes like the flavorful English blends that I prefer, it has a very surprising sweet flavor. My guess is that it is a blend of Turkish, Virginia, and Sweet Black Cavendish. The Latakia flavor is obvious, but not overbearing, and there are hints of Perique. The pouch aroma is definitely English in nature, but it also has a unique aromatic presence although it is described as non-aromatic. It burns to a clean dry ash, and, for me, has no bite. Typically, it needs an occassional tamp, but seldom requires a relight. The room aroma is a strange combination of Latakia and fresh baked Chocolate Chip Cookiessss. This has become one of my favorite blends. I can turn to it at any time, in any pipe, and in any mood. I would recommend Private Reserve to those that are attempting to switch from an aromatic to an English blend for its Chocolate-like component. I would also recommend it to those who would like a pinch of sweetness with their Latakia, and an aroma that will keep others from leaving the room.

In a nutshell, this smokes like a more refined Frog Morton. It shares the dark but non-tiring flavor that is not monochromatically Latakia. I suspect a touch of very subtle sweetening, maybe a whisper of vanilla. This is an easy, cool smoke. If it didn't have to be imported from Canada with all of the expensive taxes levied, this would be one of my most-smoked English blends. A great blend.

This is a very soft, mostly dark tobacco with a rather mixed cut that makes pipe loading easy. The pouch aroma is definately one of Latakia, but it is rather sweet and subdued as compared to the smokiness of say ... Frog Morton. This burns very well but does have a bit of residual moisture. The flavors are quite rich, but not overwhelming in any aspect. They also seem to gain in strength as you progress further down the bowl. I can honestly say that I've enjoyed each bowl I've smoked ... whether it was first thing in the morning, after lunch or in the evening. Another big plus is that my non-smoking wife really enjoys the room aroma. This is a winner for me and one that I would recommend highly.

This is an interesting hybrid: English, aromatic, Virginia. Something for everyone, and I find it dangerously, deliciously addictive. The pouch aroma is heavy with latakia--almost off-putting, but there is some sweetness to the aroma. It packs easily and burns like a champ with minimal relights necesssary. I have smoked it in large and small bowls, all briar, and have the same result in all. The first third is sweet and flavorful; cool burning with no bite. You can taste the English/orientals but there seems to be some Cavendish to make it this pleasantly sweet. The middle third is slightly stronger as is the bottom third. The nicotine kick is very light until the bottom of the bowl when it becomes moderate. It burns to a dark ash with minimal dottle. Clean, very dry, and the fastest cake builder I have ever smoked. This has quickly become my favorite and my all-day smoke. My office staff tolerates it well and I can smoke it bowl after bowl, anticipating each one. A masterpiece!! Highest recommendation.

This is a very nice smoke. Mild English in aroma and the perique only dances a bit on the tongue...not in your face like the Mild English is.

Too moist...let it air before smoking. Quality tobaccos. The cavendish adds a mellowing impact to the smoke. Lots of billowing white smoke full of aroma.

My wife and I have found that mixing this 50/50 with Blatter's London rounds it out to a fuller and more robust smoke but still mild enough to be enjoyed.

I have never smoked Balkan Sobranie type blends so I cannot compare this to any.

We love it. My wife places this second to Squadron Leader in her preferences. Personally, I put this third in my preferences, giving Squadron Leader first place, Blatter's Oriental Pleasure second.

Its a good smoke none the less and should be tried.

This blend is one of the first blends I tried when I took to my pipes again. It was the blend that got me interested in continuing on with my joy of pipe smoking. This is an interesting english blend with definite notes of chocolate on opening the bag.I can smoke this at almost any time of day. There must be some sort of casing on the tobacco, although it is not heavy. No bite and easy to smoke at any time, with different notes of flavor becoming prominent at different times. Although I can leave it for many months it is always a joy to come back to. Four stars.