Sobranie of London The Balkan Sobranie

I opened this tin given to me as a gift by dm14 and I thank him for it. On one hand I was glad I did, on the other I was sad because it was one of the few sachets circulating all over the world. It was a little dry so I had to add a little humidor to revive it. Not so heavy, incredibly smooth tobacco, giving a gentle sweetness and a dry, salty smoking that reminds me of Syrian Latakia.It was smoked easily until the end of the bowl. Very neutral aroma that does not disturbs the room. Under no circumstances did it live up to everything I have heard and read all this time, unless it is not the same blend any more. I believe that now there are better blends of this kind. It contains Virginia, Syrian Latakia and eastern Tobaccos. Two stars, because of its good quality and its history.

Please for the life of Pete, tell me where once again I may get this fine tobacco that I have been without now since the 1990's.

This tobacco is DEVINE!

An elderly and dear gentleman who resides on my street, was gracious enough to give me a couple of tins for Christmas. He also was the proprietor of the finest tobacconist in town; alas defunct due to the health Luddites and their diligent spreading of manure. He figures these tins are from the late 1980's early 1990's. I finally summoned the courage to open the first tin.

Since our culture today is one of over-blown expectations and manufactured exclusivity I was a tad sceptical. Could many honest and erudite pipe smokers be deceived . . . Surely not! There are reasons for so many accolades and sagacity for such a fine tobacco.

This is my first and regretfully one of few remaining experiences with this wonderful tobacco; angels doing the tango on my tongue. I came to the pipe in the latter part of my smoking career, since I was and still am a cigar enthusiast. I am a Latakia devotee and have combusted a number of Balkans and other Latakia infused blends over the years. This tobacco in my humble opinion should be the standard by which all Balkans are judged by, it is that good. It is not a Latakia blast; however, the Latakia is more in the background keeping the groove solid as a drummer often does in jazz. The Yenidje is really nice and to my palate offers an ever so slight bit of creamy aromatic spice. There is also a very faint Virginia sweet note which comes through as well. I would say this tobacco smokes better a bit drier that most others even of the same species.

For a very broad reference I would say it is somewhere between Esotericas Penzance and G.L. Pease Caravan. It is not nearly as heavy with Latakia that Penzance is, nor is it quite as creamy regarding the mouth feel although there's some. It is however, most complex and rich tasting, with a very unique nasal almost heady quality which I really enjoy; different than nicotine. Regardless, it does have a decent nicotine punch, more so then Penzance or Caravan. Moreover, I find the Yenidje and other Orientals to be more pronounced and complex than in Peases Caravan.

This tobacco burns well and packs soundly in all of my pipes. I feel it can be smoked anytime of the day accompanying many pleasurable activities be it reading a novel, fly fishing, walking the dogs, even after cigars and cask strength single malts. Although I prefer this indoors since it's extinct and demands my undivided attention, rightfully so.

All in all, highly recommended for this wall of honour blend, an excellent starting place for Aromatic or Virginia pipers all briar brethren of the good leaf whom intend and desire experience with the genus Balkan or English. Peaceable puffing.

I was fortunate enough to come across some on ebay at a resoanble price (of course it was only for the packaging). I have read so much about this blend I had to try it. Well, I was not dissapointed. The taste throughout was awesome. I would currently rank this as my second favorite right now. I found it somewhat similar to penzance which I prefer over anything else.

Is this the best tobacco in pipe history, as many smokers claim? I don't know, but it should be among the top five. It probably was the best Balkan mixture long ago and it's a shame it disappeared.

It is legendary for a reason, and it certainly isn't nostalgia.

Awesome smoke and definitely the finest Balkan I've tried so far! I now understand why so many bemoan the exodus of this from the US market. Sadly, though, it's not hard to understand why. In an age where everyone grows up eating McDonalds, stove top stuffing, drinking diet soft drinks and smoking mass produced cigarettes most people wouldn't know quality when they taste it, be that food or smoke. Anyway, back to the smoke at hand. I sprang for two pouches of this from someone selling the stuff in Spain. I could tell it was loaded with my beloved Syrian Latakia and something else I might have tasted just the barest hint of in Balkan Sasieni, probably the Yenidje. This is everything I'd hoped for in a Balkan - a much stronger version of Balkan Sasieni, which this is and more. The incense like aroma and fantastic taste is hard to describe and must be experienced at least once. I'm going to try to find a steady source for this, but can't afford to shell out the $25/pouch I gave for these. Failing that I'm going to give Macedonian Mixture a try as well. If you get your hands on some you are in for a treat!

10/12/07 ? This is a ?blue-collar? review from a long-time pipe smoker who is neither a connoisseur nor a gourmet. I like subtleties up to a point, beyond which I cannot detect them. There are very few aromatics that I like anymore. I love orientals, latakias, and Virginias, but burley gives me some trouble. Most of the time, I like stronger blends over weaker ones and in larger pipes than smaller ones. I have exceptions to all of the above. With that said . . .

I feel very fortunate to be able to have enough of this legendary tobacco to offer this, my first review. However, how does one describe the indescribable?

This blend consists of dark brown and black ribbons in the pouch along with a few flecks of tan. The pouch aroma is very strong -- latakia and orientals. If you ever get to try this blend, don't rush past savoring the pouch aroma!

The orientals jump to the fore at the match, producing thick clouds of creamy, heavy smoke. The room note is unique. It smells like sandlewood incense! This is not present in the taste, but it stays in the room note from match to the end.

Orientals dominate the taste, almost to the exclusion of all else. It almost borders on being monochromatic unless smoked slowly. No Virginia top notes here. This is a pure Turkish smoking experience. Big, full, round, heavy, large, expansive. It just takes over the senses. Yet at the same time, it is cool, smooth, soft, and velvetly. Never bites. Not sweet, but not really bitter like some oriental-heavy blends are. There is very little of the campfire and leather latakia-type taste. It's all about the orientals. Specifically, the yenidje! It finishes, of course, full and strong. Note that a bowl or two will ruin your taste buds for the night for any other subtle, delicate smoke!

I've tried a number of blends that tout themselves as a "replacement" for Balkan Sobranie and I dreamed of what the original must be like. Save yourself some time -- they might be good smokes in their own right, but if they don't list Yenidje as an ingredient, they _cannot_ be even close. I'm anxious to try the new Grand Orientals series from McClelland to see how they compare to BS (specifically, Yenidje Supreme, Yenidje Highlander, and Yenice Agonya) and will update this review at that time. Pipeworks and Wilke has two blends with Yenidje: No. 524 (excellent, but not a "Balkan Sobranie") and No. 400 (closer, but not close enough). Both should be tried. The closest I've come to this heavenly blend is Macedonian Mixture by Compton's of Galashiels. It hints at this blend -- maybe it needs more Yenidje??

This blend is the peak for me: 10+ out of 10! There are so many old blends I'll never get to sample, yet I've managed to fulfill a dream by getting to try this one. It was all I'd hoped it would be and so much more!

Thanks, Jeff, for the experience!

Note to "sounds7": For your taste, how many "parts" of the Wellauers Latakia do you use? Please let me know: pearsond -at- odsgc.net. Thanks.

Opinions are to Balkan Sobranie what armpits are to Vishnu.

I sampled a 50 gram foil pack from Italy vintage 2007. It was really good, superior to Caravan, Balkan Supreme, Balkan Sasieni and just as yummy to me as P&W's #10 with a little more weight and a cooler temperment. Mo's flavor profile seems right to me. I need to find a source, because I'd smoke this all winter.

If you like Balkans, what's not to like here? Oh yeah, I forgot, "It's not the way it used to be, when it had yenidje, and I walked up hill both ways to school during blizzards, and used pliers to pull out my own tooth..."

Balkan Sobranie is an all time favorite that, once it had departed,set me off on a frantic quest to find a replacement. Sasieni, Macedonia Mixture, Odesa, and on and on. I tried the over priced ebay offerings of Vintage Sobranie mixtures and was delighted but it was aged so much that it dried out (So it wasnt as good as my first experiences with this great tobbaco mixture.

Here is what my journey eventually brought me to. I bended my own Balkan Sobrane Original Mixture with these 6 top of the line tobaccos:

Wellauers- Latakia .Which is true Syrian Latakia (The real thing)I had five tins sent from Tabac Rhein in Switzerland. Costly but nothing like buying Tins of Sobranie off ebay.

McCranies Red Ribbon (Red Virginia)

Samuel Gawith full Virginia Flake (Rubbed out well)

McCleland Oriental blending tobacco

Yenidge bulk- Purchased from Carole at Pipeworks and Wilke. She doesnt always have it in stock though.

Unflavored black Cavendish also bulk from "PW&W"

I haven't gotten the percentages down to a science but I started with equal portions of the virginia's, Orientals, and Yenidge. I added only a small portion of the cavendish (about 1/3 of what the other tobaccos were. I then flavored it in with the Syrian Latakia until it reached the smokiness I desired (I had some Sobranie on hand for comparison purposes). Note: It is easy to go overboard with the Syrian (The stuff is so delicious!)which would make this more of an english blend than a Balkan. It was very simalar to the Original Mixture only much fresher and fuller in taste than those acient Tins you will find on ebay. Aging will do wonders to this I'm sure.

follow discussion on this recipe here and if you have anything to add please chime in. Happy Smoking! http://www.puff.com/forums/vb/general-pipe-forum/109613-homemade- balkan-sorbanie-original-mixture.html