Sobranie of London The Balkan Sobranie
(3.69)
This traditional mixture of rich Virginia, Latakia and rare Yenidje tobaccos is Sobranie's oldest blend and offers a mild yet rich taste. A cool and long-lasting smoke.
Notes: Presently, the best readily available production/date information is per John C Loring's "DATING ENGLISH TINNED TOBACCO", 1999:
1970s: (and prior) Sobranie Limited, Sobrainie House 1970s: (briefly) Sobranie Limited, 17 Worship Street 1970s: (late) Sobranie Limited, Chichester Road 1980s: (early) Sobranie of London, 65 Kingsway 1980s: Sobranie of London, 34 Burlington Arcade 1990s: Sobranie of London, 13 Old Bond Street
Then Gallaher produced this blend until the mid-2000s.
Details
| Brand | Sobranie of London |
| Blended By | House of Sobranie |
| Manufactured By | Gallaher |
| Blend Type | Balkan |
| Contents | Latakia, Oriental/Turkish, Virginia |
| Flavoring | |
| Cut | Ribbon |
| Packaging | 50g Pouch, 50g Tin, 100g Tin, 200g Tin |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Production | No longer in production |
Profile
Strength
Medium
Extremely Mild -> Overwhelming
Flavoring
None Detected
None Detected -> Extra Strong
Room Note
Pleasant to Tolerable
Unnoticeable -> Overwhelming
Taste
Medium to Full
Extremely Mild (Flat) -> Overwhelming
Average Rating
|
3.69 / 4
|
Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 Reviews
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 21, 2016 | Mild to Medium | None Detected | Very Mild | Pleasant |
Yesterday I opened my last remaining pouch of the 1994 Sobranie Mixture, to see whether it would bring back memories. It was dry as dust, despite being sealed. Ideally, I should have kept it in the freezer. The tobacco note was odd, phenolic, like TCP (trichlorophenol), a smell you sometimes encounter on the London underground. The smoke note however was more like what I remembered, though for a more accurate Proustian journey I will have to try to obtain an unopened tin from the 1960's if they still exist.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 24, 2012 | Medium to Strong | Extremely Mild | Medium | Pleasant to Tolerable |
Without question this was the most anticipated tin I have ever opened. So it was very perplexing when I got tongue bite, tongue bite, tongue bite. Every bowl. I've never had tongue bite from a Balkan before. Not sure what to make of this. Is anyone else having the same problem? As for flavor...its ok. I find Nightcap, Penzance and Black Mallory to be more complex.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Jul 28, 2008 | Medium | None Detected | Medium to Full | Tolerable |
This review covers the latest, pouch version. It is a quite good tobacco, which to me ranges somewhere in the medium spectrum of things, occasionally jumping up to full strength but never settling there. First third of the bowl is quite mellow and mild, but the flavour and complexity increases the further down the bowl you go. This is a blend made for thoughtful and careful puffing. If you stop being attentive to the way you smoke, it can bite. And even with the utmost care and dedication it fatigues my palate after I'm done. I won't go into the more esoteric territories trying to describe it (others have done a good job on that already, both for the original and the reincarnation), suffice to say I do enjoy it, but not every day and in modest quantities.
Having never tried the original might have made me impervious to the persuasion of the brand name, but to be perfectly honest, the tobacco that was inside my pouch came across as highly overrated and ultimately a pretty unremarkable affair to me. I am however glad I got a pouch for the sake of having tried it, but I doubt I'll go hunting for another pouch in the future.
Having never tried the original might have made me impervious to the persuasion of the brand name, but to be perfectly honest, the tobacco that was inside my pouch came across as highly overrated and ultimately a pretty unremarkable affair to me. I am however glad I got a pouch for the sake of having tried it, but I doubt I'll go hunting for another pouch in the future.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Jan 01, 2012 | Mild | None Detected | Mild | Pleasant |
Guys I hate to say that this has not lived up to my expectations... I was expecting a bold flavorful balkan blend but what I got was a mild english with a cut that did not seem to load well into my pipe. A dry taste with uniform tste from bottom to end, sometimes gave me an impression to be smoking hot air, with hints of latakia... I smked 2 bowls in 2 different pipes before doing this review... Given the price, I have to say, not worth at all... I love Abingdon by GL pease, adirondack campfire by cupojoes, mclelland british woods as much more pleasant, complex and satsifying balkan styled blends.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Jul 11, 2008 | Strong | None Detected | Mild to Medium | Tolerable to Strong |
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.
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