Finck's Cigar Company Istanbul
(2.58)
A long time favorite of Finck Cigar Company smokers, Istanbul is our own unique blend of traditional English tobaccos, carefully blended to achieve a medium strength, wonderfully enjoyable blend.
Details
| Brand | Finck's Cigar Company |
| Blended By | Mac Baren (formerly P.Stokkebye) |
| Manufactured By | |
| Blend Type | English |
| Contents | Latakia, Oriental/Turkish, Virginia |
| Flavoring | |
| Cut | Ribbon |
| Packaging | Bulk |
| Country | Denmark |
| Production | Currently available |
Profile
Strength
Medium
Extremely Mild -> Overwhelming
Flavoring
None Detected
None Detected -> Extra Strong
Room Note
Pleasant to Tolerable
Unnoticeable -> Overwhelming
Taste
Mild to Medium
Extremely Mild (Flat) -> Overwhelming
Average Rating
|
2.58 / 4
|
Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 Reviews
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 01, 2003 | Mild to Medium | Extremely Mild | Mild to Medium | Tolerable |
The baggie I received about a year ago was sure "English." Elcid must have gotten a mis-labeled packet. While sweeter than most traditional English blends, Istanbul had plenty of Turkish leaf. It did arrive wet and smoked like a pouch blend will - a bit rough and hot -- but, for the price, it wasn't a bad smoke.
I do believe there was some added topping, but it was discreet, and certainly nothing I could put my finger on.
I do believe there was some added topping, but it was discreet, and certainly nothing I could put my finger on.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 03, 2009 | Very Strong | None Detected | Extremely Mild (Flat) | Tolerable |
This was my alternative to my everyday Finck's English. While I fell out of smoking this blend due to having ample Finck's English on hand for the last couple of years, I still had an unopened bag laid up for emergencies. I ran out of my favorite a couple of days ago and broke into my stash of Istanbul last night as I await delivery from Finck. Apparently from a different blender of Finck's own labels, this is close enough in taste to "English" that last night I wondered why I did not smoke this one more often. I just now had a "bowl for breakfast" and feel the same. There is a slight edge of more Latakia here than in Finck's English but not to any overpowering level. I have come to realize that my preference may well be for Cypriot Latakia as in both of these blends as opposed to Syrian. While I still give Finck's English a slight edge I give this 3 stars (assuming my 3 stars for English to be really 3.5).
Update: I just received a resupply from Finck and gave them a phone call asking if this blend had changed (before I opened new bag). While I got no definitive answer to my question, my 'little birdie' at Finck confirmed this to be Stokkebye's English Luxury blend, private labeled. The reviews here of that blend seem consistent with my impressions.
Update to update: See my review of Finck's English for reasons I've downgraded this so.
Update: I just received a resupply from Finck and gave them a phone call asking if this blend had changed (before I opened new bag). While I got no definitive answer to my question, my 'little birdie' at Finck confirmed this to be Stokkebye's English Luxury blend, private labeled. The reviews here of that blend seem consistent with my impressions.
Update to update: See my review of Finck's English for reasons I've downgraded this so.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Jan 28, 2007 | Mild | Medium | Mild to Medium | Pleasant to Tolerable |
This blend can smoke very hot, so I use a small bowled ,thick walled pipe. Smoked slowly (in such a pipe) It is not bad. Also a long stem helps to cool it. This blend is not for beginners.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Sep 24, 2004 | Medium | Mild | Medium to Full | Pleasant |
This is a quality balkan style blend - with an heavy accent on smoky latakia. It lacks in oriental "tang" spice but has quite a bit of depth and musky, nutty cigar like notes. The topping is fairly unintrusive - but the chemical by product is apparent in the almost constant wetness of the smoke. It reminds me quite a bit of GL Pease Carvan, and is of similar quality and substance.
After a bit of drying within the pipe, the smoke was cooler, dryer and more even.
All around a quality tobacco worth a shot, but not something I'll grab for on a regular basis.
After a bit of drying within the pipe, the smoke was cooler, dryer and more even.
All around a quality tobacco worth a shot, but not something I'll grab for on a regular basis.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Aug 11, 2004 | Mild to Medium | None Detected | Medium | Tolerable |
I had a slightly different experience with Istanbul than some have reported, but mine was very well dried before I tried it.
I found this to be a medium strength blend that was heavily weighted toward the Oriental end of the spectrum. The Latakia was present in a very subtle way, at times not even noticeable.
As the bowl begins, the Oriental dominated, and had a slight harshness to it. Soon though, the flavor smoothed out and became a full round flavor. The flavor didn?t really change, but it kept getting smoother as I went. The last little bit, say maybe the last 1/4th of the bowl did tend to get a bit of an ashy taste, but not enough to make me put it down.
Istanbul packed, lit, and burned like a dream. The heel of the bowl was bone-dry and my tongue made no protest whatsoever.
I found this to be a medium strength blend that was heavily weighted toward the Oriental end of the spectrum. The Latakia was present in a very subtle way, at times not even noticeable.
As the bowl begins, the Oriental dominated, and had a slight harshness to it. Soon though, the flavor smoothed out and became a full round flavor. The flavor didn?t really change, but it kept getting smoother as I went. The last little bit, say maybe the last 1/4th of the bowl did tend to get a bit of an ashy taste, but not enough to make me put it down.
Istanbul packed, lit, and burned like a dream. The heel of the bowl was bone-dry and my tongue made no protest whatsoever.
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