Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. Balkan Mixture

The tin description prepares you for a nice experience.from the view and while smoking i realized that the virginias are mildly processed in lakeland style.the tin aroma is typical balkan with smokey and citrusy notes.the moisture is above other balkan blends but no drying time is needed.packs and lights ok with a few relights needed.while smoking the tastes differ than other similar blends.latakias are dominant being smokey,coaly and sweet.orientals add some earthy woodsy and spicy notes.virginias are grassy and citrusy with some soap and perfumy notes wich don't exactly match.the combination of the tastes doesn't feel natural and has some harsh points.burns cool and fast to perfect ash with no moisture at the filter.nicotine level is medium and the room note heavy.no tongue bite present with some harsh spots even if smoked cool.not an all day smoke.generally this blend is not bad but disappointed me a little

Quite a nice Balkan Mixture: good Latakia and non-acrid Orientals. Thin, almost shag-like cut makes it a good choice for a quick smoke.

The only drawback was a light but lingering scent of Lavender in this allegedly non-scented blend. I like Lakeland floral aromatics, even the heaviest ones. Nevertheless, scented Latakia is something I would prefer to avoid in the future.

GH Balkan Mixture is a decent tobacco. Still, with such a huge array of true non-scented Balkans I see no reasons to buy it ever again.

Speaking about Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. bulks (because I don’t know if the same thing happens with the tins), you can note the presence of a specific and very particular flavoring, a sort of hallmark, to distinguish Gawith, Hoggarth & Co.’ products from all the others tobaccos. I don’t know if this specific taste is “floral essences”, but the flavoring you can perceive in “Best Brown # 2” is exactly the same you can perceive at the beginning in Balkan Mixture and in Westmorland Slices, even if a lot lighter. This flavoring is quite a “trademark”, I mean an earmark on the taste side. I don’t agree with this specific flavoring note always present. This “seasoning” is enjoyable, pleasing, but for example, in Balkan Mixture, it is out of place and improper. For this reason in my opinion this mixture can’t have more than two stars and the score (from 1 to 10) is only 5.

Hmmm.. It's a 2 from me, I'm afraid, so there's probably not much point in waffling about it for long. I will though.

I got a 25g pouch from a nice high street store in Glasgow. It was quite dry, although it's burn characteristics were great. Quite on the high, fast side of burn rate. Being dry and a thin, almost shag-like, fairly long ribbon cut, it packed easy, lit brilliantly, burnt consistently and continually and perhaps a little surprisingly, all of the above considered, it never bit my fragile, delicate little tongue once. So if you can handle the taste then, at this price, it is great and you are on to a real winner.

I smoked a couple of bowls within about 5 hours on Thursday thinking 'Ew, this is different' (from the Latakia-bearing 'Balkans' and 'Englishes' like Vintage Syrian, Squaddy, Germain's Special, etc. that I've tried). Accompanied by a few glasses of cider in the evening, I wasn't really feeling too fussy. Plus I had only just bought the stuff and it is, without doubt, a fairly smokable and serviceable blend.

But on Saturday, with less cloudy, more critical, judgement and not long after some Orlik Golden Sliced ('Smoked by all shrewd judges' apparently, so sayeth the lid of the tin) I just tipped out half of the bowl. I don't think I like the mild scent of eau de cologne, lavender, lilacs, or whatever, flittering around the flanges of my odeur de Virginias and Lat. This is the Lakeland thing that people talk about, isn't it?

It isn't too overt, actually. You could say that it brings some new dimension or a little variety and complexity to the party (a 'Balkan' seemingly being a more complex or 'busy' flavoured Latakia/ Oriental type blend than perhaps a simpler tasting, Latakia-orientated, 'English' anyway; if I understand people's definitions roughly or correctly) and Balkan Mixture could be a very enjoyable blend to a great many people. Or, if you wanted to be cruel and unkind, you could call it a little bit flowery and say that it would be great for stuffing in one of those mad £200 Vauen Auenland 'Hugg' pipes while dressed up playing role-playing games with your friends as the faerie folk of the fay, should you be so inclined, because if they really existed this is what they would probably smoke. A hobbit would probably love it as well. I would never be so derogatory and sarcastic as to say those things though.

In conclusion, I have a lovely tin of Vintage Syrian already opened, a sealed one of London Mixture is calling my name as I write and Balkan Mixture will be taking up indefinite residence at the back of my kitchen cupboard, forthwith.

It looks like the reviews on this are split just about 50/50. Unfortunately, I fall into the thumbs down camp on this blend. Just too soapy. I love strong blends, love latakia, love lots of vitamin N, but I can also appreciate something more subtle and complex. This is just too soapy for me to enjoy. If that's your thing, then this blend is for you. Otherwise, move along to something else in the GH line. This is not their best offering, and they have many.

Wasn't it Albert Einstein who said," Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result" ? Well, I'm insane, I keep buying G&H tobaccos and expect it to be totally free of the Lakeland Floral taste. Oh, I'm going to get arguments, saying there is none ,but it's there, lurking, hiding in the weeds, just waiting for a sap like me to buy this. Oh , they don't put it in this blend on purpose, but their processing equipment is dripping with LF soap juice. Hey, if you don't mind a very minor touch of LF , then this is a nice blend, but it's not for me

Another useless blend to me. If you love EMs, why smoke Lakeland soap? Maybe you should reconsider your taste, and admit you like the Lakeland soap 🙂

I understand this can be an easy break for EMers between stronger and more definite mixtures.

Easy to pack and smoke, left me with an unpleasant sensation of unfulfillment.

Will give it two stars as a form of respect to the estimated english blenders.

First of all, I would like to say, that after having really great experience with Skiff Mixture and realizing that smokiness of latakia is extremely awesone to me, I decided to move on to something else, with higher content of latakia or more nuanced.

Moisture level, in the tin was nice to take this tobacco and smoke, but drying at around one hour time might reduce the number of relights to one/none.

Tobacco burns really cool with strong flavoured and fragrant smoke. In reviews below I have seen some lads trlling about the soapy or lavender smell of this blend. When I was letting the smoke through my nostrils out, I could even feel this flowery nauseating scent cloying me. That was the reason, I could not finish my first bowl of it. My next attempts were better, but I still could get this strong flowery scent. By accident, the same day after the shower I had used some old style chypre cologne. And it smelled exactly like the smoke. I bet, this tobacco has a smell of lavender, rose, maybe a hint of patchouli. This kind of smells are called barbershop, because it smells like high end shaving soap or chypre cologne. It is OK, but with this blend it is too overwhelming. Maybe, that is what they call Lakeland Essence. The nic hit is somewhat noticeable.

Not my cup of tea, but lovers of highly fragrant latakia blends will like it for sure.

Edited to knock off a star. The more of this I smoke, the less I like it. It seems to get duller and muddier with every bowl. I'm still a huge G&H fan, but this blend has fallen off my radar. Original review below:

This review refers to the bulk version of Balkan Mixture. I've not yet tried the tinned version.

I am a big G&H fan, and a lover of English mixtures, so this one was an obvious choice. Aside from the sauce, which I will discuss later, G&H's Balkan Mixture has a very similar flavor profile to many English mixtures that have the word "Balkan" associated with them. If I were to posit that English mixtures contain four basic flavor elements present in some particular character, strength, and proportion to one another (coffee stout, campfire, cinnamon/spice, and incense), AND that Dunhill's London Mixture has these four in precisely equal proportion, then I would also say that Balkan Mixture is balanced heavily to the coffee stout and campfire points of the compass in comparison. It is rich and sweet, with chocolate, coffee, and woodsmoke flavors dominating. The incense is present here, but in a small amount compared to my go-to London Mixture. Keep in mind that this "incense" flavor I am referring to is from the tobacco only (the Orientals, I think?) and I should have probably used the term "incense-like." I would also describe this flavor as nutty, tart, creamy, etc.

The sauce. Yes, I am pretty sure that, like Dark Birdseye (which is awesome), this blend is very lightly touched by some non-tabacco flavorants, and they are good. Just like in DBE, I detect a musky, funky, incense (real incense this time) aroma (cologne?). It is awesome in DBE, and good here, but makes this blend come across very different than any other "English mixture" I've ever had, even though the tobacco flavor profile is more-or-less the same. It tastes old and musty, but in a good way. It can come across a little muddy because there is so much going on, but I like the change of pace.

Highly recommended for any English blend smoker in a rut.

The cut is a medium ribbon. I prefer finer, but at least it is uniform.