Peter Stokkebye Balkan Supreme

I mostly enjoy English blends. Based on the reviews here I thought I MUST give this blend a try, so I sent off for 4 ounces from PipesandCigars.com, the only place I could find it available and fully expecting to like it. On arrival the moisture level was just about right. It packed and lit easily and stayed lit nicely. It started off very promising, with a nice toasty flavor that made me nod and smile - nice and creamy. But about half-way through the bowl I started to get a slight tingly and prickly sensation, first on my tongue and then on the roof of my mouth, which increased slightly through the remainder of the bowl. I was deliberately smoking very gently, and the bowl was not overly hot. My tongue and mouth were thoroughly irritated for several days thereafter. Not wanting to rush into judgment, I waited a couple of months and tried this again with the exact same result. Something in this blend seems to attack my mouth, and life is just too short to waste time on tobacco that bites. I cannot recommend this one.

Holy crap...absolutely amazing tobacco. Incredible flavors, burns beautifully with very few relights required. I was really nervous about this one, I've had some bad experiences with highly rated tobaccos from this site, but this one was absolutely incredible.

I detected a lot of flavors I'm very familiar with, virginia, orientals, & latakia, but their use here is so full...the smoke is so well balanced, everything in its place and working together. Very close to perfection.

Peter Stokkebye - Balkan Supreme.

The first good point is the water content, it's absolutely great! The smell from Balkan Supreme is a very stereotypical one for a Balkan. For those who aren't acquainted with Balkans it's quite smoky and a little woodsy! However, I don't find the smokes taste to be the archetypal Balkan one. Yes, it's smokey but the surprise emanates from the mellifluous quality the black Cavendish brings to the table. As often as not a Balkan can have a harshness to it but with this one the smoke is splendidly calmed by the black Cav' in it. The N is just a bit more than medium, I wouldn't say strong but it's more than medium. I do, from time to time, get the occasional bite from this but that's only caused if I really suck it too hard and with a taste this full I can't see the point in doing so! I don't find the room note as entertaining as the taste. It's not offensive but a little outclassed by the flavour!

I have to say that Balkan Supreme is a real inimitable blend when compared to the usual overly smoky Latakia heavy Balkans. Smoky and slightly sweet... delicious! Four stars.

Every once in a while I need to put a blend down and come back to it later for a "retry". This is one of those blends for me and I'm glad I did. This is a very good medium English/Balkan. I smoke a fair amount of Balkan Sasieni and I don't find the close association that others seem to be finding. I find it to be sweeter than Balkan Sasieni. I also don't often make taste comparisions to food, but I find this to be a bit chocolaty in a good way. It gathers strengh as the bowl progresses, but never bites. I like it best in a larger bowl not packed to tightly. I tend to like fuller Balkans like Pipeworks' #400 or Comptons Macedonian, but at this quality and price point, a pound will always be kept in my celler. Recommended

As far as I can tell, and as others have noted, this is pretty much the same blend as balkan sasieni.. and I am glad for it.. very full rich smoke with plenty of latakia and turkish.. and for a very reasonable price.. I prefer a tin for storage but hey it is worth it for a good bulk deal. this is a great smoke that gets especially good, for some reason, as you reach the bottom of the bowl.. (i am not tasting the briar because it has the same effect in a cob)..

One of the best Balkan blends that I smoke ever. I don't know a real taste of original Balkan sobranie, but it must be something like this one !!!

I think the Cavendish technically makes this a "Scottish" blend like Dunhill MM 965 & H&H Sunjammer. Anyway I bought a pound of this, then started smoking Balkan Sasieni. Smoked Balkan Supreme today. I think I prefer the Sasieni a tad more. It'll probably age better in the tins, so I'm going to mostly smoke the Supreme & continue stacking the Sasieni. They are both Damn good tobaccos. I'd prefer packing tins after the zombie apocalypse.

This is a very rich, smooth and satisfying balkan with some oriental spiciness. Was my favorite balkan before being eclipsed by another blend. It can get a bit muddy. Can also leave charred or damp dottle due to what I believe is too much humecant. Smooth and ok through nose, having a certain coolness to it. Strong flavor, no nicotine detected.

I first smoked a pipe in the 1980s, then switched to hand-rolling/cigars (I won't bore you with why) before picking up a pipe gain a few months ago.

Back in the 80s I smoked Balkan Sobranie a great deal - very much my regular tobacco. Despite the fuss about Sobranie now, back then it wasn't a very popular tobacco - most English smokers preferred the less distinctive tobacos like St Bruno or the strange, horrible hot-burning aromatics like Gold Block and Condor. Oriental/Balkan mixes were commonly seen as "too strong" and "too smelly" - and were only stocked by a minority of tobacconists even then.

Anyway, I don't usually go for "bulk" tobacco as it's often very poor quality (or horrible aromatics) but I tried this and....wow.

The smell alone took me straight back 30 years - very much like Sobranie as I remember it; the taste is also very Sobranie-like (again, as I remember it). No, it's probably not exactly the same, but it's very close and will more than do.

If you like to smoke tobacco rather than flavourings, you owe it to yourself to try this. You'll almost certainly love or hate it. Me, I can smoke it all day.