Brebbia Balkan (Mixture No. 10)

This is a delicious tobacco. I've to date been mostly a Virginia/Vaper smoker, but for a real introduction to Latakia, this stuff is wonderful. The smoky Latakia competes with sweet Virginia for most of the flavor profile. There's a noticeable spice from the Perique and a background dry chocolate taste that I attribute to the Kentucky. I love this stuff. Keeps you interested through the bowl as new flavors dominate depending on where you're at in the bowl and how you're smoking it. That barbeque Latakia comes through all the way though. Got this one in a briar with a good cake in it (mostly broke-in with Virginias) and it can't be beat.

I must admit that I was quite surprised with the quality of this Balkan Mixture. I have tried other Brebbia offerings and found them mediocre at best, but this is an outstanding tobacco. You can taste every component: a good amount of Perique, tasty Kentucky, rich Virginias and Orientals and of course, Syrian Latakia, but all those singularities meld into a full body tobacco that can please me at mornings or evenings just as well.

I was hesitant as to give it 3 or 4 stars, considering that it's no match to Odyssey, Charing Cross, Balkan Sobranie and a few others godly mixtures, but this is excellent in its own right.

A very unique and delicious variation on Balkans. the Oriental presence is there along with Syrian Latakia and a very hard to describe tin note. Very creamy mouthfeel. The DFK plays a wonderful accompaniment to the Latakia. Both give a very smoky taste, but in totally different ways. Just an absolutely stellar smoke.

Strong and mild at the same time. Tin is right wet. A particular note is that after some day, when it dry, Kentucky Toscano aroma comes up.

I tend to prefer Latakia/Oriental/Perique blends as my mainstream smokes, and I also tend to enjoy Brebbia products more often than not. My expectations were pretty high with this blend, based upon it's description, and I was not disappointed overall. It is pretty mild smoking for what I expected, and has nice character all around. It stays lit, does not attack your tongue, and is an all in all pleasant smoking experience.

On the surprise side of things though, I expected more spice notes to come through in it's taste. Mind you, it was very good, but after recently trying out a tin of SHPC "Great Hiatus", which based upon it's published mix should have offered a bit less of a complex spicy taste than Brebbia Balkan, the Great Hiatus blend seemed to be a match for Balkan at most all points of character, but both it's taste and aroma took it to a higher level of enjoyment for me. SHPC Great Hiatus delivered the delicious taste impact that I had expected from Brebbia Balkan.

That said, I really enjoyed Brebbia Balkan, and it landed on my "keeper" list. It's a very nice blend for people who enjoy it's major tobacco components, and won't let you down. It was just a matter of bad luck that it followed Great Hiatus in my test cycle.

Jim K.

This is the one to which return in haste after trying new tobaccos that I find lacking. I prefer Balkan blends, and the touch of Perique gives it the best of all flavors.

This review was written after I finished a generous sample from an internet friend. The sample was from 2016 thus containing Syrian Latakia. I've never tried other versions of it, but I guess the recent tins of it will contain Cyprian Latakia, resulting in a different blend.

The ribbon cut is very homogenous and of medium width. The color is quite dark, ranging from dark brown to pitch black. This might be because of age though, as the virginias in here should have given the blend a lighter hue.

The smell is magnificent. Very rich smokiness and a certain sweetness underlying. In the background, there is a kind of pine tree vibe to it that's quite pleasant.

The ribbon makes for an easy packing. My sample was quite dry, smoke ready, so I loaded all my bowls directly from the jar.

The smoke is beautiful. Quite full in taste, but never overwhelming. I found the oriental character the most obvious with the lat almost subtle. The Syrian aspect of the Lat appeared in varying degrees depending on the pipe I tried it in. Unfortunately, I didn't get enough bowls from the sample to understand which worked best. The aroma is of flowers, maybe lavender, and of pine sap. Quite far from the Cyprian burnt tire I've grown tired of. The sweetness is present but is dominated by the strong savoriness of the ensemble. There is, throughout, a pleasant spiciness, probably due to the Perique and Dark Fired.

If I could, which I can't, I'd buy more of this. For a lat centered blend, this was way more subtle and intriguing than what drove me away from these blends.