Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) Erinmore Balkan Mixture

Like some others here, I ordered the 15 gram sampler pack. The smell straight from the pack was divine, with the stong scent of the Latakia vying with the Orientals for my olfactory adoration. Upon inspection, the tobacco appears to have small pieces of broken flake in with the ribbon cut tobaccos, so it did require a little rubbing out before it could be packed & lit. It packed easily & took the flame with ease. The light remained throughout the bowl with very little maintenance. The tobacco has a taste which is sweet & dark at the same time. The flavour is dominated by the Orientals, with the Latakia playing second fiddle up untill the second half of the bowl when it moves to the foreground of the taste & levels itself out with the orientals. I think the Virginian is just in there to aid the burn & provide a mellowing effect to the strong flavour of the Latakia & Orientals, although, on consideration - maybe it's sweetness was there in the backgound - subdued by the spicy & musty Orientals & Latakia. The Viginian is a necessary component, but does not in any way dominate or express it's individual character. It seems to come across only in a synergised form combined with the other, darker tobaccos. The high quality of the tobacco used is evident in the extraordinarily exquisite taste. The tobacco smokes with a velvety smoothness throughout, & this expertley blended creation is as close to a Balkan Heaven as I think we can expect to see here on Earth. I got no bite from this tobacoo at all, but beware - if over puffed, I think it would snap quite viciously. The room note recieved no complaints. One of my current favourites, I have a feeling that I will keep this around all the time. Certainly hits the spot after dinner whilst allowing the stresses of the day to waft away to a good film or some classic tunes. This was smoked in a GBD Bulldog which I use for most Latakia blends. In all honesty, I lack the linguistic competence to express appropriately the magic of this tobacco. Very highly recommended. (N.B. Needless to say - as this is a Balkan blend - this contains NONE of the flavours associated with other Erinmore blends (eg Erinmore Flake) which I can see has concerned some people here - this is, as I have said, just incredibly high quality unflavoured tobacco).

high quality tobacco, packs easy and fast,burns evenly and tastes fantastic.

the taste is strong ,satisfying and natural. deep and spicy.

it has an acceptable room note and is one of those natural blends that can be smoked indoor.

A smoke that I wanted to try. I bought it in Berlin in the shop KaDeWe.

A marvelous, all day smoke, for those who love Balkan. Of course it needs to be dried before the first smoking, but in no case can this be considered as a disadvantage for this marvelous smoke. Orange Virginia, Oriental and a marvelous Latakia, which is not intense or tedious. It leaves a discreet and not annoying perfume in the area. Beautiful and characteristic flavor which is maintained up to the end of bowl.

What else can I say It is now one of my top 5 tobaccos. Its a little difficult to light, specifically when it is humid.

I was sent a pouch of this as a consequence of a bungled tobacco order. My instant reaction to anything with 'Erinmore' on the front is to put it straight in the bin. I could not have been more impressed. This was a really enjoyable smoke. No toung bite, and a super taste right to the end. The pouch was only for 12.5 grams, and I will certainly be getting some more of this in the future.

Still the best english type mixture I ever tried. Erinmore balkan mixture was my first english type tobacco, which I got as a gift from my friend when he returned to Lithuania from London. Latakia smells fine from the tin, but when smoked, it's not so noticeable. You can feel virginia sweetnes even enhanced by latakia. Packs, lights and burns easily with no tongue bite (unless you puff like a locomotive). I truly enjoy it 🙂

Being an aromatic smoker and at the same time detesting the other Erinmore blends, I took a chance on EBM with great suspicion. I wouldn't even think about it, if it wasn't SMOKETSES the one who insisted in this (he seldom goes wrong). Well, what a great smoke! Filling, packing, lighting and burning, though ideal, are side issues related to the quality of the leaf. In a few words: A worthy representative of oriental mixtures, a perfect combination of sweet and spicy bodies. You aromatic enthoustiasts, don't be afraid of the latakia; its low content, I estimate it at less than 20 percent, is only there to accomplish the symphony of this comer tobacco. And following the nice daydream of INTROIBO, I should hasten the over-10-years planned journey to the tobacco-growing roadways of Macedonia and Thrace-northern Greece, preferably during summer, with a couple of Erinmore Balkan Mixture tins in my baggage.

UPDATE 21 SEPTEMBER 2008 I did finish the pouch I was given and went so far as to buy a tin which I opened today, being on a Latakia thing, I lit a pipe whilst exercising the lawnmower, as this tabac is low maintenance it served well it's pupose, that is, sufficient vitamin N and taste whilst busy. For my personal view, although this may nor enter rotation, I can see myself buying more of this as I am fortunate enough to live on the North West coast and spend much time in the winter on the beach with my daughters Black Labrador. Here of course, a low maintenance and easy load / lighting tabac is a must, (try rubbing out a flake in a South Westerly) therefore, I feel I must join the consenus of opinion and up this to 4 stars.

ORIGINAL JULY 17 2008 Unlucky Rob, I was given a pouch of this as a gift, as soon as I saw the name, I gave it back. However, they insisted, so not to be unkind, I accepted. This is the first Balkan that I have tried, so I have nothing to compare it with thus I am unable to say whether this is a good Balkan or a poor imitation.

All I can say is that it packs easily, burns well and has an interesting taste and flavour, slightly sweet, cool smoking, the Latakia coming to the forefront without being overwhelming by any means, in fact the more I smoke it, the more I am inclined to seek out other Balkan blends and give them a try.

Seems to keep prety well, I've had this pouche open a week or so now, no evidence of drying out to dust. I could even be tempted to buy the occasional pouch of this, but it would be interesting to read the impressions of the more experienced Balkan boys. So for the moment, a cautious 3 stars.

Erinmore Balkan is recommended for what it is. Not the younger, shy, retiring brother of Balkan Sobranie, and certainly not a close friend or relative of the Squadron Leader and other famous balkan/orientals, Erinmore Balkan will disappoint you if you are looking for something along the lines of the great late-lamented blends.

However, if you are looking for excellent value for money, a light, well-balanced tobacco cut for easy packing, a blend that tastes oriental all the way to the end of the pipe, give it at least a couple of smokes in different pipes to see whether it is strong enough, has enough flavour and gives you the satisfaction that you get from other blends.

As always, I tried this out in several pipes. In a couple of them it was tasteless and laid a kind of greasy coating all over my mouth. In another pipe it was as if I was smoking ash. But, finally, in the right pipe, it starts with a strong, sweetish wiff of that familiar territory -- East of Italy, the old Austro-Hungarian Empire, down south of the Danube as far as the Bosphorous and beyond. I would like to say that you can almost hear the Orient Express whistling by, but that would be exaggerating.

You get brief waves of intensely oriental flavour -- the surf washing up on the shores of the Dardanelles -- and the Latakia lurks in the shadows, like Peter Lorre in a doorway filmed by Fritz Lang.

It is not, one hastens to add, a Sobranie. If pressed I would describe it as a little like Davidoff's Royalty, but with less of the Virginia and more straightforward oriental taste. A "by the numbers" oriental, but excellent value. I went out and ordered 10 50 gram cans. At at third of the price of Royalty, it is worth it.

Never likely to be an all day blend -- the orientals would prove too much of a good thing, I think.

A note about the tin -- it says "Murrays" on the top, but on the back "Orlik". I take it this was one of the blends that got transported to Germany. One can only suppose a couple of Macedonians employed in the Orlik factory persuaded the bosses to leave out the cavendish and aromatic flavouring.

this is the first balkan i have tried the smell did put me off a bit but it is a great taste it may be a bit like condor, a bit of a marmite thing, but if you are a bit adventures give it a try, and don,t let the smell put you off, i myself could not smoke it all day, but i do like to chop and change, between aromatics and strongish flakes