Dan Tobacco Bill Bailey's Balkan Blend

Full of flavor this is a beauty to look at and to smoke. Ribbon cut with Kentucky so it smokes nice. Anyone who likes Balkan and Kentucky should just absolutely love this. You would be hard-pressed to find anything exactly like this. it is straightforward and honest with quality tobaccos.

Bit of a concoction, but one that works.

Got a huge bag of it for what must have been an admin error on a site (less than $10 for 16oz) and have had it chilling out in a mason jar at the back of my cupboard for a long while completely forgotten about.

Smoked a big bowl of it in a nosewarmer with a deep bowl.

Open up to some sweet latakia with instantly a very nice taste to the palate. Nothing bitter about it. It was a very dry bowl and crackled a little during packing, but lit and charred easy.

Nothing much going on for a long while but decent latakia, and then the orientals came through with a hint of spicy perique in the background. Stayed like this most of the way through needing some occasional tamps to keep it going which was surprising as it was so dry, and then into the final 3rd the latakia really took a back seat to the orientals and perique.

Didnt detect much of anything else.

Good stock balkan with a fairly heavy nic hit. I just finished and needed a sweetened iced tea to stop my head spinning a little.

Could do a lot worse, and depending on the price you get it for could be a real steal.

This is a very different Balkan. It has the most unusual flavor I have ever had the privilege of tasting.This is actually a bready, yeasty,tangy,and slightly sour blend. There is so much going on all at once it is hard to keep track of what you are experiencing at the moment.The Latakia used is Syrian without question. They say 40% Latakia. Fear not!If this were Cyprian Latakia it would be nothing more than a smoky Latakia dump. This however is Syrian and has a rich deep taste to it without overpowering the entire blend.There is an interesting balance and flavor interaction between the Latakia, Orientals, and Burley. The Perique only pokes its head out occasionally for a little tang and zap of spice. This smoking experience was similar to taking a very expensive and delicious "Pulled Pork Sandwich" and smoking it in your pipe! I know that sounds odd, but it is true.It is kind of a cross in flavor between McClelland's Oriental # 14 and Cornell and Diehl's Pirate Kake. The treatment is definitely European implying there is a slightly higher nicotine level. It however, is not overpowering at all. I think this is one of the better European tobaccos I've had in a very long time. I'd purchase it again. 3.5 of 4 Balkan Stars!

Bill Bailey's is for the Latakia junkie, not the Balkan connoisseur. As a cautinon: DO NOT SMOKE THIS ON AN EMPTY STOMACH OR AFTER TOO MANY AFTER-DINNER SINGLE MALT SCOTCHES!

There is nothing bad about this blend; it is full and tasty, and for a Cyprian Latakia fix it will do fine. Dan has done a commendable job of replicating John Cotton's Smyrna Blend. Unfortunately--for me--that is a "bridge too far."

For a far-more-refined Balkan blend, I would recommend GLPease's Abingdon or Odyesey...or, if one is so fortunate, the REAL...I mean 35-year+-old...Balkan Sobranie. After the 2-oz. size went to the flat tins, the tobacco went thin and watery. The real McCoy was thick, rich, and oily.

For a full Balkan blend, one could do far worse than Bill Bailey's...but one could (at a reasonable price) do better.

Update 12/2/2006

Like the REAL Rattray's Red Rapparee and Dunhill's Nightcap, Bill Bailey's Balkan reveals a more companionable presence in a Meerschaum pipe. A Calabash would probably do more to trim the rough edges off this over-the-top mixture. Make no mistake, this is a blend to be addressed with caution and respect, unless your constitution is far stronger than mine.

Anyone fortunate to have smoked the authentic (pre-1976) Balkan Sobranie or John Cotton's Smyrna will reccognize that Bill Bailey's is NOT a British-style Balkan blend, but a Teutonic interpretation. The Dark-fired Kentucky is there to add body and nicotine, not flavor. This was once common practice in American/English blends...Iwan Ries's Canadian Plug comes to mind...and where the Kentucky was missing, cigar leaf was added.

As to the Virginias...they're present, as required, though undistinquished. For that finesse, you still need Greg Pease. Bill Bailey's is a great Latakia and nicotine fix; not subtle, but satisfying.

I like my Latakia strong and smokey?I like Syrian Latakia, in other words, and plenty of it. So if I lived in Germany and this were at my corner tobacconist, I would be very glad for it. [40% of the Syrian] But I don't see why we would pay Dan's prices for a type of blend that Dunhill does better. [Think: NIGHTCAP] Not that this is bad: it is, in fact, a good pseudo-Sobranie offering, with a modicum of Périque, to keep one awake. Try it, in spite of the stupid tin art.

Tin note of smoky, mildly tart, and sweet ripe fruit. The black, brown and dark brown ribbons are relatively dry, no prep needed. Burns moderately with a few relights. The strength is medium to strong and nic is mild to medium. No flavoring detected. Taste is full and consistent, with notes of smokey, wood, very spicy, tangy lemon grass, earth, floral, dry musty herbal, leather, mild spiced Rasin bread, mild bitter plums, a slightly sweet nutty background note, and a peppery retro. Latakia barely edges out the Orientals for the lead, the Virginias and Perique are strong supporters. Kentucky is filling in when needed. Room note is tolerable to strong, and aftertaste is great.

Dan Tobacco Bill Bailey’s Balkan Blend - The Latakia is 40 pct so it is always there but the Orientals are right there and they tasty . Just barely enough sweetness . This blend is more smokey and nutty really . The Turkish - Orientals have very little savory sour notes . It is quite smooth and the dark fired Kentucky is a nice addition . This is an old tin from 2004 and it may have Syrian Latakia. Reminds me of Vintage Syrian but more Oriental forward and not as sweet . An easy going smooth smoke . I would buy again and would like to compare to a fresh tin . Solid 3

At the price this tobacco is sold in Italy (it costs as much as Balkan Sobranie!) it had better be good... Dan Tobacco usually makes good stuff, so my expectations were high: well, this won't become one of my favorites, but it is fine nevertheless. It is not a typical balkan blend, as it contains some unusual ingredients for the genre: kentucky and perique!!! It must be said that these two are present in little quantities (when I first smoked it I was unaware of their presence, until I read the composition on this page), so the effect is very subdued and lets the latakia prevail. As many other balkans, this is a very heavy and bitter latakia-laden mixture: it definitely has a lot of taste, but lacks in roundedness and variation. While it is a good smoke, it has some subtle notes that are not in the right place: probably the earthiness of the kentucky, and most particularly the high metallic touches of perique. A heavier dose of Virginia would have made a deeper, subtler blend. As it is, I find it a bit too "dry" (not as opposed to "wet", but as opposed to "sweet") and with some harsh edges. Not the mouth-watering and complex Sobranie, by far, though it is an interesting (and well burning) alternative approach to the world of balkans. I might have given this blend three stars, but the fierce competition makes the comparison inevitable... Worth a try, but it will hardly become a favorite.

EDIT June 2005: I tried another tin, and I enjoyed it much better! This tin seems rounder, with less heavy notes and more sweetness. Less kentucky earthiness, still some Perique metallic tickling, but overall a very tasty and enjoyable blend. It has some weak moments in the second half of the bowl, but this time it was much more complex, rich and interesting. Not simply a full latakia sledgehammer. Hey, it is almost as good as some legendary GLPease Balkans! Definitely worth smoking!

EDIT April 2013: Returning to this blend once in a while. Still not bad, still one of the few strong Latakia blends remaining in Europe. Still too much Kentucky (which should NEVER belong in a blend called "Balkan"), still a bit unsubtle and not very elegant. But certainly tasty and much better than many other fake Balkans...

Not a typical Balkan in that the Virginias are well into the background and the Latakia quite dominant. For me the lack of more sweet Virginias is what holds this back from four stars. Still, for a robust and woodsy style Latakia blend with a good dose of Kentucky, this is a solid 3 star blend. The Kentucky is seemingly on the lighter style (firing times can range substantially depending on what the manufacturer orders), though I do get a slight cigar-like note from it, unless Dan snuck in a small amount of Soukham. I also get some nice nutty toasted sunflower seed from the Turkish variety used, and this seems to harmonize well with the underlying Burley nutty character.

I won’t be buying any more, and I’m not sure I would recommend this to someone who likes a more traditional Balkan style. But if you are open to the idea of beefier style Lat blend this is well worth exploring. I’d say the concept is well executed. My tin had about three years on it and I went through in a short time during the cold months, so maybe I like it more than I thought!