HU Tobacco Balkan Passion

Upon opening the 100gm tin of Balkan Passion, I was greeted with a beautiful looking tobacco that appears like Dunhill Standard Mixture Medium. I do not detect any casing in the tin scent, just a wonderful smokey tobacco smell. This is one of those tobaccos that produces a large volume of smoke. It packs very easily after ten minutes of dry time and burns cleanly. The complex flavors easily will keep lovers of English blends engaged. I have no idea how other reviewers find this to be a medium cased tobacco. If there is any casing at all, it is extremely mild. Balkan Passion is a medium-full English mixture of very high quality. I smoked the first 50gms in about three days! Hu-Tobacco is producing some amazing blends and Balkan Passion is yet another one to add to the Highly Recommended list!

The Cyprian Latakia is sweet, woodsy, smoky, earthy, musty and doesn’t overwhelm the other components. The Virginia offers tangy dark fruit, light tart and tangy citrus, some wood and earth, and a little grass as a supporting base. The raisiny, plumy, figgy Louisiana perique is peppery as are the Orientals, which add a little spice, some dryness, butter, sourness, floralness, herbs, earth and wood. The latter two components are background players with the Orientals being a little more obvious. Mildly sweet with some tartness and a few dry notes, I do detect an extremely mild topping that I can’t identify, but it doesn’t detract from the natural flavors of the ingredients in any way. Well balanced in its complexity, you taste nearly all the nuances of the tobaccos in every puff. The strength is medium, while the taste almost reaches the center of medium to full. The nic-hit is almost medium. No chance of bite or harshness. Burns cool and clean at slightly less than a moderate pace with a deeply rich, sweet and more savory, campfire flavor that translates to the pleasantly lingering after taste. Leaves little moisture in the bowl. Requires a few relights. Has a lightly pungent room note. It has enough strength to satisfy, and is smooth and creamy enough to repeat during your smoking day.

-JimInks

Long ago I did not turn better latakia tobacco! Fine, creamy, soft, not at all boring, with a decent dose of Latakia, the finger of Orientals who would never know the name of a decent and properly pronounce, but feel Jenidje and second Oriental - Djebel! (It was a "secret formula" that he had never forgotten Balkan Sobranie!) Touch of perique, but only " in traces" to just round up the whole thing. Now I smoke third pipe in a row and I only looking for more! And what will our young friends probably interested - not tongue-bite at all! Vocabulary of a child of four years - a combination of MM 965 and Balkan Sobranie in the best shape! The team - this is for every recommendation! What my good friend Foxy said - is no tobacco by Hand screwed! Rating 1-5: pure ten!

When I smoked the Balkan Passion the first time I was a little bit irritated.I thought it must be a fullbodied blend with a lot of Latakia. But the mean role of this blend plays the orient tobacco.The latakia is only in the background but always present The taste reminds a little bit of the Rattray`s `Red Repparee. But the taste of Balkan Passion is a bit more characterfully and the taste of the latakia is stronger. The Balkan Passion is a complex mixture for latakia and orient lovers. A very personally interpretation of a Balkan Blend.

I like it very much - highly recommended

Good "standard" Balkan blend. Ribbon cut, burns easily, plenty of taste. An excellent choice... but still not a match in terms of complexity and depth to Zulu.

Right after opening the tin, I can guess that this is going to be a complex tobacco. There is plenty of Orients and a pleasant amount of Latakia visible. When I smell the tin, I cannot tell if I can smell more Orients or more smokey Latakia. After the first puffs, there are directly spicey, dry and sour Orients, which are noticeable throughout the whole pipe. There is some smokey and woody Latakia. These two are the main players in this tobacco. More in the background there is grass, citrus and sweetness from the Virginia. From time to time, the Perique comes into the play with the taste of dark dryed fruits and pepper. I only smoke this tobacco, when I’m in the mood for a complex blend with a lot of Orients. Because exclusively on these days I really love this tobacco.

I wasn't too crazy about this blend, but I think it is more due to my own personal tastes than to the blend itself as it definitely has its fans.

To start with my personal limitations. I have yet to find a Balkan blend that incorporates perique, that I like. This was no exception to that. To my tastes perique and latakia need burley to come together. Now this is not a hard and fast rule as blends are not just designed with my tastes in mind, but Virginias and orientals just don't do it for me when perique meets latakia.

Second, I am not a fan of sour orientals. This blend does not over power you with sour notes, but the orientals used do ten to lean that way.

Now for the good. Of the blends that I have tried with the aforementioned characteristics, this is one of the better ones I have tried. I was able to smoke a bowl and not make a sour face. To me this lies between two and three stars. Two for me in that I would somewhat recommend that, but the recommendation would be ill advised since these types of blends are not really my thing. Three stars in that HU makes great tobaccos and that if you are into this kind of blend, then you would probably like it.

Based on all of the above and the many four star reviews on this site, I am putting three stars on this one. But if your tastes are more aligned to mine, skip this one and buy some Fayyum Kake.

Nothing particular noticeable to the eye; nice mix of dark, brown and natural leaf. Beautiful, smoky aroma in the pouch. Bit of VA and perique tang plus noticeable Latakia and other orientals. I swear I can smell KY in the background, but it must be the mix of orientals used-?

Dries out fairly quickly, doesn't seem to use any humectants. No dressing detected either, just straight, high-quality leaf. Burns easily and cleanly.

Strong, sharp, dry smoke. Lot of campfire smells and tastes with occasional hints of a cigar-like flavor. The orientals seem to lend a bit of a cigarette flavor, but it never veers too far in that direction.

Nicotine is noticeable. Very traditional-tasting, natural blend. Highly recommended.

Been saving the last of this sample bag for a while because I just didn’t want it gone. There’s a sharp Latakia aroma with a sweet tangy beef jerky smell too. Perfect moisture and mechanics.

The flavor on this is so interesting. A smokey, leathery, woody, camp fire almost a teriyaki sweet and sour beef jerky, salty, umami flavor. Damn it’s good. Consistent flavor, medium to maybe past that point on the nicotine. No top flavors detected. Just a wonderful savory smoke. Would absolutely track this down again.

The Balkans, an area which was not spoiled in recent history, offers beautiful landscapes, rich cultures and a long tradition in the cultivation of tobacco. The famous Orient Djebel tobaccos come from the Balkan countries and is traditionally mixed in conjunction with Latakia, as well as the "Balkan Passion". The result is a rather bitter smoky blend with a neat addition best Orient layers of Turkey and Greece. Besides giving cyprischer Latakia, süßwürziger Virginia and a hint Louisiana Perique the "Balkan Passion" its distinctive character ... ... Strong, smoky and tart.