J. F. Germain & Son Balkan Sobranie

Ok, like many others on here, I am not long in the tooth enough to have enjoyed the original. So this is just an unbiased stand alone review of an outstanding blend. I was lucky enough to pick up a tin at my local B&M (They never disappoint me! The last time I was there I scored a nice hat trick of Penzance, Margate and So to Bed) Anyway, I hesitate to even say it, but this is an awful lot like Margate. And I mean that in the best possible way. The tin note is fantastic. A wall of figgy, plummy goodness. So good. It needs some drying time, like a lot of Germain/Esoterica blends. The stringy ribbons that stick together are very reminiscent of any number of Estoterica blends. It packs great, lights easy and then, the smoke. Creamy tasty euphoria. This is the stuff. Please dont go out and hoard 87 pounds of this. You will want to. But please don't. Just enjoy it responsibly. I sound like a Budweiser commercial now. I digress. The smoke is mild, tasty, complex, everything you would expect from this company. It wont bite, but dont push it. Just sip it. The room note is very pleasant and meets the wifey's approval. (RARE) If I could afford it, (and find it) this would be in my everyday rotation. But instead, its like that aged Whiskey that you break out on holidays and special occasions. It deserves reverence. Who cares what it was in the 60s or 70s or whenever. Its amazing RIGHT NOW! For those of you that say you don't like Orientals, you might want to try this. It is not a Lat or Burley bomb for those of you that have burned your tastebuds out on rubber tires weed and Scotch. This is a delicacy, caviar if you will, that should be sipped in quiet contemplation, not sucked down on a street corner on a lunch break. Bury me with a bowl full of this in my favorite Charatans. I hope we can smoke pipes in the afterlife. And I hope the B&M in heaven has an endless stock of this. Nuff said. Its that good. And please, do not go buy all of it, save some for the rest of us. 5 stars if I could.

I have stocked up on Margate, thanks to my local B&M. I was lucky enough to get 2 tins of Balkan Sobranie from Mars cigars which arrived yesterday, 8/6/2020. As usual, woke up 4:30am to head to work. Opened the tin half sleepy, in dark car, cab lights not working. Smell was deep, CREAMY English. Reminds me of Margate. Moisture was moderately high. The longer tin ribbons of virginias stick together and the shorter, firmer Orientals fall to the bottom. This is exactly the behavior of Margate. In my Mason jar, 8 OZ of margate has the Virginia on top, with smaller, denser Orientals falling to the bottom. 15 minutes trip to Starbucks drive through was enough time to allow some airing to prepare the tobacco. I parked in the low lit parking lot and filled the deep bowl. Lightly packed, and charred it. Upon charring, the flavor instantly was of creamy, highly marinated virgina/Oriental profile. Definitely Balkan dominant profile. I had to grab the tin just to make sure I didn't accidentally picked up the Margate tin. This wonderful blend is 90% same as Margate. I feel as if it is slightly higher in Orientals, and somewhat creamier. Not better, but slightly different than Margate. Being a fan of Westminster which is really available, I feel it is similar. Big difference is age or its seemless infusion of all flavors in a unified profile that fills the palate as one rich flavor, versus that of westminster which has different profiles competing for attention. Unfortunately, both Margate, and Balkan Sobranie are extremely rare. B&M seems to be the way to go. I got more Margate than I ever thought, but even my B&M shop seems to have difficulty acquiring B.S. very good balkan/English blend. Unique Germain's product. All their products seem to be well marinated, aged.

I'm finally writing a review on this and completely judging it on its own merits, I will not make mention or comparison to an older version.

This is a 2014 tin that is plumed and flavors are better now that the blend is dry. Has a sour and winey tin note that won't remind you of a full and smokey smelling Balkan. Upon light you get a full on tangy sour Oriental flavor with very light Latakia flavor. The profile even from a 3 year old tin is sour and unbalanced, and light. It does show more flavor towards the bottom of a larger bowl but that sour flavor leads the whole way. It feels very unbalanced in oriental leaf used, not enough VA and not enough Latakia. Has very light flavor, strength and body. Wine like sour bitterness with just the slightest taste of Latakia in there is the best I can describe. Although I taste mainly those leaves the whole time, I'm not getting what I would expect from good orientals and I'm not getting any flavor reminding me of a Balkan blend. I really tire of the flavor towards the end of the bowl, and its overall pretty one dimensional and just no balance as an English or a Balkan. Don't know what else to say, it's got a name that doesn't fit whatever the blend.

My God, what a disappointment. I have smoked several pouches of Balkan Sobranie in the 90's and have loved it. It was a long cut, dark tobacco. It was sweet and spicy at the same time, very slow burning. The girlfriend I had at the time, surprisingly, just loved the room note. Now, I understand, 20 years later, that cloning a tobacco is not an easy task. However, I don't thing Germain succeeded in reproducing this classic. For starters, the tobacco is much, much lighter in colour. The aroma is completely different as well. Instead of being smoky and a tad sweet, I am under the impression that they took some Tilbury and mixed it with a wee bit of latakia. What I mean is the VAs are dominant, completed by some OR and a little LA. And, I am sorry, but this cannot be called a Balkan. Now, even on its own, independantly of the reference to Balkan Sobranie, I am not impressed by it. There are much better blends out there than this one. My advice: don't chase this one around. It's just not worth it.

As someone who smoked the Gallaher version in the early 90's I'm left with disappointment. It really is nothing like what it was at that time. From what I have gleaned over the internet the Gallaher version was processed with some additive(s)/casing(s) and cooking/stoving/cavendish to make the dark virginias. It had a dark,sweet BBQ-like smokiness with a salty taste unlike anything else. This newer version isn't bad, in fact it has merit especially in how smooth it is but there is no lineage in character. If it wasn't for the label nobody smoking this would think classic Balkan Sobranie, at least the 80's 90's production. The newer smoke started out very well balanced. The various leaf elements seem to blend into the others for a harmonious whole with a slight edge towards a very mild turkish character. At times the latakia was elevated and others a toasted nuance. I never got a distinct virginia note. This newer blend is lighter and more blond in color with perhaps 30% or so latakia and a small addition of some ready-rubbed cake of darkbrown stoved leaf. At first, I thought there was no casings but it seems to hold moisture over time and just isn't as flat and brittle as truly pure tobacco. If you long for the old version and can't seem to obtain this new one, I wouldn't worry about it. It seems to me to be just an above average, lighter medium generic english blend. A weak 2 stars for trying to capitalize on the former's legacy.

Smooth and creamy. That's what stands out about this blend for me. It's not my favorite Balkan, but it is the smoothest and creamiest Balkan I've smoked. The flavors are wonderful, but not quite rich. It's more of a mellow Balkan. There's a nice touch of sweetness, buttery notes, and a very mild smokiness. The Latakia is just a bit too light for my taste. That's as much criticism as I can give this blend. It's a great smoke and every bit a 4 star blend. The quality is top notch and it's a pure pleasure to smoke.

I have never smoked the prior versions of Balkan Sobranie. But this is a great tobacco on its own. I first smoked this in 2012 and enjoy it now as much as I did then. I find it to be a medium bodied smoke that is full flavored. There is a spicy sweetness and smokiness all rolled into one. BS is smooth and rich in flavor and never burns hot even with the thin ribbon cut. I don’t feel the blend builds much in strength throughout the bowl. It’s too bad it is so difficult to get as it would be in my regular rotation. If you can find some buy it. It will be worth it.

Smells like raisins and very good Baklava out of the tin. Laid back Latakia and a dominant incense aroma. I think this is what most would call a Balkan mixture as opposed to an English mixture. A nice, somewhat complex taste and aroma. I think the Oriental tobaccos are what I am tasting and are what give this tobacco it's signature character. Very nice and refreshing after heavy English blends. Recommended.

I am raising my rating to 4 stars after smoking a tin. Toss up for me between this and Pease Meridian. Upon further review, Sobranie wins. Mystical aroma. In a patent Dunhill, just spectacular.

It has been so long I can not truly tell if this replicates Sobranie to the letter or not, but it is a top notch smoke. It reminds me of when I started smoking in the early '90s, the English tobaccos, though they all had their individual differences, all had a rich scent and were all well matured, not rushed into the blend too early. These days when I open a tin I'm never sure if I'm going to get "peat reek", raw smelling tobacco, musty/mildewy smelling tobacco or if it will just smell "botanical" instead of "tobaccinal". This is Dunhill by Dunhill, Rattray by Rattray, Three Nun's, John Cotton...in other words, this is tobacco the way it was supposed to be smoked. Enough hyperbole and memory lane.

On opening the tin, you get the oriental/Balkan nose. The cut is fairly uniform and the moisture is on the wetter side of perfect. Loads easily, lights easily, stays lit, and burns to an snow white ash. On the first few puffs, I knew they had gottn it right when I got the old Balkan pinch in the upper part of my nose. The smoke is well meshed, with neither Latakia nor Oriental being overly dominant, you just get the Balkan taste all the way down. Toward the last quarter of the bowl, the taste gets a little spicier, but is still enjoyable.