J. F. Germain & Son Balkan Sobranie

I was pleased to find a current production tin of JF Germain's The Balkan Sobranie at my local B&M. For me, the “signature” of the old The Balkan Sobranie was a certain, almost effervescent, sour, somewhat bitter, alkaline astringency that rather reminded me of sparkling quinine or “tonic” water. Without this, at a minimum, the New TBS would be a disappointment. I braced myself when I opened the tin, and the first thing I smelled was a generic Liquid Smoke additive over the tobacco. Oh, I get it: it’s “Latakia”! Why Germain chose to do this is a mystery to me, but the good news is, the tobacco can be removed from the tin and “blanket tossed”, and this will get rid of most of the additive smell before smoking it. There seem to be two widths of ribbons in the tin, with fine dark and wider golden brown ribbons, rather than the consistent, almost RYO shag/ribbons of the older TBS. Tin note is “smoke” over a loamy, peaty, Lat/Macedonian mélange, well over mildly pungent, mildly earthy, sweet VAs. Balkan spices are damped by the smoke scent. The ribbons are moist in the tin, and they dry quickly. I treat TBS like I treat other Balkans, packing it loosely into a large Balkan pipe. It lights with patience and burns down quickly if it’s kept lit. When it’s lit, I am pleased to note the quinine I’ve always enjoyed. Soft, sour, woody Latakia is more forward than the original, well melded with the sour, astringent, woody, loamy, rather dry orientals, and savory baking spices are diffused, subdued the Lat and the quinine, which seem to meld the spices. The VAs are slightly earthy and hay-ish, also slightly piquant, and they do add some sweetness. They also temper the spices from the Orientals and round out a blend that might otherwise be too sharp, sour, and/or bitter. In a nutshell, the new version is softer, smoother, and less pungent, generally a little lighter in Orientals than the older version. The lot is not really simple so much as it is well-melded and closely knit, and it is pretty consistent, top to bottom. Strength is mild. Tastes are close to medium. Room note is barely tolerable, according to bystanders. Aftertaste is a refreshing cool-down lap of the best of the smoke, and it lasts quite a while; very nice.

I would not be surprised if others take the Liquid Smoke scent to be “real”. In any case, if you can get past the fake smoke, JF Germain’s The Balkan Sobranie is well worth seeking out, IMO. I’d say offhand that it’s in the vein of and on par with Gawith’s Skiff Mixture or Germain’s Eighteen Twenty, which is to say, top quality, 4 stars.