Hearth & Home WhiteKnight

Although I've never smoked the famed Balkan Sobranie Original Mixture, I feel this is what it could have tasted like. I thoroughly enjoy, and recommend this blend, and will definately stock up! My only complaint is the burning characteristics, it doesn't like to hold an ember for me. It could be technique, and/or lack of experience with this blend, but everything I try has the same outcome, I end up relighting many times a bowl. Which, isn't enough to stop smoking it, but can be a little irritating at times. I will record tastes, and final opinions when I finish a tin or two, seeing as I am only halfway through my first tin, I do not think 25 grams constitutes a viable, or complete review.

WhiteKnight is to me a quintessential English blend. Very classic taste. Full bodied, full on smoky, creosoty Latakia but with the Orientals playing an almost equal part with their sour and tangy notes and all this supported by sweet grassy Virginias and a peppery spiciness which is very Perique-like. If this is not a full-tasting tobacco, I wonder which is...

Although I appreciate English mixtures I do not get from them the heavenly bowl I occasionally have from Virginia flakes with or without Orientals and even Burleys, yet WhiteKnight is as balanced, complex and satisfying an English blend as I have smoked. It also smokes cool and dry and needs very few relights. Surely one of the best of its kind.

Haven't tried Magnum Opus yet, but I am wondering how heavy on Latakia it can be...

Right from the first bowl I liked this blend. Balkans and English are my preferred types of tobacco so this blend is right in my comfort zone. It reminds me of the blends I smoked back in the 60's and 70's. White Knight is definitely the creation of a master. The flavor is beautiful and the cut and moisture level make lighting and continued smoking very easy. From beginning of the bowl right to the end it is smooth and never sour. I have smoked only two tins, but it is the blend I want to smoke bowl after bowl. I can't get enough of it, and it is consistently fine regardless of which pipe I choose to smoke.

This is an extremely sweet and creamy Balkan blend that I love more and more with every bowl of it that I smoke, and will forever be apart of my rotation.

White Knight is a very good clone of Balkan Sobraine as I remember it from the 70s. The current version of BS is good. , but on to Whit Knight. This blend is a very complex Balkan blend of the highest quality. There is not much to say after that.

Billed as a "cousin" to Black House, White Knight is a superb, complex, tobacco that I believe is destined to become a classic in its own right. It need not bow to Black House or any other blend.

The nose is relatively strong with the aroma of lovely Cyprian Latakia giving rise to a sweet, smoky, earthy note. The highest quality Orientals strike a delicious conterpoint from which emanate slightly sour yet smooth and sophisticated aromas.

Out of the tin, the tobacco is almost too dry. Oddly, I find that it does not take a match well and multiple re-lights are par for the course.

WK is a medium blend in strength and when lit itroduces a fair amount of smoke.

WK smokes even better than it smells.

A first-class tobbacco in every particular. 4 Stars without hesitation!

A ribbon cut Latakia mixture that smells like a classic English. On the dry side, it takes time to light it but once done, you're in for a savory experience. The Virginia is a bit sharp and tangy, the Orientals are sweet and sour and have a light ''soda'' flavor. The Latakia, i would say around 30 percent, is leathery and smoky.

Is it The Balkan Sobranie? The answer is no. Balkan Sobranie is more fragrant, fuller in taste, has more ''soda'' and is smoother around the edges. Now, one cannot compare a six month old mixture with the mother of all mixtures. Nevertheless, with some aging, this tobacco could easily reach the 85% mark. What could we expect, no Syrian Latakia, the Yenidje is surely of a different kind also.

This rendition is the best clone I have tried and it puts the Germain's version to shame. Hopefully, this mixture will survive the new U.S. regulations and pipe smokers will be able to enjoy it for a long time.

Virginia lover

I'll start off by saying this is just not in my realm of favorites, because I'm simply not a balkan guy (like a good cigar, I only enjoy occasionally). But I have to give credit where credit is due...this is a solid 4 star mixture based on leaf quality, blending skill, and ingredient ratios alone. I rarely give a tobacco over 3 stars that I don't plan to smoke regularly, and many in my rotation only earn 3. But dang it, this stuff is pretty legendary in its own right.

Others have said it and I'll echo the same, this is an oriental forward blend. Tasting them up front is nice for a change, as too often(IMHO) they're pushed to the back and almost covered up by too much latakia. Having recently experimented with some other blends containing Yenidje, it's quite noticeable in WK, and I'm pretty certain it's key in that peppery sort of essence one reviewer mentioned. Orientals are spicy, sweet and somewhat floral...quality leaf. There's a pretty noticeable sour note, making for a rich-bodied, complex smoke. It seems to crescendo into the 2nd third of the bowl where it peaks and becomes magnificent through the finish line.

WK seems to burn cool, and I had no problems with bite, but I did have issues with lighting and burn, especially at beginning and on the final third. The leaf itself is quite dry, so burn issues probably are due to the native oils in the orientals. It's a small price to pay for the wealth of flavor involved. Great balkan for anyone to try!

This stuff is just great! Does it really taste like the old Balkan Sobranie Original Mixture? How the hell would I know? I was in grade school when they discontinued it. However, Russ Ouellette has outdone himself on this one. Not too heavy in the lat department and definitely not too light. It's just right in the middle, and very nearly perfect.

In my opinion, the Orientals are the highlight of this blend. Sure, the latakia is definitely present, but most of what I get are the smooth, buttery orientals and the Virginias playing off of each other. If Balkan Sasieni is what I look for to get a smack to the head of latakia, then WhiteKnight is what I go to for a pleasant, enjoyable latakia mixture experience.

There's not a lot of change from first light to the end of the bowl for me. It has been well-behaved and relatively consistent throughout the burn. Why haven't I bought this very often? I certainly have enjoyed it. I dunno. I think I'd better place an order for some more pretty soon, though!