Hearth & Home WhiteKnight
(3.46)
WhiteKnight is a medium bodied, very complex and well balanced Balkan style blend created to evoke memories of one of the most iconic pipe tobaccos ever made.
Notes: When we won the 2011 Balkan Sobranie 759 Throwdown at the Chicagoland Pipe and Tobacciana Show, with our entry, BlackHouse, it caused quite a stir, and the blend has become one of our best sellers. We followed that up with Fusilier's Ration, which was modeled after Bengal Slices, and it too has become incredibly popular. There was one other blend that I loved, that I thought about making a tribute to, because I enjoyed it so much. But I resisted, due to the iconic stature of the tobacco. After a couple of years of work, though, I finally put together a blend that I feel so confident in, that we're ready to bring you BlackHouse's cousin - WhiteKnight.
Balkan Sobranie Original Smoking Mixture is legendary among those of us who were privileged enough to have smoked it. It had gone through some changes, but my memories are from the blend as it was in the late seventies. Using Cyprian Latakia, remarkable yellow Virginias, and amazing Macedonian Orientals, including the Queen of Tobaccos - Yenidje, WhiteKnight has received rave reviews from people who sampled it prior to release.
If you love smooth, fragrant Latakia blends with a bright, sparkly character, I think that WhiteKnight will find its way into your regular rotation.
Details
| Brand | Hearth & Home |
| Series | Marquee Series |
| Blended By | Russ Ouellette |
| Manufactured By | Scandanavian Tobacco Company |
| Blend Type | Balkan |
| Contents | Latakia, Oriental/Turkish, Virginia |
| Flavoring | |
| Cut | Coarse Cut |
| Packaging | 50 grams tin |
| Country | United States |
| Production | Currently available |
Profile
Strength
Medium
Extremely Mild -> Overwhelming
Flavoring
None Detected
None Detected -> Extra Strong
Room Note
Pleasant to Tolerable
Unnoticeable -> Overwhelming
Taste
Medium
Extremely Mild (Flat) -> Overwhelming
Average Rating
|
3.46 / 4
|
Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 Reviews
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 09, 2018 | Mild to Medium | None Detected | Mild to Medium | Pleasant |
Am I alone in sensing the latest iteration of WK is different than that of even a few months ago? Just finished my fifth bowl of a fresh tin frim Pipes and Cigars, which had WK on back order for several months. Much less flavor and aroma. Spice and kick dialed down considerably. Frightening, actually. To gauge whether there has been a change in formulation--or if my palate betrays me--I have written the blender, Pipes and Cigars to get their take.
Pipe Used:
Peterson
PurchasedFrom:
Pipes and Cigars
Age When Smoked:
fresh from tin, purchased four days ago
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 03, 2021 | Medium | None Detected | Medium | Strong |
I'm trying this tobacco on the recommendations of this website and I'm wondering if this is now a different tobacco from these older reviews. Can certainly smell latakia on opening the tin; however, after several pipes full, using several different pipes, over several different evenings, I'm wondering if I've got a bad tin here or something. The moisture is fine out of the tin, the tin was definitely sealed when I opened it, but this is just plain bad tobacco. Bland, but bitter and harsh, even after trying different packing methods and different size pipes. I used to smoke the Balkan 759 as my everyday smoke when it was still in the old "cut the top" lithograph tins... I'm not even comparing White Knight to my memories of that old tobacco, this doesn't even qualify as a Balkan at all. I usually smoke LJ Peretti and Wilke blends, along with semois (and the occasional pouch of Saint Bruno and Five Brothers), and I have to wonder if this is just a bad batch of tobacco. Although you can detect latakia in the tin note, I'm not getting much out of this at all. I even opened a fresh tin of Ten Russians to make sure there wasn't something wrong with my palate. I'm actually going to check back here to see if there's any more reviews going forward to see if anybody else has had the same experience as me. I try not to be a negative reviewer but in this case I almost feel like I'm warning people away from this...
update 6/16/21 after having gone through most of the tin now, I'm going to have to go with this is either a bad batch or it's no longer made with the same quality tobacco the other reviewers were getting... it's both bland and unpleasantly bitter... finished off a tin of 10 Russians in the meantime and I don't think it's my palate because the 10 Russians was perfectly fine to the last shred. oh well, make of this review what you will, there are other tobaccos out there that are consistently good, and I don't see any reason to take another chance on this one.
update 6/16/21 after having gone through most of the tin now, I'm going to have to go with this is either a bad batch or it's no longer made with the same quality tobacco the other reviewers were getting... it's both bland and unpleasantly bitter... finished off a tin of 10 Russians in the meantime and I don't think it's my palate because the 10 Russians was perfectly fine to the last shred. oh well, make of this review what you will, there are other tobaccos out there that are consistently good, and I don't see any reason to take another chance on this one.
Pipe Used:
Peterson 406 Spigot, Nording Bent Bulldog
PurchasedFrom:
I believe the retailer that produces it.
Age When Smoked:
freshly opened tin
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| May 16, 2019 | Mild to Medium | Mild to Medium | Mild to Medium | Pleasant to Tolerable |
I wish I could jump on the bandwagon for this tobacco, but my experience with it just doesn't match the rave reviews. It's not bad tobacco; but with all the great tobacco choices out there, I can't honestly recommend to somebody to spend money on this. I've smoked many pipes of this and I've yet to have that "ah hah" moment. It's more like a shoulder shrug and a "meh." I've tried hard to search for that epiphany with this stuff, but it just ain't happening.
Age When Smoked:
Bought tin in Jan-2019
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Feb 28, 2015 | Extremely Mild | None Detected | Extremely Mild (Flat) | Unnoticeable |
I might be the only person who feels this way... But... I am not sure what all the hype is about. I could not even finish the bowl. It was almost tasteless but with a minor hint of burnt rubber. Very unpleasant. I enjoy english tobaccos very much, 5110 Full English, Frog Morton, Northwoods, etc. but White Knight is not good... In my opinion.
Pipe Used:
Custombilt
PurchasedFrom:
Gift Sample
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