Arango Balkan Supreme

The richly deep smoky, woody, earthy, musty, sweet Cyprian Latakia is the star component, although the others have their say. The Orientals and Samsun add a fair amount of smoke, wood, earth, herbalness, vegetation, spice, a little buttery sweetness and sourness with a light floral essence, all of which are very noticeable in every puff as a strong second lead. The black burley cavendish is unsweetened and offers a smooth, toasty creaminess as a condiment. The Virginias are somewhat crowded out, but they offer a little grass, bread, sugar, tart citrus, floralness and spice in the background. The strength is medium, while the taste is a couple of steps past that mark. The nic-hit is a slot below the strength level. Has no dull or harsh spots, and won’t bite. Has few rough edges. Burns cool and clean at a moderate pace with a mostly consistent, mildly creamy sweet and savory, floral, smoky, spicy rich flavor from top to bottom. Burns to ash with little trouble, and hardly leaves any moisture in the bowl. Requires an average number of relights. Has a pleasantly lingering after taste, though the room note won’t get you any dates. Not an all day smoke. Four stars.

-JimInks

A sweet Balkan with lots of flavor! Bag note = Balkan + Dark Chocolate. Moisture level = ready to smoke. Charring light and initial flavor is a basic Balkan. As the bowl warms, the sweetness and flavor build. Flavor is fantastic to the bottom of the bowl. This is almost a shag cut and there was no junk; 100% good tobacco! 2 ounces will fill a pint jar. Very nice pipe manners... cool, no bite, and clean. Smokes to an almost nonexistent ash. N level is medium-. I think most folks will adore this stuff, as long as they're expecting the sweet flavor of the blend. I'm glad I tried Arango Super Balkan and will surely keep a regular supply. Put it on the shelf between Balkan Sasieni and C&D Super Balkan. Happy smoking. Hope this review is helpful.

I have been up and down the block with a variety of bulk English blends and this is so far the best that I have smoked. I found Arango's Balkan Supreme to be every bit as delightful as any of my favorite Englishes, proof positive that it's possible to blend a top-notch mixture, that's readily available and doesn't cost an arm and a leg.

The cut is similar to a lot of the currently available classic English mixtures (e. g. Sam Gawith, Dunhill, Planta's Presbyterian); thin cut ribbons designed to create a harmonious flavor that's full of subtle nuances rather than the dramatic shifts in flavor that one can get from a chunkier, less even cut. The smoke is herbal, lightly sweet and fragrant with a very pleasant aftertaste and aroma. Each puff finishes with a delicate wintergreen like sensation along with a lingering hint of wood smoke and spice.

Balkan Supreme pushes into the medium flavor-strength spectrum although nicotine is mild to medium. This is a superb, cool smoking and even burning mixture with delicious end-bowl flavors. Frankly, I can’t think of anything more that I would want from an English style tobacco blend.

Who are these , "Arango Guys ?" , I only see ONE blend listed on this site, but it's a good one. It seems in 2009, "Arango Cigar", bought the rights to "Buteras" line which includes: Butera’s Royal Vintage produced by McClelland , Esoterica and Specialty families of tobaccos, which include the Kingfisher blend produced by JF Germain and Peter Stokkebye, Ltd., of Denmark makes the Pelican . Maybe, we in America, should be blaming Arango for the poor supply of these very convoluted manufacturing and distribution practices of these fine blends ?

This blend, "Balkan Supreme" , was chosen as the "Best English Blend 2014 at the Chicago Pipe Show" . It's a creamy well balanced Balkan blend, that needs 3 months in a mason jar to bring out its best. . The blend has a nice balance with the Latakia, is smooth and has an easy to work with " Dunhill like" ribbon cut. The Virginias are behind the Orientals , not a real sweet smoke but not bitter or sour either, the Cavendish is hard to find. Mild to medium "N". A great all day smoker or as an" in between" heavier offerings, ( I really like this feature). I've tried this as a morning smoke but it didn't have the kick I needed for my first smoke of the day ( slightly less than my usual EMP) .. Nice sweet oak fragrance when French Inhaled in little wisps brings out the touch of Samsun Oriental.

I've ordered more, so it gets 4 stars.

Arango - Balkan Supreme.

The pouch contains quite a simple ribbon cut blend, with very few twiggy bits and no cubes or broken flakes; it doesn't qualify as a mixture in my mind. The smell is that of a Lat strong Balkan, enough said. The moisture's perfect, and it lights easily.

The flavour? To me, the Latakia's the leading taste, without a doubt. But this doesn't mean the others are redundant: the Orientals give good back-up, whilst the Black Cavendish sweetens the smoke. The Virginia can be noticed, but in comparison to the others it seems boring.

The nicotine's a little milder than a lot of Balkans, not fully mild, but mild to medium nevertheless. The room note's pleasant enough, but nothing special.

The summary of this, to me, is a Lat' rich Balkan with a slightly soft edge.

Four stars.

So this blend IS Peter Stokkebye's Balkan Supreme. It's also the winner of the 2014 Chicago Bowl, Best English Blend.

Not much more needs to be said, the difference between 3.3 and 3.9 stars is probably a combination of the number of reviews and the fact that Stokkebye is seen as a budget manufacturer.

If anyone wants some evidence: http://pipesmagazine.com/forums/topic/so-pampc-does-carry-peter-stokkebyes-balkan-supreme#post-677233

http://pipesmokersforum.com/community/threads/arango-or-peter-stokkebye-balkan-supreme.47773/#post-1243136

etc.

This is a superb Balkan blend! Lat. is there and it is earthy, smokey, a little leather. It competes with the Orientals as which is dominate. Sometimes it is at others they are. The Orientals are musky, perhaps a little floral too with a note of spice. The VA's are a sweet base. There is a creaminess about the smoke as well. But what is important here is what I don't taste. Often a black Cavendish gives a prominent brown sugar note. But I don't get that here. I have to say this is by far and away the best Balkan blend that includes Cav. that I have tried and that includes Black House too. A very good blend that seems overlooked and reminds me new of Peter Stokkebye's Balkan Supreme when it was new.

Smoking some of this that has been jarred for 2yrs. Insanely smooth! You'd need to smoke a BIG bowl to push any strength out of this. Upper end of mild I say. A little lighter than I like for evening, but this is one creamy, chocolatey, woody sweet, leathery masterpiece. Not sugar sweet, but natural tobacco sweetness comes thru. The latakia, for me is subdued. It's almost as if the other components are toying with the latakia and won't quite let it reach the top of the heap- but in a good way. If gentle lat blends are your thing, look no further. Great morning/ all day smoke.

Quite a unique Balkan blend. The interplay here between Black Cavendish, Latakia, Orientals, and Virginia is endlessly fascinating and tasty! No bite for me at any smoking speed. This is currently in a rotation including McClelland No.1 Grade Balkan, GL Pease Odyssey, Peter Stokkebye English Oriental Supreme, and Cornell & Diehl Super Balkan. This is hands down my preferred smoke! Hazy memories of Balkan Sobranie from the Seventies aside (I have only come back to pipe smoking in the last 6 months), this is the best Balkan I've experienced thus far! It's available in bulk! I've read a lot of reviews here of cheaper Balkans which lack depth and/or complexity. I suspect that this one will satisfy many! 🙂

I would describe Arango’s Balkan Supreme as a “full English” rather than a Balkan, but “full English” doesn’t really describe it, either. The tobacco is cut to short ribbons that range from tan to medium red-ish brown, along with a whole lotta very dark stuff. Bag note is mostly (and I do mean mostly) deep, soft Latakia that IMO gets better after some airing and some rest. Arango says there’s VA, Oriental/Turkish, and Cavendish in there, as well, only they are barely perceptible in the bag note. This blend loads, lights and smokes down without difficulty. I treated my first bowl like a Balkan, which is to say I gravity loaded it into an ODA pipe and let it rip. I did that just the once. No, nothing bad happened. Instead, the VAs, Turkish and Cavendish in this blend pretty much serve up an entirely unrealistic, huge amount of Latakia, not just with impunity but it’s enjoyable! Believe me when I say that every taste and effect other than Latakia is the chorus here. I now use a group 4 English pipe to get just a little more from the other varietals, and only this allows me to proclaim that all the tobaccos used here are nice. While it’s hard to mentally strip away the Latakia, I can say that the smoke ABS produces is somehow thick, rich, voluminous, light and creamy, all at once. The lot is quite savory, with some wood, musty earth, meadow grass, and kabob spices, and it sours a little down the bowl. Strength is mild. Tastes head toward full from medium as a bowl progresses. Room note is tolerable. Aftertaste is a slightly metallic and blunt best of the smoke.

So, is ABS a “Lat Bomb”? As rich and Latakia forward as it is, I have to say, no, because some synergy I can’t seem to get a handle on makes it more than just that. Now that you’ve been warned about the Latakia, and despite I’ve smoked but little Latakia for years, I have to give Arango’s Balkan Supreme 4 stars for doing what it does so well.