Arango Balkan Supreme

A classic, near archetypal Balkan flavor that falls short just a tad on strength or "complexity." But that is made up for by the price and availability. Makes you wonder what all the fuss is over the other 1.5 million similar blends out there.

Good tobacco Burns great Perfect moisture from get go Tastes great Packs easy

Tips:

- Smoke in a small bowl: I personally get tired of the taste and feel after a short while.

- ashing not needed for most part but recommend ashing last 1/4 if smoking in a larger pipe as it started absorbing the ash taste around that point for me

This is a excellent smoke right out of the bag. It's definitely a Balkan it's smokey and tasty. The black Cavendish mellows the burn and makes it damn near perfect. If you're looking for a great tasting, cool smoking tobacco this one's for you.

Package note of sour fruit, smoky and spices. Tobacco is a thin ribbon cut of brown, dark brown, tan and black. Moisture content is great. No drying/prep needed. Burns moderately fast with few relights. The strength is medium and nic is mild. No flavoring detected. Taste is medium and mostly consistent, with notes of floral, smoky incense, tart fruit, spices, musty sour vegetation, tangy zesty citrus, wood, sugar, savory, toast, orange peel, buttery, a sweet herbal grassy background note, and a peppery retro. Latakia is leading with Cavendish, Oriental/Turkish and Virginia supporting. Room note is tolerable, and aftertaste is great.

Low price, high quality Balkan blend? Sign me up. It comes in bulk for a serious deal and outperforms fancy tins all day. The tin note is complex, sour and smells like neighborhood fireplaces burning on a snowy winter night. It’s really a nostalgic smell, like cold nights coming home after work. Packs and lights great, is never harsh and has a robust flavor. Latakia up front but orientals are accounted for in a serious way. It’s a bit of a lat bomb but that’s what i want in a big, royal tobacco like this. The cavendishes smooth it all out and add a sweet dimension. If you think of blends as spices this one is Chinese 5 spice. Complex and you can pick out individual ingredients but if you think about it, it’s one flavor as well. I guess I’ll just let the rest of my balkan tins age another year because I can’t stop reaching for this jar when I want a full English.

This stuff blows other Balkan blends out of the water.

Open the jar and you’re met with the barbecue tang common to most English blends. Do yourself a favor and pack it nicely—not too dense, not too loose. Give it a light and be taken aback by the smokey, rich, almost meaty flavors. The cavendish adds a sweetness to the mix too, along with a little creaminess.

Always makes for a good smoke and I’d advise you to order it by the pound.

Like many others I decided to try this one after reading some positive reviews on this site. That was a year ago, and my first impressions found this respectable but falling short of my expectations. Six months ago I tried it again and found it noticeably improved. Now, in the last eight weeks I've been frequenting this often as it has proven most satisfying. I've also done some sessions comparing this directly against some other bulk English/Balkan offerings by Gawith, Newminster, Patton, Planta, Stokkebye, and even a five year old tin of Sasieni. In all comparisons this was the winner.

So, how has this evolved over this past year? When fresh the flavors were good but nowhere near as developed as they are now. There was a pungent herbal overtone in the aroma, and a slight rawness on the back of the throat. Six months later the rawness was gone and the aromatics were greatly improved, now smelling of grilled gyro meat! 3 stars at that point.

In the last couple months this is the same pattern each time: starts with a little herbal bitterness that always concerns me, but within minutes this is gone and then comes the toasted "everything" bagel and roast meats. Something very satisfying about those flavors, and a nice, savory finish.

Simply because of the slow start, this isn't quite up to my best 4-star blends, but I wouldn't be surprised that if given more time this will evolve into further greatness. When you factor in the value of this bulk offering, I nudged it from three and a half to a full four stars.

I love finding these bulk blends that totally deliver. Arango's Balkan Supreme gives the best of the tin blends a run for their money. It's delicious, reasonably balanced, and has a really nice creamy full mouth feel from the Black Cavendish's interplay with the smokey herbal Latakia. The Latakia plays a big forward role, but the cavendish is really affective in softening the dark edges of this lat-bomb. Tasty waves of Cavendish and Latakia interplay with a strong note of fine turkish Samsun, with a bit of floral, spicy, nutty sweetness. The Virginia is much harder to detect but offers a touch of grassy citrus. A real meal but not overwhelming, its just right. The nic hit is mild, even in a large bowl. 4 stars for me. Definitely a lat-bomb but its really good and beats the random English blends I have open right now (Artisan Blend, Skiff mixture, Margate).

Deeply woodsy and smoky with a very complex note . The creamy Orientals offset the Latakia which is very forward but not overpowering. The aroma of the smoke is something I could smell all day long. It will probably run the wife out of the room but it is very rich. This is most definitely one of my regular blends and it ages very nicely. Some accuse it of being a Lat Bomb but it's really just Latakia forward.

It is very well balanced and you will taste many different flavors as it is quite complex. Don't miss out on this one. It is very reminiscent to Balkan Sobranie and I like it equally but it's almost always available and you can buy it in bulk. Some say it's the same blend Peter Stokkebye uses for his Balkan Supreme. I will leave that up to you to decide.