Latakia is going to leave an afer-taste - that's just a fact. So, don't expect to find the unicorn blend where it doesn't. That's it. That's the main tip. Having said that, imo, "Bag End", now renamed "Pilgrim's Muse" from Country Squire, (already recommended above), is the closest thing to that unicorn that I've found (that's fresh and readily available). Another that's good fresh, if you like campfire/bbq smoky, is Boswell's "North Woods". Both of these are relatively inexpensive bulk blends that are great mild/medium examples of their genre while still being unique and interesting. They're meant to be enjoyed young, can be daily smokers.

If your current palate gives you a two-day soapy-incense after-taste smoking any English/Scottish/Balkan blend, it helps to have a smaller amount after your last meal of a day when you know you're not likely to eat something that clashes the next day. Pair it with a glass of water, or at the very least, DON'T pair it or follow it with tastes that clash. And, don't pair it with alcohol (at this stage, imo). My adult son and I did this together every Saturday evening when we were in this stage together. It made it more fun, even when we hit a new blend we both took a hard "PASS" on. We learned what we did and didn't prefer, and to borrow an analogy from "The Princess Bride", we were "developing resistance to iocane powder", so to speak.

This might seem only tangentially related, but, aged, integrated, complex blends frame the Latakia flavor to it's best advantage, and even transform the after-taste to be more pleasant. This can make it seem like there is "less" or "milder" Latakia the longer you let such blends age unopened.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not talking about one-dimensional Lat bombs, or unsophisticated "salad" blends thrown together without any integration or aging where one of the leaves happens to be Latakia. But there is a top shelf category of English blends where the end result is truly more than the sum of it's parts, improving over time.

To use a wine analogy, you don't develop a taste for fine red wine by drinking sangria because it has no tannins. Nothing against Sangria, but you develop a taste for fine wine by drinking fine wines, properly aged, their tannins mellowed, delightfully complex. Such wines can be laid down for years to continue improving. Same idea with complex pipe tobacco blends.

I'm going to cut to the chase and name my favorite blender: G. L. Pease is probably the most commonly agreed upon MASTER of complex, yet nuanced, blends that integrate Latakia to best advantage and AGE AMAZINGLY WELL.

The bad news is you probably can't get your hands on some well-aged, mythical "unobtanium" like McClelland "Frog Morton's Cellar". But, the good news is, you don't have to. There are more integrated, complex blends being produced today than at any time in history. It might not be the golden age of which magical leaf is available. But, it IS DEFINITELY the golden age of what talented blenders are doing with the leaf that is available. Tomorrow's "unobtainium" is what you cellar today.

Here's how it works: Settle on a few blends to start with, and cellar them deep, not wide.

For aging, you want blends that are blended for aging. Get the smaller, dated, crimp-sealed pop-top tins (not vacuum-sealed, and never open-air bulk) - so aerobic fermentation can continue, and secondary anaerobic fermentation is possible. Knowing how many grams per week you plan to consume makes it possible to know how many tins are a ten year supply. Buy that much right up front. Replace each tin as you consume it and rotate stock - first in, first out. In this way, every tin you open is of increasing age until, after 10 years you're set for life with 10-year aged Unobtanium!

For example, these are my current Unobtanium smokes: Samarra, Quiet Nights, The Merry Monk, and King's Fool.

I am already smoking 10-year aged Samarra, 2-year aged Quiet Nights, and am just getting started with the other two.

These are treats, not daily smokers. I plan to enjoy one 2.5 - 3 gram bowl per week of each of these for the rest of my life.[/spoiler]