but that makes sense considering this is considered the benchmark, therefore a lot of imitations have hit upon it, and some very well. It was smoked easily until the end of the bowl. Quick view. As such it is an oriental fronted mixture balanced with a good amount of Latakia, where the Latakia never seems to take over. It's the smokiest smoke I've ever had. I believe that now there are better blends of this kind. Four stars, because of its good quality and its history. Why on earth did they stop selling this stuff in America? Now I feel I am a changed person! But I may be deceived. It's different, actually, in its deepness, due to different oriental leaves and the different proportions of the components. Ideally, I should have kept it in the freezer. Dating back to around the 1920s, this is a combination of wonderful Virginias, excellent Orientals and enough Latakia for a robust and flavorful mixture. Simply amazing stuff, and I mourn that it's almost gone. Trusted SSL Protection, **All orders over the limit of one or more than one order in a 24 hour period will automatically be refunded.**. I think that I've had a bit of this once in a while. : the more it tries to be, the more it is not. It only took four years to find but now I know. After a few puffs, the tobacco flavors begin to meld & it just keeps getting better until the very end. Here you can really notice that there is more of the dark smoked leaf in the 2011 version. Whatever it was, I spent several years following this up by trying to find another "balkan". White tin - real McCoy. Really good stuff & I'm not a big Latakia fan but it facilitates this blend's sweet, creamy, smoky flavor. That just isn't the case. The first cigarette I ever smoked was a Sobranie Black Russian, one of the great looking black ones with a gold tip. I don't see how someone can give it "one star" based on them missing the drop..? Having not had the opportunity to smoke the original when it came out I cant speak to a true comparison but I have smoked the old Balkan Sobranie with a lot of age. Balkan Sobranie Pipe Tobacco (1.76oz) $ 21.98. And for now it seems it's here to stay. I would call it a shame, but there are too many truly great mixtures around now to mourn this stuff at all. what i like most about it is not necessarily the overall impression.. i like the details and the subtlety. 5 This is one of the greats. I occasionally pack up some Sobranie just to enjoy it, and I fully believe the tales of yore about how good this blend was. Tobaccos Treasure Island (Spiced Rum) Rated 4.89 out of 5 $ 5.50 - $ 54.99 Select options. Every bowl. Two stars, because of its good quality and its history. This is a hard to find tobacco unless you go to the secondary market. The winelike aroma of the virginias translates to the flavor and is sublime in the mix. Availability: Out of StockPrice: $19.00 USD, Select Another Pipe Tobacco Brand: The yenidje seems to have been the same in all versions. Like many of the more traditional English blends, Balkan Sobranie's original mixture has changed hands a number of times, leading to different versions. Balkan Sobranie Pipe Tobacco (1.76oz) - Hiland's Cigars I wish I could. I must say I am very disappointed. It's not even Balkan Sobranie 'Lite', but just has to be seen as a new thing - comparison to the old stuff is useless and misleading. Very nice once-a-day smoke. Unflavored black Cavendish also bulk from "PW&W". But let us be honest: the incredible variety of mixtures available today and there are a lot of excellent ones offer several perfectly acceptable and enjoyable alternatives for EVERY pipe smoker. The leaf was long and stringy - like seaweed. I received the full can, but it was open and dry. As for flavorits ok. The tobacco came super-dry in the pouch and required almost a month of rehydration. In fact, the difference might be compared to that between the Glenfiddich Scotch (sharp) and the Glenlivet Scotch (soft), albeit not so distinct?. I want to savor every bit of this room note that I can. Add to Wishlist. In the present day, this has gone out of production and is considered the standard to which all balkans are measured. They perfected Sobranie (which simply means ?parliament? I thought I had found my tobacco. Burns to fine white ash. All Balkan fans should give this one a try. It works for me. Four Big Stars for the new Original Mixture! Based on certain similarities of taste I suspect that Balkan Sobranie may have also contained some Maryland, but likely no more than ten percent. It's simply that good. I like subtleties up to a point, beyond which I cannot detect them. Rewarding to smoke. It lights well, and burns fairly slowly as is typical for latakia/oriental blends. 1, I'm not quite sure how old this can is as it was a gift and 2, I did not smoke my usual 2oz for the review. Every time I cracked a tin open I'd marvel at the mosaic of colours, ranging from black, grey and bright leaf. Stop the madness boys you're reviewing something that no longer exists. Before production ended, Balkan Sobranie suffered from a dumbed down recipe and its quality plummeted. I emptied the contents into a mixing bowl and began thoroughly mixing the contents, first by lightly tearing some of the longer shag strands and then pulling the Latakia from the bottom and sprinkling it throughout. They all have a little bit of the same taste, something typical Dunhill. This is the grail, the standard by which all other Balkans are measured, and with good reason. It's a sweet and smoky treat. To say the least, Ed's Balkan is superb, try it and see if it matches the Sobranie blend. It was truly like meeting an old friend, after many years of not seeing them, and picking right up where we left off. This is what a pipe tobacco is supposed to be! The flowery notes are likely their stock of Yenidje. I'm glad I bought a tin at the price I paid for the novelty and to satisfy my curiosity, but there are plenty of comparable blends that are frankly more pleasing to smoke. I find Nightcap, Penzance and Black Mallory to be more complex. The room note was pretty awful (until you were hooked), almost as gross as that of a yesterday's cigar. But producing vast quantities, no, they cannot do that. Note that a bowl or two will ruin your taste buds for the night for any other subtle, delicate smoke! After a few puffs the sweetness comes forth, the Virginia's. Smoking the mixture leaves you with what I would call a heavily clouded atmosphere of smoke left in your room that is similar to London Fog. A crowning achievement in the tobacco procurement & blending craft without question. The Virginias had darkened quite a bit. The 1990s and later versions have drier in taste than it was in the 1980s, due to the decrease in the red Virginia, which disappeared by the mid-1990s. I simply loved the flavor. This tobacco is so fine that if it was food you were eating, you'd want to regurgitate it and eat it again. If all this good smoke is coming from the tobaccos alone, that's incredible almost magical! If you try this, the best thing to do is open the tin, put it in a jar and introduce air every so often(read once per day) for a couple of weeks. Maybe tobacco grown in the Balkan region has some affect on the flavor. Take care of and estimate your favourites, they may disappear as suddenly as TBS did. The whole pouch seemed like a big pouch of black cav. The Mighty Balkan Sobranie pipe tobacco has returned. It's just I don't think there is anything quite so good. I have smoked quite a few BS "matches" and none come close to replicating this blend. As another old codger, I am grateful for Leiconnsel's review below on this truly classic tobacco. Balkan made them all, including Krumble Kake, which was Balkan pressed and sliced, considered by ?flake? 50g Ribbon Description Us |Contact Something about the mystique of the name made me click the "favorite" button but, oddly, I never reviewed it. The bowl burned downed slowly to a fine ash. I don't think it was ever labelled by Smokers' Haven. An elderly and dear gentleman who resides on my street, was gracious enough to give me a couple of tins for Christmas. Product: Sutliff Balkan Sobranie 759 Match Bulk. This is SOMEWHAT of a comparision, understanding that I am comparing a new tin verses an aged tin and the 90's era Original Mixture was, by most accounts, not the best era of the blend. Balkan Sobranie Pipe Tobacco Outstanding. Perhaps all of the above. Very neutral aroma that does not disturbs the room. And yesss, halfway the bowl the oriental tobaccos (I think Kavalla) are coming to the front. Very HIGHLY recommended. 1 in stock. In my opinion , Balkan Sobranie is just a name for a tobacco not available since circa 1980. Sobranie of London was able, in the old days, to procure the finest Yenidje tobacco. I Thought Balkan Sobranie Was Out of Production 2. Finished! I gently separated the cake and allowed it to absorb some of the water vapor from the water below. I've tried Balkan Sasieni, the current Balkan Sobranie, the current Best Blend from the current Smokers' Haven, and Balkan Sobranie throughout the '70s, '80s, 90's and '00s, as well as Margate (probably the currrent Best, as Germain now blends for Smokers' Haven, I've heard), Caravan, Penzance, McClelland's Yenidje Highlander and Yenidje Supreme (which lacks latakia), and countless other English/Balkan/Oriental blends from the late-lamented Dunhills to those corner tobacconist bulk-bought or hand blended attempts to clone Balkan. With the history and price tag/availability of this blend came concerns it could be a bit of a letdown but those were swiftly erased almost immediately after lighting my first bowl of Balkan Sobranie. A very smooth first part with lots of latakia flavor and well balanced taste. Balkan's near universal appeal in those days to lovers of English/Balkan/Oriental blends as a steady or special smoke attests to that fact. The perfect aid to peace and contemplation. Not as heavy on the Latakia as 759 and plenty of that marvelous old Yenidje leaf to sate the palate. Posted by Andrew P on Jun 13th 2022. Not so heavy, incredibly smooth tobacco, giving a gentle sweetness and a dry, salty smoking that reminds me of Syrian Latakia. There are very few aromatics that I like anymore. Never bites. Hours of Operation: Our website is always open and you can place an order at any time. So it is a keeper. Finally I snagged a few tins of this blend. Germain, not the "Real McCoy" or even the 2005 Gallaher version for that matter. the blend i am smoking is the current j f germain version. Two days ago I got my paws on an old tin of BS. Here's the package of Balkan Sobranie cigarettes for the people never saw it. It was all I'd hoped it would be and so much more! If it were, it would be in my regular rotation. The magic of the sensory delight linked to the focus of imagination. As far as Italy is concerned BSOM does remain the only mixture you can truly name "balkan". Is this THE Balkan Sobranie? When Germain reintroduced the Sobranie Original Mixture, I was eager to try it. This review is for the old, original Balkan Sobranie, prior to the removal from the US market. Flavour becomes nuttier as the bowl is smoked and gives off a subtle aroma with an aesthetically-pleasing white smoke too. This stuff tasted so good in fact, it makes me ponder; How does a tobacco blend that tastes this good, be made without a topping or flavor additive? It is good smoke and I'm glad I got a hold of a couple of tins but, that's about it. In all other respects, the tobacco is identical. No, Sherlock and his Shag were a couple rows back chugging to the next case, too. I feel very fortunate to be able to have enough of this legendary tobacco to offer this, my first review. Most of what you can buy in auctions today is dry to varying degrees, but I'll instantly transfer it to a Mason jar, wet a paper towel with distilled water, lay it over the top, seal the jar, and let it slowly rehydrate. I remember it being leathery and spicy, not my cup of tea at the time. But later he said, these tins are the Original Balkan Sobranie, and was propriety from a collector, who died and your daughter gave me. And when dried properly, leaves no dottle in the bowl. Air time and letting it open a bit was all it took to take this to a new level. identity verification to validate that fact. Not a lot of spring. Due to limited availability, we are only allowing purchases of 2 of each of the limited edition Balkan Sobranie pipe tobacco.If multiple orders are placed, they will be cancelled & charged a 10% cancellation fee.or for half the price, try our English Blend No. I love orientals, latakias, and Virginias, but burley gives me some trouble. This is my favorite in the old Sobranie line. I cannot compare this to the original, but on its own merit, this was one great smoke. I see people trying to sell 1 year old tins for upwards of $40 a piece just because of the scarcity of the blend. This has more legends than any other and according to my tobacconist has been going downhill for years. The smoke note however was more like what I remembered, though for a more accurate Proustian journey I will have to try to obtain an unopened tin from the 1960's if they still exist. However, how does one describe the indescribable? Majority of medium brown leaf, with specs of bright Va and black dark fired. The tobacco note was odd, phenolic, like TCP (trichlorophenol), a smell you sometimes encounter on the London underground. It smells like sandlewood incense! In my book this blend scores 5 points out of 5, which equates to 4 well deserved stars. It is smooth but not overly so. The virginias provide a solid backdrop for the supporting cast of Turkish tobacco of which, to my tastes at least, Smyrna (not izmir) is the star. was it merely an oversight at the factory, or is this really some kind of mythic witches brew. Balkan Sobranie | Chicago's Pipe, Cigar & Tobacco Store - Iwan Ries The cut is a fine ribbon, almost like shag with chunky bits of latakia visible. It is a lost age. I wasn't just commuting to my suburban home. It's been quite a long time since last time I had a bowl, but I was very familiar with this tobacco, so I can rely on many pleasant recollections to write this review. Luscious but actually capable of giving you a hangover if you smoke it all day. The outstanding characteristic of this blend, to me, is the complexity and changing nature through the course of the bowl. It's one of those tobaccos that you can't help smoking an immediate second bowl of, and I caught myself doing just that numerous times. Indeed, this is my old friend and it has mellowed with age but still has that "oomph" that only the Balkan Sobranie White has. I deem this an excellent, one of the best Balkan blends ever & I'm not a big Latakia fan but it facilitates this blend's sweet, creamy, smoky flavor. Whatever or however the process, this is the Holy Grail of pipe tobacco. At least for this one time, the cost of the tin was well worth it. A typical English blend, in the vein of Dunhill London Mixture and 965, but more rounded and less full in its taste.