The smell alone is divine. moreover, to put it bluntly the overall hype of something, mainly because of its rarity does a great disservice to those trying to take it for what it is, and experience something as it exists now. One day the manufacturer stops making the blend or closes their doors. The sweetness is there, the smoothness is there, the complexity is impressive, the Latakia is not overwhelming. This blend did not achieve legendary status for no reason. Peaceable puffing. Unequalled tobacco, this mixture remains a mystery. I have not tried either yet. Why no other blender has ever been able to recapture the amazing balance, complexity, creaminess, coolness, and wonder of Balkan Sobranie, I don't know. I hope that I hear something of it.. Stop the madness boys you're reviewing something that no longer exists. One cannot regret smoking this, it really is a great smoke. until their sale in the '70s. Easily qualifies as a four star blend off the chart IMHO, of course!!! Resembling the tobacco in my 1981 tin. Is the cigarette tobacco anything like the pipe tobacco? So with that in mind, I find the new Original Mixture to have the same creamy/savory quality of the 90's mixture. But with the addition of straight cyprus Latakia about 33% seems to do the trick a very palatable smoke can be produced this is my tobacco. As time went on and I matured, this blend slowly grew on me . Good English, definitely nowhere near the top. After a few puffs, the tobacco flavors begin to meld & it just keeps getting better until the very end. Germain & Son willing to make the tobacco. So they have found J.F. Log ged in and had two in less than 30 seconds. Won't bite or get harsh. Now I feel I am a changed person! We reserve the right to verify delivery to cardholder via UPS. I just smoked one of my last bowls. Germain & Son has succeeded in producing a worthy version of the legendary Balkan Sobranie Original Smoking Mixture! Enjoy. Now it seems to follow the path outlined by Balkan Sasieni, since it looks like that more and more: same cut, same colour, almost same taste. It leaves the pipe rather clean. It is my understanding that the version that I was smoking was not the quality of tins sold in the 1970's. Incense notes abound, the latakia is over the hill though. As I said in my first review, it is difficult to make comparisons with this blend because even in the days prior to the current Germain production, there were many changes to BS. Let the smoke slowly out of your mouth and inhale through your nose and you'll see what I mean, all the hype about this tobacco is true and th ats a rare thing, when it's available again, make sure you get some, because out of the hundreds of different tobaccos I've tried over the years this would have to be one of, if not the best I've ever had, just remember, if your not into latakia, don't bother, blue smokes a tanging, enjoy. No bite whatsoever. Here's the package of Balkan Sobranie cigarettes for the people never saw it. The tobacco cut varies from rough to smooth and needs a bit of a rubbing out to help it burn evenly. I have been told that Smoker's Haven 'Our Best Blend' is a near-match to the Balkan Sobranie white, and that their Exotique is very similar to the Balkan Sobranie black. I never thought a blend containing Latakia could be enjoyed so much until I smoked The BSOM. (Whom, similarly, imported Sasieni) Upon opening the packet I was anxious to sample its aroma?it was still delightful, quite as you would expect from a fine, fresh English. I've tried dried deer tongue leaf broken or crumbled in blends and gotten nothing out of it. This will provide you with the best smoking experience. I smoked a pretty good amount of the BS that was sold in the 1990s, and just recently opened a pouch of the last version (sold outside the U.S. until around 2005, if I understand correctly). There were many incarnations of the Balkan Sobranie, and every reviewer here seems to be referring to a different one. 5 years from now, a tin of this stuff will be as sought after as the old stuff. The taste throughout was awesome. The BS that was available to me in the 1990s could be purchased at just about any tobacconist as well as many chain grocery stores and drug stores. It still is a very tasty, oriental-dominated blend, and one which has no equals. The taste is silky, rich, complex. I tried the over priced ebay offerings of Vintage Sobranie mixtures and was delighted but it was aged so much that it dried out (So it wasnt as good as my first experiences with this great tobbaco mixture. The taste always had a somewhat bitter start - somewhat like Nightcap - but the rest of the experience was addictive. Updates on New Cigars, Pipes, Pipe Tobacco, Accessories, Germain & Son. Aroma of very delicate floral Orientals, slightly sour, smoky latakia and just a kiss of sweetness from the Virginia. I remember this was what it was to smoke a pipe. Balkan Sobranie . So I began a quest to find some, and I found several pouches. Is it inexpensive? Nice rough cut and really slow burning. Texture of the cut is fine, mostly uniform ribbons which felt just a bit too wet. Sorry, I havent been around long enough to know better. The next thing I know, I have 4 pipes and about twelve blends of tobaccos in hand, along with a quick education from a master. The dominating Virginias bring a good amount of tang and subdued sweetness that sometimes, play with the Orientals that are deliciously sour with a sparkling taste, for lack of a better word. This was true for me into the 80s too, but by the time the 90s came about, the blend had changed and not for the better. Well, it was far less strong than I expect, and regarding the taste/body who knew anything about that? Joe made a similar agreement with GBD, and became the largest distributor of that pipe in the world. I was fortunate enough to come across some on ebay at a resoanble price (of course it was only for the packaging). Stock photos, 360 images, vectors and videos I hear you can get this across the pond. However, the guys at Ed's Original Tinderbox in Santa Monica hooked me up with their Balkan blend. I fell in love with it immediately, my stable of english blends are rather limited since I reach for it only when in the mood for Latakia which is about once or twice a week, I have to add that this is a blend, not a latakia orgy which really agreed with me. A wonderful smoke. The mystique surrounding this blend from years past is well deserved. I loved this classic, and will always remember what a special experience it was to have some. Requires few relights, and leaves little dampness in the bowl. (I still haven't cracked the tins I recieved from him.) I shall give you my evaluation in a few days need I say more about the experience of the first bowl this morning. Balkan could smoke wet if you didn't dry it out just right, and hot and bitey if too dry. The best of the very best. The smoky, woody, earthy, musty sweet Cyprian Latakia is the lead component. Hopefully, the rumors are true that this is being brought back blended by Germain. The bowl burned downed slowly to a fine ash. Whatever or however the process, this is the Holy Grail of pipe tobacco. It was like a big glorious hit of midnote with some bottom. Balkan Sobranie $ 30.00. A great tobacco, it will be shame to see it go. This is very rare and hard to get! When I first discovered it it had a unique quality, tasting like no other and though caused by the latakia which is present in large quantities, allegedly sprayed on by my doubting tobacconist. Lat is definitely there but not forward. Pipe: GBD Bull Moose, group 3 bowl Cut: rubbed out, moisture on the perfect side of dry. I suppose a classic chapter in pipe-smoking is now closed, although I am sure that lovers of this blend in its heyday would envy us our personal acquaintance with people like, say, G.L. I want to savor every bit of this room note that I can. 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. Buy Sobranie Cigarettes online with free delivery today! Our Little River, SC showroom, Low Country Pipe & Cigar, is open 10am-7pm US/Eastern Monday - Saturday at 2 Hwy 90 East, Little River SC, 29566. Being a Balkan, the Oriental is the star of the show, followed by the Latakia. This BSOM makes you reach for that elusive flavor with each draw. Their room note bespeaks a gentleman's presence. Why on earth did they stop selling this stuff in America? It works for me. Oh yeah, I forgot, "It's not the way it used to be, when it had yenidje, and I walked up hill both ways to school during blizzards, and used pliers to pull out my own tooth". Yes, the contents were a bit moist and could do with a couple of days' drying, and were springy thanks to the ribbon cut. On July 1, 1968, Gallaher Tobacco acquired the blend and the trademarked name. For starters, I guess it goes without saying that I don?t really smoke this regularly. Because this is the weak spot of J.F. More recently Balkan Sobranie has reappeared, produced by S. F. Germain for persons having the legal right to the Sobranie name. No bitterness. Easily qualifies as a rating that's off the chart IMHO, of course!!! Germain has really done a fine job with this blend, so much so that for my personal taste, the new era BS wins hands down! The pouch aroma is very strong -- latakia and orientals. Probably. Esoterica Pipe Tobacco Both reek marvelously, are roughly at the half-way mark as far as Latakia, and seem to have less Oriental than either the Pease mixture mentioned above, or the Cornell & Diehl mixture. A very full taste, so well balanced that is impossible to immagine something better. The ribbon cut was tricky to load, and if clumped up could cause voids. Had a lightly lingering after taste and room note. Flavour stran gely was strong in what seemed nicotine?, not harsh and upon exhale a taste, I assume of the "mountain blue Laktakia" and "macedonian orientals". If you stop being attentive to the way you smoke, it can bite. Waited a few days until I was off work to try it, opened it up, and found mold growing on it. Like probably so many other pipers, I eagerly awaited the opportunity to find this blend in stock and purchase. So it was very perplexing when I got tongue bite, tongue bite, tongue bite. From the company's (the name and the recipe's) sale and in sale after sale after that the blend has been cheapened and diminished, with production moving to Jamaica (?Made in the U.K.?) so my 2 cents are- don't expect to be knocked on the head with epic greatness, don't listen to all the flowery stanzas.. just smoke it and see for yourself.. i like it very much, update: I found a small clump of hairs in my tin.. couldnt tell if they were of human or animal origin.. could this be the secret ingredient to balkan sobranie? Sampled from a fairly fresh 50g pouch which would be almost twenty years old by now. This is a fine tobacco. Unique,mild and full of flavor .. but something is telling me there is more to it than just a tobacco blend. CAO Flavours Pipe Tobacco Thousands of pipe smokers have been lamenting since. All rights reserved. Usually one tamp and relight. In my early days of pipe smoking, I was on the quest for the best tobacco. So many talented blenders out there these days who have put their spin on it and have done well! As my palliate progressed, I would dip into my tin every so often, to the point of really liking it. The cut was rather coarse and zigzagy, not quite a proper ribbon cut, and the tin note was tangy, sort of fermented, because of the orientals. It's no hype when it comes to this blend. I am however glad I got a pouch for the sake of having tried it, but I doubt I'll go hunting for another pouch in the future. Maybe 965 with a heaping of wet lawn clippings. As for flavorits ok. Perhaps all of the above. It works for me. It's a sweet and smoky treat. I cannot say I was impressed with the last but at least it was not dominant. Sasieni, Macedonia Mixture, Odesa, and on and on. Not strong or overpowering at all. I received the full can, but it was open and dry. I am not going into the subtle differences of these two blends of heaven. The stars are unrelated to this spectacular tobacco. It's 1977 and my local Tobacconist at the Alpine Haus in Casper, Wyoming sold me a tin saying, this was the best. Synergy was definitely at play here. Conclusion: Applause! This was the only pack left. My choice back in the 70's was the 759 more than the white. Really good stuff & I'm not a big Latakia fan but it facilitates this blend's sweet, creamy, smoky flavor. Balkan Sobranie The return of the classic original Balkan Sobranie blend. They perfected Sobranie (which simply means ?parliament? Sorry, persons under the age of 18 cannot use this site. Perhaps all of the above. It's taste was definitely much better than it's smell, full-bodied and smoky, and the room note was not too aggressive, there's somewhat of a "tang" to it, but you could easily smoke it unnoticed in a group of cigarette smokers. Posted by Bob Sizemore on 8th Jan 2023 Didn't particular like. There are reasons for so many accolades and sagacity for such a fine tobacco. Product: Sutliff Balkan Sobranie 759 Match Bulk. It's the same for Dunhill, Rattray and other traditional brands. But also of the Smoker's Heaven tobaccos that for years counted as THE replacement for the original Balkan Sobranie tobaccos. The tin note was nice. A very good friend of mine that smoked pipe since his youth in the 1930's passed away a couple of years ago.