Sweet or Sour Latakia Smoker?

[doctorthoss]

Based on many discussion I had with a fellow latakia afficiando, I'd like to pose a question: Does anyone else categorize latakia-based mixtures as being basically sweet or sour?

The reason this popped up is we discovered that when we disagreed over a latakia blend it was because he didn't like sweet lat blends. He preferred, rather, blends he described as having "sour" or "olive-like" characteristics from the orientals. Good examples of this type would be Abingdon, Penzance, Charing Cross, Balkan Sasiensi, etc. While I enjoy those myself, I tend to prefer sweeter mixtures. Not necessarily aromatics or crossovers, mind you (although many crossovers are sweet) but just blends with a pronounced sweet note such as Odyssey, Maltese Falcon, Northwoods, or Fusilier's Ration (Legends and Wilderness are also good examples). Anyhow, given that it seemed to me that this difference of opinion seemed to be where our tastes diverged, I thought it would be worth asking if this had occurred to anyone else.
So -- do you like sweet or sour lat blends, if you have a preference at all? Or does this question even make sense to you?

 

[judcole]

Both. :P Depends on when I am smoking it. ::

 

[escioe]

I think of them as sweet vs dry, or sweet vs savory. I tend towards the drier, more savory blends.

 

[misterlowercase]

I'm still working my way thru lat mixtures, but I've noticed the differences that you describe.
My understanding is that the way we classify a Balkan would be the more sour variety?

From a higher portion of turkish/Orientals?
But some German Lat mixes have a sweetish yet sour note.
The sweetest Lat I've found so far is SG Commonwealth, I love the stuff, everything doesn't have to be complex to be pleasurable and that stuff is an alldayer for me.
Sillem's London Blend I love as well, definitely sweet.
I've heard the term 'dry' used too, to denote the more sour mixes?
My preference is toward the sweet side, the creamy mouth-watering side for me.

The more sour Balkan-types do seem to smoker more 'dry' for me,

but I'm coming around to liking them both really.
It's great going thru these initial stages of Lat discoveries, never did I think there was so much variety evident in them all, a great number of differing profiles involved, and I used to be nauseated by Latakia and couldn't even stand the smell --- amazing how my repugnance flipped into a passionate love affair!

 

[jarit]

This is a good question.
My tastes have changed recently and I now tend to like some sweetness in my lat blends. Some blends that I used to like, now taste acrid and leathery to me. "Lat bombs" were never my thing, but now even less lat is better in a blend.
Having said this, I've discovered couple of McClelland's lat blends; Wilderness and 3OS. They have enough sweetness, but some nice sour notes as well. What is missing is the acrid and austere leather licking sensation. When my poor pecuniary situation improves I will try more McCees.

 

[peter70]

You could categorize Latakia blends in those, that contain Black Cavendish, or those, that contain Orientals instead. Some will contain both, but the Cavendish variety is generally the sweet one. I have to say, that for me the sour Lats are more interesting to smoke, but the sweeter ones are easier on the palate.
Kind regards,

Peter

 

[billypm]

I have certainly made that distinction myself, and I prefer the sweeter ones. Frog's Cellar is over the top sweet and I love it, but SH 20th Anniversary or Esoterica's And So To Bed are also very good and nowhere near crossover status. McClelland English blends do seem sweeter to me, and I like that.
The most complex blends are both sweet AND bitter at the same time, like Exotique. THAT is a smoke!

 

[petes03]

I'm not sure I'd call any Lat blend "sour" persay, but there is a distinct difference in some of them. I smoke a lot of McClellands, and I do find them to be fairly sweet. I'm a big fan of the Frog series, as well as Blue Mountain and a couple of their bulks, all of which I find mouthwateringly good! I also enjoy several H&H blends such as Black House, Mazatec and 10 To Midnight, all of which are top notch! Boswell Northwoods and Countryside, along with C&D Black Duck also make my list, as well as Butera Pelican. I find myself liking polar opposites, H&H Mazatec and FM Cellar for example, are both Lat/aro blends wich I love for their extra sweetness, while blends like McClelland Blue Mountain I enjoy for their smokey, slightly sweet, BBQ flavor. What else can I say, I just love Latakia, period!

 

[dhizzy]

I'm not that well versed in Latakia blends to list a bunch of blends that are sour and sweet but I have noticed it. The two that come to mind are Red Raparee (sour) and And so to Bed (sweet.) I would also add a third category like some others are saying. I would call it savory or smoky. I would lump Nightcap in that category. Good discussion, Doctorthoss.