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rmbittner

rmbittner

Lifer
Dec 12, 2012
2,759
1,995
Who knows how long it'll last, but Balkan Sobranie is now in stock at Smoking Pipes.
Bob

 
peckinpahhombre

peckinpahhombre

Lifer
Dec 24, 2012
7,195
456
4noggins also seems to have tins of Balkan Sobranie but at $60 each in the consignment section. Ouch. Is it really that good? LOL

 
lordnoble

lordnoble

Lifer
Jul 13, 2010
2,677
14
While I didn't think it was as bad as kola, it certainly wasn't anything to write home about. Was it awful? No. It was quality tobacco and well blended. Was it better than other more available balkan blends? Nope. I haven't tried a taste comparison, but I was more impressed with Russ' WhiteKnight.
YMMV
-Jason

 
andrew

andrew

Lifer
Feb 13, 2013
3,043
402
See for 60$ I would buy this over Balkan Sobranie

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/301178471876?clk_rvr_id=644045566225
G.L. Pease picked the 1990's version of Sasieni over Sobranie in a blind taste test......
On Thu, 21 Feb 2002 18:16:04 -0800, Craig Miller wrote

(in message ):

> A question for any of you that have the original Balkan Sobranie on hand.

> Many blends advertise that they are just like Balkan Sobranie of old. Since

> it has been years since I had some, have you ever found something that comes

> close?

I've been a Balkan Sobranie fan almost since I started smoking a pipe. In

it's best vintages, the stuff was amazing, and in its worst, it was still

damn good. Sadly, several years ago, the recipe changed, and the Balkan

Sobranie of today is not equal to that of yesterday.
A few years back, I participated in a blind taste test between the Balkan

Sobranie that was available then, and Balkan Sasieni. I had no clue which

was which when I started the test. Dedicated piper that I am, I smoked

both tobaccos in several different pipes, taking detailed notes, and

finally, penning my reviews. It turned out that Balkan Sasieni was the

winner, to my tastes. Though not quite the same as the old Sobranie, it

was much truer to the original than the newer Sobranie.
There's nothing made today that could be considered identical, or even

very close to the Sobranie of olde. But, the waters get muddy here. What

vintage do you want to reproduce? As I said, I started smoking the stuff

in about 1980, and have had many tins that date as far back as the early

1960s. Always willing to dip a toe into the waters of controversy, I'll

state categorically, again, that the tobacco went through many changes

over the years. While all of them were good, some were gooder than

others. So, when I think about Balkan Sobranie, I think about a family of

tobaccos, all similar, but different.
Then, there are the subtle and the not-so-subtle effects of all that age.

If you have tins (real tins) of Balkan Sobranie, you're smoking old

tobacco. There's simply no way to compare anything modern with something

that's been aged even a few years.
There are some very nice tobaccos being produced today, and some of these

will age gracefully into greatness, with any luck. I feel quite fortunate

to have a few tins of old Sobranie put away, and further fortunate to be

able to add new things to the cellar that may become tomorrow's classics.
But, I do miss some of the classics.
-glp

https://groups.google.com/d/msg/alt.smokers.pipes/ldl9FJV9LYA/6FhdEmL0N8sJ
Click to expand...
It feels great to find that actual quote as it started with me finding it being mentioned on tobaccoreviews.com under balkan sasieni, and I thought if I stated G.L. Pease picked it over sobranie I'd have shit flung at me, so to find the actual words of G.L. Pease on it is great.

 
fnord

fnord

Lifer
Dec 28, 2011
2,746
8
Topeka, KS
Andrew:
Behind DH Nightcap the "new" Balkan Sasieni is my go-to smoke of choice. It smokes well, tastes great, delivers the goods and is oh, so affordable.
Lord, I've only been seriously huffing on briars for three plus years now, and I dearly wish I had the depth and breadth of a thirty year pipe smoker plus the discerning palette for the remembrances of things past.
But, on the other hand, I'm currently enjoying a bowl of two year old McClelland Blue Mountain in a vintage Elliot Nachtwandler freehand (God bless you, Capsousie) fired up by a damn near throwaway IMCO pipe lighter I bought for a buck in a beat to shit "antique" store 20 miles east of Dodge City, KS three years ago.
Keep smoking what you like, folks.
Fnord

 
condorlover1

condorlover1

Lifer
Dec 22, 2013
8,066
27,365
New York
You lot are going to hate me for this statement but it is just my opinion. I smoked BS in the 1980's and hated it. It was like smoking church incense without the guilt or liturgy thrown in. As you know from shaintiques who wrote a review on part of a tin that I sent him which I found while sorting out my late Mother house that you either love or hate the stuff. I seem to recall that if you fished out the Turkish tobacco you could roll quite a decent cigarette out of the stuff. I also seem to recall that the addition of Condor to the stuff made it very palatable. I have often wondered what an earth they put in the stuff as it seems to have a cult following with even the new tins being offered on a certain auction site for $99 a tin. I suppose it is like the Brough Superior motorcycle. I have had one since the age of 21 and I paid fifteen hundred quid for it and it came with a Brough Superior side car which I sold for fifteen hundred quid. The bike cost me zilch and when I see the prices asked today for the 1935 models I think the world has gone insane. I much prefer my Matchless 1936 model. Better design and nicer finish and certainly a better motorcycle but it is all down to individual taste and the same I suppose applies to Balkan Sobranie. Personally I would add Condor to the stuff!

 
peckinpahhombre

peckinpahhombre

Lifer
Dec 24, 2012
7,195
456
I did a double take and had to rub my eyes.
Did I just see a guy who smokes only Condor complain about the smell and taste of Balkan Sobranie?????
Am I on Candid Camera?

 
rmbittner

rmbittner

Lifer
Dec 12, 2012
2,759
1,995
I'm kind of shocked that some folks don't like the current version of Balkan Sobranie. But maybe you guys don't like latakia. . . ?
For me, the new Balkan Sobranie -- produced by the blender who also produces two blends that I hold above all others -- is a wonderfully rich and mellow Balkan straight out of the mailbox. I'm eager to see what happens after a little bit of aging.
By contrast, I don't think the current version of Balkan Sasieni even deserves a tin. Or a pouch. Maybe a Baggie with "BS" written on with a marker. ;)
Bob

 
Dutch Pipe Smoker

Dutch Pipe Smoker

(arno665)
Apr 3, 2013
376
121
46
The Netherlands
dutchpipesmoker.com
I did a double take and had to rub my eyes.
Did I just see a guy who smokes only Condor complain about the smell and taste of Balkan Sobranie?????
Am I on Candid Camera?
Click to expand...
smile.jpg


 
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