New Balkan Sobranie

yohanan · Oct 12, 2011

Hello: Has anyone tried the new Balkan Sobranie yet by JF Germain? If you have tried it, how is it? Also if you are old enough to remember and have tried the new, How does it compare to the original Balkan Sobranie, and by the way,Im old enough I just never got to try the original Balkan.

papipeguy · Oct 12, 2011

I've heard rumors about the the Germain blend but nothing concrete. I have McClelland's Blue Mountain and H&H's Black House. Both are very good. Both are different enough from each other to be interesting. Both are worth the investment. As for how close they are to the original? I think the Black House gets my vote based upon my very foggy memory.

admin · Oct 12, 2011

Not yet ...

rickpal14 · Oct 12, 2011

I was able to try a bowl at last weeks pipe club meeting at pipesandcigars.com B&M as Russ brought a tin. I have never had the original and I freely admit that I am an inexperienced pipe smoker but the last few months have found me smoking English/Balkans exclusively...... I found it to be OK as far as Balkans go.... I much prefer Black House and Blue Mountain. Both of these taste "smoother, creamier" (???) to me. It might be better to me after a little tin ageing.
Since I can not compare the new Sobranie to the original, I can only tell you what I thought after one bowl. I would definitely be willing to try it again. Hopefully someone who has experienced both can give a better review than me.... :lol:

yohanan · Oct 12, 2011

rickpal14, I think you review is great, also papipeguy's review, thats the kind of information I am looking for.

As for Kevin, maybe you could hurry it up a bit and give it a try, especially for a newb like me, You are in fact one of the pillars of the pipemagazine community and we are looking forward to your review.

markw4mms · Oct 12, 2011

Haven't tried the new Balkan Sobranie yet, but I'll add a +1 for Blue Mountain!

judcole · Oct 12, 2011

Rickpal, as I understand it, Black House and Blue Mountain are attempts to emulate the old Balkan Sobranie 759 (black tin,long ago), while the Germain blend is a recreation of Balkan Sobranie Original, which had a white tin. I smoked a good amount of the White, back in the day; tried 759, didn't like it as much - but that was nearly 40 years ago. Don't remember much what they tasted like. I have smoked a fair amount of Balkan Saseini, which is allegedly close to the original; I enjoyed it. My current balkan of choice is Larry's Blend from Hearth and Home; that's my gold standard.

I intend to try all of these new blends, over time. : puffy

:

baronsamedi · Oct 12, 2011

And I'll add a +1 for Black House

rickpal14 · Oct 12, 2011

Jud,
Thanks for the clarification!! I love Larry's Blend myself!!!!!

oldmaus · Oct 12, 2011

H&H Magnum Opus is a great smoke as is BlackHouse and Larry's Blend. All three are excellent.

jpberg · Oct 13, 2011

I honestly don't remember what the old stuff tasted like that well. I smoked some here and there in the late eighties, but it was never a steady for me. The new BS reminds me a lot of Smokers Haven Best Blend, which makes sense, same cut, same blending house...

I do wonder how Germain has time for this, but not restocking the Smokers Haven blends?

judcole · Oct 13, 2011

I miss Smokers' Haven myself, JP. I like their Krumble Kake and Best Blend myself. It may be that Germain had a limited license on the name,and only so much time to turn out a product? Merely speculation, of course.

admin · Oct 13, 2011

@yohanan

As for Kevin, maybe you could hurry it up a bit and give it a try, especially for a newb like me.

I was only able to procure one tin and I had it sent directly to Adam. He has taken over the reviews that appear on the home page.
If you've read his reviews, you know that he is quite good at it.
I don't want to tip my hand, but Adam's write-up will be much more than a standard review, and I think it will be quite interesting.
You will have to be patient though. Since it's a special assignment, and required coordinated shipping of different things from different places far away, it won't be ready by the deadline for November. Adam's sophisticated detailed reviews have him smoking an entire tin before making the final review.
@jpberg

I honestly don't remember what the old stuff tasted like that well.

I think that's a point missed by a lot of people.

papipeguy · Oct 13, 2011

For me the chief point is, is this a good blend worthy of my dollars? The memory of blends from 30 years ago fades quickly. Towit, I like Blue Mountain, Black House and Magnum Opus based on their own merits.

Greg Pease made some great comments about this and he hit the nail on the head when he asked what iteration of a given blend are we speaking about.

There have been a lot of comments about how blends have changed over the years. Dunhill is just one example and on the far other end are the "drug store" blends. Nearly all have changed since many of us have taken up the hobby.

The "Throwdown" was a fun exercise. I applaud and appreciate the efforts of the contestants the only way I can. I bought their blends and smoked them.

My thanks to them for a fun experience.

kcghost · Oct 13, 2011

What I find hard to believe is that this new version of BS is impossible to get. Its like they only made a few dozen tins of this stuff.

yohanan · Oct 13, 2011

I do appreciate the feedback that I am getting, The reason I asked these questions is that on other pipe forums and tobacco reviews it seems like all things balkan and english are compared to these 2 blends, That being the original smoking mixture and the 759 mixture by Sobranie of London, and that this was the stuff, But what I am finding out is a lot of folks may have forgotten what they taste like. So what I am going to do is smoke some when it becomes available and compare it to other blends that I have already tried and see what all the hype is about, that is if the new original can even be compared to the old original mixture which I hope we can get some good information on that blend. As for Kevin; please forgive me, I can be an impatient Redneck Bastard. :rofl:

admin · Nov 27, 2011

I received a new tin of the Balkan Sobranie in the mail Saturday from Adam. I ordered a tin for him to do the review, and they sent him 2 tins,so I got one anyway.
What a disappointment.
I almost never take a full weekend off, let alone a long holiday weekend. So it was out of character for me to quit work at 3 pm on Wednesday, then put in 2 hours on Thur, and take the entire day off Friday and Saturday. I guess I really needed to unwind and re-charge.
In doing so, I nearly chain-smoked pipes for 2.5 days straight ... and I was in the mood for Balkan / English style blends.
I smoked G. L. Pease Quiet Nights, Penzance, Stokkebye Proper English and the Seattle Pipe Club's Mississippi River. They were all extremely enjoyable.
Now on Sunday morning I am smoking the New Balkan Sobranie. What a let down. Russ' Black House is way better, and so is Mike's Blue Mountain.
I won't say anything more as I don't want to spoil Adam's review, which will go up in the coming days.
We have something quite interesting coming on this.
My good friend Greg Pease had some 40-year old Balkan Sobranie that he threw into the mix, plus some of his own Meridian.
Adam conducted his own "Balkan Sobranie Throwdown".
It turned out considerably intriguing.

olderthandirt · Nov 27, 2011

I'm at once sorry to hear you didn't care for it and delighted that you didn't care for it Kevin.

That you didn't simply means one less person vying for any tins that may become available in the future! (-;
I've only had a few bowls of it myself, compliments of a sample trade with another forum member, I've p'raps 2 more remaining. I've really enjoyed it so far.

admin · Nov 27, 2011

The silver lining on this, for PM.com, is that it gives us credibility that we don't just say that every tobacco is awesome.

lordnoble · Nov 27, 2011

Woo-hoo! I'm looking forward to Adam's (schmitzbitz for our new members who may not know him by his real name) review! I got a sample of the New Balkan Sobranie and while it is a good smoke, I like Balkan Sasieni a little more and Black House & Blue Mountain a whole bunch more! I guess what I'm saying is, there is better stuff out there that is more available. Just my 2 cents and YMMV.
-Jason

New Balkan Sobranie

Log in

SmokingPipes.com Updates

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

Site Sponsors

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

Lifer

Lifer

Smoking a Pipe Right Now

Lifer

Lifer

Lifer

Lifer

Lifer

Lifer

Can't Leave

Lifer

Lifer

Smoking a Pipe Right Now

Lifer

Lifer

Lifer

Smoking a Pipe Right Now

Lifer

Smoking a Pipe Right Now

Lifer