1970’s Balkan Sobranie on Sale, Ebay

[hiplainsdrifter]

I would think many pipe smokers would pay 30 bucks a bowl to try the old BS once. Probably would be worth it for some pipe club somewhere to pony up to try it. I probably would, but I don't smoke that often, so I am fine with splurging. Steak dinner, once in a lifetime smoke, both a half hour of pleasure.

 

[oldgeezersmoker]

@jguss, the Sobranie House address with no street designation and the textual opening instructions on the pull top lid tend towards saying it is a 1970's tin. The weight listing in grams only is suspicious though.

 

[oldgeezersmoker]

Pipestud this morning sold "tins" very similar to the one pictured in the eBay auction for $595. The address of Sobranie House was not visible in his pictures, but the weight was in grams only and the lid instructions were textual. He bases his dating to the early 1980's on the address shown in the importer sticker, which is absent on the eBay tin. The probability that the eBay tin is post Redmond family increases. The changing addresses for the importer, James B Russell, have been fairly well documented.

 

[kola]

expensive dust

 

[oldgeezersmoker]

Expensive? Yes. Dust? Pipestud says the tins sound solid that he was selling, I trust him. I no longer play in this park, but I used to,and my experience leads me to have a different opinion as to the likely state of preservation of the contents of well preserved old tins. A year or so ago Ashdigger sent me some Black Mallory from an even older tin that was extraordinary.

 

[kola]

Ebay sellers disclaimers are pretty clear. In almost every case, you're just buying the tin (or pouch). Roll the dice.
OTOH, Yes, I've seen Pipestud make things right when he's sold a bad tin or pouch to someone. It's not his fault if a tin is toasted to shit, but he made it right. The only thing a guy can rely on is the outside condition of the tin/package, whether it's bloated or not and the shake-shake test.

 

[hawky454]

MLC sent me a large sample this stuff that was from the 70’s. I have to say the blend kept very well over the years and the Latakia didn’t fade much at all, I was quite surprised. It was definitely an excellent blend but that being said, I think there are current blends on the market that are better but if you got the money and that’s your thing than more power to ya! BS, if kept properly, really does hold up with age and that may be another reason why it demands so much money.

 

[tulsagentleman]

Better hurry. Four hours left nd the bid is $900. plus $15 shipping. Too rich for my blood, but the reviews are really interesting to read.
Original Balkan Sobranie Reviews

 

[condorlover1]

I gave a tin of that to a denizen of this forum a few years ago and the contents was sound. The ring pull cans seem to survive pretty well although I personally don't think much of BS since I used to buy it in the early 1980s if I couldn't get my hands on Condor. Is it worth $900? Probably not but then I am far from a tobacco connoisseur.

 

[oldgeezersmoker]

Sold for ,$900 to the lone bidder, who has a feedback count of 1620, so no rookie.

 

[orlandofurioso]

Pipestud recently sold a 1980's Balkan Sobranie tall style 100 gr. tin $595,00 .

 

[hawky454]

Wasn’t Balkan Sobranie basically an otc Blend back in the day? Sold in pouches in every drug store in England?

 

[spartacus]

Well... I hope the winning bidder enjoys it!

 

[condorlover1]

@Hawky454. Yep it was sold in tins all over the place in every newsagents and tobacconist

 

[sablebrush52]

I used to smoke it back in the '70's. You could buy it anywhere. It was a very popular blend and there were others, now gone and forgotten, that were just as popular and well made.

 

[hawky454]

@Hawky454. Yep it was sold in tins all over the place in every newsagents and tobacconist

Thanks! Anybody know what years Gallaher took over production?

I used to smoke it back in the '70's. You could buy it anywhere. It was a very popular blend and there were others, now gone and forgotten, that were just as popular and well made.

I believe the stuff I tried was from 1976, it was damn good but like I said before, I think there are several current blends that are just as good if not better to my tastes.

 

[jguss]

Hawky, there were two transactions between Gallaher and Sobranie; the first, in 1968, was a sale/leaseback deal which didn’t affect the pipe tobacco business. The second, in 1980, resulted in Gallaher acquiring the remaining assets of Sobranie and moving pipe tobacco production to its own facilities in Ireland. So crudely put anything before the first half of 1980 is family (Redstone) production, anything later was made by Gallaher.
In theory there shouldn’t have been a difference; as part of the deal Gallaher received the two product manuals compiled and used by Sobranie to manufacture its tobaccos. One volume covered ingredients and proportions, the other specified processes. In practice Gallaher made changes and the blends were altered.

 

[jguss]

As for otc, if you mean Sobranie tobacco was fairly widely available, the answer’s yes. If you mean it was a down-market product, the answer’s no; Sobranie blends were always priced at a substantial premium compared to what most people think of as otc blends. The pouches were a relatively late phenomenon, appearing about 1987, almost 60 years after the OSM was launched..