Are Balkan Blends Actually Balkan?

[rakovsky]

For anyone that might know, I used to love these extremely expensive imported cigarettes about fifty years ago to maybe thirty or so years ago when they disappeared.


Are they still made?

View attachment 373749

"Balkan Sobranie" cigarettes have been made at least until recently, based on what I see online.

Sobranie - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Spoiler: Image source from this link

SOBRANIE (2)

[2543] SOBRANIE Cocktail [2544] SOBRANIE Black Russian Tar：5mg/7mg/ Nicotine：0.5mg/0.7mg/ Quantity/1：20 lines Price/1：850 Yen 1 Carton (10 Pieces)

www.jtexpress.tokyo

However, the actual product might be much different than the one from the decades that you are referencing.

 

[rakovsky]

I don't really remember those too well to be honest. I remember liking them but just not that much.

That's reassuring because I like it when my senses and mind can discern when something is overrated in the foods department!

Saint Mary's?

St. Mary's is in the northwest sector of PA.
Yuengling is from Pottsville, PA, in the middle of the Williamsport - Lewisburg, Harrisburg, Reading, Wilkesbarre, Hazleton area.

True. I like hops a lot so not going to complain about that personally. But as a typical beer it's certainly not bad. And for an affordable beer it's amazing.

Sometimes I'm in the mood for Hops so that I order IPAs. But sometimes I've ordered IPAs and it's been too much.
Good cold Yuengling could be an everyday drink, and with the variety it's really good.
I kind of think that some brands have more Hops than anything Yuengling offers, so depending on my mood, a strong Hop IPA could be either better or worse than a Yuengling.
If someone in some place with "no coast" is charging $15 for a Yuengling and that is what you meant earlier in your message, I would chaulk it up to the beer being so rare due to shipping distance that it basically has become a souvenir item in that area.

I hear prices in Alaska and Hawaii are like that for a lot of normal CONUS goods.

The more we talk Yuengling the more I'm gonna want to buy a flight on my next PA visit.

Capstan is the only one of those I have tried and it didn't really wow me at all. Like it was good but liked other similar blends a lot more.

How does it compare to OGS?
Kind of the same?

 

[crashthegrey]

All English blends are made in England, so...

 

[rakovsky]

All English blends are made in England

I recall a theory that English blends took on the form that they did because UK laws limited the amount of topping used, so to make blends taste stronger, some English blenders emphasized Latakia leaf.

 

[crashthegrey]

I recall a theory that English blends took on the form that they did because UK laws limited the amount of topping used, so to make blends taste stronger, some English blenders emphasized Latakia leaf.

A nifty urban legend, or great marketing.

 

[anotherbob]

That's reassuring because I like it when my senses and mind can discern when something is overrated in the foods department!


St. Mary's is in the northwest sector of PA.
Yuengling is from Pottsville, PA, in the middle of the Williamsport - Lewisburg, Harrisburg, Reading, Wilkesbarre, Hazleton area.

Yeah for some reason all the Saint Mary's people claim Yuengling is local to them some how. But either way none of those places are that far from where I am at.

Sometimes I'm in the mood for Hops so that I order IPAs. But sometimes I've ordered IPAs and it's been too much.
Good cold Yuengling could be an everyday drink, and with the variety it's really good.
I kind of think that some brands have more Hops than anything Yuengling offers, so depending on my mood, a strong Hop IPA could be either better or worse than a Yuengling.
If someone in some place with "no coast" is charging $15 for a Yuengling and that is what you meant earlier in your message, I would chaulk it up to the beer being so rare due to shipping distance that it basically has become a souvenir item in that area.

I meant like not either coast. It's a mid priced offering. Like still more then it's worth in my opinion.

I hear prices in Alaska and Hawaii are like that for a lot of normal CONUS goods.

The more we talk Yuengling the more I'm gonna want to buy a flight on my next PA visit.


How does it compare to OGS?
Kind of the same?

Never had OGS but I've heard they're similar. After trying Capstan not too quick to check out anything compared to it. It was the first tobacco I found myself getting bored when smoking it.

 

[rakovsky]

Yeah for some reason all the Saint Mary's people claim Yuengling is local to them some how. But either way none of those places are that far from where I am at.

I meant like not either coast. It's a mid priced offering. Like still more then it's worth in my opinion.

Never had OGS but I've heard they're similar. After trying Capstan not too quick to check out anything compared to it. It was the first tobacco I found myself getting bored when smoking it.

Dear Another Bob,

Straub's brewery is an old brewery associated with St. Mary's in Elks County:

A Tour of Straub Brewery: America's Third Oldest Brewery, St. Marys, PA, Elk County

A tourism blog about Pennsylvania travel and beyond, covering destinations throughout the state. Destinations, history, natural beauty, and more.

www.interestingpennsylvania.com

I'm in SC mostly nowadays and I expect that they charge for Yuengling what they might for craft beer like Sierra Nevada instead of the low end cheap beer like Coors.
Yuengling really is a step above the cheap beers, and they have shipping costs to get it across 4 state lines, so it makes sense.
If Coors is a 3 and standard craft beer is a 7, then Yuengling would be 6-7.

Out of 60 blends I tried, SG Full VA Flake Plug was the most middle of the road of any in the taste department, to the point where I can describe what it is not, but generally not what it is.
It is not bad quality or bad tasting, it is good quality and kind of good tasting.
It is not harsh, but is it particularly "mellow?" No.
Does it have tobacco flavor? Yes. It is tobacco.
Etc.
It is very hard to pin down.

At times it smells like an empty wood barn or wood storage building. But I get that with a lot of decent pipe blends anyway.

 

[anotherbob]

Dear Another Bob,

Straub's brewery is an old brewery associated with St. Mary's in Elks County:

A Tour of Straub Brewery: America's Third Oldest Brewery, St. Marys, PA, Elk County

A tourism blog about Pennsylvania travel and beyond, covering destinations throughout the state. Destinations, history, natural beauty, and more.

www.interestingpennsylvania.com

Straubs is weird it's super popular with older people not so much with younger people. In fact around here a lot of people consider drinking Straubs to be a sign of alcoholism more so then any other beer. Know I am trying to figure out why the people from Saint Mary's always insisted they have some connection to Yuengling beyond the same as the rest of more Central part of the state. Such as dive bars that have three beers have Yuengling.

I'm in SC mostly nowadays and I expect that they charge for Yuengling what they might for craft beer like Sierra Nevada instead of the low end cheap beer like Coors.

That's it right there. If you go where they make Sierra Nevada it's the same price as Coors. I've meet more then a few people from there complain about it (it being the price else where).

Yuengling really is a step above the cheap beers, and they have shipping costs to get it across 4 state lines, so it makes sense.
If Coors is a 3 and standard craft beer is a 7, then Yuengling would be 6-7.

Never liked Coors. I am sick of Yuengling. I've always liked the higher proof stuff like Whiskey or Brandy. Wine is o.k. to great but is something I drink only because I am drinking with ladies who haven't learnt that Liquor is better yet.

Out of 60 blends I tried, SG Full VA Flake Plug was the most middle of the road of any in the taste department, to the point where I can describe what it is not, but generally not what it is.

Sounds like my experience with Capstan. (I am leaving that underline on).

It is not bad quality or bad tasting, it is good quality and kind of good tasting.
It is not harsh, but is it particularly "mellow?" No.
Does it have tobacco flavor? Yes. It is tobacco.
Etc.
It is very hard to pin down.

That is precisely how I felt about Capstan. It wasn't bad but it just didn't hold my interest. Fun fact with pipe tobacco unless it bites or is flame proof and not worth the effort I will enjoy it. The thing is that if there is a blend I would enjoy more, I'd rather smoke that. If there was only one or two blends out there. I'd be fine. But as long as I find one of my go to blends more interesting I'll smoke that instead.

At times it smells like an empty wood barn or wood storage building. But I get that with a lot of decent pipe blends anyway.

One of the sad days at work was when we closed the wood shop. The wood shop was a highlight of my day. All I did was sweep up sawdust. But the smell and the game of guess the type of wood used was always fun.

 

[rakovsky]

Straubs is weird it's super popular with older people not so much with younger people. In fact around here a lot of people consider drinking Straubs to be a sign of alcoholism more so then any other beer. Know I am trying to figure out why the people from Saint Mary's always insisted they have some connection to Yuengling beyond the same as the rest of more Central part of the state. Such as dive bars that have three beers have Yuengling.

Right. If someone told you, "Yuengling is from St. Mary's", I wonder why they would say that. I'm guessing that they just got confused somewhere along the way.

That reminds me of something that was a bit of the reverse of that. Last year I visited the Smoking Pipes store, and the clerk was very friendly, and I told him it was cool that the store is connected with C & D. Like a good host showed me a bit around the store, showing me the store's blends and pipes. He said things like "We have C & D. We have Peterson Pipes." I thought that he was just loosely meaning that they sell pipes that are Peterson Pipes.

No. As I learned about it later, the company that owns Smoking Pipes actually does own Peterson Pipes, which is impressive.

Never liked Coors. I am sick of Yuengling. I've always liked the higher proof stuff like Whiskey or Brandy. Wine is o.k. to great but is something I drink only because I am drinking with ladies who haven't learnt that Liquor is better yet.

Everyone has their own preferences. I don't drink alcohol often, so my favorite drink is low alcohol mead because I like the honey taste.
Lately I've been getting into rums because I liek the rum themes with pipes. Pipe smoking connects well with the theme of Caribbean rum, Spanish ports and Caribbean Spanish colonial harbors.
I made butter rum that I liked alot with Collin's non-alcohol Butter Rum mixture (you can add rum to it). I used up Collins' mixture and now am having alittle more trouble making butter rum on my own. Collins seems to use something dark brown and thick like molasses.

Sounds like my experience with Capstan. (I am leaving that underline on).

That is precisely how I felt about Capstan. It wasn't bad but it just didn't hold my interest. Fun fact with pipe tobacco unless it bites or is flame proof and not worth the effort I will enjoy it. The thing is that if there is a blend I would enjoy more, I'd rather smoke that. If there was only one or two blends out there. I'd be fine. But as long as I find one of my go to blends more interesting I'll smoke that instead.

I tried hard to get a specific note with FVF Plug, and here's all that I got:
"It has a lightly sweet plumlike syrup tin note. At times the smoke smells like an empty wood barn or wood storage building."
I put that description in my list of blend descriptions for the blends that I tried.

One of the sad days at work was when we closed the wood shop. The wood shop was a highlight of my day. All I did was sweep up sawdust. But the smell and the game of guess the type of wood used was always fun.

I like my Dr. Grabow briar full bent pipe alot. I am rather sensitive to smells. When I bought it, I got it new, and it had a faintly sweet wood smell in the chamber. I've smoked it dozens of times, maybe 100+, with blends from Sutliff's pure Latakia to Royal Yacht. Even when I swab it with overproof clear rum, it still resets to the same slightly sweet briar wood smell. Do you know what I am talking about? At least one other person with a Grabow pipe whom I talked with had gotten a sweet wood smell from his Grabow too.

It's nice talking with you.

 

[Sea Lord]

It's not obvious. At the very least, it requires Latakia and Orientals to start with. I read an article where 6 blenders were discussing this topic. They all had a different conception of what a Balkan blend is.

 

[anotherbob]

Right. If someone told you, "Yuengling is from St. Mary's", I wonder why they would say that. I'm guessing that they just got confused somewhere along the way.

One of the weird local stereotypes is that Saint Mary's people are loose with the truth. I always thought that was b.s. because well being loose with the truth is a pretty spread out affliction. I wonder if that might be part of it. Often they bring it up when we talk about how much of a PA thing Yuengling is. Might be a miscommunication thing to.

That reminds me of something that was a bit of the reverse of that. Last year I visited the Smoking Pipes store, and the clerk was very friendly, and I told him it was cool that the store is connected with C & D. Like a good host showed me a bit around the store, showing me the store's blends and pipes. He said things like "We have C & D. We have Peterson Pipes." I thought that he was just loosely meaning that they sell pipes that are Peterson Pipes.

No. As I learned about it later, the company that owns Smoking Pipes actually does own Peterson Pipes, which is impressive.

And have done a fine job with the brand. Since they took over the complaints have become less common.
I do want to visit that store so much. I just imagine they should actually know their shit.

Everyone has their own preferences. I don't drink alcohol often, so my favorite drink is low alcohol mead because I like the honey taste.

I agree so much about preferences. Heck my own preferences change over the years. I don't know the alcohol levels of mead but I have liked what I've had from pro made to home made. My favorites though are the ones where it's almost hard to believe it was made from honey.

Lately I've been getting into rums because I liek the rum themes with pipes.

I like rum. Honestly I have found rum and brandy seem to agree with pipes the best.

Pipe smoking connects well with the theme of Caribbean rum, Spanish ports and Caribbean Spanish colonial harbors.

Truly.

I made butter rum that I liked alot with Collin's non-alcohol Butter Rum mixture (you can add rum to it). I used up Collins' mixture and now am having alittle more trouble making butter rum on my own. Collins seems to use something dark brown and thick like molasses.

Never tried the Collins mixture. I have made hot buttered rum and turbinado sugar gave me the best results. Never tried molasses with it.

I tried hard to get a specific note with FVF Plug, and here's all that I got:
"It has a lightly sweet plumlike syrup tin note. At times the smoke smells like an empty wood barn or wood storage building."
I put that description in my list of blend descriptions for the blends that I tried.

I still need to try that one. I try not to jump around from pipe tobaccos too much. I find they're like talking to people at a party. If you talk to everyone nothing wrong with that, but if you talk too a few people you're more likely to really get to know them a little bit.

I like my Dr. Grabow briar full bent pipe alot. I am rather sensitive to smells. When I bought it, I got it new, and it had a faintly sweet wood smell in the chamber. I've smoked it dozens of times, maybe 100+, with blends from Sutliff's pure Latakia to Royal Yacht. Even when I swab it with overproof clear rum, it still resets to the same slightly sweet briar wood smell. Do you know what I am talking about? At least one other person with a Grabow pipe whom I talked with had gotten a sweet wood smell from his Grabow too.

Never had a Grabow. I just never really liked their aesthetic. It's one of those stupid it feels off to me somehow. But I do have one pipe that I get that from and it's one of my favorites. My Rattrays cutty really has that sweet wood smell. And it really enhances my smoking experience a lot. The grain on that pipe is thinner then most I have. Like the lines are tighter and don't measure as many millimeters as my other pipes. I wouldn't even think there was a connection if an older smoker didn't tell me that as a fact.
The other pipe I have that has a similar taste is my Brebbia that I've had for thirty years. It's not the same thing precisely but it does smoke sweet and has a very woody aroma. I think it's in part the age of it. The wood feels softer to my hand. Not tremendously softer. It could also be how much it's been smoked.

It's nice talking with you.

Certainly the other direction too.

 

[woodsroad]

On the not a coast is where I've seen it go for 8.

That's about it.

I don't really remember those too well to be honest. I remember liking them but just not that much.

Saint Mary's?

Makes sense.

Though Philly isn't my favorite city to hang out in by a long shot. And also hate paying city prices for drinks.

True. I like hops a lot so not going to complain about that personally. But as a typical beer it's certainly not bad. And for an affordable beer it's amazing.

Capstan is the only one of those I have tried and it didn't really wow me at all. Like it was good but liked other similar blends a lot more.

In the 80’s, we drank Lord Chesterfield in returnables. Good and cheap. Pitchers were $3 at McGlinchey’s on 15th St.

I wonder if there were any Balkan hops in there?

 

[anotherbob]

In the 80’s, we drank Lord Chesterfield in returnables. Good and cheap. Pitchers were $3 at McGlinchey’s on 15th St.

I wonder if there were any Balkan hops in there?

of course it does. For the unhip Balkan hops is antifreeze.

 

[woodsroad]

of course it does. For the unhip Balkan hops is antifreeze.

BLHC 2019 - LiveStream Balkan Lindy Hop Championships - https://www.youtube.com/live/CPoyLaymKZo?si=LTvzqyqs6zeyGSzL

 

[rakovsky]

BLHC 2019 - LiveStream Balkan Lindy Hop Championships - https://www.youtube.com/live/CPoyLaymKZo?si=LTvzqyqs6zeyGSzL

If all life was like that, it would be good.

In the 2000's in Russia and Ukr. a couple clubs with bands had professional skilled young dancers like that dancing among the crowd. I don't think we usually have that at US performances, so it felt odd but not bad.

 

[rakovsky]

In the 80’s, we drank Lord Chesterfield in returnables. Good and cheap. Pitchers were $3 at McGlinchey’s on 15th St.

I wonder if there were any Balkan hops in there?

FWIW when I was visiting Europe I often liked to pick German made beers. German beers have a high pedigree. But regional non-German ones could be fine too.

 

[rakovsky]

One of the weird local stereotypes is that Saint Mary's people are loose with the truth. I always thought that was b.s. because well being loose with the truth is a pretty spread out affliction. I wonder if that might be part of it. Often they bring it up when we talk about how much of a PA thing Yuengling is. Might be a miscommunication thing to.

It's hard to know why people say what they say. You would have to ask them where they got their information from exactly. Theoretically whoever gave them the info could have been either confused or telling a tall tale. There are a bunch of places in the US calling themselves the first in the same category. Yuengling claims to be the oldest continuous US brewery because they were selling beer supposedly medicinally during Prohibition. But it seems like the concept itself is questionable. Maybe you could find people some place who were operating illegally prohibition whose operation went back further.

And have done a fine job with the brand. Since they took over the complaints have become less common.
I do want to visit that store so much. I just imagine they should actually know their shit.

If you go, they have two walls with almost 100 25 cent sample jars, and a once a month pipe club. The clerk was knowledgeable, maybe mid range in knowledgeability within the pipe market. I also saw they had a coffee machine and non-alcohol fridge.

An example of people who don't know their stuff is some clerks at some Discount stores. They can sell you cheap nonbriar wood pipes, RYO leaf, tell you torch lighters work great. That might be the worst combination:
Torch light RYO in a thick varnished ebony wood pipe. Then switch to overly goopy aromatics with the same pipe and torch. Yes I have done this kind of thing as a beginning level piper and many others have too. A couple youtube pipers tell people to use torchlights and cheap mystery wood. It's so bad it's entertaining.

If you go to the Smoking Pipes store it's a great trip for a few days because Myrtle Beach is nearby with great seafood and beaches.

I agree so much about preferences. Heck my own preferences change over the years. I don't know the alcohol levels of mead but I have liked what I've had from pro made to home made.

Mead just means honey drink, so it can have anywhere from practically no alcohol to like 20%. Above that it becomes more like liquor. At a low percent it's like a honey version of root beer or fizzy apple cider, so it's my favorite.

My favorites though are the ones where it's almost hard to believe it was made from honey.

I like rum. Honestly I have found rum and brandy seem to agree with pipes the best.

Truly.

Never tried the Collins mixture. I have made hot buttered rum and turbinado sugar gave me the best results. Never tried molasses with it.

The "Bottles" wine store in SC carries liquor mixes like Collins rum. I think that the product includes molasses. At least the jar has a thick brown goo.

I still need to try that one. I try not to jump around from pipe tobaccos too much. I find they're like talking to people at a party. If you talk to everyone nothing wrong with that, but if you talk too a few people you're more likely to really get to know them a little bit.

I can't say you need to try FVF Plug.
Everyone has their own preferences, so I could telling that an aromatic is amazing like your favorite drink, and you could try it and say it's like a bad version of your drink.
CRBM is like that. It's like cherry juice for me and I like it. But some people think it's like cough syrup.
It seems worth trying a variety though.
The category that I think Americans and Westerners tend to miss the most is non-Latakia Orientals, or what we could say a lot of people actually have smoked in the Balkans and Black Sea region.
Probably the best known example of what I mean would be Camels cigarettes, Cherokee Black, and Turkish export.
Less common would be pure leaf Katerini, pure leaf Samsun, and D and R's Bulgarian Blend.
Usually when Americans smoke Orientals, they have it with Latakia, and while it's understandable and a lot of people like Lat blends, there's a non Latakia Oriental genre that they don't pay as much attention to.

Never had a Grabow. I just never really liked their aesthetic. It's one of those stupid it feels off to me somehow.

I love my fill bent Grabow.
It looks good to me, very classic, like a grandpa pipe. They are reliable quality too.
Reasons why people might not be impressed with them is that they are simple looking and very affordable. But for me those are fine qualities.
I am guessing that it's the best of the standard mass produced classic pipe brands.

 

[anotherbob]

BLHC 2019 - LiveStream Balkan Lindy Hop Championships - https://www.youtube.com/live/CPoyLaymKZo?si=LTvzqyqs6zeyGSzL

why

 

[woodsroad]

why

Balkan Hops!

 

[anotherbob]

Balkan Hops!

but why is that a thing in this world? What type of God would be o.k. with that?