Balkan Mixture- Gawith Hoggarth & Co.

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Dissident_Mantis

Starting to Get Obsessed
Jan 8, 2020
132
331
I must confess my bias at the beginning of this review. This is currently my favorite blend, and it has been my go-to since I first tried it two months ago. Since then I have smoked about 200 grams of Balkan Mixture out of 4 different 50 gram tins and I have noticed a slight bit of variation from tin to tin.

Components: Virginia, Turkish, Orientals, Latakia

Tasting Notes:

Floral, smoky and savory. Has a nice floral Izmir/ oriental taste up front, followed by a deep rich Flu cured Virginia taste and the smoky savory latakia.

Pipes used: Corn Cobs, Briars, Morta and Meerschaum. This blend smokes best out of a Meer in my opinion. Try it out if you have one.

Is it a Lakeland?:

The short answer is No. However, on the exhale there is just a hint of rosewater, though I cannot tell if this essence was added intentionally, or if everything that comes out of Gawith Hoggarth & Co. ends up tasting a bit lakelandy. If you are not a fan of lakelands, I do not think the aroma is strong enough to turn you off. It isn’t very detectable at first and it took me about 25 grams of this tobacco to determine whether this taste was actually there or psychosomatic. I determined that it is indeed there, but not overwhelming. This flavor certainly isn’t strong enough to ghost a pipe, and my Ardor bulldog has seen at least a hundred grams of Balkan Mixture without any hauntings. I learned to love this floral aroma and with each puff I find myself chasing the dragon and searching for that hidden rose. Sometimes, on a bad day, it isn’t even there.

Nicotine Level:

A solid medium

Final Thoughts:

I am a lover of Balkan blends, the fragrant complexity that Turkish tobaccos add to the Virginas and Latakia really satiates me when I am in the mood for a pipe. This blend, however is a bit different. It is certainly heavier on the Orientals side than many other Balkans and it reminds me of Cornell & Diehl Sunset Harbor Flake because that Izmir taste is front and center. The nicotine level in this blend is also surprisingly high for a Balkan, and the flavor really coats every corner of your mouth. This blend is complex, rich, filling. It often reminds me of a Thanksgiving Dinner and it is the only tobacco blend that makes my mouth water just thinking about it. Pair Balkan Mixture with a glass of scotch for a truly religious experience. I hesitated writing this review because I actually don’t want too many of you to discover how awesome this blend is. Gawith Hoggarth & Co. certainly doesn’t distribute an sufficient quantity of their tobaccos to the United States, and scarcity is a real fear of mine. If I could smoke Balkan Mixture every day I would be a happy man, and If I was on death row, this would be in my last pipe.84F4F707-E598-4577-BAA3-9EC00B9CE033.jpeg
 

Dissident_Mantis

Starting to Get Obsessed
Jan 8, 2020
132
331
I like the stuff, too. You really don't need to be in denial about this being a Lakeland. Your own review ("hint of rosewater") confirms that it is. Be proud that you like Lakelands!
I don't think it is an intentional lakeland. At least all of the information that I was able to find says otherwise. Gawith Hoggarth & Co. markets it as just a regular Balkan blend and claims that they don't add anything.
 
Oct 7, 2016
2,451
5,195
I smoked some of this blend back years ago, and thought it was OK, but not outstanding. About a year ago, a friend in England mentioned it as his favorite mixture. A few months later, another friend in Florida mentioned it as his second favorite GH blend (after Rum Flake, which he has been addicted to for the over 20 years I have known him).

So, I ordered a tin. I don’t know if everything else has gotten more bland over the years, or this blend was changed for the better, but it is now head and shoulders my favorite mixture in current production.

I have been smoking GH products for 35 years. Rose Geranium (what others call rose water) is a very distinctive additive, which some of their blends have, some not. I can detect none in this mixture. I do detect - sometimes- a hint of something “minty” , which others have also mentioned, and I have no idea where that is coming from. YMMV, but this is one of the few Lake District tobaccos that I would offer blind and be very confident the offeree wouldn’t guess the geographic origin.

I do think there is enough Latakia in this mixture that smoking a steady diet of it in only a few pipes could -could- cause a Latakia ghost.

Good review of a tobacco that has a lot of virtues, including relatively good availability in bulk and tins.
 

rushx9

Lifer
Jul 10, 2019
2,299
17,244
42
Shelby, NC
G&H Balkan Mixture is a favorite and I'm glad I was able to get some bulk jarred away last time I saw it on Smokingpipes.com ! I've never picked up on Rose Geranium or any floral essences in this one but I do get the almost menthol pine smoke note that I've seen others, including @oldgeezersmoker refer to as minty. It really does coat the mouth (and beard, and room) with that delicious sooty latakia residual more than any other blend I've smoked, including blends with twice as much latakia!
 
Oct 7, 2016
2,451
5,195
but I do get the almost menthol pine smoke note that I've seen others, including @oldgee

I would say more like a sprig of fresh mint like you find around Kentucky Derby Day when Mint Juleps are de rigueur. And only a hint.

To be clearer, this is my favorite mixture now currently produced. I smoke more flakes than anything else.
 
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Dissident_Mantis

Starting to Get Obsessed
Jan 8, 2020
132
331
I had tins from early 2018 that tasted distinctively piney. It seems there is some slight variation because the newer tins with the updated logo do not have as much of that piney minty taste. It seems more floral now. In the picture above there is one 2019 sitting in the middle of 2018 tins, you can see the different shade of green on the tin. Either way I really enjoy both blends, and again, sometimes I can’t really tell if I am actually tasting a difference, or if it is all in my head. There is a reddit page on dating your Gawith tins that I suggest you check out. You may have an older one that you are not aware of. I believe if the code ends in 73 it’s 2018 but I have to double check.
 
Oct 7, 2016
2,451
5,195
I had tins from early 2018 that tasted distinctively piney. It seems there is some slight variation because the newer tins with the updated logo do not have as much of that piney minty taste. It seems more floral now. In the picture above there is one 2019 sitting in the middle of 2018 tins, you can see the different shade of green on the tin. Either way I really enjoy both blends, and again, sometimes I can’t really tell if I am actually tasting a difference, or if it is all in my head. There is a reddit page on dating your Gawith tins that I suggest you check out. You may have an older one that you are not aware of. I believe if the code ends in 73 it’s 2018 but I have to double check.
There are various lists around, but thanks. I buy bulk as what I want comes around, open it, jar it (or, lately, put it in Mylar bags), put my date on it, and by the time I get around to it, it seems to taste OK. ?
 
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