In this episode of the MLC tobacconista historical enthusiast archives, I won't even attempt to pen any prose on subject of Balkan Sobranie, it's legend is doing just fine without me waxing poetical, so as an excuse to post some pretty pictures we have a bit of found text and some relevant links to add a little meat on the bone.
First and foremost:
This is THE definitive work here folks, Jon Guss raised the bar to new heights, the benchmark in tobacconista scholarship for sure, a must-read for any keen enthusiast!
An Appendix on the dating of Sobranie Tobacco Tins by Jon Guss
http://www.apassionforpipes.com/vintage-project-publications/
Also, there exists an interesting book, although I've yet to read it, it does look like a promising endeavor .
-- "From Siberia with Love: A Story of Exile, Revolution and Cigarettes"
by Geoffrey Elliott
...here's a review of it:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/3633973/Siberia-and-Sobranies.html
Some quotes:
"In the slavic languages, sobranie means an assembly, both in the political and the more general sense. Hence, Balkan Sobranie could be a play on words to mean (1) Balkan Union, (2) Balkan assembly (as in parliament), (3) Balkan Blend.
It probably wasn't intended that way, but the idea appeals to the literary in me.'
-S.Massy
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$700 for tobacco?!?!?!?!?!
"I am neither sounding facetious or condescending, but "if you have to ask, then you don't know". For many, it was the elite smoking blend of the 1950s-60s, with a taste, aroma and burn that has rarely been achieved. The Balkan Sobranie blenders produced superb tobacco products that older smokers consistently use as benchmarks by which all other smokes are measured. For me, while the price is extraordinary, the willingness to pay that amount to acquire is quite understandable."
-Bob Runowski
2006
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"In my opinion...
Balkan Sobranie 759 was the greatest tobacco blend ever made. I smoked it regularly in the 1970s when was in the pull top tins. It was my favorite tobacco back then and always has been since. I never knew or dreamed that it would become a legend. I just loved to smoke it. During that same period there was another English tobacco in the same league, but it is now so rare and so seldom seen that even the best known collectors have not heard of it (I know because I have asked them). So... we will not discuss that one. I am holding on to two precious tins.
I currently own (hoard) close to 3 pounds of 759.
Nobody I knew collected tobacco back then. The idea of aging tobacco in the tins was unheard of, as far as I know.
Even the later editions of 759 were very very good, imho. If someone believes that they were just okay, I would be happy to buy them. They are as good as anything out there today.
The thing about 759 that always struck me back in the old days was how the (red dappled) Virginia sweetness blended perfectly with the (mountain blue) latakia, against the rich and complex oriental background. It was a BIG FLAVOR tobacco with a lot opulence and high flavor impact on the tongue. I understand that one of the secrets of that flavor was due to special oil that they cooked the Virginia in, but of course I don't know that for sure. This latter tidbit of info came from a guy who supposed worked at the Sobranie factory.
There is nothing out there like 759 today. Certainly Bohemian Scandal is a great blend but not even close to 759 in flavor. Odyssey is also great, and I am very fond of it, but it is not similar to 759.
I strongly suggest you try Gawith Hoggarth Balkan Mixture BUT ONLY IN THE TIN (the bulk version is rather bland and boring). It has that sweetness in a Balkan that reminds me vaguely of 759 and also has LOTS of flavor. But it is not the same."
-Fred Hanna
2006
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"If memory serves, it *was* right around 1979 or 1980 when the change occurred, shortly after I started smoking the stuff. There were other changes to the blend after it was under the control of Gallaher, who bought the brand outright in 1980, that were far more egregious to the blend's overall quality, but the change in the orientals certainly had an effect. I'm not convinced that the change from straight Yenidje to blended orientals was not simply a cost-cutting measure devised by bean counters, rather than the often touted unavailability of village specific leaf. Gallaher was certainly big enough to get whatever they wanted, even if it required subsidising village farmers."
-GLP
2007
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In other words, while most people you know are innacurate in their descriptions, would you go as far as saying they are, "wrong"?
"Nope. There is no right answer. And so I take virtually all experience-based statements as shared enthusiasm. Even when old guys whine about modern iconic blends this is a sort of analogue to enthusiasm. In some ways their experience handicaps them when it comes to enjoying current iconic brands. And they rarely get over it. Though it sometimes annoys younger smokers because it questions the veracity of the blend for them.
But I am critical of a different kind of statement. Some will tell younger pipe smokers, especially, that the current blends they enthuse about are nothing compared to Balkan Sobranie etc. People on CPS have actually sent me PMs asking for an opinion on these kinds of statements. I think they're elitist nonsense. So for example people that enthuse about GLP's blends or some others are told they're not 'the real thing' and you have to experience Balkan Sobranie. Nonsense. Pease has managed to pour memories into many blends. In fact his blends may be more fun for older smokers because of this. They never purport to be the old ones but rather something in the spirit of some of the old ones. And he succeeds, believe me. I have a pile of his precisely because they are excellent replacements for some old loves eg Robusto for Sobranie Virginian #10.
Likewise when Runowski creates heritage Burley mixes I have no trouble believing the same thing is happening but I don't have the long experience with iconic American Burley's to feel the same way. So with those I am on the same footing as anybody who discovers them anew. So I too appreciate them for what they are."
-Rusty
2011
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"I am qualified to provide an opinion of the venerated original Balkan Sobranie as it was all I smoked from the age of 15 to 25 when I gave up the pipe. I still have quite a few 4oz. sealed tins that I purchased back in the late 60's.
Since returning to the pipe this year I have started to smoke my old stash which was kept in my cool cellar all these years. Upon my return and having access to the internet, I was astounded that Balkan Sobranie was no longer available and even more shocked to see what some people are paying on Ebay for the old mixture.
I call it Sobranie Insaniety. Why? Because it remains a very nice smoke although the latakia has mellowed through the ages and plays more of a subservient role than it did in it's younger years and I was sure there must be SOMETHING made today which was it's equal (meaning similar) without having to break the bank.
With plenty of old stock on hand for comparison I set out to sample the newer balkan blends currently available and see if I could find a blend which was the closest to the famous Sobranie.
I love my old briars which are my fave, but for testing purposes I keep on hand 2 very cleaned meerschaums as I appreciate their neutrality when smoking a new mixture for the first time...and I fill one with the original Sobranie and the other with it's "competitor" and smoke both at the same time, going back and forth between the two for impressions and comparison.
For this experiment I've tried 3 Oaks Syrian, Pirate Kake, Abingdon, British Woods, Squadron Leader, Odyssey, Penzance, Commonwealth, Old Ironsides, Charing Cross, Black Mallory, Omega, Mountain Camp, Super Balkan, Northwoods, Margate, Artisan's, Samovar, Balkan Sasieni, Black House, Legends and the new G.F. Germain reissue of "Balkan Sobranie".
I have about 12 other types in my cellar but I felt this was a fair sampling and even though I found a winner among these, if something else comes closer I will update it in this thread.
Before I disclose my winner, let me state the obvious. I am fully aware that none of the blenders (with the possible exception of the G.F. Germain reissue) set about to create a Balkan Sobranie clone, rather seeking to create something new and wonderful for us all to savor and appreciate. I am sure some give an appreciative nod to the vintage blends of old, but these are new times, new leaf, new recipes and new ideas which I personally find very exciting.
I found, as expected, some of the blends to be as far apart from the original Balkan Sobranie as JackKnife is to Mac Baren's Vanilla Chocolate. Some smelled like the old girl but didn't taste like it. Some were very close. And then I lifted a tin top and hit it!...
It was like taking a trip in a time capsule. The smell of the mixture brought back memories as strong as the perfume Moment Supreme does of my late mother. That's what taste and smells can do...bring you back to a moment in time. Here was truly the Balkan Sobranie taste I remembered in my teens and early twenties. The incredible complexity, subtle interplay of the latakia and virginia tobaccos with the orientals orchestrating the whole mixture into one memorable experience.
Switching back and forth on my meerschaums between the original and this new blend there was no comparison. The newcomer had clearly defeated the old champion. The champion is still wonderful in it's own way but has become somewhat tired over the years just as I have.
Yes you can end Sobranie Insaniety right now, and stop longing for the old stuff or wishing you had been around when it was readily available. All you have to do is pick up a tin of Charing Cross. You have my assurance that you will enjoy the experience of the old Balkan Sobranie with no regrets.
Not convinced? I have an offer to make. The first 10 forum members who send me a PM will receive from me a generous pipe full of the original Balkan Sobranie from 1968. All you have to do is pick up a can of Charing Cross (No I do not work for or even know Greg Pease and I'm sure the sale of 10 more cans of CC won't convince him of early retirement) and give it a test for yourself. "
-NewYorkHorseman (Rudy)
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"The original Balkan Sobranie first impressions
Didn't want to stay lit, then took off running on the third match.
Obviously the Latakia in this is muted, however this still has backbone. I think Rudy makes a good comparison with Charing Cross, but to me Charing Cross is similar but slightly darker and lacks the consistent sour note this produces.
I get a nice contribution from the Oriental component with this one, giving it a dry, subtly sour note with a whisper of bitterness now and then. I wonder how much brighter the Va was when this was fresh, as this has that slightly dull museum quality that I also found in Virginian No. 10. I do get intermittent notes of Va sugar, and that impression also increases in magnitude I smoke this. As the bowl progresses the sour note becomes more frequent, and I'm very fond of sour Lat blends. I get a very faint trace of brass as well, and I think it's the age of the Lat and Oriental talking here.
Judging this tobacco in my pipe instead of as a piece of history, it's good. In fact it's still better than most of the Lat blends that I've had. The aroma is simply wonderful, smelling exactly to my nose like what I'm tasting. Arid and slightly pungent-sour. I imagine that in this tobacco's day, when there was less to choose from, that this blend was simply miraculous. It's no wonder that so many smoked it exclusively. Complex and self confident, this is a blend I could expect of maybe two modern blenders.
Another tobacco this makes me think of even though their flavor profiles are wildly different is Ashton Artisan's Blend. Both exhibit the same kind of thoughtfulness in well integrated components that pays off as complexity in the bowl. Obviously Greg Pease comes to mind as well.
I've saved the lion's share of this tobacco for a longer session in a pipe with a deeper, narrower chamber. I'm quite looking forward to it. I'll tell you then which modern blend is closest to this in my opinion."
-Michael Lankton (cakeanddottle)
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A few links:
(many more can be found out there)
http://pipesmagazine.com/blog/out-of-the-ashes/balkan-sobriety/
http://dutchpipesmoker.wordpress.com/tag/balkan-sobranie/
http://www.apassionforpipes.com/neills-blog/2010/11/3/balkan-sobranie-black-and-white.html
http://www.apassionforpipes.com/neills-blog/tag/balkan-sobranie-daily-puffer-orientals-y
http://atthebackofthehill.blogspot.com/2007/10/balkan-sobranie-original-mixture.html
And now, the pretty pictures.
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