Balkan Sobranie Re-Release Review And Throwdown!

[admin]

I am extremely pleased to present you with our latest piece of content, which I feel came out quite well. I think it will be extremely interesting and informative.
It started as a mad dash to procure a tin of the new Balkan Sobranie 2011 re-release. Sometimes the tobacco manufacturers are kind enough to let us know in advance when a new tobacco is coming out. That wasn't the case here. I knew it was coming from speaking to Mike Gold of Arango (the new importer / dist. for Balkan Sobranie) at the IPCPR show in August, but I didn't get a heads up before it shipped.
By the time I found out that retailers were offering it for sale it was sold out everywhere - in just a few hours.
However, I phoned Bob Gates at Habana Premium Cigar Shoppe in Albany NY, one of our advertisers (PipesAndCigars.com). Even though he was officially sold out, he offered to provide me with his own personal tin that he was saving for himself. I had him ship it directly to Adam Smith for review.
Then I told Greg Pease about it and he generously offered to send some of the original Balkan Sobranie from the '70s to Adam.
Here's how it went ...
Balkan Sobranie Re-Release Review And Throwdown!

 

[rickpal14]

Kevin.....
Reading this article at work first thing in the morning is UNFAIR!!!! My mouth is watering for Pease's Meridian!
I too was not impressed with the new Balkan Sobranie when I tried it last month. There WILL be a tin of Meridian in my stocking this year!! :P
Thanks to you and Adam for a fantastic review!!

 

[cyndi]

Great review! I like the throw down concept and the compare/contrast notes. It's llike reading PC Magazine but for tobacco. :D

 

[olderthandirt]

Adam does a very fine job with reviews, very fine.
I received a sample of the new release Sobranie a few days ago myself and I quite enjoyed the stuff.
That last line of mine is why folks like Adam put together reviews and I don't!

 

[yohanan]

Excellent review!!! Thanks to everyone who contributed to make the review possible. ::

 

[mlaug]

I don't remember what the original tasted like. Too many years and too many blends have passed through my pipes to have that kind of recall, but Adam did an excellent job with comparing three blends with similar flavor profiles.
That is what makes a great reviewer....someone that can differentiate degrees of uniqueness and communicate it.

 

[docwatson]

Superb review in all respects. Now I am required to make my own objective reviews once I get some of Greg's Meridian Blend, since I am familiar with the other two. Adam has an incredible talent for expressing nuances of tobacco, and the article is not only interesting to read, the photos add so much more dimension. Thanks all for a great review.

:clap:

 

[riptide]

A very good review. I really enjoyed the Throwdown aspect. I think that this one of the best reviews I have red to date.

 

[markw4mms]

Another excellent review by Adam. I really liked the throw-down concept as well. I am most certainly going to give the new Balkan Sobranie a try, and also Greg's Meridian.

 

[mlaug]

This review has also forced me to reevaluate saving a tin of Meridian I had purchsed a month ago.
Now I have to try it.

 

[romeowood]

Great review! :clap:

 

[clanobucklin]

Great review. The comparison was pretty cool. I would have rather had just the Original and the New Balkan compared rather than throwing a 3rd in the mix.

 

[matchstickman]

I have been tossing around a few G.L. Pease blends that I want to order, and Meridian has entered and exited that list several times, but with this review, it has pushed me over the edge and I took the plunge and ordered some. This was a really cool read and Adam did a phenomenal job as always. Thanks!

 

[pipeinhand]

Well done Adam, another fine review. Being a Balkan Sobranie smoker from the 70's I found the explanation of the real stuff to be quite what I remember. I am off to order some Meridian to try for myself.

 

[deerhunter721]

Mine will arrive on Monday.

 

[shawn]

Great review. It's made my list.

 

[spartan]

I just re-read this article. And had a great idea.
G.L.Pease:

...was certainly not my intention for his his review to turn into some sort of "comparison," with all the awkwardness that entails, so I was pleasantly surprised by his choice to add reviews of the other two blends, bringing some interesting perspective to the picture. In retrospect, it might have been better to send him the tobaccos blind...

I like the idea of some sort of blind tastings.
Just an FYI for future articles. Could have a number of different and interesting spins!

 

[pipeinhand]

@flyfishn, try the Meridian, different, but the bomb.

 

[brian64]

Thanks for the great reviews and info! Will definitely have to try Meridian and the new Balkan. I'm unfortunately not among the privileged few who've smoked the original Balkan, and am still searching for the English/Balkan blend(s) that I can truly savor. I tend to favor VA's, but I do enjoy E/B's as well...but after trying several blends, (including H&H's Black House), I've yet to find one that really grabs me. My favorite so far, and the only one I give high marks to, is Balkan Sasieni. I'll be curious to see how these two compare.

 

[deerhunter721]

I recieved my tin of the new Balkan Sobranie today. I have only smoked one bowl. It was a bit moist out of the tin and hard to keep lit, so it is drying as I type. I won't post a complete review yet, but I will say that it is good. I never had the original, but this reminds me ALOT of Peter Stokkebye Balkan Supreme, but possibly with a little more body. I detect a slight sweetness to it. I will post more about it after a few bowls.