Balkan Sobranie there just isn't anything like it.

[shanelktown]

Smoking some Balkan sobranie from 2011 needless to say some very good stuff although supposedly not as good as the original. Needless to say I have smoke many blends that are quote on quote similar and honestly I don't see it. My only thought is that the sobranie was blended by Germaine's and they just have that signature flavor I have noticed with all of their blends.

 

[Waning Embers]

One of my favorites! Always have several tins around.

 

[brass]

I have about 10 tins curing in the cellar. I smoked one this summer and it was almost good enough to snort from lines with a rolled up century.

 

[derfargin]

I didn't care for it. I thought Russ' WhiteKnight was much better.

 

[kane]

Nice to hear that you've got a smoke you enjoy so much.

Is this the stuff that sells for $35 a tin, and is never in stock (sort of like Penzance), or is this another blend, another maker?

 

[papipeguy]

I smoked a lot od that in the 1970's and really enjoyed it. I have not had the latest iteration so I can't comment on how it stacks up to the old stuff; not that it should matter. Judge a blend on what you have today is my thinking.

I have had WhiteKnight and also enjoy that a lot. It's Russ' take on what he remembers BS was back in the day. You may want to try it and compare the two. I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts on the two.

 

[sablebrush52]

Is this the stuff that sells for $35 a tin, and is never in stock (sort of like Penzance), or is this another blend, another maker?

Yep, it is.
Having smoked it back in the day, and having recently had the opportunity to sample some very aged SB form the 1980's and do some comparison tasting, I'd say go with WhiteKnight over the new incarnation. WhiteKnight is closer to the original than is this reissue. You get to avoid the gouging and other bad behaviors.
There is another blend on the Synjeco site that our resident tobacco expert jminks recommends as matching the original BS mixture. But remember that Balkan Sobranie was ever changing and that the BS from the 1980's was different from its earlier versions.
As it is, there's a stack of this stuff sitting in my cellar that I'm never going to smoke. Down the road I'll either trade it for something that I like, or share it with others who like this version and can't find it.

 

[lochinvar]

I enjoy the new Sobranie, but I see it only as a Germain Balkan and not as a reincarnation. As others have said, White Knight is much closer to my memory (and how can memory lead us astray).

Honestly, considering the problems in the region, I'm just happy we still get blends with lots of high quality Oriental leaf.

 

[settersbrace]

Funny how the interwebs can drive people crazy enough to pay 3x MSRP. My shop ordered 12 tins of BS last November and had them in two days. I bought 2 of them and we sloooowly sold the rest at I believe $14.95 per 50gr. tin. You see the wholesale cost is what it is and when a vendor (not an individual) is going 2-3 times the MSRP it's just old fashioned price gouging. Anyone foolish enough to pay it deserves what they get IMO.
Don't get me wrong, if a guy wants to try something bad enough, cost isn't going to deter them but the buyers remorse can often be bitter. I'm glad Shane got to try the new BS, it's not one of my favorites and I'm suspecting he's going to recieve a mason jar full of it real soon.

 

[brass]

Wow. I guess I got a real deal from 4Noggins at like something 7 bucks a tin.

 

[brass]

Settersbrace, you mentioned your shop. Do you on or work at one or is it a shop you frequent? Just nosey but if have one, would support it.
Pax

 

[brass]

delete duplicate post

 

[settersbrace]

I work part time at a B&M near Pittsburgh, PA. We do not have web sales and I'd say it's 80/20 cigars over pipes inventory. We have the biggest selection of pipes and tobacco in this corner of the state though which is sorrowful compared to the number of B&M's that existed even 10 years ago. We do our very best to support the pipe community and we host a pipe club meeting each month. Allegheny Smoke Works is the name of the establishment.

 

[brass]

I've heard of White Knight but didn't realize it was Russ's blend. Three of the last four Russ blends I tried in the last tobacco crawl were home runs: Mangum Opus, El Nino and Classic Burley Kake.
I think I know what my next order will include.

 

[tarak]

You know I've never tried it. Probably the only avenue of tobacco I just haven't explored much is anything containing Oriental- the few tobaccos I've tried I just didn't enjoy it at all. Thought it was floral and medicinal and....weird.
But, for all the hype, it sure makes me want to sample some to see what it is all about! Its been two years since my very limited exposure to oriental, I should probably try it again. I've avoided anything with oriental in it (at least in discernible amounts), so I've been limited to Vs, VaPers, VaBurs, and latakia blends.

 

[shanelktown]

I have tried both I do enjoy the whiteknight it has almost a dry finish to it. I liked magnum opus as well I haven't had the black house yet I have a tin waiting to be explored. The comment about the new release of sobranie being like a Germaine Balkan I would have to agree with that but I never tried the original sobranie. I do enjoy Germaine blends they just have that zing to the tobacco. I would say there is a large difference between the new sobranie and whiteknight. I really enjoyed Russ's whiteknight more. The ribbon cut is also a vast difference between the two. The Brits just have a ribbon cut thats almost like a shag cut. Russ's blend is more as I see it a traditional ribbon cut. Both are very good do I prefer one over the other? I would say whiteknight because of availability. Both are very good blends though. I think in the sobranie the Latakia does show a fair forefront but the orientals used in it set it a part from the whiteknight. The whiteknight is also lat forward the orientals kinda go in the background but there is yenidje that is a leaf that is noted. I really enjoyed both of these so far. The sobranie was a 2011 tin and I paid 35 for it so about 21 over msrp but it had a little age on it and I was ok with that. Hey if people don't like the sobranie I will enjoy it lol. To answer folks questions that would like to try sobranie go hit up Russ's marquee series many of those blends were Russ's take on sobranie and some were mixtures he would make back in the day using sobranie. I can assure you if you enjoy Balkan or English blends you will not be disappointed with whiteknight or magnum opus. I will also comment about the Allegheny smokeworks it really is a great shop I have been a customer there for 11 years now and the owner is a great guy and tries his best for the pipe smokers to get blends in. Also it is fun to go there to meet forum members there and just shoot the crap with them. For myself I'm one of the younger guys there but there is a wealth of knowledge at the pipe club meetings.

 

[settersbrace]

Another fan of White Knight and still another who's yet to explore Blackhouse. The Balkan blends tend to be oriental forward with just the right amount of balance with the Latakia at least in my mind. Perhaps the 2013 Sobranie I have jarred has mellowed enough for me and I'll have to try a bowl with Shane the next time he visits. I feel partly responsible for his decent into aged tobaccos but I'll show no remorse, as they say in streets, the first hit is free!

 

[shanelktown]

Lol yes you are but man aged tobacco just smokes better IMO.

 

[Waning Embers]

Really don"t care for Black House or White Knight. Both seem too dry, a bit bland, and leave an odd film in my mouth.

 

[brudnod]

Like what you like but WhiteKnight is very close to the original BS (remembered well from the days when it was as plentiful as water...).