Balkan Sobranie

[jvnshr]

Guys, recently I read about that Balkan Sobranie blend a lot and I am confused. As I couldn't have lived in the 60's or 70's, I would like to have some information about this blend. Here are my questions (sorry if they are dumb enough to make you slap your forehead):
1) When we talk about legendary Balkan Sobranie are we talking about J. F. Germain & Son - Balkan Sobranie? There is also another one which is Sobranie of London - The Balkan Sobranie.
2) There are also Balkan Sobranie 759 Match and Balkan Sobranie Match made by Hearth & Home. Are they related to the original legendary blend?
3) Are there any modern alternatives? I have ordered H&H Blackhouse and H&H Whiteknight as I read from the forum.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Balkan Supreme, Balkan Sasieni, Blue Moutain, and Meridian are excellent alternatives. White Knight, and Blackhouse leave an odd chemical aftertaste and film in my mouth.

 

[jvnshr]

thanks for the tips

 

[JimInks]

Blue Mountain is a good blend, but it does not taste like Balkan Sobranie 759. Sutliff's Luxury Balkan 957 is a pretty decent try at it, and is closer to it than Blue Mountain is. Here again, if you're trying to get an exact copy of the old Sobranies, you won't find it. What you will find are several blends that have a closeness or are in the ballpark. And the rating of them are subject to personal taste.
I experienced no chemical notes in either Black House or WhiteKnight, and I think they are very good blends, and well worth buying. I think if you buy them, you my prefer them to the Match versions, which are good bulk blends, and may also scratch that itch you have for Sobranies. What you ordered is as close to the originals as anything out there, probably more so.
Peretti's Royal Blend is that particular company's attempt to do a Sobranie substitute, but it's stronger and has more yenidje. I like it and you may, too. If you are going to place an order with Peretti's, also try Tashkent. It's different than either Sobranie, and is very good.
Germain's newest version of Sobranie is a pale reflection of the original. I don't recommend it, and this comes from a guy who smoked Sobranie off and on since 1982. Hope this helps, but really, the only way you'll find out what you like to buy and try it.

 

[jvnshr]

JimInks, I really appreciate your comment. Lots of great tips for sure. Would you mind answering my first question please?

1) When we talk about legendary Balkan Sobranie are we talking about J. F. Germain & Son - Balkan Sobranie? There is also another one which is Sobranie of London - The Balkan Sobranie.

By the way, I love your tobaccoreviews comments as well.

 

[judcole]

The original Balkan Sobranie was by Sobranie of London. I agree that the current iteration is nothing like the stuff I smoked in the early 1970s.

I like White Knight very much, and is close to how I remember Sobranie White. I also am fond of Balkan Sasieni. I didn't smoke enough 759 to comment on how close Black House is; I prefer Balkan Blue to BH. I do like H&H Larry's Blend, as well.

I did write a little review/essay about all of this - here 'tis:

 

[jvnshr]

Jud, fortunately I have also ordered H&H Larry's Blend

 

[rmbittner]

I love Balkans. I've said this a lot here, so forgive the repetition, but for me McClelland's Yenidje Highlander has strong echoes of the original Balkan Sobranie that I smoked in the '80s. (If I'm remembering correctly, Yenidje was the dominant oriental in the original BS.)
I'm not a fan of the current Balkan Sasieni, but I have thoroughly enjoyed the Germain version of Balkan Sobranie -- the fresher the better, though. If you can snatch some up as soon as it's in stock and open it immediately, I think you'll be rewarded. I've also tried it with three years of age on it, and it is not as good; it may go through a "lull" before it really blossoms again (which is also my experience with Penzance, which is great fresh, okay with 2-4 years of age, then great again after anoher couple of years). YMMV, of course!
Bob

 

[fitzy]

Keep an eye on Steve's website pipestud.com. He has some older tins available from time to time but they aren't cheap. Also I find Latakia loses it's strength after time so I'm not sure if an older tin of either smoking mixture or 759 would taste the same.
I personally haven't smoked either so I have no clue what they are like but I do love both Blackhouse and White Knight. However I think I have to say of Latakia/Oriental leaning blends I think Yenidje Highlander is as close to perfect as you can get.

 

[foggymountain]

I smoked the original for about 40 years. There is no imitation that I have tried that even comes close, including the current tobacco with that name. Even with the formula it cannot be duplicated because the ingredients would not be the same.

 

[jpmcwjr]

There's a fair amount of other information on this site regarding the subject, but I don't have time to locate it right now. (I find that Google searches often work better than the internal search.) Good luck!

 

[sablebrush52]

I smoked the original for about 40 years. There is no imitation that I have tried that even comes close, including the current tobacco with that name. Even with the formula it cannot be duplicated because the ingredients would not be the same.

This.
I smoked Balkan Sobranie, black and white, in the 1970's, '80's and 90's as well as other Sobranie products (Oh how I LOVED Chaliapin cigarettes!!). WhiteKnight isn't the same thing as Balkan Sobranie but, for me, it represents the same bloodline more faithfully than the Germains product.

Also I find Latakia loses it's strength after time so I'm not sure if an older tin of either smoking mixture or 759 would taste the same.

It won't. I've smoked some BS from the '70's and "80's in the last few years. After 35 years and more, the Latakia has faded significantly. These old tins hold no interest for me, except as an amusement when I watch people shelling out enormous amounts for them on eBay.

 

[andrew]

Also to add to the confusion apparently the blend changed while it was with Sobranie house of london, so the BS of the 70's is supposed to be different from the stuff from the 80's, with people who smoked it mostly saying that the 80's version was the best. Personally I've never tried it and think it's foolish the amount of money people spend for it. I did come across a sealed cutty top tin of it on ebay before with a buy it now price of something like 100$, it only shipped to the us though, but afterwords I realized I could of had it shipped to Pipestud or 4noggins to sell on consignment and probably made an easy 300$ profit at least.

 

[JimInks]

The '70s Sobranie was different than it was when I started smoking it in 1982. It changed a time or two after that, though not dramatically. The only blend I ever found that was close to the '90s Sobranie was Synjeco's Torina, which was about 90 to 95% close. Sadly, they quit making it earlier this year. I had quite a number of tins and pouches of '90s and early 2000s Sobranie (60 at one time), and used to alternate between it and Torina until I ran out of both in 2013.
I was fortunate enough to smoke some late 1960s Sobranie, and I'd say WhiteKnight was fairly close to it. Not an exact match, but it was certainly in the ballpark.

 

[andrew]

Being newer to the pipe hobby, there's too many blends readily available, probably way more than there was back in the day, therefore I don't see the need to hunt down a blend they stopped making. I can't believe people would pay what they do for a tin of the Sobranie BS, nevermind what some people will pay for the current production of it. It's where pipe smoking becomes bourgoise for me.

 

[andrew]

Balkan Sobranie is in stock at 4noggins, 1 tin limit with 50$ minimum order. I refuse to start a new thread.

 

[jvnshr]

thanks for the info mate, out of stock already

 

[fnord]

Andy:
"Balkan Sobranie is in stock at 4noggins, 1 tin limit with 50$ minimum order. I refuse to start a new thread."
I admire your resolve.
Fnord

 

[deathmetal]

Even with the formula it cannot be duplicated because the ingredients would not be the same.

This strikes me as a fairly insurmountable problem...

 

[cosmicfolklore]

+1 for McClelland's Yenidje Highlander

and, I'll raise you Dan's Midnight Ride. It is also a wonderful Balkan/Oriental. It is actually marketed as an Oriental, but my senses tell me that it is a Balkan, with those hints of gypsy incense and wafts of spent Ottoman gunpowder that I love.
I was completely underwhelmed by BS, but I have never tried the original 70's version. I know I just get bored with it half way through the bowl.