Best English / Balkan blends for aging
- Thread starter Zamora
- Start date
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I think that this has to do with what you might be looking for from the aging process. Many folks like their English blends to be a little stronger, etc. and the aging can tone the strength down a little.
I have aged (not all perfect lat blends) and had good luck with:
Early Morning Pipe,
Nightcap,
Balkan Mixture,
Plum Pudding,
Wildman and
BSOSM match
The best part about aging these (and other, fuller lat blends) is that you can start small (these are all widely available) and test them every year to see if they hit your sweet spot...
I have aged (not all perfect lat blends) and had good luck with:
Early Morning Pipe,
Nightcap,
Balkan Mixture,
Plum Pudding,
Wildman and
BSOSM match
The best part about aging these (and other, fuller lat blends) is that you can start small (these are all widely available) and test them every year to see if they hit your sweet spot...
Thanks for the suggestions. I've already started with Plum Pudding and Wildman is definitely one I want to try
I like my latakia strong and fresh. I hope my latakia blends do not change too much when I cellar them. Inevitably, after a decade or so, some will fade. Which ones will is hard to say so I keep enough to afford tossing those that do.
All of them IMO. I like my latakia less fireplace and more leathery and dusty old parchment tasting.
For a great buttermilk sourness, try aging C&Ds Star of the East. It’s the orientals. They mix just right for that clabbored aroma and taste. Love it.
^ This is good stuff after a couple of years...Fresh, it can be a little harsh...
All of them I’ve had age really well except the casing/topping oriented ones change dimension over time. Think spices in a spice cabinet, they lose their depth over time once past their expired date. The whole idea of Latakia losing its edge over time is a bit overblown. I have Syrian and Cyprian Latakia blends 30 years old that still have plenty of Latakia flavor. The idea of aging English blends is mainly to increase the depth and sweetness of the Virginia’s and Orientals as well as to marry the blend into one. It doesn’t work for every blend and really some blends react poorly to age. I’ll say it does wonders for most blends, depending on the circumstances of storage.
Thanks for the suggestion, I need to dive into C&D but have struggled to figure out a starting point. I've heard good things about Star of the East from a lot of people and I love orientals so I think I'll go with it.
Makes sense, otherwise Frog Morton and other discontinued Lat blends like Apertif wouldn't still be so popular on the consignment market
To add one comment on Star of the East (SOE). I (and many others) find SOE flake very different than the normal ribbon cut version, and I like the SOE flake much more...YMMV - Good luck!
@Zamora C&D is the aficionado blenders. Just dive into a selection and enjoy the subtle nuances of difference between them. They aren’t just about the best or most iconic, but about exploring and discovering. They definitely make my favorites, but sometimes I just enjoy opening something I’ve yet to try and exploring.
I hope you like it. I set back 5lbs of SOTE about ten years ago, and I’ve enjoyed trying it from small jars as it has aged.
I hope you like it. I set back 5lbs of SOTE about ten years ago, and I’ve enjoyed trying it from small jars as it has aged.
I enjoy both. The ribbon ages well, IMO, whereas the flake is ready to smoke after just a few months in the tin. YMMV
On the average, I find most latakia blends stored more than 5 years begin to fade as opposed to increasing in richness and complexity. Currently, two exceptions come to mind: Exotique and Margate.
I know a fellow who has a huge collection of pipe tobacco with real depth in latakia blends. Old tins of various Balkan Sobranie products, pre-Murray Dunhill blends, Sullivan Powell, etc. I'm sure you get the picture. From time to time he'd open a tin or two which would be in the 10+ - 25 yr+ plus category. In my opinion, they were mostly faded. All stored under the same excellent conditions- at least after he acquired them.
Make yer bets, take yer chances.
I know a fellow who has a huge collection of pipe tobacco with real depth in latakia blends. Old tins of various Balkan Sobranie products, pre-Murray Dunhill blends, Sullivan Powell, etc. I'm sure you get the picture. From time to time he'd open a tin or two which would be in the 10+ - 25 yr+ plus category. In my opinion, they were mostly faded. All stored under the same excellent conditions- at least after he acquired them.
Make yer bets, take yer chances.
SOTE it is. Yeah I've noticed they definitely seem to be all about doing lots of variations on a theme. They're also the only producer I'm aware of that seems to have cellaring in mind, no doubt because most of their blends debuted after it became common. Not so much on this forum but in other pipe spaces I've seen people complain about them having too many blends but really I think they just appear to have more because they're all branded as C&D unlike all the others which are under big conglomerates, if everything owned by Mac Baren or now STG was branded as such it would look like that too. I always did think it was a silly thing to complain about though as I've said it did make finding starting points a bit more challenging compared to say SPC where obviously start with Plum Pudding or maybe Mississippi River.
GLP is also high on my to try list, a lot of his stuff is known to age very well
Germain's Special Latakia Flake ages very well. I had some over 5 years old and it was banging - if I had the patience and restraint, I'd let my current stash age that long.
Quiet night is very forceful (I love it). Even if it faded a little I think it would be quite flavorful.
Germains is great but I cant seem to lay my hands on any at all.
I think Plum Pudding is over rated and a bit dull. Not bad, mind you, just not stellar.
Germains is great but I cant seem to lay my hands on any at all.
I think Plum Pudding is over rated and a bit dull. Not bad, mind you, just not stellar.