C&D Odessa: Oriental or Balkan blend?

[irishearl]

It's 1 of my constant blends. But for those of you who have smoked it, would you consider this an Oriental blend or a Balkan? Seems like the latakia in it is at condimental levels suggesting it is more of an Oriental blend. For that matter, how much latakia would need to be in an Oriental blend to push it into Balkan status?

 

[dottiewarden]

I know the Balkan Flake by Samuel Gawith has 75% Latakia. Keep in mind though, there is great debate on what defines a Balkan.

 

[anthonyrosenthal74]

From what I gather it's supposed to be like this, but isn't necessarily so. English are going to be more latakia forward, whereas in a balkan the latakia should be more of a condiment with orientals added. Both of which the main ingredient would be virginias. However take the latakia out of the balkan and it becomes an oriental.
So...
Virginias and latakia = english

Virginias plus orientals = Oriental

Virginias plus orientals plus latakia = balkan
From the way you described it, I'd call it a balkan.

 

[andrew]

Ask yourself, do you like it? That's all that matters. Even tobacco blenders can't agree on what make a balkan blend a balkan blend. To me there's only English blends, balkan is simply a term that came about to describe a type of english blend.

 

[kanse]

Can it be a Balkan without Virginia?

 

[aristokles]

I had to coin my own descriptor for this type of blend: American Oriental due to the heavy burley content. Much of C&D's "English" blends fit that mold.

A very nice blend.

 

[skraps]

Going with Anthony's breakdown on English vs. Balkan vs. Oriental, I would agree that it's in the Balkan vein. However, as Aristokles mentioned, It's a Burley base and has no VA in it, so an Americanized Balkan would seem to be the best descriptor.
When I could still handle Latakia, I gravitated toward this blend because of the Burley base. Can't go wrong with C&D Burley.

 

[jackswilling]

C&D say it is an "English" blend.

"Burley, Turkish, Latakia, and Perique combine to form a superior English blend of medium body and fine balance. C&D's Odessa is a fine all-day smoke."

Mr. Inks says it is an "American English" blend due to significant burley content. I think this is the best way to view it.

Russ' list of blend descriptions:

Ouellette's Blend Categories

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There are many descriptive terms for pipe tobacco blends, and, it seems, that just about every company has their own nomenclature. Below, I give a list of what I consider to be the main categories of tobaccos. Although some companies will differ from my terminology, it applies to how we refer to our Hearth & Home tobaccos, and can be used for any.
English- The older use of the term “English blend” just meant that the tobacco used was unflavored, since, under old laws, processors in the UK were not allowed to add much of anything to their tobaccos. Today, the description is a bit more specific. For my purposes, an English blend is a tobacco which has a dominant note of Latakia, and the secondary flavor comes from Virginia(s).
Balkan- Similar to an English, but after the Latakia, the most prominent flavor will come from Turkish or Oriental tobaccos. The name, of course, comes from the superb Balkan Sobranie (a blend which used some of the most outstanding Orientals ever).

 

[irishearl]

I find that I prefer burley over Virginia tobacco in my English/Balkan blends. The perique in it gives it the extra kick I like.

 

[skraps]

I find that I prefer burley over Virginia tobacco in my English/Balkan blends.

I find I prefer it in just about every blend.

 

[snagstangl]

It tastes like burley burley burley lat. to me. So american english to oriental, no where near enough lat to be a balkan to me.

 

[andrew]