CUP O JOES has Esoterica & Balkan Sobranie

[erhardt85]

Personally I think Balkan Sobranie is delicious. I've never had the original. I'm a fan of the new stuff but I wouldn't pay the eBay tax. It's not that great.

 

[jpmcwjr]

There are dozens of better English blends, many made here in the USA.

 

[danielplainview]

 

[foursidedtriangle]

Living outside US I gave up on trying to find Esoterica, going to stick to the closest blends.

 

[Chasing Embers]

 

[Chasing Embers]

I enjoy the new Sobranie too.

 

[danielplainview]

Duane, surely that horse bag doesn’t include Margate? I can take or leave the rest of the Esoterica line, but thou shalt not taketh mine own precious Margate. :twisted:

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Russ blended WhiteKnight by Hearth and Home to be a better match for the older version of BS. Give it a try. Plus, it’s usually availible.

 

[lawdawg]

Spot on, dave g! :rofl: :crying:

Russ blended WhiteKnight by Hearth and Home to be a better match for the older version of BS. Give it a try. Plus, it’s usually availible.

I've got several new-to-me blends in my cellar waiting to be smoked, and that's the one I'm looking forward to the most.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Russ blended WhiteKnight by Hearth and Home to be a better match for the older version of BS. Give it a try. Plus, it’s usually availible.

I did. Couldn't finish the tin.

 

[oldgeezersmoker]

[/quote]True. But what if he had decided on McConnell?

Now that is an interesting thought. Since McConnell was subsequently sold to K & K in 1989, and no one from the McConnell family has been involved in the tobacco business since, the claim to access to old style production techniques would seem to be more attenuated at best. Wessex was made by McConnell for the US market and Alan Schwartz decided to continue with K & K. Faced with the identical decision,Marble Arch killed Elephant and Castle. (Big sigh).
I fail to find anything offensive in the current production Balkan Sobranie. I suspect age will be kinder to it than it has been to me recently.

 

[cohibajoe]

Sounds I will be Reviewing H&H WhiteKnight and the New BS this weekend. And a New Pipe to boot.
I saw Pembroke 2oz is still available.

 

[sablebrush52]

Sounds I will be Reviewing H&H WhiteKnight and the New BS this weekend.

I did that some years ago, when I also had some of the Gallaher product from the 1980's to add to the fun.

I did. Couldn't finish the tin.

That's the problem I have with the Germain's product. I can't finish a bowl of it. I liked WhiteKnight better, thought it was closer to the balance of Balkan Sobranie, but truth to tell, I don't reach for it either. Maybe I've just lost any interest in this particular type of blend.

 

[eggrollpiper]

Is Pembroke worth trying as my first esoterica blend? I like cognac but ussualy avoid liquer flavored blends...

 

[lestrout]

Yo eggro
To me, there's a difference between liquor and liqueur in that the latter is syrupy and usually quite sugary sweet. I think of blends infused with cognac, bourbon, whiskey and even rum as only marginally aromatic in nature. As one who likes Penzance but loves Margate, I initially thought of Pembroke (and Smoker's Haven's Cognac) as gimmicks, even though the only difference was the addition of cognac to the base blends. When the opportunity for 4 8 oz tins of Cognac came up, I did several A-B trials among the 4 blends involved, and suddenly realized there was a definite synergy by the mere addition of cognac. I suppose the alcohol and random esters, alcohols etc. in the cognac actually react with the many chemical components in the tobaccos. The end effect was that I now prefer Pembroke to Margate, which I prefer to Penzance. If you like Englishes and Balkans, you will probably go for Pembroke. All the rest of the Esotericas are in a different class of taste profiles.
hp

les

 

[skeeter456]

Lol so close but yet so far away

 

[eggrollpiper]

I should have just wrote licka. As I was writing it I knew someone would split hairs about the difference. I understand the difference, I just can't spell and somehow spell check accepted it. I meant the broader category encompassing whiskey, rum, cordial, etc.

I was going through check out when I realized cup of joes is in NY as am I so the tax just about doubled the price so $30 for two ounces is a bit out of my comfort zone. Already it was more than my previously most expensive tins. So I've waited 25 years I can wait till PA or FL gets some. I'm gonna console myself with some 15 yr old, old dog...

 

[Chasing Embers]

Is Pembroke worth trying as my first esoterica blend?

Pembroke is one of my favorite Esotericas, but Mac Baren's Plum Cake and The Solent Mixture are so similar to it that chasing it seems pointless.