CUP O JOES has Esoterica & Balkan Sobranie

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erhardt85

Starting to Get Obsessed
Apr 14, 2017
200
61
39
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.

 

Chasing Embers

Captain of the Black Frigate
Nov 12, 2014
45,588
121,183
zombomeme-19092018034247.jpg


 
Mar 30, 2014
2,853
94
wv
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:

 

lawdawg

Lifer
Aug 25, 2016
1,792
3,812
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

Captain of the Black Frigate
Nov 12, 2014
45,588
121,183
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.

 
Oct 7, 2016
2,451
5,214
[/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

Part of the Furniture Now
Mar 2, 2018
724
1,181
Branchburg, NJ
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

The Bard Of Barlings
Jun 15, 2013
21,195
51,334
Southern Oregon
jrs457.wixsite.com
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

Can't Leave
Jul 27, 2018
378
38
Is Pembroke worth trying as my first esoterica blend? I like cognac but ussualy avoid liquer flavored blends...

 

lestrout

Lifer
Jan 28, 2010
1,779
337
Chester County, PA
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

 

eggrollpiper

Can't Leave
Jul 27, 2018
378
38
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

Captain of the Black Frigate
Nov 12, 2014
45,588
121,183
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.

 
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