Looking For A Floral Balkan Blend

[Dissident_Mantis]

I like Balkan blends a lot, and recently I tried Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. Balkan Mixture. I absolutely fell in love with this blend despite being warned by the tobacconist that I may not like it and should smoke it out of a corn cob first.
I quickly devoted one of my meerschaums to it and i have smoked 12 bowls of it in 2 days.
The blend does have a really interesting perfume/soapy taste that I am guess g comes from the floral Orientals since the blend does not appear to be cased with anything. I like this flavor profile a lot and i am interested in exploring other blends that taste similarly. Does anyone have any recommendations?

 

[geo4]

I haven't smoked that blend, but it sounds like the classic description of the Lakeland essence in some Gawith blends (supposed to be from the tonquin bean, I think, but I haven't smoked any of these blends myself). I would look into other blends by Gawtih, Hoggarth & Co. and by Samuel Gawith. Some of their blends have the essence, some do not.

The essence doesn't ever seem to be mentioned on tins or in descriptions. I would look at tobaccoreviews.com and check the reviews to see if they mention Lakeland essence.

 

[Dissident_Mantis]

Excellent, I will look into more of these blends. The only issue is, many do not contain Latakia, I guess it's this Lakeland/Latakia essence that I am after. The smokey, perfumed taste just really changed everything for me.

 

[geo4]

That could be an issue, since I think that most of the Lakelands are some sort of Virginia blends or aromatics, and not so much the English/Balkan style.

Lakelands are also supposed to be infamous for ghosting, and I've heard of people dedicating briars to them.

 

[BROBS]

check out the other G&H balkan offerings.. there are a few thought I couldn't tell you which if any have floral attributes.

 

[Dissident_Mantis]

So I did a little research and found some interesting information about that flavor that I seem to crave. It's called Coumarin. It was isolated from the tonka bean and used in everything from chocolate to cigarettes and pastries up until about 1945 when it was banned by the FDA. It's toxic and destroys the liver over time just like alcohol. only 2 teaspoons can kill a sheep. Despite this it is still used in deodorants, candles, perfumes and tobacco to this day. Even pastry shops smuggle it in and use it in recipes. Denmark almost banned cinnamon rolls over it, and the FDA frequently raids high end restaurants to make sure they are not using it.
The delicious flavour with a toxic secret - https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20170620-the-delicious-flavour-with-a-toxic-secret

 

[BROBS]

that's the flavor in 1792... the floral lakeland taste is not Coumarin.. but rather floral essences like Rose Geranium, etc.

 

[briarbuck]

I just smoked Elwood Flake No 2. Tastes like juicy fruit gum marinated in mangos and geranium water.

You may like it???

 

[hauntedmyst]

Rather than floral, it sounds like your like the spiciness of the orientals and the smokiness of the Latakias.

Parklane KnightsBridge is excellent
Balkan Sobranie Match very good
Bill Bailey's Balkan Blend is excellent
Fusilier's Ration is great
Arango Balkan Supreme is supposed to be great but I haven't tried it.

If you want to try a deep, rich, smokey flavored tobacco, try SPC Plum Pudding.

 

[Casual]

If you want to decide if it’s the orientals and Latakia or the Lakeland sauce, I’d try Balkan Supreme. If it’s just a good Balkan you’re after, that’ll do it.

 

[odobenus]

I've heard tell that the Lakeland essence in various G&H offerings has a way (i.e., through the shared machinery) of getting into the other blends that are not supposed to contain it. For this reason, I have steered clear of G&H, but you may have found the secret Lakeland/Latakia combination that works for you. Hard to repeat on a reliable basis, because apparently it only happens sometimes.

 

[odobenus]

P.S. If you check out the reviews of Balkan Mixture, you'll see a number of folks, incl. our very own Jim Inks, mentioning the 'whiff' of Lakeland -- some happy about it, others significantly less so.
Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. - Balkan Mixture - Tobacco Reviews - https://www.tobaccoreviews.com/blend/1980/gawith-hoggarth-co-balkan-mixture

 

[Dissident_Mantis]

Arango Balkan Supreme is supposed to be great but I haven't tried it.

If you want to try a deep, rich, smokey flavored tobacco, try SPC Plum Pudding.

I actually just purchased these two blends. I am a scotch drinker and a fan of smokiness and rich tobaccos that coat the mouth. I love Lane Limited BS-005 and Balkan Sobrainie, I found that Squadron Leader and some other popular English blends are a little too weak for me, while Commonwealth Mixture is great, but lacking that extra complexity that the orientals provide. I like when it tastes a little unorganized at first, but settles into a nice symphony of flavors. This Balkan Mixture from Gawith Hoggarth & Co threw me off at first. But by the end of the first bowl, I knew it was going to be one of my favorites.

 

[Dissident_Mantis]

I've heard tell that the Lakeland essence in various G&H offerings has a way (i.e., through the shared machinery) of getting into the other blends that are not supposed to contain it. For this reason, I have steered clear of G&H, but you may have found the secret Lakeland/Latakia combination that works for you. Hard to repeat on a reliable basis, because apparently it only happens sometimes.

It is an amazing combination. I tried some of the other Lakelands that they offer and was not a huge fan. Virginia's don't really do it for me, especially in the colder months. That Lakeland essence, mixed with a smooth, yet full bodied Balkan blend is a combination that I can't get enough of. Every time I pack a bowl and light it, I savor every puff holding the pipe like Gollum holds his "precious". It also doesn't hurt that the Nic content in this blend is quite high.

 

[hauntedmyst]

If that's the case you should like everyone of the ones I recommended, especially the Knightsbridge. You should also look at And So To Bed from Esoterica when you can find it and Peterson/Dunhill's Nightcap is also outstanding. Others have mentioned Gaslight and Quiet Nights from GL Pease but I haven't tried those.

 

[rushx9]

I know some folks claim to taste floral essences in G&H Balkan Mixture, and that certainly could be due to batch variations or just that others are more sensitive than me, but I tend to think the floral attributes in unscented SG/G&H blends come mostly from the African and Indian tobaccos. Another one that I get non-Lakeland essence floral notes from is #25 Mixture. It has less latakia, but more African flue cured, Malawi air cured, and some Indian dark sun cured (orientals), which are all uniquely floral to my tastes. It is similar in flavor to Presbyterian but a bit stronger in nicotine. Rumored to be the formerly known as Exmoor Mixture.

 

[rushx9]

*Exmoor Hunt Mixture

It would be cool if it was still available with the sweet tin art, but I'm glad it exists as #25 Mixture in bulk with decent availability from smokingpipes.com

 

[jaytex1969]

only 2 teaspoons can kill a sheep

Good thing you're a Mantis!

HERE's a thread laying out some helpful info concerning the "Lakelands" that you might enjoy.

 

[timpiper]

Robert McConnell - Latakia Flake is what your looking for. But it can be hard to find as its often sold out. If you read the reviews they mention a lakeland like flavour. -TimPiper

 

[alaskanpiper]

You could just toss some grousemoor or ennerdale in with any english/balkan as well.