What Is Your Favorite English or Balkan Blend Right Now?

[Chasing Embers]

But also speaks of an aro's room note. BF's room note won't make you any friends. :mrgreen:

 

[hawky454]

It may be that the rum flavoring is what has been keeping me away from Black Frigate. I can handle some liquor toppings, but others just make me nauseous. I also avoid things that have whisky added.

Yeah, ya might want to stay away from BF then. It is the strongest rum flavored blend that I have ever come across. It is an exaggerated rum flavor at that, meaning that it is probably a rum flavoring rather than actual rum (of course I could be wrong about that).

I would consider Black Frigate more of a Balkan

:roll:

But also speaks of an aro's room note. BF's room note won't make you any friends. :mrgreen:

Really? Man, it smells absolutely delicious to me. I got a lot of compliments on it when we had our company luncheon. The chicks dug it!

 

[mackeson]

Westminster

Nightcap

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I wonder if Balkan is even an industrial term. It was explained to me that the term Balkan came about by blends trying to taste like Balkan Sobranie, where the incense-like aroma comes through by only the mere combination of tobaccos. Just being oriental forward isn't enough. But, unlike "aromatic", it is not an industrial term. I'm not even sure that "English" is recognized as the same across the industry, because I see straight Virginias labelled as English on a few blends.

 

[hawky454]

You brought up a good point, Cosmic. We are in muddy waters and I think it will just always be this way. I've heard a lot of folks refer to blends like St. Bruno as English blends. Lately I've just took to calling anything with Latakia a Lat Blend rather than an English blend. Another one that really blurs the lines is McConnell's Latakia Flake, I don't think anyone would call that an English blend but it does obviously contain Lat, it's just barely perceptible. Has anyone here ever gotten around to comparing Revor Plug and Latakia Flake? I still can't tell the difference between the two. I really think that naming that blend Latakia Flake does the blend a disservice.

 

[anthonyrosenthal74]

I wonder if Balkan is even an industrial term.

The same could actually be said of English, which originally only meant that the tobacco was unflavored as required by English law at the time. It later became the standard that those blends contained latakia and oriental tobaccos. Basically, the term Balkan came about pretty much as you said, with the Balkan being more oriental forward than your typical English.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

To make it even more muddy (besides I still have a few most to make before I hit 13,000) English wasn't meant to refer to "pure" tobacco, but English purity laws, which gives us Lakeland blends, produced with perfumery oils, which was considered better than the ones flavored with tar, battery acid, and feces... I guess. But, Lakelands were considered Englishes, as well as Latakia blends, but for some reason the Lakeland aromatics got their own category, which is good... we don't want someone to accidentally smoke Ennerdale, thinking they are getting a latakia. I'm pretty sure that Lakelands are the sole reason prison rape in England has always been more widely accepted than in other countries.
Aromatics are about the only category that seems to stick to dogma. Topped, end of story it's an aromatic. The only ones that fuss about it are guys who don't want to ever associate with aromatics,.. maybe. There are good aromatics, and then there is Sutliff and Lane. (/hyperbole) ::

 

[mackeson]

GLP Westminster

GLP Gaslight

McClelland Orient 996

Nightcap

sometimes Rattray's Black Mallory (technically a Scottish I think)

 

[mackeson]

The same could actually be said of English, which originally only meant that the tobacco was unflavored as required by English law at the time

Good point. I still think of "English" as lat blends though

 

[hawky454]

I'm pretty sure that Lakelands are the sole reason prison rape in England has always been more widely accepted than in other countries.

:rofl:

There are good aromatics, and then there is Sutliff and Lane. (/hyperbole)

We could boil it down to only two categories for simplicity; Good blends & bad blends.
We did it fellas! We solved it. :nana: Glad that debates over with....
Now... what do you all want to talk about?

 

[Chasing Embers]

I would consider Black Frigate more of a Balkan

It is the strongest rum flavored blend that I have ever come across.

Ah, I see what is going on here. It's a taste subjectivity thing. BF tastes like Balkan Sasieni to me with a sweet smokiness far in the background. It's sister blend, Blockade Runner is a rum bomb to me, but BF barely has any rum note to me. Carry on all.

 

[retrogrouch]

I recently had some Samuel Gawith Winter Time Flake that was very tasty. G and H Balkan Mixture and GLP Abingdon are my regulars.

 

[rigmedic1]

Ok, I will admit it if no one else will.

PENZANCE.

Squadron Leader,

965

PS Proper English.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Penzance is a good one. If you happen to have some... “don’t mind if I do...” ::

Ashbury is like a Penzance with a good helping of Virginia, for chewiness... if you like Virginias... that is.

 

[hawky454]

I just opened a jar of Penzance I put in my cellar over 5 years ago and I’m very dissapointed in how it aged. I’ve had some good aged Penzance in the past but this stash here didn’t fair well at all. I’ve since added more Latakia and that’s helped it some but overall it’s very flat. I would possibly add fresh Penzance to my list of favorites although I still prefer Margate.

 

[Chasing Embers]

I like Margate better too. My Penzance stash is reserved for blending, and adding a bit of Latakia to other blends.

 

[hawky454]

I like Margate better too. My Penzance stash is reserved for blending, and adding a bit of Latakia to other blends.

I think you're on to something. I'll probably end up doing that with the remainder of my stash.

 

[Chasing Embers]

It really doesn't take a lot of it to spice up a blend either. Just a pinch to a bowl can really change the profile of the smoke.

 

[philobeddoe]

Probably best to avoid Margate, that stuff is nasty, I would just leave it on the shelf if I were you.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Uh huh. :mrgreen: