What's Your White Whale?

[Perique]

Any McClelland Oriental.
Mac Baren Burley London Blend.

 

[pantsBoots]

It’s great, I got to smoke about a half tin from the late 70’s, it aged remarkably well but I think there are some Balkans on the current market that are just as good if not better. Save that killing for something else.

Anything currently available that reminds you of that? I know when you factor in the decades of age, it's hard to approximate. I'm just curious.

 

[hawky454]

Anything currently available that reminds you of that? I know when you factor in the decades of age, it's hard to approximate. I'm just curious.

Nothing that really reminds me of that per say and granted I only had about a half a tin of the stuff, I personally think blends like Samuel Gawith Skiff Mixture, Esoterica Margate and Smokers Haven Exotique have surpassed the Balkan Sobranie of old. I personally believe that with a little effort you can obtain some of the best English/Balkan’s that have ever been on the market. Most of those who smoked Balkan Sobranie regularly would vehemently disagree with me though and I understand that and that’s okay, I’m sure I’d have stronger feelings regarding it if I had a long love affair with it too but I certainly don’t think it’s the, “end all be all” of Balkan blends.

Edit to add Balkan Supreme, that stuff does kind of remind me of the Balkan Sobranie that I had.

 

[pantsBoots]

Nothing that really reminds me of that per say and granted I only had about a half a tin of the stuff, I personally think blends like Samuel Gawith Skiff Mixture, Esoterica Margate and Smokers Haven Exotique have surpassed the Balkan Sobranie of old. I personally believe that with a little effort you can obtain some of the best English/Balkan’s that have ever been on the market. Most of those who smoked Balkan Sobranie regularly would vehemently disagree with me though and I understand that and that’s okay, I’m sure I’d have stronger feelings regarding it if I had a long love affair with it too but I certainly don’t think it’s the, “end all be all” of Balkan blends.

Edit to add Balkan Supreme, that stuff does kind of remind me of the Balkan Sobranie that I had.

I have discovered Balkan Supreme and it is a choice blend. I'm adding a pound of it to orders here and there.

Is the SH Exotique in production anymore? I imagine being a Germain product it would be difficult to source.

 

[hawky454]

I have discovered Balkan Supreme and it is a choice blend. I'm adding a pound of it to orders here and there.

Is the SH Exotique in production anymore? I imagine being a Germain product it would be difficult to source.

Exotique is still produced as far as I know. It’s gone way up in price since I acquired my stash but Premal will notify you by email if you sign up to his newsletters, he will take pre-orders shortly before he knows he’s getting an order in. I recommend trying all the SH blends. It takes patients but it’s really not too hard to source. Good luck.

 

[Chasing Embers]

I'm adding a pound of it to orders here and there.

Only a pound?

 

[pantsBoots]

Only a pound?

At a time. I'm liking the Sutliff BS matches and Rattray's RR and BM as well. Plus Sam Gawith coming up for sale this past week. Trying to grow my new cellar sustainably without losing my wife's support for the growing stack of cases of Mason jars.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Trying to grow my new cellar sustainably without losing my wife's support for the growing stack of cases of Mason jars.

My cellar is in the livingroom closet, my wife's cellar is in the hall closet.

 

[pantsBoots]

My cellar is in the livingroom closet, my wife's cellar is in the hall closet.

Whose is bigger? Whose is better stocked? Who has more unicorns and discontinued blends? Do you ever trade with each other?

 

[Chasing Embers]

Whose is bigger? Whose is better stocked? Who has more unicorns and discontinued blends? Do you ever trade with each other?

Mine is at 360 pounds, her's 95 pounds. I have a lot of McClelland, she mainly likes burley. We got rid of most of our Esotericas last year as neither of us really cared for them. She's got about twenty five tins of Mac Baren Burley London blend prior to its discontinuation.

 

[ram74]

Nothing that really reminds me of that per say and granted I only had about a half a tin of the stuff, I personally think blends like Samuel Gawith Skiff Mixture, Esoterica Margate and Smokers Haven Exotique have surpassed the Balkan Sobranie of old. I personally believe that with a little effort you can obtain some of the best English/Balkan’s that have ever been on the market. Most of those who smoked Balkan Sobranie regularly would vehemently disagree with me though and I understand that and that’s okay, I’m sure I’d have stronger feelings regarding it if I had a long love affair with it too but I certainly don’t think it’s the, “end all be all” of Balkan blends.

Edit to add Balkan Supreme, that stuff does kind of remind me of the Balkan Sobranie that I had.

I would agree with you that Skiff Mixture, Margate, Exotique Mixture are in the “best of what is currently made” category. I have cellared all three heavily. To me the best English\Balkan blends are from overseas. I would add Smokers Haven OBB, any English made by Germain’s, any thing made by Dan Tobacco, Red Rapparee and every HU blend. HU in particular for me has now taken the top spot in English\Balkan category because HU blends are new to me. HU really is a powerhouse, every blend is fantastic. I enjoy Vintage Syrian, HH Latakia Flake and Presbyterian Mixture also. Domestically the only blends that I enjoy as much are the McClelland oriental series which are no longer available and Peretti’s offerings but even those i have found are no longer as good since McClelland closed.