Tobacco Review - Balkan Sobranie

The Balkan Challange: balkan sobranie throwdown!

CHRISTMAS SPECIAL: The Balkan Sobranie, A brief History

The Balkan challenge: what's the "best Sobranie"? - Part 1

Balkan Sobranie Tobacco: Some History

(G. L. Pease) ... It’s difficult to fix a precise point in time when Balkan Sobranie Smoking Mixture first appeared, either for home trade in the UK, or for the export market. Those who romanticize the brand speak of it as though it has been around forever, or at least forever as it applies to modern pipe smoking, and some even allude to the fact that it existed as early as the 1920s. I’ve found no credible support for this claim, though the cigarettes bearing the name were certainly produced as early as 1897, and much of the earliest literature in which Balkan Sobranie is mentioned is, in fact, referring to those.
In fact, the earliest reliable mention of the smoking mixture that I could find was an advert in a 1949 issue of The Strand (vol. 118), wherein it was stated, "For this is a tobacco that is not just a smoke but a way of living, not just another fill but another outlook, not just another brand but a bond that links you and your pipe forever to the surname Balkan Sobranie;" a wonderfully romantic image, and little wonder that some mystique exists to this day. Continued

Photo: Balkan Sobranie Cigarettes, 1921 (Official gazette of the United States Patent Office, Volume 289).

Three New Hearth & Home Marquee Tobaccos

(P*p*s Magazine) This line has only been in existence for about a year but has garnered strong accolades. The first three blends, Magnum Opus, Sweet & Savory and Lakeland Brickle have been well-reviewed and continue to sell very well. The Series has become so popular that there are now eight blends, including the 2011 Balkan Sobranie 759 Throwdown winner, BlackHouse. The three new blends are a mixture of old and new approaches to pipe tobacco. Continued

Trial by Fire: Fall Tobacco Reviews

(Tad Gage and Joe Harb) With the prospect of a slight fall cooling in the air, we have tracked down some familiar and newer tobaccos that invite contemplation of the changing seasons and thoughts of a time in the not-too-distant future when the summer’s heat will be a slightly romanticized and cherished memory. Many of us endured broiling summer heat that took a little edge off the desire to puff our pipes.
But cooler times are upon us, so it’s the perfect time to explore some enticing and savory blends that invite us to enjoy the somewhat comforting slowdown that comes with a change of seasons. We’ve included two “throwdown” Balkan Sobranie 759 blends from McClelland and Hearth & Home (blender Russ Oullette), a relatively new Solani tobacco and a few additional offerings from Oullette. Continued

The Return of Balkan Sobranie

(Sykes Wilford) While one might think that the life of a tobacconist is one of simple problems, every great once in a while one is posed a true conundrum. Specifically, what happens when you have but a handful of tins of a new blend that you know you could sell 1,000 of in three days? That is exactly the problem posed to us by a shipment of a truly tiny quantity of Balkan Sobranie.
Yes, you read that correctly, Balkan Sobranie. Now being made by J. F. Germain (and imported by Arango), it is available once again. Or, at least, available in theory because so little has made it to the market that it is, for all intents and purposes, not available. Continued

Hearth and Home Black House Tobacco Review

(Adam J. Smith) This blend is a tribute to a great tobacco of the past, made for a 2011 contest. It was judged to be the closest overall to the dark, Balkan type mixture it was designed to emulate. We hope you enjoy the memory. Russ Ouellette, Blender.
If you say the words "Balkan Sobranie 759" in a room full of pipe-smokers, a hush will descend. The old-timers in the room will relate tales of this hallowed blends that are oft beyond belief. Wondrous tales indeed; relating how it was the cure for everything from the common-cold to reviving the comatose. Tales of how it could turn an ignoramus into a genius of the highest level. Indeed; this blend is almost as fabled as the vaunted "Arcadia Mixture" of "Our Lady Nicotine" fame. Continued

Russ Ouellette wins Balkan Sobranie Tobacco Throwdown

(APFP) A rousing standing ovation was accorded to Hearth and Home pipe tobacco blender, Russ Ouellette, when Balkan Sobranie Throwdown emcee Matt Guss revealed the Throwdown judges’ tally at the Chicagoland International Pipe and Tobacco Exposition last Saturday, May 14th at 6:00 PM.
The Balkan Sobranie Throwdown was a competition between three leading pipe tobacco blenders to determine who could most faithfully reproduce the fabled Balkan Sobranie 759, a blend that was discontinued in April of 1994 when Gallaher ceased making and marketing pipe tobaccos. Continued

Woohoo Buckaroo, it's The 2011 Balkan Sobranie Tobacco Throwdown!

(P*p*s Magazine) As G. L. Pease refers to it, Balkan Sobranie is “The Stuff of Legend“. This long ago extinct brand of pipe tobacco is probably the most legendary of all pipe tobaccos. Even after two decades of being out of production, it is still one of the most talked about tobaccos in online forums. We now have a collaboration between three of the most prominent pipe clubs across America in sponsoring and hosting the first ever, “2011 Balkan Sobranie Throwdown”, which will be a competition to try to re-create this famous blend. The Seattle Pipe Club and the New York Pipe Club are co-sponsoring the competition, and the Chicagoland Pipe Collectors Club will host the final judging and awards ceremony at the Chicago International Pipe Show at 5:00pm on Saturday, May 14th. Continued

Photo: Lamarde

Balkan Sobranie: Light of my life, fire of my loins

(G. L. Pease) Memory tells me it was the summer of 1977 or 1978. Giants game at the ‘Stick. I was in the bleachers with a friend who didn’t smoke a pipe, and his brother, who did. When he lit up, the air was perfumed with an intoxicatingly fascinating aroma. Prior to that day, with a few exceptions, I hadn’t paid much attention to pipes. Continued

Photo: A tin of Balkan Sobranie cigarettes (cigarettespedia).

Balkan Sasieni Tobacco

(Pipes Magazine) Balkan Sasieni is kind of an almost famous tobacco … sort of. It’s name implies (and many have suggested, and others have disagreed) that it may be a substitute for the long gone, legendary Balkan Sobranie. I can’t tell you if it is, as I never had the opportunity to smoke Balkan Sobranie. Who cares!?! Balkan Sasieni is here and it’s great, and Balkan Sobranie no longer exists. Get over it! There’s tons and tons of awesome tobaccos and Balkan Sasieni should be on every Latakia Lover’s list. There’s no guessing what this tobacco will deliver as soon as you open the tin - Bam! There’s a smoky smoky Latakia tin aroma that immediately dispels any doubt, and makes you confident that this will be an enjoyable smoke. But wait … there’s more to it than that. Continued

Firecured had this to say on Balkan Sasieni (recorded on January 3rd): This is the most Old Testament tobacco I have ever smoked. What was Moses smoking on Mount Sinai? Balkan Sasieni. Jonah's whale emetic? Balkan Sasieni. It smells like a tire fire in the can and like a barn burning in the bowl. It's antisocial, antiestablishment, and it wouldn't surprise me if it were antifungal. It is a strong, nasty, horrible tobacco, and I love it.

Image: 4noggins

What is Balkan Tobacco?

(atthebackofthehill) ... Most Balkans, like the Balkan Sobranie itself, derive the greater part of their flavour from Turkish tobaccos - that being the term in common use for small leaf fragrant tobaccos grown in the Southern Balkans and Asia Minor. Many of the best Turkish tobaccos come from Greece, Macedonia, European Turkey, and Izmir (Smyrna). Some other Turkish leaf comes from the Black Sea coast. Other areas that grow 'Turkish' tobacco are the Crimea, Syria, and, formerly, Egypt. The term Turkish, in the case of tobacco, refers to leaf grown in the former Ottoman sphere of influence rather than modern Turkey. Continued

Photo: Library of Congress