I am happy to report that I have now have had two bowls from this tin and they absolutely astound me! I have no doubt in my mind that after having had Gallaher that the original mixture from Sobranie House was, indeed, a far superior blend. The flavors are much softer with than they would have...
The sweetest straight Virginia smokes to my taste are:
1. McClellands Red Cake
2. McClellands Fragrant Mature Cake
3. McCranie's Red Ribbon
4. SG Full Virginia Flake
Nogbert,
The most savory English blends to my taste are (remember smoke slowly in a geometrically appropriate bowl and keep a smallish combustion zone for maximum flavor):
1. Esoterica Penzance
2. Seattle Pipe Club Plum Pudding
3. 60's or 70's Dunhill 965 My Mixture
4. G. L. Please...
The Cav. Pipe is a fantastic smoker. It is of such quality and size that I reserve especially for Penzance and Balkan Sobranie original and 759...maximum flavor, minimum heat.
Here is where I get away from the hustle and bustle of the day to have a quite smoke and read or talk with friends. I have also included a detail shot of one of my pipe cabinets.
A fellow Chattanoogan: how wonderful. My current rotation of open tins is:
1. 1970 Balkan Sobranie Original Mixture
2. 2009 Penzance
3. 2006 Red Ribbon
4. 2007 Haddo's Delight
5. 2010 Frog Morton
I also normally rotate McClellands Red Cake and Fragrant Mature Cake in bulk also. If they...
In a large diameter bowl, smoked slowly with a very small combustion zone this blend is one of the sweetest tasting modern latakia blends I know. Smoking in smallish bowl geometry and overheating the tobacco upon lighting seems to bring the latakia forward and repress the flavor of everything...
It completely depends on what I am smoking...for something sweet like aged or mature Virginias I prefer hot tea, normally Russian Kusmi Prince Vladamir with a bit of fir tree honey. For English blends both new and aged I prefer scotch with a single ice cube (Lagavulin 16) or Lapsang Souchong...
Oh heavens I take no offense to your questions at all. What a lovely hobby which we engage in, and I am thankful for this commodious forum in which we can engage in gentle discourse. The shop that this particular tobacco hails was located in Izmir, Turkey. Knowing the demise of that shop and...
Both internal and external sources point to a year of approximately 1970: address used on the insert card, the shop in the mideast where it was originally purchased and the dating of that shop's demise. Would I bet my life on it? No. Am I contented that it is circa that period? Yes, I am.
Just opened this lovely tin of Balkan Sobranie Original Mixture from 1970 last night. The tin was in mint condition with no outer signs of rust. The seal hissed loudly as the tin gulped air upon prying the lid off with a coin. The aroma after opening was is unlike any other tobacco that I...
Balkan Sobranie has been out of production for a number of years. Today you can find it on several websites, including pipes2smoke.com. Tins are very, very expensive; Original Mixture can run anywhere from 400 to 700 dollars. If you want something that is just as tasty G. L. Pease Blackpoint...
Jack,
Yes I was a professional opera singer for about 13 years...I still sing but I am in semi retirement at the moment. Would be interested to know more about you and your gf and where she is studying.