oldmansmokingpipe
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Abingdon - Revisiting a Old Friend
I started smoking a pipe in 1968 and I was very lucky to have found latakia within about a month or so of starting. Within a week of finding latakia, I found Balkan Sobranie white label. after about 2 weeks or so I found the magical Balkan Sobranie No. 759 black label. That was it ! That is all I smoked in addition to Bengal Slices. Since that time I have had a hiatus from pipe smoking 2 separate times. the last time when I started back I discovered - WHAT? NO Balkan Sobranie 759? and NO Bengal Slices? Not even the white label BS? Damn!!! so I tried so many different 'English' and 'Balkan' blends - all touted to be recreations of the famous stuff I used to smoke; but guess what? - they all sucked and all - and I mean all were a disappointment and a waste of $ as well as my taste buds. I found GL Pease tobaccos. I think maybe Greg had suggested that I try lagonda, and then he suggested Odyssey. Lagonda not my cup of tea. Odyssey - nice but not quite there as to what I wanted and like. Then I found Abingdon. Wow! I smoked that until Gaslight came out and since then it has been all Gaslight - all 18 plus pounds as of this writing. Anyway - thought at the time and still believe that this is the finest Balkan blend out there. and this is definitely the closest thing to Balkan Sobranie stuff. I realize that his is not a 'recreation' but as an impressionistic expression of what those things meant to the old die-hards amongst us. Gaslight is still the most special of tobaccos. It is deep, dark, smooth and luscious and most profound! So I guess that aroma and taste was still with me after all of these years I decided to give Abingdon another try.
The tin I opened was a 2 yr. old tin so the Latakia has softened more than I would have liked. I smoked 2 bowls today in my old man smoking pipe/Dunhill man meer. Smaller bowl and a very nice smoking pipe. The taste was very nice, spicy but lacking in the depth of the latakia that I was hoping for. Nice complexity and the spiciness pops more than the smoothness of Gaslight so the intensity appears to be more than Gaslight. This makes it less smooth to me in comparison; however not bad in any manner regard that subtle lack of smoothness and the tangy spice character. I did enjoy it - and probably a bit more than the last pound of it I had many years ago. But as stated before - the depth of the latakia was lacking for my likes and needs. This is still profound and the pinnacle of what Balkan Blends are and should be. The Virginia's were interesting as well - though I am not a VA dude. Abingdon is a wondrous blend and I am glad I tasted it again after all of these years. For a break from my intense Gaslight adventures, Abingdon is a fine complement. How much it will be in my cellar, I am not sure. But I do believe that there is a place. That is saying a lot for my love of Gaslight. According to Greg - this has the highest level of latakia of all of the blends of the Classic Series, so Latakia lovers can key in on this blend. Abingdon is worthy of any pipe and time of day or season. Give it a try! You'll be glad you did! Nice work Greg!
I started smoking a pipe in 1968 and I was very lucky to have found latakia within about a month or so of starting. Within a week of finding latakia, I found Balkan Sobranie white label. after about 2 weeks or so I found the magical Balkan Sobranie No. 759 black label. That was it ! That is all I smoked in addition to Bengal Slices. Since that time I have had a hiatus from pipe smoking 2 separate times. the last time when I started back I discovered - WHAT? NO Balkan Sobranie 759? and NO Bengal Slices? Not even the white label BS? Damn!!! so I tried so many different 'English' and 'Balkan' blends - all touted to be recreations of the famous stuff I used to smoke; but guess what? - they all sucked and all - and I mean all were a disappointment and a waste of $ as well as my taste buds. I found GL Pease tobaccos. I think maybe Greg had suggested that I try lagonda, and then he suggested Odyssey. Lagonda not my cup of tea. Odyssey - nice but not quite there as to what I wanted and like. Then I found Abingdon. Wow! I smoked that until Gaslight came out and since then it has been all Gaslight - all 18 plus pounds as of this writing. Anyway - thought at the time and still believe that this is the finest Balkan blend out there. and this is definitely the closest thing to Balkan Sobranie stuff. I realize that his is not a 'recreation' but as an impressionistic expression of what those things meant to the old die-hards amongst us. Gaslight is still the most special of tobaccos. It is deep, dark, smooth and luscious and most profound! So I guess that aroma and taste was still with me after all of these years I decided to give Abingdon another try.
The tin I opened was a 2 yr. old tin so the Latakia has softened more than I would have liked. I smoked 2 bowls today in my old man smoking pipe/Dunhill man meer. Smaller bowl and a very nice smoking pipe. The taste was very nice, spicy but lacking in the depth of the latakia that I was hoping for. Nice complexity and the spiciness pops more than the smoothness of Gaslight so the intensity appears to be more than Gaslight. This makes it less smooth to me in comparison; however not bad in any manner regard that subtle lack of smoothness and the tangy spice character. I did enjoy it - and probably a bit more than the last pound of it I had many years ago. But as stated before - the depth of the latakia was lacking for my likes and needs. This is still profound and the pinnacle of what Balkan Blends are and should be. The Virginia's were interesting as well - though I am not a VA dude. Abingdon is a wondrous blend and I am glad I tasted it again after all of these years. For a break from my intense Gaslight adventures, Abingdon is a fine complement. How much it will be in my cellar, I am not sure. But I do believe that there is a place. That is saying a lot for my love of Gaslight. According to Greg - this has the highest level of latakia of all of the blends of the Classic Series, so Latakia lovers can key in on this blend. Abingdon is worthy of any pipe and time of day or season. Give it a try! You'll be glad you did! Nice work Greg!