A
Anonymous
Guest
Balkan Sobranie Smoking Mixture (white tin with black design) is one of those tobaccos that is legendary now because it hasn't been made in years. People coming in late see that and figure they're missing something if they don't try the last of it now that it's aged past the point of senility.
But that's the triumph of imagination over whatever the alternative to it is.
Back in the day, Lane's distribution system was effective enough that you could get it nearly anywhere you could get even budget line English or Stanwell pipes. Most people tried it and moved on.
I smoked the occasional tin off and on from 1966-76 and always secretly figured it was either pipe tobacco for people who didn't like tobacco, or deliberately bizarre enough (aroma & taste) that it suited people who wanted to project a "distinctive" image.
A friend sent me a tin of Balkan Sasieni when that came out and it tasted identical to what I remember BS having tasted like, only lower octane -- "B.S. Light," as it were. Probably due to the topping it used (you could see at a glance that the tobacco composition was radically different).
IMO you're not missing anything worth writing home about. To others, it was the Holy Grail. Or something they can brag about having smoked.
De gustibus non disputandem.
:face:
But that's the triumph of imagination over whatever the alternative to it is.
Back in the day, Lane's distribution system was effective enough that you could get it nearly anywhere you could get even budget line English or Stanwell pipes. Most people tried it and moved on.
I smoked the occasional tin off and on from 1966-76 and always secretly figured it was either pipe tobacco for people who didn't like tobacco, or deliberately bizarre enough (aroma & taste) that it suited people who wanted to project a "distinctive" image.
A friend sent me a tin of Balkan Sasieni when that came out and it tasted identical to what I remember BS having tasted like, only lower octane -- "B.S. Light," as it were. Probably due to the topping it used (you could see at a glance that the tobacco composition was radically different).
IMO you're not missing anything worth writing home about. To others, it was the Holy Grail. Or something they can brag about having smoked.
De gustibus non disputandem.
:face: