Balkan Sobranie

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Grant Gimper

Grant Gimper

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As some of the Brothers know already, I'm just an old unsophiscated member who has waaay more questions than answers. My question today concerns the Balkan Sobranie issue. I have never smoked the blend so I don't quite understand the uproar over its demise. Is it, or more clearly, was it that great? I smoke a lot of English & Virginia blends that are satisfying to my uneducated tastes & genuinly enjoy the Latakia blends. I guess that my question is; simply, what is the value of a 50gm pouch of the stuff? I have more tobacco than I can ever smoke so I have no need of more tobacco. I have a 50gm pouch of the tobacco in question & I have not yet committed it to eBay so I thought that one of the Brothers might have more than a passing interest & would make me an offer that I couldn't refuse. I won't consider listing the pouch before Saturday, February 14 so that should give everyone who is interested a chance at the pouch. I can be reached at: [email protected]. If this is not an appropriate site for making this offer; I apologize.
 
A 50 G pouch won't bring what a tin will as the tins that are in demand were made by the original manufacturer and the pouches (that you can still buy, by the way, from overseas sellers) are now made by a different maker and are, if not inferior, less in demand. (Many will tell you they are inferior) I've smoked both - well aged from an old tin and modestly aged from a pouch and there's a big difference. If your pouch is more than a couple years old it may be quite dried out and require some rehydrating. If you've never tried it and you're curious you may just as well open it and see what all the fuss is about. Even though my experience was that the tinned version was much nicer, the general flavor profile is quite similar and you'll only know for yourself if you smoke some.

I believe a single pouch wouldn't fetch more than $25 on EBay.

Listing that here is not inappropriate at all.
 
The Balkan Sobranie in the pouch always was an average blend, at best. It was an OTC blend that could be found just about almost anywhere in Europe. It started disappearing a few years ago. PD, I think it’s not in production anymore, but correct me if I’m wrong. That would explain the higher prices it’s fetching on ebay. When it was available, nobody used to pay any attention to it, and with good reason. My guess is that there is a lot of confusion and many are not aware of the difference between the old Balkan Sobranie and the one in the pouch. Apart from the name, I don't think there is much in common between the two.
 
I know that several months ago it was available, but that doesn't mean it is still in production. I do recall a couple of European retailers having some on their stocklists but that was some time ago.
 
I picked up some of this in South Africa last August. Made by Gallahers at present, I believe. My stash is in an aging jar; have yet to try it. The bowls I had in SA were quite nice. Whether it tasted like the old stuff, I can't say;been too many years!! Besides, back then I smoked BS 759; very little Black & White BS. FTRPLT
 
I have BS Original in tins, cutter tops, and pouches. The pouch version is mediocre at best. It lacks the depth and richness of the old tins and cutter tops. Even some of the later versions of the tins are not on par with the older cutter top versions. Could be due to the ageing phenomena, could be the lack of rare orientals. I noticed that some of the newer tins lack "made with the finest yenijie" printed on the tin.
 
Just one more question regarding the subject. I have searched high & low in an effort to find the original manufacturer of this product but to no avail. The pouch that I have was made by Sobranie of London & from what I have found, Sobranie of London is primarily a supplier of various forms of Sobranie cigarettes. Let's face it; this isn't a subject that warrants much more comment than has been previously made. If none of the Brothers have this information hsndy; we'll close the book on this topic & move on. Thanks for your very valueable assistance & worthwhile comments.
 
I have no idea who made the most recent version of Balkan Sobranie that was available, and may still be available in some markets, but it was not made by Sobranie House, who sold the rights to production to Gallaher's in ca. 1981, and shuttered their operation. Gallaher's then saw fit to make numerous incremental changes to the blend over the years, the end result being something quite different from the original Balkan Sobranie.

When I was researching various vintages of the blend, I came across some surprising differences in cut, Latakia content, and overall composition. What was sold in the late 1980s was remarkably different from what was sold in the late 1970s.

I've tasted the Balkan Sobranie in the pouch, and though it's a good tobacco, it's not the old stuff. Nor is it even the late Gallahers produced stuff.

-glp
 
Grant:
I re-read what I posted yesterday, and it sounded quite rude. I apologize!
As for your pouch, I have one that is almost full that I am not smoking. You are welcome to it. You can smoke this one and sell yours on Ebay.
Just LMK
 
Just time to put this topic to bed forever. The 50gm pouch that we discussed recently sold for $21.50, confirming the suggested & reasonable eBay sale price. I believe that $30.00 was suggested as a top offer on eBay. I'm satisfied & that is all that counts, I guess.
 
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