Syrian vs. cyprian

[vaperfavour]

i know this is an old one but here goes anyway! i am a perique fanatic and with that in mind i would like a discussion on the above topic. i usually ndont like latakia in general though i dont think i have ever tried syrian. Is it really different from cyprian latakia? i find cyprian tastes too much like soap to me. i find that i am wanting a little more from my smokes and i have read that syrian doesnt taste like cyprian. I am a lover of Fillmore and this blend has opened my mind to trying more english. i like westminster but only on occasion. Any suggestions from the brethren?

 

[Mikem]

To my untrained pallet Syrian is a little sweeter and not as harsh as Cyprian. Off the top of my head you might want to try Mac Baren's HH Vintage Syrian.

 

[Carlos]

Cyprian for me comes off as more like a smokey, bbq, taste of varying strengths depending upon several factors of which I am not sure of.

Syrian for me is more earthy, leather-like, mushroom-sort-of flavors. It varys considerably depending upon the quality. My experience has been that available currently to most blenders is lacking in depth and flavor.

When blended with a masters hand and the ideal Virginia's, burleys, perique, etc, they can be heavenly.

 

[JohnnyFlake]

I put a list of blends that contain Syrian Latakia together, a few months ago. This is a list of blends that should still be available, but in ever growing limited quanities.

You can get out the reviews on tobaccoreviews.com and see what interests you. I hope this helps!



Syrian Latakia Blends

McClellands Super Balkan 50g tin
Mellow, fragrant, lavishly flavorful from start to finish. Seasoned with the
finest Louisiana Perique.

McClelland Syrian Full Balkan 50g tin
Mild, cool-smoking, rich with Syrian Latakia's unique, exotic fragrance.

McClelland Rose of Latakia 50g tin
A complex, delicate, fragrant blend. Only the most precious, most flavorful
leaves are called Rose of Latakia.

McClelland Frog Morton Across The Pond – 50 & 100g tins
A cool smoking, fragrant blend enhanced with Syrian Latakia.

Mac Baren Latakia Blend 100g tin
Whole Virginia leaves, which are specially selected, are used as wrapper for
all Mac Baren spun tobaccos. The inlay for this very special blend is a mix of
Virginia, original Mac Baren Cavendish, and just a touch of Syrian Latakia
leaves. In combination these tobaccos give Latakia Blend its fresh and
satisfying smoke. Like all Mac Baren spun tobaccos only a little top flavor has
been added. These tobaccos are the closest you get to the natural tobacco
taste.

CAO/Dan Tobacco Gordon Pym 50g tin - This blend is made of golden yellow
Virginia, Maryland, and a little Dark Fired Virginia. It also contains
Orientals and Syrian latakia. It is square cut and burns very nicely.

Solani Golden Label Blend No. 779 50g tin
A sophisticated English blend with an extraordinary mixture of red, ripe
Virginia, fine Oriental tobaccos and Syrian Latakia. This very mild blend will
appeal to both Latakia lovers and those who prefer a real natural taste. Crimp
cut.

Bjarne The Special One 100g tin
A smoking mixture based on mellow Virginia leaf seasoned with a pinch of smoky
Syrian Latakia and very mild black Cavendish, my special evening pleasure.

Cornell & Diehl Black Dog in Bulk
Syrian Latakia and unflavored black Cavendish make this a wonderfully smooth
smoke.

Brebbia Latakia No. 9 Mixture 50g tin
Natural Sweet Virginia and a generous amount of Syrian Latakia that is pressed
and aged, this is outstanding!

Brebbia Balkan Blend 50g tin
Full bodied blend of the finest Oriental tobaccos, dark-fired Kentucky,
Louisiana Perique, and 40% Syrian Latakia - delicious.

Brebbia English Mixture No. 70 50g tin
A spicy crosscut blend of Syrian Latakia, Louisiana Perique, and bright
Virginias that is cool, smooth, long lasting and delicious.

Brebbia English Mixture No. 80 50g tin
A very fine blend of Syrian Latakia, mahogany colored spicy Burley's, and
bright Virginias. This offers an incredible taste with a superb fragrance.

Brebbia Preludio Mixture 50g tin
This is a fine blend consisting of Virginia tobaccos, from the US, high quality
Macedonian tobaccos, and Syrian Latakia. It is an exclusive aristocratic pipe
mixture, a classic English Blend.

Karl Erik No# 20 - 50g tin
Aromatic Virginias from Central Africa and North America treated in a special
Cavendish procedure, gently sliced into fine flakes. Mixed with spicy Syrian
Latakia. This is a very satisfying tobacco.

Ashton Artisan's Blend 50g tin
This full-bodied English mixture is carefully crafted for the experienced pipe smoker.
Virginia and Turkish tobaccos harmonize with Syrian Latakia and a touch of
Perique to create a taste that is resoundingly rich, spicy and satisfying.








__________________

 

[Mikem]

Great list Johnny, thanks.

 

[glpease]

i know this is an old one but here goes anyway! i am a perique fanatic and with that in mind i would like a discussion on the above topic. i usually ndont like latakia in general though i dont think i have ever tried syrian. Is it really different from cyprian latakia? i find cyprian tastes too much like soap to me. i find that i am wanting a little more from my smokes and i have read that syrian doesnt taste like cyprian. I am a lover of Fillmore and this blend has opened my mind to trying more english. i like westminster but only on occasion. Any suggestions from the brethren?

Syrian and Cyprian Latakia are quite different in taste, aroma and character. I wrote this article about 10 years ago, when Syrian Latakia was first re-introduced to the pipe world. It's still mostly relevant.

There's a lot of misapprehension about Syrian Latakia today. I've been sent samples of some really bad examples of the "real thing," and other samples that were no more Syrian than I am. I've also tasted several European products claiming the inclusion of Syrian leaf, and in some cases, have found these claims highly suspect.

The search for quality Syrian continues. (A couple of manufacturers have stores of vintage Syrian leaf that is of the same superb quality as the stuff we lost in the now legendary warehouse fire. There's no knowing how long their supplies will last, or what will happen when they run out. And, no, they won't sell any to me. I've tried...)

 

[Mongo]

I put a list of blends that contain Syrian Latakia together, a few months ago.

<snip>

Cornell & Diehl Black Dog in Bulk
Syrian Latakia and unflavored black Cavendish make this a wonderfully smooth
smoke.

I'm fairly sure that Black Dog was reformulated when the warehouse fire burned up the Syrian Latakia that C&D and Greg Pease were using. I'd check with Craig before buying a bunch of this for the Syrian, as it likely now contains Cyrprian Latakia.

 

[Bulldog Bruce]

Know this may sound like a foolish question, but thats how I find we get answers. Is there currently a trade embargo on syrian lat.? Am just trying to expand my limited knowledge, I'm not really a fan of latakia.

Bd

Never Forget!

 

[vaperfavour]

well now I have been smoking a couple of these blends along with a couple with cyprian and I must say I love syrian! in my very humble opinion syrian and cyprian are totally different! that gordon pym is very good, rose of latakia is good but what I want to know is what kind did the house of sobranie use? I have been loving the 759 and va 10. it smells unique, or is that just the age? the latakia in 759 is entrancing! almost like peat moss in smell yet subtle in taste. I am having too much fun experimenting with these blends.

 

[glpease]

in my very humble opinion syrian and cyprian are totally different! that gordon pym is very good, rose of latakia is good but what I want to know is what kind did the house of sobranie use? I have been loving the 759 and va 10. it smells unique, or is that just the age? the latakia in 759 is entrancing! almost like peat moss in smell yet subtle in taste. I am having too much fun experimenting with these blends.

Syrian and Cyprian ARE dramatically different. They're produced from different leaf, and they're fumigated over the smoke from different woods. Cyprian is sweeter, more weighty, deeper. Syrian is more winey, drier, and spicier. They're each wonderful, when used in such a way as to bring out their individual strengths.

The Sobranie blends were most certainly done with Syrian until some point in the 1960s, at which time, or so the history goes, the production of Syrian either completely halted or was seriously curtailed. My suspicion is that considerable factory stores of Syrian were gradually diluted with Cyprian leaf until nothing but Cyprian was used. (This conjecture is based solely upon having tasted many different vintages of Balkan Sobranie over the years, not on any insider information. Certainly by the late 1960s, perhaps sooner, the Cyprian was singing solo in the blend.

-glp

 

[vaperfavour]

hey there greg, I managed to get a tin of bohemian scandal and I have to say its great! I have been smoking it in an antique calabash. like they were made for each other. is blue mountain latakia cyprian or syrian? this 759 is just too good! do you have a blend that recreates it?

 

[glpease]

hey there greg, I managed to get a tin of bohemian scandal and I have to say its great! I have been smoking it in an antique calabash. like they were made for each other. is blue mountain latakia cyprian or syrian? this 759 is just too good! do you have a blend that recreates it?

There's nothing that I would claim, at this point, as truly recreating the original 759, but I do have a couple blends that were inspired by it.

When I was developing the Classic Collection, I was visiting a friend's shop. He opened an ancient tin of 759, and I was seriously smitten. I'd smoked quite a few tins of that wondrous weed in the past, but never a tin that old. When I stuck my nose in it, I was treated to an amazing aroma. The VAs had fermented beautifully, and presented an almost perique-like character, though no perique was present in the original blend.

When I went home that night, I started working on what was to become Blackpoint. It captured my impressions of that tin quite well, and has become one of my personal faves.

Abingdon, on the other hand, was more an attempt to capture some of the truer essence of later examples of the 759 that I sampled. I don't know which one will, over time, deliver a closer approximation to the original, but they're both really nice blends, and satisfy my own cravings when I want something reminiscent of those beautiful black and gold tins.

It's a real challenge to attempt to recreate old blends. I can take them apart, gain some understanding of their components and their character, but there's no way to subtract the effects of time in order to know just how close I've gotten.

I just went through another vertical tasting of Dunhill London Mixture, and included some aged Westminster. I'll have to write something up about the experience, but am happy to report that I think Westminster will, given a few more years, show itself very much like the oldest example of LM I have, which was what I was aiming at when I shot that particular arrow.

-glp

 

[Mikem]

Sorry it looks like I hit the send button twice.

 

[Mikem]

..............When I went home that night, I started working on what was to become Blackpoint. It captured my impressions of that tin quite well, and has become one of my personal faves................
-glp

I will have to admit that this is probably my favorite of all of your fine blends.

 

[Justpipes]

I sure do miss Yaller Dawg which was one of C&D's Syrian blends. I do have a little of it left for special occasions.

 

[ftrplt]

JP...I am holding on to my very last tin of Yaller Dawg! Bought it at JR's Burlington eons ago. Another one of those "I sure wish I had bought more" tobaccos!!! Maybe I'll bring it with me to Raleigh in April!!!!!!! :santa: ipe: FTRPLT

 

[Kapnismologist]

Ditto.

 

[vortex]

Does anyone have an opinion about McConnell Syrian Latakia? It doesn't taste like most of the Cyprian I've had and I've certainly tasted some that claimed to be Syrian but tasted like Cyprian. If it's not Syrian, it's pretty tasty stuff, which is all that probably matters anyway.

 

[Tom Stormcrowe]

Well, I just tried some Cyprian today and frankly, found it far too mild and flavorless. It was the McClelland 2040 bulk Cyprian. I bought a 56 gram sample of it.

Initial lightup was nice, and it has a nice spicy fragrance, but about halfway through, it started tasting like Ivory Soap. I'm less than pleased. My tobacconist recommended I at least try it, but I'll know better, if it doesn't improbe. Perhaps I'll try cutting in 1 part Black Cavendish to 2 parts Cyprian to see what happens, maybe it'll add some flavor.

Thoughts????

 

[Carlos]

Sraight latakia is fairly boring. No matter where it comes from. In the tool chest of knowledgable blenders it can become magical.


For a good dose of Cyprian, try Pirate Kake. It practically reeks. Good stuff. But family members might find it overwhelming.