The "new" Mac Baren HH Syrian

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smoker13

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by which I mean, of course, the reintroduced one without the Syrian Latakia. Has anyone tried this yet? Any comments for or against? I know the former "HH Syrian Latakia" generally shot people over the moon, but now that the Syrian Latakia is gone, I'm wondering just what this new "HH Syrian" is so Syrian about? And more to the point, is it any good?
 
I guess I am not aware of this “new” version. There are still tins of HH Vintage Syrian out there as well as 1 pound bags. I know for the European facing market Mac Baren has introduced HH Vintage Latakia to replace Vintage Syrian. Perhaps this is what you’re referring to?
 
It was late (for me) last night and I didn't get the name quite right. the name I should have typed is as you have stated: HH Vintage Syrian.

When you go to the tobaccoreviews.com place and look it up there is a message that states that this is a re-introduction WITHOUT the Syrian Latakia that went out sometime in 2017.

Apparently it was called "HH Syrian Latakia" before, at least according to the message at the top.

Now with this new European version you've mentioned I'm thoroughly confused!

I think I'll just buy a tin of the current stuff and smoke some and see if I like it, which is, after all, the only way that ultimately matters.
 
From what I've gathered, the latest Vintage Syrian is using more current Syrian Latakia, and so without having years of time to mellow, it's a bit more brash. You may note the current description no longer claims half the volume of the blend being Latakia. I'd wager a bit of reformulating was required to not have it ending up a fracking Lat Bomb. I opened a tin a while ago with the new warning label on it, and it is a different critter to my tastes. There was no softness. No notes of wine, cedar, juniper or visions of exotic women feeding me grapes.
 
Posted in another form by Per Georg Jensen of MacBaren Tobacco. Jensen is the blender of HH Vintage Syrian.
Gentlemen,

I normally don’t comment on rumours coming from an anonym source, but I will make an exemption in this case. In 2006 I created the HH Vintage Syrian as a single standing tobacco. Since the first making of this blend the recipe has not changed, it is still made after the 2006 recipe with Syrian Latakia.

If you compare an older tin with a new one, the taste of the older will of course be slight different due to age. If a pipe smoker perceives this as the newer tin contains a lesser quality tobacco, I would consider this to be a genuine mistake. The HH Vintage Syrian is created like no other Latakia blend, because it also contains Dark Fired Kentucky. In comparison with more “normal” English blends, you will, as a pipe smoker, experience another taste in HH Vintage Syrian as in your favourite English blend. HH Vintage Syrian is not your typical English blend and there are so many other good blends out there which will satisfy your taste for Latakia. HH Vintage Syrian was created to be different.

However, HH Vintage Syrian will be leaving soon, as our supply of Syrian Latakia is coming to an end. Latest in February or March next year the last of the HH Vintage Syrian will leave Svendborg, Denmark, so the guy who created it will also be the one to put it down. That HH Vintage Syrian is leaving us, I have stated over and over again, and I have never made it a secret that it would disappear and also when.

My suggestion is that you determine if you like HH Vintage Syrian. If you do please enjoy it and take all the pleasure from it as you can. If you determine that is not your taste, let it be, but please do not discuss it to death, in my humble opinion it does not deserve this.

There are other allegations in the forum which I will not comment on. The only thing I will do is to invite all pipe smokers to get to know me at the next available moment. And if you want to discuss the HH tobaccos I will be thrilled because I am the father of the whole line.

Happy smoke
Per Georg Jensen
Mac Baren Tobacco
 
From the Smoking Pipes newsletter...

Unfortunately, English blends have taken a hit recently in the pipesmoking world. With Dunhill ceasing production, two of my favorite coffee complementing English blends, Early Morning Pipe and Nightcap, will soon be unattainable, and on an even larger scale, the casualty of Syrian Latakia adds yet another roadblock in the blending of English mixtures as a whole. Some favorite blends have already vanished — I'm thinking especially of Mac Baren's HH Vintage Syrian, which was discontinued last year after being introduced in 2006.
There's hope though. Mac Baren has developed a delicious reformulation of HH Vintage Syrian: HH Balkan Blend. Replacing Vintage Syrian in the HH line, HH Balkan Blend features Cyprian Latakia in place of Syrian.
The Latakia varietal is different, but it's still very much the loose-cut English blend we know and love: the Latakia provides a smooth, creamy smokiness and subtle sweetness atop the underlying grass notes offered by Virginias from three continents, while spicy Turkish Orientals and robust Kentucky from the US provide a depth and complexity of flavors.
The disappearance of Syrian Latakia is certainly a tragedy worth mourning, but the good news is that blending houses are not letting it deter them from producing quality Latakia mixtures made in the English tradition. Mac Baren's HH Balkan Blend is one such sign of resolve. A medium strength, full flavored tobacco, HH Balkan Blend is befitting the phrase "all day English."
 
Ok, so in the New World, it's called HH Balkan Blend. But in the Old World, they call it HH Vintage Cyprian? Are they the same or are these two distinct tobaccos?

Edit: it's called Vintage Latakia, not Cyprien…


 
RSteve":o73dvu9i said:
Posted in another form by Per Georg Jensen of MacBaren Tobacco. Jensen is the blender of HH Vintage Syrian.
Gentlemen,

I normally don’t comment on rumours coming from an anonym source, but I will make an exemption in this case. In 2006 I created the HH Vintage Syrian as a single standing tobacco. Since the first making of this blend the recipe has not changed, it is still made after the 2006 recipe with Syrian Latakia.

If you compare an older tin with a new one, the taste of the older will of course be slight different due to age. If a pipe smoker perceives this as the newer tin contains a lesser quality tobacco, I would consider this to be a genuine mistake. The HH Vintage Syrian is created like no other Latakia blend, because it also contains Dark Fired Kentucky. In comparison with more “normal” English blends, you will, as a pipe smoker, experience another taste in HH Vintage Syrian as in your favourite English blend. HH Vintage Syrian is not your typical English blend and there are so many other good blends out there which will satisfy your taste for Latakia. HH Vintage Syrian was created to be different.

However, HH Vintage Syrian will be leaving soon, as our supply of Syrian Latakia is coming to an end. Latest in February or March next year the last of the HH Vintage Syrian will leave Svendborg, Denmark, so the guy who created it will also be the one to put it down. That HH Vintage Syrian is leaving us, I have stated over and over again, and I have never made it a secret that it would disappear and also when.

My suggestion is that you determine if you like HH Vintage Syrian. If you do please enjoy it and take all the pleasure from it as you can. If you determine that is not your taste, let it be, but please do not discuss it to death, in my humble opinion it does not deserve this.

There are other allegations in the forum which I will not comment on. The only thing I will do is to invite all pipe smokers to get to know me at the next available moment. And if you want to discuss the HH tobaccos I will be thrilled because I am the father of the whole line.

Happy smoke
Per Georg Jensen
Mac Baren Tobacco
Click to expand...
Well, I think that clears things up. :eek:
 
At Watch City Cigar in Framingham, MA, I spotted this replacement for the HH Vintage Syrian. I popped the tin last night and liked it very much. The VintSyr is one of my faves, and though I treasure Samovar and several of Pease's extinct Syrians, in general I prefer the zing and punchiness of Cyprian blends over the fruitier, more restrained Syrians. For instance, I prefer Three Oaks to its Syrian counterpart, and Legends to Wilderness. Likewise with the Frog Cellar, compared to Across The Pond.

Anyhow, I'm now trying to figure out which blend to demote out of the Top300 Cellar so as to make space for this new MacBaren. It is a nice medium Balkan/English, almost an all-dayer and in the general flavor spectrum of the VintSyr. The new blend may be more complex than the older blend, even though that one stands out from the run-of-the-mill Balkans with the counterpoint from the Kentucky dark-fired, which provides a nice bass note.

Even with just the one bowl under my belt, this new replacement has already won a place in my heart.

hp
les
 
There is a difference between Cyprian Latakia and Syrian. Mc Barrens has warehouses full of it. Buy it up when it goes on sale because when its gone its gone.
 
chukster":9h0ok8z5 said:
There is a difference between Cyprian Latakia and Syrian.
Mc Baren has warehouses full of it. Buy it up when it goes on sale because when its gone its gone.
Click to expand...
In his letter reprinted in a post above, Per Georg Jensen, the blender of Vintage Syrian, says the supply is exhausted. Tobacco retailers are unable to restock. Please tell us the source of your information that the McBaren warehouses are filled with Vintage Syrian.
 
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