I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think someone may have finally killed two birds with one stone for those of us who love both classic Balkans and Syrian latakia.
McClellands recently released a new mixture by Fred Hannah called "Wilderness." In the space of a few short weeks, this stuff has completely displaced most of my cellar and led me to conclude that the small amounts of Bohemian Scandal and Renaissance I have cellared can sit in their jars forever for all I care (again, I can't believe I just wrote that, as I'm a huge GL Pease fan). I know that probably sounds like hyperbole and that each person's tastes are subjective, but ... damn, this stuff is remarkable. Hannah is one of those who has long lamented the passing of the old Balkan Sobranie, and apparently McClellands gave him access to their stockpile of Syrian latakia and "grand orientals" and told him to do whatever he wanted. What he came up with is almost too freaking good for words.
Unlike most McClelland English mixtures I've tried, this stuff is not at all mild and does not use the Syrian latakia sparingly. It's no spice or condiment here, it's a main course. This is the closest thing I've ever had, in fact, to a Syrian lat "bomb," and I feel this is a much better presentation of that fine leaf than was even available in Bohemian Scandal (there is a smidgeon of Cyprian here, as well, but it's barely detectable). But the latakia is only half the story. There is a generous dollop of Yenidje, as well, plus a slew of other orientals, all on a bed of very sweet virginias.
As you can imagine, this stuff is very complex. The Vas dominate some puffs, then the Yenidje, then the basma, then the Syrian ...The only things I've ever tasted that were anywhere near this complex were 7-year-old Samarrah and Renaissance, and those lacked this blend's very full body. Pease (who remains my favorite blender overall) tends to create exceptionally complex blends, but that complexity is usually of a somewhat subtle type. Hannah, on the other, has managed to match GLPs complexity but keeps the volume on the blend turned up to "11." Oh, and not to forget -- there is NICOTINE here!!! :cheers:
Is this stuff a match for the old Balkan Sobranie? I have no way of knowing, as I started smoking a pipe 20 years ago and it's my understanding that the "classic" Balkan Sobranie white had irrevocably changed by the 1970s. But I can tell you that, as a serious afficiando of balkan mixtures, this stuff is pretty much what I always imagined it would taste like based on the descriptions I've heard from older smokers. If this is what the classic batches of Balkan Sobranie "white" tasted like, I can understand why it's considered such a classic.
In any case, strictly considered on its own merits, this is the best Balkan I have tasted in many, many years and (IMO, of course) an instant classic.
McClellands recently released a new mixture by Fred Hannah called "Wilderness." In the space of a few short weeks, this stuff has completely displaced most of my cellar and led me to conclude that the small amounts of Bohemian Scandal and Renaissance I have cellared can sit in their jars forever for all I care (again, I can't believe I just wrote that, as I'm a huge GL Pease fan). I know that probably sounds like hyperbole and that each person's tastes are subjective, but ... damn, this stuff is remarkable. Hannah is one of those who has long lamented the passing of the old Balkan Sobranie, and apparently McClellands gave him access to their stockpile of Syrian latakia and "grand orientals" and told him to do whatever he wanted. What he came up with is almost too freaking good for words.
Unlike most McClelland English mixtures I've tried, this stuff is not at all mild and does not use the Syrian latakia sparingly. It's no spice or condiment here, it's a main course. This is the closest thing I've ever had, in fact, to a Syrian lat "bomb," and I feel this is a much better presentation of that fine leaf than was even available in Bohemian Scandal (there is a smidgeon of Cyprian here, as well, but it's barely detectable). But the latakia is only half the story. There is a generous dollop of Yenidje, as well, plus a slew of other orientals, all on a bed of very sweet virginias.
As you can imagine, this stuff is very complex. The Vas dominate some puffs, then the Yenidje, then the basma, then the Syrian ...The only things I've ever tasted that were anywhere near this complex were 7-year-old Samarrah and Renaissance, and those lacked this blend's very full body. Pease (who remains my favorite blender overall) tends to create exceptionally complex blends, but that complexity is usually of a somewhat subtle type. Hannah, on the other, has managed to match GLPs complexity but keeps the volume on the blend turned up to "11." Oh, and not to forget -- there is NICOTINE here!!! :cheers:
Is this stuff a match for the old Balkan Sobranie? I have no way of knowing, as I started smoking a pipe 20 years ago and it's my understanding that the "classic" Balkan Sobranie white had irrevocably changed by the 1970s. But I can tell you that, as a serious afficiando of balkan mixtures, this stuff is pretty much what I always imagined it would taste like based on the descriptions I've heard from older smokers. If this is what the classic batches of Balkan Sobranie "white" tasted like, I can understand why it's considered such a classic.
In any case, strictly considered on its own merits, this is the best Balkan I have tasted in many, many years and (IMO, of course) an instant classic.
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