Balkan Blend

[Tobaccofieldsforever]

What exactly defines a Balkan blend? Can anyone offer some blend recipes for one using entirely or mostly leaf from WLT? I'm actually asking because I have some Peter Stokkebye's Turkish Export No. 84 that I have had laying around (properly stored) for a while. I read somewhere that it is a "perfect base for a traditional Balkan blend" Any advice or information would be appreciated. Here is the tobacco I am talking about: https://www.tobaccoreviews.com/blend/2078/peter-stokkebye-turkish-export-no84 (in the review of the tobacco it says it is uncased. Later in the description it calls it "lightly aromatic". How can an uncased tobacco be considered aromatic at all??)

 

[deluxestogie]

What exactly defines a Balkan blend?

I am unaware of an exact definition. In general, it consists of a blend of:

• flue-cured
• (maybe) burley
• Latakia
• Oriental
• (maybe) Perique or dark air-cured

I have no advice to offer regarding the cased and flavored commercial tobaccos. For a range of "Balkan" style recipes, see the blending matrix on page 3 of the "Pure Tobacco Pipe Blends" thread.

Pure Tobacco Pipe Blends You Can Make

I tried several Balkan blends and noticed that a mix. of İzmir and Prilep (60/40 or 50/50) really tastes better when compared to the blends containing Prilep or İzmir alone.

fairtradetobacco.com

and a matrix of similar blends using Perique on page 11:

Pure Tobacco Pipe Blends You Can Make

WLT Basma Pastry Party--blending notes This is part of my continuing effort to explore pipe blends made without Latakia. My initial thought was to create a blend that was at least half WLT Basma, and seasoned with flue-cured (mostly red) and a good dose of St. James Parish Perique. WLT...

fairtradetobacco.com

Bob

 

[Knucklehead]

www.wholeleaftobacco.com carries a Balkan Blend. ”Six distinctly different types of tobacco and two different casing mixtures.” (On the label). Playing with it could be fun. (2) reviews.

Balkan Blend, 1 Lb. - Turkish & America

This is a legendary blend of six distinctly different types of tobacco and two different casing mixtures to mix and match on your blend.

wholeleaftobacco.com

 

[Tobaccofieldsforever]

www.wholeleaftobacco.com carries a Balkan Blend. ”Six distinctly different types of tobacco and two different casing mixtures.” (On the label). Playing with it could be fun. (2) reviews.

Balkan Blend, 1 Lb. - Turkish & America

This is a legendary blend of six distinctly different types of tobacco and two different casing mixtures to mix and match on your blend.

wholeleaftobacco.com

Yes, I have seen it. I most likely already own everything in that blend anyway.

 

[Tobaccofieldsforever]

I am unaware of an exact definition. In general, it consists of a blend of:

• flue-cured
• (maybe) burley
• Latakia
• Oriental
• (maybe) Perique or dark air-cured

So, it seems like "Latakia" is what makes balkan a balkan rather than an english? I'm just trying to figure out the lingo, I'm relatively new to the pipe world.

 

[deluxestogie]

"English"-style tobaccos are a mythical group of tobacco blends that followed the law that forbade "adulterants" in commercial tobacco blends. No flavorants or humectants or non-tobacco ingredients. That's no longer applicable. But that law did encourage pipe blenders to look for new and different flavors/aromas in actual tobacco--like Latakia, Perique, Cavendish, "stoved" and toasted tobacco, and the wide array of Turkish tobaccos.

Bob

 

[Tobaccofieldsforever]

"English"-style tobaccos are a mythical group of tobacco blends that followed the law that forbade "adulterants" in commercial tobacco blends. No flavorants or humectants or non-tobacco ingredients. That's no longer applicable. But that law did encourage pipe blenders to look for new and different flavors/aromas in actual tobacco--like Latakia, Perique, Cavendish, "stoved" and toasted tobacco, and the wide array of Turkish tobaccos.

Bob

Yes, it was against the law because it added "non-tobacco weight" to the product being sold and was considered a rip off correct? I personally still agree with that line of thinking today but like you said, they don't really exist commercially anymore.

 

[Tobaccofieldsforever]

"English"-style tobaccos are a mythical group of tobacco blends that followed the law that forbade "adulterants" in commercial tobacco blends. No flavorants or humectants or non-tobacco ingredients. That's no longer applicable. But that law did encourage pipe blenders to look for new and different flavors/aromas in actual tobacco--like Latakia, Perique, Cavendish, "stoved" and toasted tobacco, and the wide array of Turkish tobaccos.

Bob

Unfortunately, with commercial pipe blends, the marketeering quest for prolonging shelf life, together with the irresistible urge to tamper with a successful blend, has resulted in the deterioration of quality in English pipe blends. So, even though they are now crappy, they safely stay that way for longer.

Haha, just wanted to quote you on the topic of english blends because this made me laugh!

 

[deluxestogie]

I do become indignant at times. Blending with whole leaf tobacco or home-grown is clearly the way to go.

Bob

 

[Old Cob]

Recently purchased WLT's Balkan Tradition blend. It was easy to process, and even after stemming, I recovered a full pound. I initially thought it would have a bit too much
cigar leaf for my taste, but I am impressed with the resulting blend. I would certainly recommend it. I elected not to use the enclosed casing solutions. Satisfying cool smoke.

 

[knici]

Can anyone tell me if the Balkan Tradition blend contains perique? I've heard it is light on latakia, so I will probably need to add some for my taste, but I need to know if I should order perique as well.
Thanks!

 

[deluxestogie]

Welcome to the forum, @knici. Feel free to introduce yourself in the Introduce Yourself forum. You may wish to scan through the topics in our Index of Key Forum Threads, linked in the menu bar. There, you can download two free books on pipe blending. The first (Blend Your Own Pipe Tobacco) has blending matrices for Balkan-type blends.

As for the specifics of WLT Balkan Tradition, it, like every commercial pipe blend, evolves over the years with ingredient availability. Balkan Sobranie (White) modified the Latakia percentage, as the nature of the available Latakia changed.

I believe that WLT Balkan Tradition did not contain perique, when it was initially released.

My own basic Latakia blends, which can be made from individual WLT ingredients:

The "Balkan White" in the table above is the closest I have managed to come to my 1970s recollection of Balkan Sobranie White.

Bob

 

[DaleB]

The "Balkan White" in the table above is the closest I have managed to come to my 1970s recollection of Balkan Sobranie White.

It, and Towers of Antioch, are amazingly good; I've been smoking them for a couple of years now.