What exactly is Balkan tobacco?

[Atlas]

Hello, I just wanted to see if someone could answer a question that I have had for awhile...
What exactly is Balkan tobacco?

I have heard many people refer to it in the same breath as latikia many times.... But google searches like "Balkan Tobacco" always end up with references to Balkan Sasieni (one of my favs BTW). So is Balkan a type of tobacco like Latikia and Purique? Or is it a brand?

[viper37]

From what I understand(someone jump in and correct me if I'm wrong) balkan is just a name like english or aromatic. What I've noticed is the oriental leaf seems to play a heavier role in the blend.

[Atlas]

From what I understand(someone jump in and correct me if I'm wrong) balkan is just a name like english or aromatic. What I've noticed is the oriental leaf seems to play a heavier role in the blend.

Thanks for the info!

So Balkan is a genre of tobacco then?

Can anyone give me some examples of Balkan blends?

[chaissac1]

Balkans are "normally" latakia blends(English) that have the orientals pushed forward that give a spicier, slightly sweeter nod to the blend. For the most part, an English blend that has perique, or aromatic qualities to it are not usually considered a Balkan. Usually, when I think of a Balkan, I think of Balkan Sobranie (which is defunct), Balkan Sasieni; G. L Pease' Odyssey, Abingdon, Caravan. These are a few I can think of off the top of my head. What is considered a Balkan nowadays is a gray area, most pipers have their own opinions concerning what they think is a Balkan. You can go on the G L Pease website where he has a definition of what he feels is a Balkan, as well as other blends. Balkans are another ambiguous, subjective realm of our hobby! I'm sure others will pipe up and disagree or shed more light to what I posted. Take care. Jim

[DottlingFool]

From smokeshopmag: The original formula of Balkan pipe tobacco was created in London at the beginning of the century by a gifted family of master tobacco blenders who first combined the aromatic pleasures of choice Macedonia and Latakia leaf with the richness of Old Virginia for unrivaled smoking pleasure.

From Wikipedia: The Balkans (often referred to as the Balkan Peninsula, although the two are not coterminous) is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains, which run through the centre of Bulgaria into eastern Serbia.

"Balkan" comes from a Turkish word meaning "a chain of wooded mountains".[1] The ancient Greek name for the Balkan Peninsula was the "Peninsula of Haemus”

My guess is that "Balkan" in the original blend refers to the Macedonia leaf; Macedonia being part of the Balkan Penisula (Greece).

[Smoker99]

According to my understanding, a Balkan, is an English style tobacco, with the virginia component reduced, being replaced by equal components of oriental and latakia. An oriental on the other hand, is heavy on the orientals, with reduced amounts of virginia and latakia.

[MasonM]

Balkans are "normally" latakia blends(English) that have the orientals pushed forward that give a spicier, slightly sweeter nod to the blend.

That's what I have always considered to be a Balkan blend, an English with a heavier dose of Orientals.

[glpease]

Balkans are "normally" latakia blends(English) that have the orientals pushed forward that give a spicier, slightly sweeter nod to the blend.

That's what I have always considered to be a Balkan blend, an English with a heavier dose of Orientals.

This is the common belief, but if we consider the quintessential "Balkan" to be Balkan Sobranie, this definition doesn't hold water. Balkan Sobranie was originally formulated with a healthy dose of Latakia, lots of ripe virginias, and enjoy Yenidje to provide some spice. Still, the virginias dominated. As the recipe changed over the years, the latakia content was reduced, but the virginias continued to be the dominant "non-latakia" aspect of the blend. Dunhill's London Mixture, on the other hand, could be thought of as one of the prototypical English blends, and it's one that contains more oriental than virginia leaf. So, I'd submit that we've had the conventional "definitions" upside down.

Though I've found references in the literature for "Balkan tobaccos," meaning tobacco from the Balkan regions, the term "Balkan blend" is a relatively recent invention that, to the best of my knowledge, did not exist prior to discussion groups on the internet. (I'd love to find an earlier reference, but nothing has surfaced.)

As far as I'm concerned, now, the two terms are, in practical terms, interchangeable, though I've stopped using "Balkan" as a descriptor in any new discussions; if there's no agreed upon definition, it's pretty much meaningless. And, in the cases where I've used the term in my own tobacco descriptions, it generally adheres to the connotation outlined in the first paragraphs.

[highstump]

if there's no agreed upon definition, it's pretty much meaningless.

Exactly why I tend to shy away from these sorts of questions on boards like this. All anyone (including me) has is an idea of what it is to their way of thinking. With that said, what I think of when I hear the term is "a degree of oriental leaf".