Perfect for beginners to taste, the overall taste is very soft, over the nose is not irritating, the taste is nutty, leather a hint of pale milk.

I'm fairly new to the world of premium pipe tobacco. I smoked one back 5 years ago, but at the time, there wasn't easy access to high-quality products or information, so I ended up with the usual drugstore brands. My interest quickly faded, and my old Doc Grabow pipe was forgotten in the passage of time. Fortunately, I stumbled upon a pipe shop in Clayton, MO, where they set me up with a Comoy second and a tin of Dan Devil's Holiday, and I was off to the races. Thanks to this site, I’ve now been able to sample some of the best tobaccos I've ever tasted. I stuck with Dan for a while (as it was what the shop carried) and discovered Gordon Pym and Bailey's Balkan. After my first taste of Latakia, the appeal of cased tobaccos significantly faded.

I've since tried SG FVF and found I prefer the natural sweetness of Virginia over heavily flavored blends. That said, I was searching for a blend with a strong Latakia presence throughout the smoke, and I found that in Balkan Sasieni. It burns cool with few relights and satisfies without being too overpowering. My only critique, which may stem from my still-developing palate, is its somewhat one-dimensional nature. While the smoke’s character does shift as you progress through the bowl, it doesn’t match the complexity of other blends I’ve tried. I also miss the late-bowl surging sweetness of Virginia that I find in Bailey’s Balkan, which is absent here. Nonetheless, this blend has earned a place in my rotation, though not as an everyday smoke. I highly recommend it for anyone craving a consistent Latakia experience.