Balkan Sobraine @ EA Carey

...at $33 a tin? ...shipping on 2 tins is $16.00. Nope... have at it folks, not me...

...yeah, I was excited to see your post, then I went there... I can afford it, but I'm not that stupid...

In short...that's nuts.

...Zenvesco, Inc. must have bumped their collective heads...

Papaw was wounded pretty badly in WWII. His left shoulder was a mess and he never regained full use of his left arm which was also affected; nevertheless, he started working as an auctioneer as soon as he could because he could still conduct business despite his injuries. He ducked in and out of that business the remainder of his life. He held his cards pretty close but was oftentimes amazed by the interaction both on the high and low ends of certain auctions. 

Purest form of capitalism. Good on them if they can get their price.  

It has its fan base. I was never fortunate enough to experience the original which was superior by most accounts. It's probably still pretty decent smoke if it hits the palate. Time rolls on. 

   I read that as well, just shook my head in disbelief, chuckled at the same time. If “ No detectable difference was found when compared to Balkan Sobranie “, why spend the big bucks on a tin!?!?!? Just purchase a pound of English Blend No. 2.  The tins are double priced !!  The shipping fee is out of the ballpark.

Does anyone even know if this is close to the real thing? I doubt it.

...I only remember the original 759, and I smell a "hose job" here...

Jim Inks wrote:

Comparing this 2014 Germain's manufacture to the pouch and tin versions I was smoking in the late 1990's and 2000s, I can tell several important differences. This tin version is moister than the earlier productions. Those and the 1980s BS I had smoked some thirty years ago had more latakia, and the soda taste I noted in the older Sobranie is not here now. There's more Virginia in the new version, too, making it grassier than the old stuff ever was. The new BS is a little lighter in strength, too. All of that is unfortunate - especially the lack of the unflavored "soda" notes from the yenidje - because it was one of the things that helped make this blend special. Has a mild nic-hit, and is a shade milder than the older version. Won't bite. The cut is thinner, so it burns faster, too. Needs few relights and leaves little dampness in the bowl. The differences are very obvious. The new version gets two and a half stars, but since that option is not available to me, I give it two stars. The older version got four.

...I've smoked the original, and still have some... it's excellent, but when it's gone, it's gone...

I smoked quite a lot of Sobranie in the '70's and I can tell you it isn't even close. Personally, I find it unsmokable. It tastes to me like I would imagine gasoline soaked manure would smell.

A few years back I did an ABC comparison between Germain's version, Original Smoking Mixture for the 1980's and WhiteKnight. Even allowing for fading of the Latakia, the Germain's version didn't hold up. The Orientals weren't right. The yenidje isn't the same quality. WhiteKnight was a lot closer.

The power of a famous name and poorly reproduced tin art evidently is powerful, since so many are willing to be ripped off when buying it. WhiteKnight is better and cheaper.

I smoked the Germains release and I would rather smoke a cat box tootsie roll. Never had the good stuff from the 70's et. all so, you know, hook a brother up....

...gee... what a surprise...