They perfected Sobranie (which simply means ?parliament? That's an English, this is a balkan. . I still have a dozen unopened tins from 1981 and 1982. Cest la vie! Germain & Son has succeeded in producing a worthy version of the legendary Balkan Sobranie Original Smoking Mixture! I can't make a comparison, but this Original Mixture seems very good to me. Off the top of my head, Black House and White Knight are definitely in the ballpark and I am surprised to say I like Balkan Sasieni even better! During the pursuit of perfection, excellence was achieved. Legends. Out of stock tobaccos are still offered as always. It burns very cleanly and leaves a white/grey ash. I notice that the Latakia is not at all heavy in this blend. Very good. Two days ago I got my paws on an old tin of BS. Size: 1.76 Oz. It contains Virginia, Syrian Latakia and eastern Tobaccos. There has been said a lot about this tobacco, mostly praised to the skies, it's all true. If you get your hands on some you are in for a treat! The sweetness is there, the smoothness is there, the complexity is impressive, the Latakia is not overwhelming. on SP.com, with quantity-based discounts as well. IMPORTANT NOTICE: Milan
It has a slight, salty flavor in the Orientals from the ocean breeze blowing onto the leaf & has an enticing aroma. I started loving the pipe when I was a teen. Except the lucky few. I almost feel that one star is too good for it! Not so much a difference of taste, as one of attitude! I left out room note as I lived alone at that time. Out of stock. Master blender Russ Ouellette was the hands-down winner, and this is his championship mixture: Black House, comprising a variety of tobacco for a complex English blend. I would like to start out by saying that i am extremely annoyed by the two main ways this blend seems to be reviewed.. on the one hand, there is the reactionary camp who compare their current experience to the echoes of memories of long lost years.. then there is a progressive camp that seems all too willing to embrace and wax poetic on something they have recently discovered. Free 877-70MILAN (64526) customercare@milantobacco.com
Specials, and Other News! I feel it can be smoked anytime of the day accompanying many pleasurable activities be it reading a novel, fly fishing, walking the dogs, even after cigars and cask strength single malts. There are reasons for so many accolades and sagacity for such a fine tobacco. 10+10 out of 10. Government (in the UK) considered it to be a pure tobacco for generations. The main flavor that really jumps out at me is unflavored seltzer water or quinine, which I understand is from yenidje. Before the (retroactive) taste test, here's some more history. It leaves the pipe rather clean. Joe worked closely with GBD on developing new shapes, e.g., #263 extra long Canadian, the ?glass-blasted? It's the real deal. But later he said, these tins are the Original Balkan Sobranie, and was propriety from a collector, who died and your daughter gave me. Finally got to smoke my fabled white whale, Balkan Sobranie.TRANSCENDENCE!!! I have exceptions to all of the above. But the new blends out there (Paul Olsen's, Ten Russians, Larry's Strike Force, Penzance, Knightsbridge) are all certainly worthy heirs to the throne, and I don't feel cheated that I like at a time where I can have such a wide range available to me. This is what a pipe tobacco is supposed to be! Aging will do wonders to this I'm sure. Lucky for me the Turkish did not impose itself too much so I just ignored it. Very minimal relights, burns down to a fine, dark gray ash. For starters, I guess it goes without saying that I don?t really smoke this regularly. Ive got most of the recommended blends here but will have to look into a few of the others. The winelike aroma of the virginias translates to the flavor and is sublime in the mix. My only gripe is that 70% of the blends that I smoke are made by Germain and most of them are almost impossible to come by. Things were working together and it my taste buds were loving it. Outsanding!! I get my email notification go straight there to order & poof gone! Many other blends have the same problem. If this was still available,I'd smoke it at least three time's a day.It must be around 30 year's since I first tried it & loved it!Recently a friend sent me some from the USA & it was like being reunited with your best & favourite friend that you have lost track of for many year's. Germain & Son is the maker of some other legendary tobacco, Penzance. I'm glad I bought a tin at the price I paid for the novelty and to satisfy my curiosity, but there are plenty of comparable blends that are frankly more pleasing to smoke.
Upon lighting I noticed a very nice sweetness playing with Latakia it was unparalleled. Is it worth 100.00 a tin, no. Without question this was the most anticipated tin I have ever opened. I can't describe it to you - I'm not a wordsmith. The smoke is creamy and smooth. There are much better offerings available today and I will not be purchasing another tin of this "one tin per purchase" rip-off (and I truly expect my review will be "ripped" into, so have at it guys). . She doesnt always have it in stock though. The unflavored soda note from the yenidje is virtually missing. Sasieni, Macedonia Mixture, Odesa, and on and on. Samuel Gawith full Virginia Flake (Rubbed out well). I am still smoking it occasionally, out of tins remaining from the 70's through the 90's. The incense like aroma and fantastic taste is hard to describe and must be experienced at least once. The other flavors always floated above it, with sweet and spicy notes. Balkan Sobraine is the mix to judge any Latakia blend by. The flavor from top to bottom was full and rich. The Yenidje is noticable. I loved it. It was to me simply unique. Joe maintained that the curing after carving was determined by grade, Virgins, and later Pedigrees and Uniques, getting, of course, the longest cure.). Turkish and VA dominate the aroma, but latakia is still there firmly. Usually one tamp and relight. There has been so much praise written already about this blend and on this day I can say that it is all true! I prefer it in the truck on a road trip, or in the evening sitting in my smoking chair. Smoke a bowl and cherish it! This blend is the "BESTEST" tasting blend ever! A musty, fermented, sour and Latakia rich smell invades the nostrils as I fill my pipe. I need to find a source, because I'd smoke this all winter. I would light up and after the first few puffs, everything around me would cease to be important. Lighting is easy enough, but you may need to tamp it a bit. Having not had the opportunity to smoke the original when it came out I cant speak to a true comparison but I have smoked the old Balkan Sobranie with a lot of age. Sobranie of London was able, in the old days, to procure the finest Yenidje tobacco. Balkan was definitely true to the old bromide that the worse the room smelled, the better the tobacco (don't the girls just love the smell of Cherry Blend). My humble recommendation: Try the Sobranie or Sasieni in larger pipes that have been broken in with other "Englishes"?.These blends are a treat, and relights are uniquely satisfying. Give it some time to age, and it's easily one of the best Balkans on the market. If all this good smoke is coming from the tobaccos alone, that's incredible almost magical! It's taste was definitely much better than it's smell, full-bodied and smoky, and the room note was not too aggressive, there's somewhat of a "tang" to it, but you could easily smoke it unnoticed in a group of cigarette smokers. Legendary. Smoked slowly, this is cool, deep and satisfying without being overwhelming. It smoked cool, it burned well, and the balance and flavor was fantabulous. Never a dull or harsh moment, I savor every sip from the pipe. 10/12/07 ? Orders over $95 in US, Safe Payments
Mo's flavor profile seems right to me. It just takes over the senses. This is the closest I have ever tasted to the original product. I have been told that Smoker's Haven 'Our Best Blend' is a near-match to the Balkan Sobranie white, and that their Exotique is very similar to the Balkan Sobranie black. If this were not a gift, I could not justify the outrageous prices I have seen ($100-165. Outstanding. This is, indeed, an excellent balkan. Min: $ 0. Very fine shag (described as ribbon but is much more fine than most) cut in long strands. That being said it hasn't degraded too much and still is a extremely fine tobacco. It was new and perfect one ! The virginia presents itself in the form of a winelike aroma. It is a brand of cigarettes, currently owned and manufactured. Mid-bowl: Aah! Complex, but not over the top. Not particularly heavy on Latakia. I follow the Machiavalian point of..availability. We apologize, but this item is temporarily out of stock. I know of no other in which this essentially condimental tobacco is so much to the fore. Availability: . I will prove the New Balkan Sobranie and I really wish they would have achieved a blend as good as the original, because I think just like that, honestly, never will be. I first tried this in college. Now I can say Ive tried it. I find Nightcap, Penzance and Black Mallory to be more complex. The origins of the Balkan Sobranie blend is somewhat shrouded in mystery. http://www.puff.com/forums/vb/general-pipe-forum/109613-homemade- balkan-sorbanie-original-mixture.html. But despite the large demand the tobacco became less and less available and the production finally stopped. Not when Hearth &am p; Home makes an equally good and much more available blend. The smell is definately english/balkan in nature. The Virginias had darkened quite a bit. The nic-hit is just past the center of mild to medium. Having smoked the late 1960s and the 1960 versions, I found the red Virginia was a little more prominent, and the wine-like, earthy, woody, floral Syrian Latakia was used, which created a drier, lightly less fragrant smoke. Similar Blends: My favorite, Wilke's Crystal Palace. By: Smeckma. The scarcity of Balkan Sobranie has elevated it to mythical status, which is just a bit over-doing it IMO. But when I first tasted and smelled that wonderful exotic smoke I was hooked. I'm going to miss this. Awesome smoke and definitely the finest Balkan I've tried so far! I wish I could, but that just ain?t happenin?. I miss it still. Taste: Regarding taste the tobacco is a good mix of the pouch version and my 1981 tin version. Tin note of musty sour vegetation and pungent smoky. It leaves a fine grey ash, and cakes poorly, so I tend to break my pipes in with something else. The orientals are definitely the main player here, they're spicy and complex. The sad part is that this tobacco is no more. I was gifted a fair number of bowls of the new Germain production BS and smoked it side by side with my remaining 1990's era BS. Only logged in customers who have purchased this product may leave a review. This blend did not achieve legendary status for no reason. Bottom Line: The ultimate expression of the oriental leaves. My favorite came with a black label and I think it was called Mixture #759. There were many incarnations of the Balkan Sobranie, and every reviewer here seems to be referring to a different one. Pipe Tobacco
No bite whatsoever. |Privacy Whatever or however the process, this is the Holy Grail of pipe tobacco. I believe that now there are better blends of this kind. Its post-modern re-incarnation, BALKAN SASIENI, is the same mix, yet not the same mix at all: the grade of tobaccos and the proportions may be the same, but modern-day orientals seem to be blander, more generic than formerly, and the Cypriot ?latakia?, a nice tobacco in itself, is like California ?chablis? Four stars despite the number of changes that occurred. All rights reserved. Perhaps it was the tin that attracted me, the white one with the two women on the front. It is less overwhelming and subtler, perhaps more suited to all-day smoke. Finally I snagged a few tins of this blend. If it were, it would be in my regular rotation. IF you can obtain it. The cut is comprised very thin ribbons that are a little too moist, but given the cut, it dries quickly. - Kelly, Join over 18k members to reviewexclusive content. I ended up scouting for more and managing a few more ounces at outrageous prices. but that makes sense considering this is considered the benchmark, therefore a lot of imitations have hit upon it, and some very well. And when it is gone, I will miss it. It was an occasional treat, like the driest gin. It was so unique, especially since I was smoking drug store brands of pipe tobacco. It's simply that good. Most of what you can buy in auctions today is dry to varying degrees, but I'll instantly transfer it to a Mason jar, wet a paper towel with distilled water, lay it over the top, seal the jar, and let it slowly rehydrate. Select One
I got my hands on a 25+ years old tin that needed rehydration. It has a grayish hue to it, which upon closer inspection, is a wonderful sparkly crystallization. 320 N McPherson Church Rd Fayetteville NC 28303. Well, I was not dissapointed. Not all will try it, but those who do will weep again. I signed up for email alerts thinking it would never happen. Otherwise who cares I will spend my tobacco money on something else!!!!!!! Not sure what to make of this. Hence the new blends simply could never be the same. I'd do it again. What to compare it to? No pipecleaner needed during the smoke. This is very rare and hard to get! But is it good, absolutely. I still wonder if the dumbest thing I ever did with regards to this hobby was to not buy that second tin. Balkan Sobranie. Comparisons: Similar to the GL Pease blends in the same way a red crayon drawing resembles Rothko's "Red on Maroon"; the flavors are there; but this is infinitely more complex and more subtle. I see people trying to sell 1 year old tins for upwards of $40 a piece just because of the scarcity of the blend. Rewarding to smoke. Max: $ 30 . The nicotine content is not heavy at all, but a solid medium. Conclusion: Applause! Blend with a characteristic, a bit stronger room note and taste. I see why this blend commands a premium & if I had plenty of money, I'd have plenty more Balkan Sobranie Original Mixture. He figures these tins are from the late 1980's early 1990's. Whatever Balkan Sobranie used to be (as I said, it's built on a famous name), there are numerous better, and more available, blends out there. I don't see how someone can give it "one star" based on them missing the drop..? Why on earth did they stop selling this stuff in America? On July 1, 1968, Gallaher Tobacco acquired the blend and the trademarked name. Leiconnsel, yours is the finest review I've ever read here. all of which I'll reach for before the new Balkan Sobranie. Is it inexpensive? I was expecting a bold flavorful balkan blend but what I got was a mild english with a cut that did not seem to load well into my pipe. Disclaimer: This review is based on four bowls as this is a late 80's tin and I am savoring it slowly due to its demise. This pipeweed is certainly an icon and one of the best oriental blends out there. In its aged form, I still prefer 759. After waiting for over a year, I finally got a chance to try it. Once open the tobacco rests in a paper as is often customary with on top of that a thin round insert with nothing on it. It has cost 8 Euros for 50 grams and I have no problem with that, I'd pay twice the price. This blend is the peak for me: 10+ out of 10! I'm glad that I was able to enjoy this rarity at a time when it was perhaps at it's best, and wish I had stashed a few tins away to be happily re- discovered. This stuff have cool somoke, something light and very rich. Maybe the preparation or selection of red & brown Virginias topped off with tasty Yenidje? Nope. this blend builds up to a medium to full strength. Mid way the orientals take over and some sublime spicyness tkaes over from the Latakia. Roomnote: The old Balkan Sobranie Original Smoking Mixture was (in)famous for it's for most people baaaad roomnote. tobacco that gives this blend its characteristic flavour and aroma. It was totally different with other balkan or other latakia. Ok ..lets all get over the Balkan Sobraine tag because this stuff isn't anything like the stuff I smoked in the '60's and 70's, in fact, it reminds me of Bill Baily's Balkan a bit. A typical English blend, in the vein of Dunhill London Mixture and 965, but more rounded and less full in its taste. Strong but never overwhelming, after a bowl of BSOM I felt satisfied enough not to smoke again for a number of hours. The insistent Turkish twang was fun, but not all the time. it was distinctive enough to evoke comment and to me had a more than discernible hint of leaves being burned on a damp Autumn day in England. I was impatient while filling my first bowl straight out of the pack which I later regretted, but I will come to that. If you air it out, the bite disappears. Policy | Terms Blended and aged in the British Isles, Balkan Sobranie Original Smoking Mixture is comprised primarily of Latakia with a mixture of Orientals, Virginias, and other fine tobaccos for a bold, earthy smoking experience with notes of spice and a mild sweetness. Sampled from a fairly fresh 50g pouch of the Gallaher version that was eight years old when purchased back in 2010. smokers to be superior. BSOM brings me back to the mid 70's. A smooth mellow blend that is simply delicious. Perhaps a Sobranie cocktail cigarette once every few months. Perhaps all of the above. . I may try it again when I have some extra money. 1981, transition year to the Gallaher production, good but really just not it. Its moderately smooth with a very consistent, mildly sweet and savory, lightly floral, very grassy flavor. If you try this, the best thing to do is open the tin, put it in a jar and introduce air every so often(read once per day) for a couple of weeks. View All Close. Probably nearly forty percent Turkish leaf maximum. It is not nearly as heavy with Latakia that Penzance is, nor is it quite as creamy regarding the mouth feel although there's some. But having the rights is 1 thing, bringing out the tobacco on the market is something veeeery different. This tobacco is so fine that if it was food you were eating, you'd want to regurgitate it and eat it again. The room glowed with the fullness of the Blend. IMO, the 70s version, which is the oldest I have smoked, was outstanding. It's clear to me that smoked fresh this is no lightweight English/balkan. After a couple of years, I was also gifted with a small portion of a pouch of real early 80's Sobranie White. I suppose I should move on and find something that grants me such pleasure again. I fell in love with it immediately, my stable of english blends are rather limited since I reach for it only when in the mood for Latakia which is about once or twice a week, I have to add that this is a blend, not a latakia orgy which really agreed with me. This is what a pipe tobacco is supposed to be! It is good smoke and I'm glad I got a hold of a couple of tins but, that's about it. I usually don't enjoy latakia, but i do enjoy a balkan blend from time to time. It's a shag cut, with pronounced latakia and musty smelling orientals. The orientals jump to the fore at the match, producing thick clouds of creamy, heavy smoke. Add to Wishlist. The inital flavour is of that lovely nuttyness that only Latakia can provide. I hear you can get this across the pond. 1.75 oz. The Balkan Sobranie tobacco business was established in London in 1879 by Albert Weinberg (born Romania 1849), whose naturalization papers dated 1886 confirm his nationality and show that he had emigrated to England in the 1870s at a time when hand-made cigarettes in the eastern European and Russian tradition were becoming fashionable in Europe. What I paid was ten times the original price tag still on it. Size: 1.76 Oz. The Orientals are less potent, offering earth, wood, floralness, a light dry sourness and a touch of buttery sweetness, along with a little spice as a supporting player. I also like the shag cut because it burns easily without many relights and leaves a gray ash in the bottom of the bowl without excessive moisture contamination. This BSOM makes you reach for that elusive flavor with each draw. This was one of the first pipe-tobaccos that I really enjoyed on all levels, and, naturally, it was the pipe-tobacco everyone else hated. JavaScript is disabled. Hard to find but worth the wait. Cost about $4. It has a certain raw edge to it that I don't really care for, and I find it lighter in flavor. |Forums The taste throughout was awesome. I opened this tin given to me as a gift by dm14 and I thank him for it. The lighting, and smoking qualities are indistinguishable from the Sasieni. Between 1965 and 1970 I smoked pound after pound of the real Balkan Sobranie Smoking Mixture. I bended my own Balkan Sobrane Original Mixture with these 6 top of the line tobaccos: Wellauers- Latakia .Which is true Syrian Latakia (The real thing)I had five tins sent from Tabac Rhein in Switzerland. The 2011 Chicago Pipe Show's "Balkan Sobranie Throwdown" was a competition to see who could produce a blend that most perfectly emulated the revered Balkan mixture. I've never had the old Sobranie from the golden age, so I cannot compare them but will review this blend on its own merits. Does this sound contradictory? I am going to smoke this tin. So it was very perplexing when I got tongue bite, tongue bite, tongue bite. Unequalled tobacco, this mixture remains a mystery. Sorry, I havent been around long enough to know better. Tobacconists does not sell cigarettes on this site, nor do we sell tobacco
Still is. I bewailed the last tin in my Weed Store, sold to an undeserving oik who wanted to try 'Sumfin' new. Taste is medium and consistent, with notes of smoky, very bitter wood, floral, toasted bread, leather, musty herbal vegetation, incense, dry earth, acidic/spicy, citrus peel/zest, a mildly sweet stewed tangy fruit background note, and a very peppery retro. I wish more could be imported, I think I ordered a tin from here and I have gotten a few elsewhere. That's part of the hype I hear also; that it's such a great Latakia bomb it's super strongall lies. Not sure what to say but it nothing like the original and there are FAR better quality pipe blends than this. After a few puffs, the tobacco flavors begin to meld & it just keeps getting better until the very end. For some reason, this seems to be listed twice here, so this review is the same as the Sobranie of London entry. And the latakia, for all that time, seems to have lost its oomph. After a few puffs the sweetness comes forth, the Virginia's. It's similar to Sasieni, just the balance of the blend is more harmonious. Once the ember gets going it gets much better. The very first thing that stands out for me is how "buttery" the Orientals are in this blend verses others. The cut is a fine shag like the ribbon which is a little finicky getting lit and keeping it so but chalking that up to a moisture thing mostly I believe. Here's the package of Balkan Sobranie cigarettes for the people never saw it. If I was given the difficult choice of one tin, either TBS or 759, I would go for TBS. Possibly both types of Latakia, maybe some unsweetened Black Cavendish, maybe a "smidgeon" of Deer Tongue or a pinch of Vanilla Cavendish, who knows? Well, here in Italy the traditional and legendary 759 isn't available anymore, so I haven't had a chance to try it. Please let me know: pearsond -at- odsgc.net. As far as Italy is concerned BSOM does remain the only mixture you can truly name "balkan". A very good pipe tobacco is that there are few opportunities to buy it. I wonder if Balksn Sobranie Smoking Mixture will ever re-emerge in the US of A as Dunhill has recently. Best were proportionately milder, and the only one stronger than Best was Exotique, which was merely Balkan with some prime cigar leaf added. There are some very good Balkan/heavy english mixtures available,but none can ever replace Balkan Sobranie. The tin note is unmistakably dominated by the Latakia, but the Orientals and Virginias in the right proportion also add a lively distinction of their own. Balkan Sobranie $ 30.00. Despite the pouch, the tobacco comes rather humid, and needs to be broken a bit to be packed correctly. It was a little dry so I had to add a little humidor to revive it. Rather sweet base, campfire room note. I noticed today on a certain online retailer (they're not a site sponsor so I'm not sure if it's cool to name them) that Balkan Sobranie was for sale$25.99 per tin, limit one per customer. Alas, the blend changed. To enjoy this blend, the best way is use a pipe with small bowl. Very tasty and I feel this blend is one most any pipe smoker would findpleasurable. I've been smoking this as long as it's been an option to me- the last four years. Primarily floral notes upon the nose, delicate once humified. Unlike most Latakia blends, the room not of Balkan Sobranie is rich and pleasant, think incense or a just-spent fire. Won't bite or get harsh. Its ash is light and gray, without noticeable cake. Here is what my journey eventually brought me to. Orlik Pipe Tobacco
Well, this has finally become unavailable to me. UPDATE: This mixture just has a taste of its own. I actually prefer it over Sobranie.. 3 Balkan Supreme. My tin was very damp. It was a full aroma latakia with a delightfully light body. No latakia mouth. No, Sherlock and his Shag were a couple rows back chugging to the next case, too. Peaty and earthy, briny, peppery and a little bitter, leaves a dry sensation on the tongue and a smoky mineral aftertaste. I've never smoked anything like it before or since. Smoked Balkan Sasieni.loved it. Yesterday I opened my last remaining pouch of the 1994 Sobranie Mixture, to see whether it would bring back memories. It was unavailable on any of the internet sites, so I called one of my local B&M suppliers and found he had 3 tins instock. The high quality of the tobacco in Balkan might have been just as important as the types of tobacco in it. Deep, rich, tarry, resinous. The various component tobaccos weave a tapestry of flavors that seem to change constantly and there is enough Latikia to keep my attention. Easily qualifies as a four star blendIMHO, of course!!! Something about the mystique of the name made me click the "favorite" button but, oddly, I never reviewed it. Very neutral aroma that does not disturbs the room. In the late 70s and 80s I took this mixture for granted and smoked a lot of it and I highly appreciated it until it suddenly disappeared. I thought I had found my tobacco. That's about all I can say. Maybe the preparation or selection of red & brown Virginias topped off with tasty Yenidje? Retailer name please. Quite moist in the tin, it smokes fine directly from the tin but a little drying time is recommended. Its tangy,Smokey and sweet at the same time. During the pursuit of perfection, excellence was achieved. Very very nice tobacco, I love it, If you can only choose one tobacco, I choose Sobranie. | Sitemap, J.J. Fox Provost Mixture Pipe Tobacco Tin - 50g, J.J. Fox Squires Mixture Pipe Tobacco Tin - 50g, Robert Lewis Wingfield Mixture Pipe Tobacco Tin - 50g, Sutliff Balkan Sobranie 759 Match Pipe Tobacco, Balkan Sasieni Original Formula Pipe Tobacco. To say the least, Ed's Balkan is superb, try it and see if it matches the Sobranie blend. . This is everything I'd hoped for in a Balkan - a much stronger version of Balkan Sasieni, which this is and more. Is this new iteration of the blend worthy of all the hype? In the full-English range, so over forty percent Latakia, and around twenty five percent Oriental. More's that pity that it is now defunct. It was all I'd hoped it would be and so much more! July 01, 2020. This is not merely a Balkan, it can be said this is possibly the Balkan that the term Balkan refers to about similar blends. A very smooth first part with lots of latakia flavor and well balanced taste. This starts out with a nice, sharp flavor of latakia and orientals and is perfectly balanced. I have tried a bunch of English-- mid to full-- blends and a few Balkans over the years. For that reason, we limit the purchase of this tin to one per customer. Perhaps all of the above. After 45 minutes of drying I loaded it into a brand new Peterson 317 that had never been smoked. Availability: Out of StockPrice: $19.00 USD, Select Another Pipe Tobacco Brand:
Probably. Meticulously recreated by JF Germain in England. I have tried this blend recently, I do agree with fellow reviewers that it is a brilliant blend, it is creamy and smooth, burns really cool with a nice hint of sweetness in the background. I had heard the stories. and I think nobody needs any further comment. Nothing I could expect, as well as the beautiful contrasted colours and the oily texture of the tobacco in the tin. I will always thank him for his gift of friendship to a man 50 years his junior.