Hope springs eternal

This arrived in my mailbox this evening. In theory Germain knows how to make it; besides their experience with Bengal Slices (flake form of Sobranie) they also supposedly have on staff one of the guys that was involved in the old Sobranie production.

Nice score it sold out before I could get to a computer to order. My understanding is that they acquired not only the rites but the blending notes as well.

I've still got some of the original lying around to compare it with. Balkan Sasieni is made from the same recipe as Sobranie as well, but by a different blender and is pretty good evidence that the critical "Sobranie-ness" wasn't written in the recipe. I'm hoping that between Germain's connections to the old Sobranie blend via Bengal Slices (my second favorite behind Sobranie OSM), plus their score of one of the old Sobranie House guys, they've managed to make a new Sobranie that compares favorably with the old.

Remember too that your original tin will have aged in the passing time and as with any good natural product there are subtle variances from year to year. So even if production had never ceased there would be differences between an aged tin and new, try to keep that from prejudicing your initial impressions when it comes time to compare the two.

Oh goodness yes it's changed over the years with age. For that matter Sobranie was different if you got it in the 8oz can vs 2oz pouch, and it changed from decade to decade as the ingredient availability changed. But for most* of these there was nonetheless an essential "Sobranie-ness" in these variations (just as there's an essential McClelland-ness to all their blends, and a Rattray-ness to theirs) which none of the cloning attempts ever quite achieved. There was always that missing "house flavor". Germain, of all the blenders, has come the closest to that Sobranie "house flavor" in their Penzance, and more crucially in their old Bengal Slices which nailed it completely. Whatever that Sobranie House Flavor was, they are the best bet to know what it was back then and to figure out how to duplicate it now. And that's what I'm looking for in this new Sobranie.

* the major exception was the stuff in the 2oz plastic packages that was made in the late 90's and early 00's. Although it was never imported to the US it has turned up on ebay and internet websites the last few years, and it looks and tastes exactly like Balkan Sasieni.

Interesting to see how this will all work out.