Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) Skandinavik Vanilla Cavendish

Assuming that this is the same as SKANDINAVIK VANILLA (since the site of ORLIK does not list a Vanilla Cavendish).

Also, please note that in my area all Skandinavik Blends are widely available and the most affordable ones. I experiment with those quite a bit trying to minimize the cost of tobacco and subsidize my PAD (Pipe Aquisition Disorder). In any case I have tried most of the costlier blends available in my area and I have been often disappointed.

FIRST REVIEW REMARKS Too mild for me... simultaneously exhibiting all the drawbacks of aromatics. The wife likes the room note. I might get another pouch to mix it in with some more real tobacco - for cover up purposes.

UPDATED REVIEW The wife was NOT overly enthused with the room note of Mac Barren's Vanilla Cream Loose Cut. I do not understand this, as I find them quite similar - but this is not the first and will certainly not be the last thing I do not understand when wives are involved.

Anyway, I did get a second pouch of this. The flavoring results in a very annoying tongue bite - even when you manage a really slow and relatively cool smoking.

So, I have come up with some conclusions / resolutions.

a) I will never smoke this stuff again - I consider throwing the pouch contents away. I will try mixing this in very high dilution with something else (perhaps Skandinavik Regular to spice it up a bit) - but OVERALL Mac Barren's Vanilla Cream Loose Cut is better for such purposes, and it is smokeable as a standalone.

b) I will keep the pouch itself and use it as a disguise - perhaps the wife likes the pouch; not the note....

c) I change my rating to 1star. Even if you like pure vanilla aromatics, you can do much better.

Well skandinavik blends are not my favorite ones.this one is a bit better than the mixture and the regular but generally not good.the smell when you break the seal is nice and fresh.the good things though end here.while burning i got only a chemical taste of vanilla without any tobacco flavours.the bite was often even if i went very slow.needed several relights and a blue flame popped out of my bowl after every relight..burns really hot.the nicotine level is mild to medium.the moisture produced while smoking is a lot..the after taste is bad making your tongue horde.can be an all day smoke but i do not recommend it.

Skandinavik - Vanilla Cavendish.

Ok, this is a very false tasting blend. If you pipe for true tobacco taste there's no point in smoking this, but if you enjoy a full vanilla aromatic (as I do) you'll adore this.

It's a coarse cut blend, not a ribbon, it's far too chunky. The hydration's good and the pouch smells strongly of vanilla. The lighting's easy, and then it gives a very strong vanilla taste. Because the vanilla's so strong it blocks the road for any of the tobacco's to come through; ergo, that's why I wouldn't recommend this to a non-aro smoker! But even though the false flavour's heavy, it doesn't bite. The burn's steady, and doesn't need much attention.

I pointed out that this isn't a blend for those who like a natural weed, and likewise, this isn't a blend for those who like nicotine.

My rating for this is a perfect example of tobacco's being subjective:

Highly recommended, a great vanilla blend.

Four stars.

This is another blend I was not going to review because I didn't want anyone to know I actually purchased and smoked this stuff. But.....

It is icky from start to finish. Like the esteemed lustra, I am not totally convinced this is tobacco. It did burn rather cool for a cough syrup though.

A decent black cavendish-Virginia aromatic, slightly better (less artificial and nauseating) than Planta's Danish Black Vanilla, but not quite as good as Sweet Vanilla Honeydew (which has a more consistent tobacco base). Room aroma is pleasant, and the vanilla taste stays strong until the bottom of the bowl. After lighting, it burns decently. Not bitey, and doesn't get bad if smoked too fast. An easy smoke, quite unexpensive and fresh.

I have evaded this stuff for a long time. I like both Skandinavik Regular and the Full Aroma tobaccos, but with my vanilla burn out of the candy smokes, I just assumed that this blend would be the same as the others. Was I wrong!!!!

This stuff is mean at first and then settles down.

Think of cinnamon and make it strong. You wind up with Red Hot. Think of vanilla and make it strong. You wind up with Skandinavik Vanilla.

This vanilla is "PROFOUND". Very very deep.

The quality is very good. Skandinavik has got to be the best pouch tobacco around. A pretty gold & black course ribbon cut.

A real surprise. A totally different change of pace. .....This Ain't Sweet!

It seems that this blend was discontinued and its place was taken on the market by "Skandinavik Sungold", which I tried in the last days.

The contents changed to "black cavendish blended with 2 types of bright Virginia leaf", that is what I sensed from the start, years ago.

Pouch aroma reveals a strong casing, that goes from Vanilla to Candied Fruit and a typical Italian sweet called Panettone.

Rather wet but not that much, it is a decent steady burning blend. The cut is coarse, the color reveals a lot of black cavendish, very sweet one, with occasional Virginia here and there.

The taste of tobacco, if not for some Virginia herbal tangyness, disappears under the casing but it still has some appeal. Easily shadows a pipe. Of course nicotine punch is very low.

More or less I confirm the 2 stars I gave to this years ago, but just for lovers of a very sweet vanilla aromatic blends. A typical Danish sweet cake tobacco.

my first pipe tobacco that i got because it's aroma was even noticeable out of the sealed pouch! ...and that is the trap to buy a bad smoking tobacco. yes it smells wonderfull to others and i liked it at first as it was my first pipe tobacco but couldn't substitute my "karelias" rolling tobacco. After 6-7 bowls i got other new tobaccos(semi and non-aromatics) and never got to finish that pouch yet. I wouldn't be negative to smoke aromatics because it was just that one but what i smoke should primarily satisfy my tobacco-nicotine appetite. It is very moist and has no consistent flavour throughout the bowl.

First time i saw Skandinavik Vanilla Cavedish was way back in my high school years, where i met a girl that was an actual pipe smoker and mainly smoked STG tobaccos. Imagine that, a 17 years old girl smoking a pipe. Oh boy, was that a sight. Anyway, i did not try it back then, i was getting in to cigarette smoking at that time, but i remember the distinctive overwhelming room note of vanilla that was all around the caffeteria we used to hang out in the afternoon.

Skandinavik Vanilla Cavedish is the tobacco i usually recommend to begginers. Right after i open the pouch, i literally stick my nose inside, cause it smells so sweet and full of vanilla that i find myself trying to prevent me from chewing on it ( like a cool-old cowboy). Its so mild in strength that if you try to inhale it, you will find it is simillar to a medium nicotine cigarette. (even though i strongly advice you not to inhale pipe tobacco).

The flavoring is strong in this one, somewhat artificial cause the vanilla is so predominant. The taste on the other hand is mild. Its actually so inconsistent that you get a different tobacco at the end of the bowl than what you get at the beginning. Seems like a top-flavored tobacco, mainly because the vanilla starts to disappear as the tobacco burns. On the contrary, the tobacco is not sticky, its pretty dry even fresh from the pouch. That is one of the reasons it has a fast uneven burn, with constant relights and a mild to strong tongue-bite. The tongue bite is pretty much inavoidable for a somewhat experienced pipe smoker. Its very mild strength forces you to puff aggresively in order to get that nicotine kick.

Wife factor is pleasant, the room is full of vanilla aroma. After i have quickly smoked a bowl of Skandinavik Vanilla (usually takes 10-15 minutes for a fully packed bowl), the wife will come and kiss me cause claims she likes the vanilla scent it leaves on my beard. Go figure...

It is an all day smoke, it goes very well with coffee but i advice you not to try it with any kind of alcohol. The overwhelming vanilla will ruin the enjoyment of a probably good beverage. Personally i smoke this tobacco after a heavy meal, in which case a stronger tobacco might feel heavy as well.

To sum up, for a pretty experienced pipe smoker, this tobacco could seem childish. It has not much to give. If you like vanilla aromatics then you should try Mac Barens Loose Cut which is a much more mature version of Skandinavik. (check my review on Loose Cut). As i said in the beggining i highly recommend it to amateur pipe smokers, to experiment with the basics and when they feel ready i urge them to move to Mac Barens Loose Cut, so that they can appreciate the differencies between a medium quality and a high quality tobacco.

UPDATE!! : After trying many more pipe tobacco blends after the time this review was made, i will add the following: It says that it contains orientals. No way this is true. Burley? No nutts involved in the flavour. Unless they mean burley was cured the cavedish way. Then they should only reffer to cavedish cause that is all you can taste, artificial vanilla. I would change my rating to one star but considering the love this blend gets from my wife and being one of the first i tried i will keep the 2 stars. But this is childish. No tobacco at all. Only topping.

Dr.Leonidas

Sometimes, in the summertime, I add some vanilla to my EMs, trying to obtain some light, cool and a little bit less demanding smoke for the morning. Skandinavik Vanilla (I don't know what "Skandinavik Vanilla Cavendish" is) does his duty, although my favourite is Sweet Vanilla Honeydew. 3,0/5 in my personal rating system.