At first light the impression is a very burley forward blend, the Virginias virtually non-detectable to my palate. Sipped lightly there are some new flavors in there that I assume are from the "Orientals" but it is hard to tell. If there is such a thing as, a paradox, ephemeral smoke, this is it. This first light is pleasant enough but then I fall victim to increasingly pulling on the pipe to coax more flavor from it, to get more smoke to taste. I fail in producing more smoke and invariably scorch my tongue as a reward for my bad form. An interesting note from my perspective is that this reminds me in a way of OLD Sail Green without its topping. The current sail green, while pleasant, was quite different in appearance and taste from the old. It's not a bad smoke; glad I finally tried it.

It is plain tobacco, with the emphasis on plain, and while it isn't exciting, I would be glad to see this behind the counter again.

But those days are long gone...

It's mellow tobacco with a subtle sweetness that dances around with a subtle spiciness. Great aroma and excellent blowing through the nose.

Many have complained that this is harsh or that it can bite, but such is the nature of Dutch and Danish style cavendish. Sorry, but you're simply smoking it wrong.

Go slow, keep it on the verge of going out. It is tobacco to relax with, savor, sip, not to puff away on.

It's not a "complex" tobacco and those that like the cacophony of English blends will be bored with it. To me, it's perfect. Sometimes, complex is just....complex. Complex just to be complex.

A pleasant, natural, simple tobacco and very rewarding if smoked correctly.

UPDATE: Well I ran out of my stash of older Sail Natural and bought a replacement pouch. Very different stuff. The tobacco looks different, plus ANISE! All anise, all the time. Anise, anise, anise. This is the new stuff from British Tobacco and is clearly a completely new recipe. In a word, it's GROSS. Three times I've tried to smoke it and dumped it out every time. If you like licorice or anise, go for it. This has anise out the ying yang. From fourstars down to one. Yuck.

I love the broken flake, packs easily and once lit stays that way. In the pack its well....musty...no hint of anything resembling "flavoring". Kept at a slow pace it's a nice smoke. I agree with my pipe smoking colleagues, this seems like mostly a good burley. There is a little "something" that adds a spicy edge, possibly the nearly nondetectable other stuff though I couldn't find anything resembling latakia. Orientals maybe? I forgot how nice the typical dutch cavendish smokes. This is, for want of a better description, the Sir Walter version of dutch tobacco, plain jane, simple and minimal flavor other than real tobacco. Smooth and no bite. Lots of smoke. Nice inoffensive room note. This is one I think I'd like to have around for when I want a milder essentially nonaromatic smoke. And, for whats it worth, it does seem to resemble the 70's blend I smoked back when Nixon was president and I had friends going off to war in the RVN. If you like burley but want to try something a little different, give it a whirl.

There is a hint of something close to anisette, very faint.

It has to be smoked slowly because it has a tendency to bite.

Otherwise, it is enjoyable and a great change of pace.

UPDATE 7-25-11: I finally purchased a 5 pack from JR Cigars. Same presentation as before, however, lighter in color as my original was very well aged, resulting in a darker colored leaf. A mild tobacco aroma from a newly opened pouch. Not damp by any means and easy packing/lighting. The overall verdict is a fairly weak tasting mix with the mildest hint of Latakia. Definitely not a strong blend and very little in the flavor department. I do not like the newer version of this much at all. Excepting for the slight mustiness from the Latakia, this is fairlt tasteless. Since I'm not a big fan of Latakia, I won't be re-visiting and downgrading to 2 stars. I'll try to salvage the remaining 4 pouches with some molasses and see what happens.

For a Burley mixture, tongue bite is high and it isn't as tasty as many tobaccos of the same genre. Not bad, but there are many better.

Opening up the can, one is faced with a plastic bag filled with long, dark strips and pieces of partially rubbed out tobacco. The aroma is dry and musty, reminiscent of the old Drum cigarette tobacco. There is, otherwise, nothing remarkable about the aroma or appearance of this blend. Despite the tin's claim of all the different tobaccos that go into it, it smells pretty monotone.

The tobacco was the right moisture, and it packs and lights easily. I find that, as with many MacBaren tobaccos, I must light carefully to avoid a scorched tongue. However, once lit Sail Natural behaves pretty well. There is a slight pepperiness to the flavor, and ocassionally I can detect a bit of sweetness. But overall, it's just a mild tobacco mustiness, punctuated by the natural spiciness. It's actually rather pleasant, as long as it is puffed at a leisurly rate.

So do I like it? This makes a good morning smoke for me, and I truly like it for a wake up smoke. There is something very 'clean' feeling about the way it smokes, and it has a fair nicotine punch. And this stuff does not interfere with the flavors of my morning coffee, even seems to compliment and heighten the flavors in my Kenya AA. I find that the tobacco is far too monotone for my normal smoke, but for that first morning pipe, it does a good job at waking up my palate.

Despite what I had read about the difference between natural blends and aromatics, I wasn't too surprised by the taste of a natrual tobacco. I realize this is no full-blown English blend, but it certainly isn't aromatic either. I guess the main difference is that naturals smoke more like cigars- you've got to go slow, or you'll get a bite (and this stuff is a biter).

I especially liked the woodsy, smokey taste and aroma from this tobacco. I think it would make a nice autumn smoke, or good from around the campfire, since it's pretty relaxing but still packs a little punch.