Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) Drexel VIII

No pretense. As simple & straight forward as SWR, which despite no burley, it reminds me of . . .i.e. a tad rough (in a good way) and nic on low side of medium. Why no sticky seal is a bit of a mystery. That made 1st pouch immediately smokeable, but when I got around to the 2nd, a button disc used overnight was required. Attractively priced & worth trying. You risk no more than being underwhelmed, but will certainly find it smokeable. Makes an interesting flake parfait with 1/3 Heinrich Special Curly atop 2/3 VIII.

This is a pretty good VaPer. A little grass and citrus, some earth and a fair sweetness from the Virginias. Tart figs and plums with ample spice from the Perique. The fruitiness fades a little in the second half replaced by a little more earth. A satisfying smoke.

Mild to medium in body and taste. No added flavoring. Burns very well.

Heard horror stories about how powerful Perique is, but also a bit intrigued about what this thing called a VA/Per is and wanting to move away from aros or codger blends? This might be the intro VA/Per to try. The VAs are mild and fairly balanced with perhaps a bit of a sweeter cure or a touch of sweet casing (but not overtly changing the flavor profile), the Perique is lightly applied, giving just a bit of spice. Those who prefer just enough VA in their Perique to hold it together would probably not care for it, but certainly worth a try for most others, although, like JimInks, I did notice a bit of acidity, especially in the last 1/3 of a bowl.

I purchased this from cupojoes.com from their clearance section. The price was very good so I bit and bought a pouch. When it arrived the tobacco was very dry. It was a year and a half old from the date of packaging. It had a grassy hay like smell in the pouch. Filled a bowl and it lit easily. It smoked slowly with no bite. It tasted of citrus with plum spiciness from the Perique. I was surprised to find flakes in the pouch. They were perfect and thinly sliced. I liked this so much that I purchased six more pouches. These I jarred and hydrated for future smoking.

A very pleasant vaper at a reasonable price, probably because it's USA made by a large company. I don't taste much perique, but even so it's to my liking. Smokes cool with no bite. Recommended.

This is an easy and cool smile that required a few re-lights. I’m relatively new to VaPers but I thoroughly enjoyed the notes of spice and tangy citrus that seemed to strengthen the more I smoked. Maybe it’s me, but I got the s smallest hint of cocoa. The pouch note is grassy and quite honest, not that appealing to me. However, it tastes better than it smells out of the pouch. I rubbed it out before packing. Nice morning smoke with coffee. Could be an all-day smoker. I’d actually buy this — it was a freebie from the IPSD goodie box from pipes&cigars.

Bread, wood, and hay. Reminds me a lot of Newminster 400 in how much it is on the bready side, rather than the fresh grass or citrus. It's not really sweet, but reminds me of entering a wood shop or bakery in the taste and smell.

I would've believed that there's no perique at all if that is what I was told. I'm not getting any pepper nor fig/raisin/mushroom flavor, so I'm not sure what the perique really adds here.

Came in super dry, so I introduced a bit of moisture. Still, I enjoyed it on the drier side. The flakes held together very well. Was very easy to rub out, pack, and smoke. There was a tiny sense of tongue bite at the beginning of each smoke, but it didn't deteriorate into a burn and was overall ok. Flavor maintains itself throughout the smoke. Minimal relights, if any at all, smokes at a moderate pace, an all-day smoke.

Mild-medium in body, mild in strength.

Some people are scared of a Virginia-Perique that is not on most people's top 10 list. The pouch doesn't help this brand's reputation. However, while this is not in my favorites list, this blend belongs to be alongside Peter Stokkebye Luxury Navy Flake, Newminster 400, and other bulk blends that are affordable and do an excellent job providing top quality. The almost-bite at the beginning of each smoke is a little annoying, but overall I can't give this blend less than three stars. Worth a try.

This is a high quality blend. Yes, the stuff comes drier than dry...however, I don't think this is necessarily a bad thing. All of my pouches are from 2017 - a nice chunk of age for a Va/Per flake in a pouch.

I love PS LNF, OGS, etc. ...Drexel VIII definitely has a seat at the table. It's hard to say what it's like fresh, but, what I have received in every pouch so far has been a great, solid VaPer flake. I am not giving this a 4-star full rating because it comes so darn dry and therefore I feel like I can't know the blend as well as I'd like.

Nicotine is not really a worry here for the regular smoker, this is a fine choice for a morning smoke on an empty stomach...with a nice coffee, of course 😉 ...the room note is what you'd expect from a Va/Per flake. Flavor-wise, I get good things from the outset, but those deeper flavors tend to develop earlier than expected - a welcome surprise!

The price of a pouch of "8" leaves room for plenty of dottle, but you probably won't have much. If you go too hard, just let it cool down - it'll come back to life with plenty to offer 'til it's good and done.

Overall, if you like a straightforward navy flake, this is a fairly solid bet.