Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) Clan Aromatic (Original)

Clan, it burns really well, has a interesting though unidentifiable taste imo and a fantastic room note. With those points for it you would think it should be at least 2 stars.

BUT

In the UK it's £15 a pouch, that's the same as most other tobaccos. So why should I buy Clan over Bruno or Peterson for the same price. Or Amphora Full or Original which are far better tobaccos that are also almost 5 quid cheaper per pouch.

Then there's the bite, no matter what I do this stuff bites hard and burns hot and fast.

Clan has been around for as long as I have been smoking a pipe (over 3 decades) and I am sure it has quite a few fans, otherwise it would have disappeared. It is a classic Dutch Cavendish made from a multitude of different types of tobacco and the citrusy topping is applied with a light hand and never overpowers the base tobacco, which is pretty decent. Recommended to anyone who is not put off by the appeal of an old school European OTC blend.

I don't usually smoke this brand, I usually smoke captain black, however I have run out of this and wanted something quickly, after reading reviews I decided to give this a shot. This is my personal approach to this brand. I would like to start off with, looks,, it looks alot like rolling tobacco, it smells pleasant, feels dryer to touch than captain black, easy to pack and to light, aswell as stay alight. It does burn hot/warm but I didn't get a tongue bite from it. I wouldn't say it's a foul pipe tobacco at all where I would say gold block is, to the point I threw it away after second bowl, this is different, it's stronger than captain black but it's a nice strong, the smell, taste, feel and look wouldn't put me off of buying this again, I would honestly say to anyone give it ago, if you don't like it at least you know, but hey you maybe pleasantly surprised like I was.

Clan wasn’t offensive in the least, I had prepared myself for tobacco hell, but what I tasted was a lightly sweet Virginia with an alcohol topping. The room note was very light and inoffensive as well. Maybe I got an odd pouch, but for me, Clan was a very bland tasting smoke with no downsides other than boredom.

I was wishing to try this tobacco for quite a while now.. not an aromatics fan at all, but somehow the whole blend with its "cozy" old-timey design appealed to me.

Opening the pouch I instantly get a somewhat artifical, yet appealing and smooth fruity note, with a somewhat cherry-ish character to it. Underneath there's a mild boozy undertone, with some corn-ish qualities, reminding me of Bourbon Whiskey! As well as a mild floral quality. Intense aroma from the pouch, I wasn't sure what to expect.

Packs, lights and burns without a flaw - definetly a comfortable smoke! Pack it, light it, enjoy it! From the tobaccos the Burleys are most obvious to me, with some very delicious toasty, nutty, molasses and earthy qualities as the main actors in the tobacco department! The Virginias add some freshness and may contribute to the smooth and silky sweetness. I also get a hint of Turkish/Orientals in the mix, with spicy-dry and ethereal-flowery qualities. The rest of the tobaccos goes unnoticed to me.

In the smoke the flavoring is quite different than in the pouch note! The boozy, Boubon-ish quality prevails for me, leaving just a mild note of fruits/fruitcake in the background. The bourbon has a boozy and somewhat corn-ish character to it, which I like a lot, as it reminds me of C&D's John Marr. All in all this could be the OTC-brother of John Marr in a way.. definetly more flavored (and with more artifical flavorings), but I feel they share a similar character. Yet John Marr is superior, no doubt!

What else to say? Somehow I love this blend for what it is! The flavorings work well with the tobaccos and vice versa. Flavoring doesn't subdue to tobaccos (very tasty) qualities too much and it has this cozy, old-timey OTC feeling to it. I'll grant it 3,5 stars - even as the aromatic sceptic that I am! **Update:** This does have a tendecy to bite when puffed just a little fast, so I'll down-grade to 3-stars. Best to be puffed very patiently, then you get a nice flavour out of it.

I don't see the point of this tobacco. There's virtually no flavour - only some faint sweetness topped bitterness - and it doesn't really smell like much of anything either, when it burns.

It's not "bad". If you buy it, it won't wake your face cringe or anything. It's just a waste of time and cash.

It's a purely uninteresting tobacco. Don't think about it ; get something else instead.

A little correction, I purchased my pouch by 07.2018 and the name below the shield (Aromatic) has been changed to "Original"

One surprising thing about this blend is producer's claim of "14 different tobaccos from around the world" as a description on the pouch. Well, I take it as those must be the types of the same tobaccos, yet different origins around the world. Such as the varieties of latakia: Cyprus, Macedonia or Syria. Or it might be the kinds of kentucky, fired kentucky etc.

Anyways, apart from this ambiguity, I must note that the blend is unique, hard to detect the components dancing while you are having your experience. All in all, it's earthy, but not harsh, somewhat aromatic, burns evenly, smokes cool. At some point of the smoke, when retrohaling, one may notice fruity aromas, a little green apple touch, maybe.

In general, I would recommend this blend to smokers who like to smoke an ever-changing, lightly aromatized type of tobacco. Everytime I smoke, it gave me an interesting experience.

Clan,

I was recently on Matches860's YouTube watching a video when i saw a discussion regarding a tobacco trade, i offered to get in on the deal and i have to thank Mr Couch 1,000 times over for sending me a pouch of Clan which i have wanted to try for ever. I had a feeling it might smoke a little hot when i received his email that innocently asked "did you try the Clan?" just as my Geiger counter was off the scale sitting next to the pouch. I just knew he was laughing his ass off (as i am now doing with my friends) knowing that i was just recently battling the heat of a star. Just like the firefighters at Chernobyl i too have stared into the mouth of a reactor, my poor Charatan blasted pipe, but i know now how to tame the beast using filters and once tamed she is a magnificent creature. It's really addicting! Just be careful not to mar the outside of your pipe when stuffing it with some Clan Elephant's Foot. (if you don't know what that is give it a google)

For years i had read about the rite of passage one must take and then overcome and best in the form of a raw tongue blister. Once healed, determining the topping and varietal of tobacco's and finally seeking counseling for your newest addiction that comes in a Tartan pouch. It has a thin almost shag cut that makes packing a breeze but combined with very dry tobacco acts like tinder. The aroma while aromatic is the Victorian or Dutch style that incorporates perfume , not the 70's black Cavendish that is so popular. As to the Tartan pouch i cannot for the life of me determine why the manufacturer wants us to believe it's either A, made in Scotland or B, contains Scottish leaf... Perhaps Scotland sent Clan into England originally as a Trojan horse, they could slowly take over Britain by searing one Englishman's tongue after another until no one north of York could scream "Invasion!!" and warn their brethren...

Seriously though i am exaggerating greatly but you get the point. I love the taste and aroma plus the shag cut, i am so privileged to have been given a whole pouch to sample. Its so simple and tasty once you master the art of Nuclear Alchemy. Use a Grabow filter, never let get above 600 Kelvin and use a very thin walled pipe to gauge the heat before it spins out of control. I am so proud to be a part of this thing of ours with such amazing and generous people!! And thanks again to a very generous Mr Couch...

Upon opening the pouch I was struck with mainly the scent of the Virginia, not much of anything that I would call 'aromatic'. Maybe mildly aromatic. The flavor can get a tad spicy and bite if pushed but if smoked at a slower pace it's OK. Room note is somewhat decent but not 'tutti frutti' as someone has described in my opinion. More tobacco in the room note than many aromatics. It's an alright tobacco which was one I picked up on a whim in Paris as not much was available. Not one I would buy again unless I had to as there are many better options out there. Perhaps it would benefit from some drying as it comes fairly moist from the pouch.