Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) Clan Aromatic (Original)

While the Dutch introduced tobacco cultivation to Java and Sumatra, what they grew there was essentially Virginia leaf, because only succulent, large-leafed tobacco can be grown in such a humid climate. The small-leafed tobacco from the Caucasus needs a more arid, more high-mountain kind of environment. It would rot under the Monsoon rain.

We call small-leafed tobacco "Oriental" because it comes from the Near East?not the Far East. The British call it "Turkish", because many of the lands where "Oriental/Turkish" tobaccos are grown were once part of the Turkish ["Ottoman"] Empire, even though the principal grower of these tobaccos nowadays tends to be Greece, which conquered its independence from the Ottoman sultans as long ago as the 1820s.

Clan is a typical Dutch-style Cavendish-processed blend: a wide variety of Virginia tobaccos pressed, steamed to open its pores, topped with a mild sweetening agent. It may then be blended with cased burley, to make it less biting, and because burley is much more receptive to flavouring sauces than Virginia. If any "Turkish" condimental tobacco is added, this is done with the object of avoiding a treacly feeling. A few leaves of Latakia or fire-cured Kentucky burley may be added to provide some body?not much, because mildness is the ideal in Dutch blending.

I swear I cannot tell the difference between CLAN and FLYING DUTCHMAN. There may not be any. In this category of classic aromatics, I prefer SAIL Yellow and AMPHORA Red. But there is a certain air de famille to all these Holland House Cavendish confections. They are beloved of mild-mannered patresfamilias all over Northern Europe.

(Because Americans tend to start their smoking careers with cheap, supermarket-sold, savagely-cased burley blends, they thereafter cast a prejudiced eye on all aromatic blends, once they feel they have "progressed" into "natural" blends. No such prejudice exists in Continental Europe, where quality aromatics are thought of as luxurious.)

Finally, one word of warning to believers in "aged" tobacco: beware of old aromatic tobacco. It does not age well at all. The casing agents go stale, and taste awful. Any "mediciny" taste in a Dutch blend probably means that the casing agents are beginning to go.

Like a stale lady's perfume, it is best avoided.

Another traditional, readily available, easy to smoke mixture, with a very characteristic Dutch note despite the heavy but agreeable casing. Basically medium brown tobaccos, very fine cut in long thin ribbons (which if scissor-cut could actually be smoked in a cigarette), Clan is perhaps one of the most popular pipe tobaccos in Europe. You can find it almost anywhere, including airports and news stands. If not used to the Dutch processing techniques?which are similar to the French caporal taste (this one, believe it or not, does have some Oriental leaf varieties, probably from the Indonesian regions that were once Dutch colonies)?it may at first taste a little bit harsh. Because of the fine cut it may also produce a severe case of tongue bite. But once you get used to it, and master the skill of puffing slowly, it is a good alternative when stranded in unfamiliar places with no proper tobacconist nearby. It is not a goopy tobacco?in fact it is rather dry?and you have to take care not to overfill the bowl. It burns dry, and the sweetness of the casing, though present throughout the smoke, is not strong enough to obliterate the tobacco flavour underneath. Think of it as an aromatic version of the Flying Dutchman. All in all, not a bad smoke, along the lines of Gold Block and the Amphora range, but with a slightly sharper edge to it. The aroma, by the way, is one of the most appreciated qualities of this blend, and even non smokers seem to be enthusiastic about it.

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NB: I read the esteemed Pipestud's comment regarding the St. Bruno/Clan comparison. I am sure he must be right. I have only tired St. Bruno ready rubbed. It seems the flake version (just like in Erinmore) is less sweet and stronger.

Scandinavian Tobacco Group - Clan.

Ok, so I reviewed this a few years ago, was fairly brutal, and when I read it back I thought I sounded like the proverbial tobacco snob. So, I deleted my former review, opened a fresh pouch up, and thought I'd be as impartial as is humanly possible.

To begin on a good note the blend has an appealing appearance: snippets of all shades of weed, and to be fair the moisture's good. The pouch note was made a little tricky to identify by the smell of plastic/chemicals from the seal glue, but forgetting those there isn't anything particularly preeminent about the note.

The smoke isn't as bad as I remembered it to be, as an otc blend it isn't in the league of St. Bruno or Condor, they get four stars but I wouldn't rate Clan with only one star. The added flavourings are very mild, the main tastes are the tobaccos: I get a very toasty note from the Burley/Kentucky. This seems to me the stronger of the leaves, the rest make a cornucopia of flavours: I guess that's the polite way of saying it tastes a bit messy! As subjective as it is, the tongue bite deters me somewhat: it's ok for the first quarter, but does begin to give me grief after that. The burn from Clan is reasonably good, but it tends to be a touch quick.

The room-note from Clan is its best feature, and the nicotine's below medium. This isn't THAT bad, nothing spectacular, but not the worst:

Two and a half stars.

Well, I've read the reviews, which reflect entirely that one man's meat is another man's poison. I've not smoked Clan before, so this is based on about five bowls.

Yes, it can bite. It can really bite, but only if you suck on your pipe like a McDonald's milkshake. A gentle sipping releases far more than most have revealed in other reviews. There's a big vanilla hit, and the stuff does smell like Bird's Custard Powder in the bag, however, a little TLC coaxes a nice, buttery flavour, if a little thin, from the easily packed tobacco. This is a one light bowl. I don't even bother with a charring light, but slightly under fill the bowl , spark up and puff down to a wonderful fine white ash. I use an air-pocket method of packing, which definitely helps.

Overall, this doesn't scare me, it's inoffensive, and it's easy to get hold of. Somewhat recommended with a caution about over-drawing, unless pain is your friend.

Well, I don´t know. I don´t like it.

Out of the pouch it smells like some liquor and then, you light it up and almost all of the (not very attractive) aroma is soon gone. Tobacco flavour is rarely there. The only thing that is present is a tongue bite.

Funny (when you are not smoking it)

UPLOAD: I got used to it. Now I see it as a typical aromatic blend. 2 out of 4

It's THE CLAN. That is the history of pipe smoking, the smell of your granda's pipe. I remember smoking it sometimes during the 80's and 90's and I was disappointed by the difference between pouch aroma, the room note AND the tast in pipe. All the wonderful scents disappeared for the smoker, but were still detectable by others in the room. Today, it could only get worse. Easy packing, nice packaging, good lighting... and nothing else. A taste of plastic. I rated it 3 stars instead of minus 1000 just because of its history and legacy.

I know a lot of people dislike this tobacco so let me add my tuppence worth. The pouch note is very pleasing with hints of vanilla, cream and summer fruits. The cut is a shag/ribbon cut. I took out enough for a bowl and I leave it out and pull the ribbons apart even though it's not a damp tobacco it's just something I do with all my blends. I lit it and after the true light it did have some of those flavours I mentioned that I smelled. Then within ten minutes the bowl was finished and it burnt very hot. For this reason I wouldn't buy it again but would definitely if it didn't burn so fast and hot Edit on 11th May 2021. I stuck with this tobacco and wasn't letting it get the better if ne6, now I religiously have a bowl of it last thing at night and thoroughly enjoy it. Early evening I prepare a biwb, pull apart the shah and keavite it in the pipe until later on. I has as very nice creamy taste to it as long as it's sipped, it still burns quite fast but I would fill it more than in the pipe more than any other blend to the point where it's a tight draw so when I smoke it I use my pick from Czech tool to free the airway by pushing it down the front of the bowl to the draught hole. I enjoy it that much that I sometime have two bowls! (living dangerously lol) I can detect Virginia and burley under the topping which is mild but tasty as is the vitamin N. If you haven't smoked it solely because of its notierity I'd suggest you invest in a 25g pouch (€15.30 here in Ireland) I'll give it 3 1/2 star's that's just me

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.

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.